S1E4 · Chapter Four: The Body

Complete story — includes the ending

Joyce refuses to believe that the body found at the quarry is Will's. Mike feels betrayed by Eleven until she proves that Will is still alive, channeling his voice through Mike's walkie-talkie. The boys theorize that Eleven could use a ham radio at their school to communicate with Will. Nancy notices a figure behind Barb in Jonathan's photo, which Jonathan realizes matches his mother's description of the Demogorgon. Nancy tells the police about Barb's disappearance. She later fights with Steve, who not only does not care about Barb but only cares about not getting in trouble with his father. Hopper has suspicions regarding the authenticity of the body found in the quarry when he learns that the usual coroner was sent home. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found it and beats him until he admits he was ordered to lie. The boys sneak Eleven into their school to use the radio, while Joyce hears Will's voice through her living room wall. Tearing away the wallpaper, she sees him. Eleven uses the radio to channel Will talking to his mother. Hopper goes to the morgue and finds that the body is a fake, and, suspecting that Brenner is responsible, breaks into the lab.