Stranger Things 3X8: Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt

Okay, so it definitely was a piece of the Mind Flayer/Demogorgon (I'm still not sure of the difference between the two) stuck in El's leg. Initially, Jonathan tries to dig it out with a knife and and his hand, but eventually, she tells him she'll do it herself, and uses, basically, all her strength to get it out. Afterwards, she's completely drained, and never gets her powers back.

Hopper, Joyce, and Murray show up, and come up with a plan. The three of them will go down to the gate, Dustin and Erica will navigate from Dustin's super radio tower, and the rest will protect El, since she's what the Mind Flayer is actually after. Steve and Robin go with Dustin and Erica.

They group with El tries to leave the mall, only to find that Billy has disabled the car and ready to kill them. They head back into the mall, but Billy sees and sends the Mind Flayer after them. Billy attacks El, Mike, and Max, and brings El as on offering of sorts, to the Mind Flayer. However, El is able to reach inside Billy's mind and free him from the Mind Flayer. He then sacrifices himself to save El.

Meanwhile, Joyce, Hopper, and Murray are trying to blow up the machine that re-opening the gate. If they destroy it, the Mind Flayer will die. Just as Joyce and Hopper are about to turn their keys to make it explode, the Russian Terminator shows up and attacks Hopper. Then Joyce. Both are unconscious for a time. Hopper comes to and the two of them fight. They end up down by the machine. While this is happening Dustin is repeatedly screaming into the walkie-talkie for the them to hurry up and destroy the gate. Joyce comes to, and realizing she's alone, devices a plan to turn both keys at once. Hopper has defeated the RT, but he's unable to get back to safety in time, and they decide that Joyce will blow it up and he'll die. I have no idea why they came to this decision, but they did. I don't understand why he couldn't just run back up into the room with her. She does, the gate closes, the Mind Flayer is dead, and it seems like so is Hopper (but I'm still holding out hope he somehow got transported to Russia during the explosion).

We cut to three months later, and the Byers' and El are planning to leave town (I guess Joyce is just basically adopting El). Jonathan and Nancy say their goodbyes, as do Mike and El, but they make plans to get together over the holidays.

And then we get a post credit scene. We're in Russia and some soldier are looking for a prison, but they say, 'Not the American,' (Please, for all that is good and holy, let this American be Hopper) and chose another one. They stick it in a larger cage and release a Demogorgon that eats him. Are we using them as weapons? A form of punishment? What the hell is happening here?

I don't know where we go for S4. Everything is so altered right now. Billy and Hopper are dead (maybe), El has no powers, she and the Byers are moving, the gate is closed and the Mind Flayer is dead, the mall is destroyed. Where do we go from here?