Spoilers for Stranger Things season 2 episode 1.
A police chase in Pittsburgh ends when a young woman makes the pursuing officers see a tunnel collapse that has not happened. Her wrist bears the number 008. In Hawkins, Dustin discovers that someone called MADMAX has beaten his arcade scores. He and Lucas suspect the new girl at school, Max, and watch her play Dig Dug. Max's stepbrother Billy also arrives at Hawkins High, drawing attention with his car and aggressive manner. Will's afternoon at the arcade is interrupted by a vision of the Upside Down, leaving him alone in a decaying version of a place that was crowded moments before.
Joyce takes Will to Hawkins Lab, where Dr. Owens asks about these episodes and attributes them to the anniversary of his ordeal. Will describes a threatening presence that wants to hurt other people. Hopper investigates rotting pumpkins while the laboratory continues burning growth around the gate. Nancy and Steve visit Barb's parents, who are selling their house to fund Murray Bauman's investigation into their missing daughter. Unable to tell them that Barb is dead, Nancy cries alone in their bathroom. Mike keeps trying to reach Eleven by radio without an answer. That night, Will sees an enormous shadow creature above his house. Hopper returns to a hidden cabin in the woods, where Eleven is alive and waiting for him.