After one of the guards kept by Owens died and leaves the clue “Nina” behind, Jonathan, Will, Argyle, and Mike try to figure out if Nina is a person they have to find. However, they soon discover it is a computer and this episode also marks the entry of Dustin’s long distant and extremely genius girlfriend Suzie.
The gang travel to Salt Lake City to take Suzie’s help in finding the place where the Nina computer is apparently positioned, thereby signaling the location where Eleven is kept by Owens.
To Eleven’s surprise, Owens teams up with Brenner aka Papa to help Eleven gain her powers back. Initially resisting, she later gives in and is kept in a deprivation tank to combat her suppressed memories from the past.
After Yuri betrays Enzo, both Hopper and Enzo are kept as prisoners while Murray displays some exceptional fighting skills to knock Yuri unconscious.
Joyce and Murray then attempt to handle the plane but it crashes amidst the wilderness. Nevertheless, they have reached Russia.
One of the highlights of this episode has to be the humorous performance of Joyce and Murray. Winona Ryder is an exceptional artist who has been able to shine throughout the series and simultaneously allow other actors to be visible.
Nancy Wheeler aka the Nancy Drew of this show once again shows her knack for solving mysteries and figures out that Maxine saw Victor Creel’s house in the Upside Down. Robin, Steve, Lucas, Max, and Dustin sets out to find out clues in the house.
Meanwhile, Jason enters the public meeting and blames The Hellfire Club for demonic killing and incidents in the town thereby inferring that Dustin and Mike are the perpetrators.
While following Eddie on the boat, Jason encounters Patrick entering a trance, his bone frantically cracking and eye socket soaking with blood. The Duffer Brothers have been successful in giving us the chills even if for just a short moment.
As Stranger Things is mainly concentrated on science fiction rather than horror, it is obvious they augmented horrid scenes just to keep it intriguing but not enough to scare half the audience.
Lights have played a prime role since the beginning of the series where a connection is made with the other dimension through flickering lights.
At the same time when Patrick died, the lights inside the house started flickering and tore the bulbs of the chandelier inside the Creel house asserting Vecna’s presence.
Not once leaving the thread of emotions, Max and Lucas clears the air and starts to get along once again. While Jonathan and Nancy drift apart, there is a spark between Steve and Nancy.
A major drawback of the plot has to be adding too many themes and stories at once making it really difficult for non-buffs to catch up. Eleven is stuck in a loop inside her memory where a new character is introduced in the form of a guard in the laboratory.
Jamie Campell Bower gives a phenomenal performance. Just as he enters the scene, there is this disturbing and attractive aura that sets in and looms all over him. You can guess right from the beginning that this character is not just a passer-by rather he has a bigger part to play.
The Nina Project ends on an incomplete note. Nobody knows what is going to happen next, Eleven joins hands with Brenner after retaining a few of her powers but it is ambiguous as to whose side Brenner really is.
Hopper and Enzo are stuck in the prison with Joyce and Murray having no plan to rescue him. The Hawkins gang is still unsure about Vecna’s world and the police are after the kids now.
The makers have carefully crafted each of the pieces to display them just in time even though it might become a lot at some point. Nonetheless, Stranger Things has always been more about the plotline and lives of the characters tangled inside it rather than the actors playing the part.
Also Read: Stranger Things Chapter Four: Dear Billy Review- The Best Episode Of This Season