Ghosts "The Primary Source"

 

When Sam needs sources for Isaac's biography, there could be one place to find it. Here's a recap of this week's episode of Ghosts.

Ghosts and Dreams: Ghosts "A Star Is Dead"

 

When a theatre troop uses the theater at the mansion, Sam has an opportunity to perform on stage. Here's a recap.

Legacy and New Looks: Ghosts "The Work Retreat"

 

From Isaac going for a new look to Trevor having a job, here's a recap of episode four of Ghosts. 

Blood and Stone: Ghosts "Sam's Dad"/"Halloween 4: The Witch"

 

With the bloods runing down the walls to someone turned into stone on Halloween, here's a recap of episodes two and three of Ghosts. 

Teacup "Quite for No Reason"/"In the Heart of the Country"

 

Talk about building on an intense thriller. Here's a quick recap of episodes three and four of the miniseries Teacup.

Cold Case, Full Heart: Chicago PD "The After"

 

When a 15-year-old cold case reopens, can Voight and ASA Chapman find the killer before another is taken? Here's a recap!

Tough Decision: Chicago Fire "Through the Skin"

 

When Violet performs an emergency c-section in the field, will her medical license be put on the chopping block? Here's a recap!

Rescue Hi-Surf "The Deep End"

 

Will Sonny seek help? How will Em do taking command? There's this and more here's a recap! 

Dancing the Two-Step: High Potential "Dancers in the Dark"

 

Will Morgan and Detective Karadec tap their way to solving this week's crime? Here is a recap!

Some Hard Changes: Chicago Fire "A Monster in the Field" Season Premiere

 

Well, changes are coming, and they were evident in the season premiere of Chicago Fire. Here's what happened.

Hold on To Your Butts: Chicago Med "Sink or Swim" Season Premiere

 

The season premiere of Chicago Med didn't miss a beat. Here's what went down.

A Fun Potential: High Potential "Pilot" Series Premiere

 

The new ABC series is a police procedural gem that we all need. Here are my thoughts on the premiere of High Potential. 

The Right to Learn Bear Arms: English Teacher "School Safety"

 

When Even learns that the school has a gun club, he wants his students to fight it. Will they succeed? Here are my thoughts on the episode. 

An Intense Night of Drama: One Chicago: Chicago Med "You Can't Always Trust What You See"/Chicago Fire "Mayday"/Chicago PD "Closure" Season Premiere

 

The season premiere of One Chicago was this one-time week, and I'm still recovering from what went down. Here's a recap and thoughts!

Chicago Med "You Can't Always Trust What You See." 

While the season premiere of Chicago Med wasn't at the level of what Fire and PD had, it still had me engaged for the entire hour. 

Halstead returns to Med, but under the circumstances from Goodwin, he keeps an eye on a colleague, who she believes is scamming Medicare while putting his patients at risk. But the one thing I was happy to see have a nice closure was Will and Natalie as they said goodbye at the beginning of the episode. That started the waterworks for me. 

Archer and Charles work together, putting their differences aside (at times), to help save a patient who happens to have a twin. But the catch is if the patient needs surgery, the twin also wants to have the same surgery as they want to do everything together. I think they would give a run with The Shining Twins. 

We meet with the new residents, Dr. Scott and Hammer, who we see helping treat a girl with sickle cell anemia while her mother shows signs of arthritis. Hammer realizes that with arthritis at this early stage in her life, they must be living in the car.  Later, we see Hammer visiting her mother, who is homeless, helping her with what she needs. 

While giving Vanessa space, Maggie tries to stay away but be professional with her daughter. At one point, a nurse needed a doctor to call the time of death of a patient. After calling it, Maggie confronts her. Also, while Crockett and Halstead might not have seen eye to eye in this episode with a difference of opinion on a returned patient who was part of Kinder, they come to reasonable terms at the end of the episode. 

I enjoyed the season premiere. I see how others might not have thought it was at the level we're used to. The episode had to balance out the end of one story (Natalie) and the start of a new one (Scott and Hammer) and still have that Med medical feel we're used to. This is what I would call a peaceful premiere. 

I loved the Hammer and Scott story in this episode, as Scott seems to be a fun but responsible character when treating his patients. At first, I thought, oh, a cop turned doctor. Didn't we see this with Jeff Clarke when he transferred from Fire to Med? But this seems different. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

Chicago Fire "Mayday"

Think again if you thought I was on the edge of my seat when Fire started its 10th season premiere! I was on my feet, walking back and forth with nerves and screaming at the television. 

The episode picks up right where we left off; Squad 3 is trapped in a capsized boat, and Casey makes a good to help bring oxygen tanks. But just as he gets there, Severide sets up to blow up part of the boat to escape. But after it blows up, Cruz is not moving, and Severide tries with all his might to get him to the surface. Casey gives CPR and comes through. 

Cruz will be already, but when he gets back to work, he's starting to get PTSD when handling his gear. Also, the stress of postponing the baby shower for Chloe didn't help either, but when it comes to 51, they have their back no matter what. 

Stella, who was so worried about Severide making it out alive, later confronts him about telling his mother about their engagement, only to get a response that Severide men don't stay married for that long. Ouch!  But she reassured him that things would be better than what his father was. 

Meanwhile, Boden gets word that he'll be the new deputy chief commissioner, but while everyone is thrilled about his recent promotion, Stella isn't, as she is afraid to see changes to 51. Boden tried to see if his office could be at 51, but that wasn't the case due to politics. But after a call, he sees that his firehouse can handle things without him. 

Meanwhile, the story we've been waiting for, Brett and Casey, while they try to keep their relationship under wraps, everyone knows they're a couple, even before they know. We had gotten many good Brettsey scenes in this episode that I would assume kept the fans happy. 

But during a call, Brett gets a non-emergency call that she and other medics believe is taking them away from the actual emergency calls, and that starts Brett to maybe thinking of something. While on call, Casey bravely saves a kid swinging from one building to another like he was Spiderman or Batman, which was fantastic industry for Brett. 

And let's not forget Firehouse 51's Three's Company duo, Ritter, Violet, and Gallo, who are trying to come up with an idea to make some extra money. Gallo and Violet didn't make it easy for Ritter, as watching them argue about each one's vision wasn't helping. But soon, just as they were about to work it out, the idea of Gallo's beer (that he made) might be the ticket. 

"Mayday" was electrifying but had all the feelings we wanted in a Chicago Fire premiere. While changes are coming to 51, it's hard to see Boden moving out of 51. Who's going to take his spot? Casey? Do you think Casey is ready to give speeches to his crew? We had seen it a while ago, and it didn't turn out well. 

I read many stories from Stella-Severide, Chloe-Cruz, Brett-Casey, and Ritter-Gallo-Violet. I can't wait to see what will happen with these characters this season. I wonder if Cruz will continue to suffer from PTSD from the boating rescue. 

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

Chicago PD "Closure"

If Fire had an "On My Feet" premiere intensity, PD was another.

"Closure" was such an intense going in with the awaiting on if Burgess would come out or not. Ruzek battles whether or not to bring Makayla to visit the unconscious Burgess, but rest assured, fans, Burgess will be okay.  

Meanwhile, Upton and Voight try to hide the fact that they killed Roy while hunting down Roy's partner, who both have evidence of them killing Roy. It's eating up Upton pretty poorly; Roy's partner, holding a hostage, gets shot in the neck and dies at Med. 

Voight tells Miller, who doesn't know that Roy is dead, to get the Feds to help find him. Good luck! Meanwhile, after Upton asks Jay to marry him, Jay returns the favor after asking why she wants to marry him now and soon proposes to her (as he's an old fashion) with the answer "yes."

I enjoyed this episode very much from beginning to end. While we know that Burgess will have a tough time returning to work, something tells me she won't let this one go either, like Miller. Could this come back and bite both Upton and Voight by midseason? I just got that feeling!

I thought Ruzek's storyline was so good and well-performed, along with Upton as well. Looks like we're going to get a CPD wedding! I hope it doesn't turn out to be like Will's wedding.

Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

What did you think of the season premieres of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD? Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter @abaker20.

Catch up with recaps, reviews, and news of #OneChicago

One Chicago aires Wednesdays beginning at 8/7c on NBC and streaming all episodes on PeacockTV.

A Season Burning Brighter: Chicago Fire Season 9 (Episode 7-16)

 

Season Nine of Chicago Fire burns so brightly with such amazing stories. Once again, this season was a step up from last season, even though we got a shorter season. Here's a recap and thoughts. 

Changing of the World: All Rise "A Change Is Gonna Come" Season Premiere

The season premiere of All Rise this week had some really strong moments and even a shocker at the end. 

The season premiere of All Rise titled, "A Change is Gonna Come" really should the changes that have gone on in the span since the season one finale. We learn in flashbacks of Judge Carmichael stopping a cop as he had drawn his weapon as the girl was trying to look for her phone in her bookbag. 

That point and time set off a chain reaction into the present with Lola and Mark's friendship; as Mark seemed to be on the other side of what Lola was thinking, even though the cop didn't believe that she was a judge and didn't ask for I.D. 

Meanwhile, Mark was battling with Rachel on a case that hits close to home with Carmichael with a white man charged with a hate crime for hitting black and mix people with a baseball bat. We learn the meaning of the judge's difficulties when talking to her new law clerk, Ness Johnson. 

Sara deals with a family situation where her grandparent's store was distorted during the protest but the insurance wasn't going to cover it because it was under the COVID-19 lockdown. I think we're gonna see something in the new episode about that. 

Two things to be taken out of this episode: one what's going with Luke and Emily as they seem distant yet still helping each other with a case to get her client out of jail and to the hospital; due to COVID-19 but died. They took a break during the COVID-19 and yet it seems that Luke has moved on with Sam. Wow!

Second thing: While Carmichael not only was dealing with that cop situation and case, there was something else going on as well. Her husband had been quarantined at the time of the cop situation, but there was something that we see back and forth during the flashbacks. 

We come to find out that Judge Carmichael is expecting a baby. And come to find out that there's a viral video of her standing up against that cop, which doesn't look too good right now.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this season's premiere. I thought they really addressed the Black Lives Matter really well and even the COVID-19 stuff as well. I thought that Simone Missick gave a great performance in this season's premiere. 

The tension between Mark and Lola was so good with each other having different opinions of what had happened that night during the protesters and cop. Could their friendship still be in jeopardy? 

Meanwhile, seeing Emily and Luke being distant from each other (besides for COVID reasons), until they tried to help her client. I was like was it me but weren't they on great terms dating and having a nice evening with a meal and a glass a wine? Apparently, time really did pass and they're on a break. Wow! That took me a bit surprised. 

As for the shocker (depends on what the shocker would be in this case), the viral video was a shocker over the pregnancy. That doesn't mean I was shocked but I did figure it out as we see certain moments like Sherri helping her with ideas to calm down and finding a new law clerk. But I can't wait to see what comes with this story arc with her Lola and her husband and even her judge career. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

What did you think of the episode? Leave a comment below!

You can catch All Rise Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

HOLY SHIPS!: Stranger Things 3 "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum"/"Chapter Seven: The Bite"

"Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum" 

Oh man, shit just got real in this episode. Here's a recap!

Just as Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica learn what the Russians are doing, they open up the door to the upside-down. Soon, they would get busted; Steve made sure that Dustin and Erica escaped without harm. The Russians interrogated Steve and Robin and veveninjecthem ted with the truth serum. But by the time the boss knew who they were, Dustin and Erica made a distraction to get Robin and Steve out of there, too. Tissues, please.

 After making a deal with the scientist, Hopper has had enough of it and gives him a choice of either leave or stay. You would have thought this would be Hopper's biggest mistake, but it turns out that he was right. They learn of the secrets of this machine called the key that opens up the cups upside-download. Of course, that freaks both Hopper and Joyce, and they approach the government for help. 

After saving Nancy from the mind flayer, Elusese uses her power to locate Billy. But from where he's discovered, that could be where he and the mind flayer wanted. El uses her power to discover what happened to Billy; instead of going through the actual events, she starts seeing parts of his past that always make him hiss today. Asarns where the source of the mind flayer is, Billy sends El to another part of what will happen when the mind flayer takes over. Eventually, El got out of there, and just as the residents of Hawkins were at the town fair, they all got to the factory where the mind flayer was and disintegrated to make the mind flayer grow. Holy Fuck!

This episode was another on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of thrill. Not only did we see our character learn about the mind flayer's plan, but Billy's backstory of how he got to be who he is today. And after that, I still don't have a good connection with the character and believe he'll probably die.  I thought Erica stood out way better in this episode than in the previous episodes this season, and the relationship between Dustin and Steve got even more heartwarming. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"Chapter Seven: The Bite"

OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!!

As El and the gang figure out that the Mind Flayer is coming from them, they are just in time before it starts attacking Hopper's house. But as El fights the tongues-tongues, she gets bitten and dragged towards the flayer. Mike and the rest hang on to El as Nancy and Lucas try to stop it, and just as El is released, she snaps the Flayer's head in half, and they escape.

El is badly hurt, but as the gang tries to find stuff to help her, Lucas and Will find something that could help with a bit more firepower in fireworks. Just as Mike talks to El and tries to tell her that he loves her, Dustin finally reaches them through their walkie-talkies.

While communicating with Mike, Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica hide from the Russians at the mall's movie theater of Back to the Future. Just as Dustin comes back asking Erica for batteries, Robin and Steve, who are high, leave and soon not only get sick but share some deep feelings, Steve having feelings for Robin and Robin having feelings for another woman. Both are on good terms anyway.

Hopper and Joyce got a dose of reality from Muarry by sleeping with each other and getting it over. They stop at the fair to find the kids but are hunted by the biker and the Russians. Alexi gets killed by the bikers, and Hopper diverts them to the funhouse, where Hopper not only redeems from fighting one of the guys but escapes with Joyce and Muarry.

As Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica are hiding from the Russians, when you think that they are goners, El saves the day by throwing a car at them. But as everyone catches up with what they know, El is hurt very badly, and Mike and the gang see the severe wound and a wormlike creature in her leg. El screams with pain!

This episode tugs at my heart with emotions and throwback to Back to the Future. Millie Bobby Brown was excellent, and the scenes with Finn Wolfhard were terrific and so heartwarming. Alexi's death was expected, with him helping with Hopper and Joyce. Strong character development with such strong writing, as well. The episodes get better and better, and the season finale sure feels like something big is going to happen. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch Stranger Things 3, available on Netflix now!

Code Red: Stranger Things 3 "Chapter Four: The Sauna Test"/ "Chapter Five: The Flayed"

Episodes Four and Five of Stranger Things 3 take exciting television to another level. Here's a recap!
"Chapter Four: The Sauna Test" 
Code Red! Repeat we have a code red!! Mike, Lucas, Will, Max, and El reunite to talk that Will believes that the mind flayer is back. Eleven believes that it's Billy, because of the psychic encounter with Heather. They spy on Billy at the pool and set up a plan to trap him and see if it's true. More to come later.

Meanwhile, Hopper is recovering from his beatdown with help from Joyce. Joyce tells him that the guy was riding a motorcycle and that gives Hopper a clue to someone that might know who that stranger could be. It leads to the meeting with Mayor Klien with a nice chitchat that leads to who not only the guy is but who he works for, StarCorp (the owner of the mall). Apparently, the company wants to expand to the east side of Hawkins, which leads to near the old lab.  Joyce and Hopper rush to find one of the houses.

Robin finds a way to get into the other side of the building, through the vents. Instead of Dustin going in because he's getting too big, they go with Erica. After coming to terms with her, she gets to the other side and opens the door. There, Steve opens a box, but what's inside is a mystery, and it's not Chinese food. Just as they are about to leave, the doors close, and what apparently is a room turns out to be an elevator going all the way down.

After checking on their source, who was eating fertilizer, Nancy and Johnathan are fired from the paper. After an argument about each other's living styles, Nancy gets encouragement from her mother and goes to check on the elderly woman. She noticed that her heart rate was spiking higher and higher. That was due to the fact that the mind flayer connection with Billy, who gets trapped in the sauna by Mike, El, and the gang.

Soon it turned into some serious shit between Billy and El as Billy almost choked her to death. Mike saves by whacking him with a bat, but El stops him before he can get his hands on Mike. El throws Billy through the wall and soon runs away. But that won't be the last time. As Billy recovers his wounds, he and Heather see other Hawkins' residents in line for their Mind Flayer master.

This episode was literally off the channel. It not only had me on the edge of my seat but also had my heart rating pretty high. That scene with the kids and Billy was one hell of a scene that had all the chills, thrills, and action, plus the dialogue was great!! Also, Joyce and Hooper were good, but the moment I very much enjoyed was Nancy and her mother talking about knocking down the wall against the men. All in all, I give this episode a 9.5/10.


"Chapter Five: The Flayed" 
As Joyce and Hopper make it to their final house search on the list, they find an undercover basement with two Russian scientists working on something. Just as Hopper questions them, the biker comes in hunting for them. Hopper cuffs the two and just as the bike makes his way down, Hopper aims his gun to the guy's head. The biker quickly attacks Hopper and not only beats the crap out of him again, but Hopper also returns the favor by knocking the guy's knee with a monkey wrench.

Hopper brings the scientist along and demands Joyce to drive. The scene was totally hilarious and thrilling. But as the truck took a couple of bullets from the biker, the truck soon blew up, and the three walked later to Seven-Eleven and stole a car to meet with an old friend.

Meanwhile, Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica not only sneak their way out but learn what the Russians do by opening up the door to the upside-down world. Oh boy!

Just as Nancy watches Mrs. Driscoel's moment, she calls Johnathan to ask him about Will. Soon they join Will, Mike, El, and the gang to head back to the hospital. There, Nancy and Johnathan tried to release Mrs. Driscoel, but she was nowhere to be found in her room til Tom showed up all bloody and started to go after them. But just as they escape from Tom, Bruce is out there too and he goes after them.

As they try to run, Bruce gets to them, taking out Johnathan til Nancy stabs him in the back, which leads to her running away with him. But it was when she thought of using the fire extinguisher to knock Bruce out, which also led to Tom getting the effect. Just as Nancy and Johnathan finished both of them, their bodies melted and walked to each other to combine to a giant mind flayer.
While that was going on, Mike and El seem to be on good terms.

"The Flayed" was such an outstanding episode from beginning to finish. I couldn't get enough of Joyce and Hopper in this episode as both Ryder and Habour's chemistry is amazing. The rest of the cast performances were also amazing with each playing such a role in the episode. If there was one issue that I had in this episode; it had to be the scene sequence of the mind flayers melting from their human bodies. But overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Stranger Things Season 3 available on Netflix now. 

It's Not Over: Stranger Things 3 "Chapter Three: The Case of the Missing Lifeguard"

HOLY SHIPS!!

The third episode of Season Three of Stranger Things really has put some miles on not only the storytelling; but how scary it has gotten since the first episode of this season.

As El and Max have a sleepover at Hopper's place; they play a different version of spin the bottle which El uses her powers to see what certain people are doing. After getting Billy, El notices something unusual when she saw Billy and Heather, the lifeguard. Soon they try to find Billy at his house; which he wasn't but found empty bags of ice in the tub and Heather's lifeguard bag. More to come later.

After a disappointing dinner, Hopper gets a visit from Joyce, who thinks something is going on once again and tell him about the magnets falling off. It soon turned into an adventure at the old lab again but also had a moment where they confront certain things like Joyce redoing her house to move out of Hawkins. Also, Hopper tells Joyce about why she should stay and the difference between what she has here compared to him.  But soon they hear something and as Hopper searches; he gets his ass beat up by the mysterious biker, the one that was seen at the mayor's office.

As Dustin and Steve look for Russians at the mall; Robin cracks the code that the Russians are in the mall. Soon they spy on a truck that's dropping off packages that look funny as there are bodyguards with guns.

Through this season, Will has been the only one that doesn't want to let go of what his group has had, but the times they are a changing. After trying to get Mike and Lucas to play D&D, it didn't go the way he had hoped and ran off. It turned into one of the saddest moments so far when Will looking back at the times with his friends later destroys everything in his clubhouse.

After putting together a good investigating story; Nancy gets shut down by the editor but also gets made fun of as well. Her and Johnathan get proof of the rat but when they visit that elderly woman's house they had found something that they never expected....the woman eating fertilizer.

After finding Heather's bag, El and Max head to the swimming pool to find her but apparently, she didn't come to work. So El uses a photo of Heather to see where she is located; which lead them to her house. There they see Billy eating with Heather's parents, one of the editors of the paper. After seeing that Heather is okay; El and Max leave. But evil Billy remembers who El was and soon gets Heather's parents killed by Heather. While Will gets another feeling and this time he tells Mike and Lucas that he's back.

So far, three episodes in and the season have really gotten better. The Hopper and Joyce story was so good; along with Will, who really stole the moment of the episode with a nice performance. So many twist and turns and even moments that really had me jumping off my seat. Looks like the upsidedown monster is back and boy this time it's not playing around this time. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Season 3 of Stranger Things available now on Netflix.

Reunited And It Feels So Good: Stranger Things 3 " "Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?"/"Chapter Two: The Mall Rats"

"Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?" 
God Bless Netflix! The third season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things has released its episodes and it wasn't a disappointment at all. 

It's June 28, 1984, and the Russian military is trying to reopen the gate to the Upsidedown world but failed to do so.  A year later, in Hopkins, Dustin is back from camp; Steve is working at an ice cream shop, "Scoops Ahoy," but gives Mike, Will, Max, and Lucas access to sneak into the new mail theater. Not to mention that things with Mike and Eleven are going very well in their relationship and making Hopper's lie a living hell.  

But something has been sprung once again, as Will has been feeling the hair-raising feeling about it once again, but doesn't tell anyone. After a short power outage, things get weirder when rats run together to a factory, where they die in pain and explode. 

Nancy and Johnathan are working at Hopkin's newspaper. Their relationship is on good terms but Nancy's job as an intern is all good. She gets turndown badly for an idea for a news story from a group of men.   

Hopper asks for help from Joyce about Mike and Eleven's relationship, even getting some moments that are clear that they should be in a relationship with one another. After giving Hopper what to say, she not only turns him down for a visit to help him out but stays home and reflects on what she had with Bob as she watches a rerun episode of Cheers. As for Hopper, the talk didn't go the way he had planned; instead, he did it his way by talking to Mike while driving him home. 

After Dustin's reunion with the group, he tells them that he's met this girl at camp and invented the giant communication radio called Cerebro. But after hours, it seems that Dustin doesn't have a girlfriend from Utah; but instead gets a communication from the Russian military, who seems to have opened the door to the Upsidedown. As  Billy is about to pick up Mike's mother for a little late-night swimming lesson, he gets into a mysterious accident with something that literally pulls him into the factory. 

I very much enjoyed this episode from the beginning to the end, as it had both the balance of where we left off since the season two finale to where we are going into this season. The character development was good, with some moments being so awkward at times, mainly Billy hitting on Mike's mother. But it was overshadowed by moments from Mike and Eleven, Hopper and Joyce, and even Mike, Eleven, and Hooper, which was hilarious. I think we might need to tell Hopper to take some time to have a cup of coffee and contemplation. Plus the music was perfect in this episode. I think that what we're in for this season could be even bigger than what our characters will face. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.
"Chapter Two: The Mall Rats"
Hearts are broken, power is used, even cracking the code and that's just the tip of the iceberg in this second episode of Stranger Things. 

I'm just going to come out and say it; Eleven and Mike have broken up. After that talk with Hopper, Mike tells Eleven that he can't see her at this time because of his sick grandmother. But with the help from Max; Eleven learns that it's all a lie. After hanging out with Max at the mall, Eleven "dumps (mike's) ass." 

Meanwhile, Hopper is on cloud nine with the whole Eleven and Mike thing. He tells Joyce and asks her out (not a date) for dinner. But instead of meeting him for dinner, she seeks an explanation for the recent events of magnets falling at her house and works by asking for help from the kid's science teacher. So she missed dinner with Hopper. Even worse for Hopper, he gets asked by the Mayor, who approved the mall in town, to get rid of the protesters because they didn't have the permits. 

Dustin and Steve reunite and it feels all so good to see these two back together. Dustin tells Steve that he intercepts a message from the Russians. They try to crack the code and even get help from Robin, Steve's co-worker. Soon, they were able to crack the message with what seemed to be nonsense sentences. But as they leave Steve figures out something from the message, the music as it would be playing in a mechanical horse ride. The message doesn't seem to be from Russia but from Hopkins. 

Nancy and Johnathan are on the news scoop. They investigate the call from an elderly woman, who tells them that she has seen rats eat her ferderizilers. But not to worry, she kept one of them in a cage. Just as Nancy gets a tip from another place about rats, Johnathan leaves just when the rat not only explodes but escapes the cage and house too. 

Billy has not been himself in this episode; he did meet a twin of his in the upsidedown. Mike's mom tries to talk to him, but he dumps her off not to mention his co-worker at the pool, who is taken back to the old factory where she's getting the same treatment as Billy did. 

"The Mall Rats" was a very thrilling, intense, and fun episode. I just ate up the Eleven and Max story as they hang out at the mall and their montage was just so good. Couldn't argue that the Dustin and Steve scene was a real scene stealer in this episode. The show as really turn the level on this season up. Does anyone feel that Steve and Robin would fall in love during this season; or will Robin die by the end of the season? Very good character development and the writing was really good. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Stranger Things Season 3 available now on Netflix with Seasons one and Two available now