(Jopper) Season 4 reunion

The Truth

Joyce: What do you mean you saw him? In a dream or something?
El: No. the reason I haven't been going to class is because I've been.. watching him.
Joyce sat up confused. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea of Jim being alive after watching him die right in front of her.
Joyce: El, look. I know ever since your dad died it's been hard. But saying things like this is only going to make the grieving process harder. We need to move on for the sake of Hop.

El begins to get angry, she's telling the truth and knows what she has to do to prove it to Joyce.

El: I am NOT lying! I can prove it. I know how to show you him.

Joyce looks completely stunned and slightly confused. Almost as if she could burst into tears at any moment.

Before Joyce could say anything, El came from behind and wrapped a scarf over Joyce's eyes.

El: I am about to show you him but you have to trust me

Joyce: I trust you

El walks over to her tv and turns it on so that it's static. She takes Joyce's hands. It sends chills down her back. She loved Joyce more than anything and wanted to express to her how grateful she was for becoming her mom. But she never found a chance to tell her.

El: I need you to think about a memory with him. Your favorite one, and hold onto it tightly. The more you think, the better you'll see him.

Joyce instantly thought of the fair. Days leading up to his death. They got stuck on a ride, neither of them wanted to ride. Trying to hide her fear, they both almost simultaneously held each other's hands. It was one of the first times she felt something extreme for him. She had always known that she loved him, but this moment sent chills down her spine and made her question what her love truly meant to her. This wasn't only a moment of love for her but for Hopper as well. He had hoped that she didn't notice his clammy hands. He saw an opportunity and he took it. He knew with the current climate of Hawkins that this may be one of the last opportunities he had to show her how he really felt for her. It was hard for him however because he never wanted to intentionally disrupt her grieving process for Bob. But he couldn't contain his love for her anymore.

El: are you thinking of it?
Joyce: yes, she said.
Tears began to seep through the scarf.

Before she knew it she was in a black room. Water at her feet. It was cold. She couldn't see anything. She turned around to see a slight light. She could hear El's voice in the distance.

El: walk towards the light

Joyce did as she was told. The nerves and idea of seeing someone she thought she lost was her was scary but she still felt doubt. She just didn't want El to know that she doubted her. She had watched Jim die.
Joyce continued to walk before she ends up falling on her knees. The sight she sees begins to rip her heart out of her chest. The whaling sound of her cried begin to echo in the dark room.
Right in front of her, she sees him.

Jim is chained to a wall.

Joyce begins to scream for him

Joyce: HOP, OH MY GOD HOPPER. God please listen to me, she sobbed. I thought you were dead. Where are you? I thought I lost you.

Her vision is now blurry, her eyes are feeling puffy. She's confused and ecstatic that the one person on this earth that she loved more than anything was alive. Now it was a matter of finding him.

Joyce: El, where is he?

El: He's in Russia.

The End💛