El meets her birth mother, Terry, and is able to read her memories from their brief time together, then sets out to find Kali, the girl she was with when they were both children at Hawkins Lab. Joyce's new boyfriend, Bob, joins the team and helps them free Hopper from sentient vines underground, while Will's connection to the Mind Flayer takes a toll on him: his memories begin slipping away, and the monster gains more and more control of him.
Eleven joins Kali's gang and hones her powers, but when she senses her friends are in danger, she heads for them instead. Jonathan and Nancy finally hook up while working on their own mission and rejoin the rest of the gang as the demodogs attack the lab and kill Bob. Eleven arrives just in time to fight off the demodogs, and the team hatches a plan: get the Mind Flayer out of Will's body, then close the Gate. They manage to do so, although it nearly kills Will. Sometime in November or December, Dr. Owens gives Hopper a forged birth certificate formally declaring El his daughter, and the crew all attend the Hawkins Middle School Snow Ball together. But in the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer still lurks.