One of the Most Intense Stranger Things Scenes Was Totally Improvised
When Billy (Dacre Montgomery) died in Stranger Things season 3, it was pretty intense. Billy's demise was particularly heart-wrenching as the bad boy's redemption meant he saved Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) from the creature that had been possessing him since episode 2.
Of all the intense moments in the season, one stands out in particular. During episode 4, "The Sauna Test", the youngsters are attempting to lure Billy into a sauna to destroy him and the creature possessing him.
Preparing for the scene
Rehearsals for the sauna scene took three months of stunt choreography and storyboarding before it was shot. There was only one part where a stunt double was used to stand in for Billy when he was being held up against the wall with a metal bar. The rest of the sequence was shot with Millie and Dacre performing.
For the final two to the three-minute scene, the team notoriously spent four full days on set with each day being ten to twelve hours long.
For maximum impact and intensity, the scene was also shot only on two hand-held cameras.
Scene improvisation
There were two unscripted aspects of this scene that made the cut. Firstly, when Billy was stuck inside the sauna he improvised by heat-butting the sauna door. The glass shattered unexpectedly, which surprised and horrified the actors. Their expressions are, in fact, genuine!
But the most surprising part of the scene is when Eleven collapses into Mike's (Finn Wolfhard) arms after launching Billy through the wall. This was not in the script at all and the reaction from Millie Bobby Brown is one of genuine exhaustion after being in such an intense scene for four long days. If you rewatch the scene, you can even catch glimpses of Finn looking to the directors for what to do next.
The show's executive producer, Shawn Levy, kept this ending in the final cut because he loved it so much and, despite it being a true reflection of an overworked and exhausted child, it fit the narrative.
The scene itself is the epitome of what makes Stranger Things so good. We get the chemistry between Mike and Eleven, Eleven's impressive wall-breaking powers, an insight into the care Max has for her mean stepbrother (which is explored further in season 4), Billy's remorse, and Mike risking himself to save Eleven. The only thing missing is Dustin, otherwise, it's got almost everything that makes the series so great.