Stranger Things – Chapter 1: The Vanishing of Will Byers (Summary)

The episode starts with the date: November 6th, 1983. Some scientist is running from something. He gets into the elevator and something snatches him from above.

Four boys are playing some role-playing game. Mike is the narrator. His mom goes to the basement where they are playing and tells him it’s time to sleep. The boys get on their bikes and head to their homes.

Will almost runs into something. He runs home, leaving his bike behind but no one is home. He heads into the shed when he finds a shadow by the door, loads up a rifle and something snatches him from behind. He disappears.

Jim Hopper, the police chief, wakes up, smokes a cigarette and heads to the police station. Meanwhile, Joyce, Will’s mother, calls Karen Wheeler to ask if Will is still there. She then heads to the police station.

The three boys, Mike, Dustin and Lucas find that Will isn’t at school as they didn’t see his bike. They feel strange about it right before getting bullied. Meanwhile, Nancy Wheeler receives a message from Steve so they would meet up and make out in school. (See Why Stranger Things became so popular?)

Joyce meets up with the chief, Jim Hopper, telling him about her son. He’s skeptical and he seems not to care but she doesn’t cut him any slack and insists that he should search for her son.

The scientists in the laboratory take some serious security measures. It seems that something happened. They start talking about a girl. Meanwhile, a girl shows up at a restaurant to steal some food but the cook catches her. (See Stranger Things – Chapter 2: The Weirdo on Maple Street (Summary))

The science teacher, Mr. Clarke, shows the boys the new radio. Meanwhile, Jim Hopper goes to the school and investigates the boys. They tell him about Murkwood, the road which Will took home. Hopper tells them not to search for him.

Joyce and Jonathon head to the backyard where Will had a tent which he called ‘Castle Byers’. She goes into a heart-warming flashback while Jonathon continues to search for Will.

The cook makes the girl some burger and tells her that he is going to take the food away if she doesn’t talk. He notices the ‘011’ tattoo on her left arm and asks her about it. All she says is ‘Eleven’ is her name. The cook then calls the authorities. Eleven shows telepathic powers stopping the fan.

The police searches for Will then Hopper finds his bike. They head back to the Byers’ while Joyce attempts to call her ex-husband. Hopper inspects the house thoroughly and finds that Will went into the shed.

Nancy and Michael get into an argument at the dinner table. Ted, their father, doesn’t seem to care about anything but the language Nancy uses. The dinner gets messed up and they are stuck at home.

Hopper and Mr. Clarke chat about Will then Hopper tells Clarke that he’s not into science because of his old teacher. Then he talks about Sarah, his daughter. A woman tells Mr. Clarke that Sarah died a few years back. Meanwhile, the kids decide to meet up and Steve sneaks into Nancy’s room.

The cook makes Eleven smile then the bell rings. He answers and the lady tells him that she works with the authorities. She asks about Eleven and when the cook turns around, she shoots him. Eleven manages to escape, making two guys shoot each other with her mind.

Joyce receives a phone call from Will then the phone is electrified and damaged. Meanwhile, the three boys search in the woods and suddenly come across Eleven.