Movies - TV
The 14 Best Stranger Things Episodes, Ranked
By JASON SCOTT
14. The Lost Sister
El (Mille Bobby Brown) has a series of visions of another girl who went through the same experiments, leading her to Chicago, where she meets Kali, who wants retribution against those responsible. Realizing that killing the last scientist won’t change the past, El severs her connection with Kali in this episode about trauma, recovery, and holding onto one’s humanity.
13. The Flea and the Acrobat
Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) come to blows when El’s fear of encountering another Demogorgon causes the compass to go out of control, while Nancy (Natalie Dyer) follows an injured deer and crosses over into the Upside Down. This episode is the first of many excursions and draws the viewer into the show’s much bigger mystery.
12. The Mall Rats
We learn that Billy (Dacre Montgomery) has become possessed by the Mind Flayer and lures a fellow lifeguard into the monster’s lair, which shows the creature’s larger plan at work. This episode gives excellent character moments and focuses on setting things into place for the season’s monster.
11. The Monster
El questions whether she is a hero after breaking the arm of a bully trying to kill Lucas, and it’s revealed she stumbled across the Demogorgon while searching the darkness, thus creating the gate. “The Monster” is a slower episode that gives further insight into El’s backstory and who she is as a character, presenting her inner turmoil and moral dilemma.
10. The Gate
The Season 2 finale features a last-ditch effort to save Will (Noah Schnapp) from the Mind Flayer’s grip as El musters up a deeper power to close the gate deep within the lab. It provides emotional closure for some characters and teases the follow-up season by revealing the Mind Flayer to be alive and thriving in the Upside Down.