Stranger Things 4 Seasons: Every Episode Examined to Catch You Up

A whole new season of Stranger Things is about to happen. Before long, you’ll join the adventures of the citizens of Hawkins in a dangerous fictional world of the 1980s filled with powerful monsters. To prepare you for Stranger Things 4 Seasons, here is everything you should know from the series thus far.

Season 1

A major focus of the season is journey to the Upside Down, an alternate dimension with a lot of scary beings in it, then finding the way back to the real world.

· The Vanishing of Will Byers—Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin are the cool guys in their own small nerdy world in Hawkins, Indiana. After a session of Dungeons & Dragons with his buddies, Will rides his bike home. Everything looks just fine until a monster, which has previously snatched a scientist at Hawkins National Laboratory, kidnaps him. No one knows if Will is alive or dead.

· The Weirdo on Maple Street—The disappearance triggers a major town-wide search. Help comes from an unexpected source or person, nicknamed Eleven (or El), who has been secretly living in Will’s basement to hide from a government agency trying to capture her. Unlike most girls, El has the ability to move objects using nothing but her mind. She has a shaved-head and a mysterious tattoo.

· Holly, Jolly—Hawkins Police Department Chief Jim Hopper and Joyce (Will’s mother) lead the search for the missing boy. Elsewhere in the town, Nancy and Barb are having a good time at a pool party. While Nancy enjoys the company of Steve Harrington, she doesn’t realize that Barb has been violently kidnapped by a Demogorgon. Barb is now in an alternate dimension known as Upside Down.

· The Body—The search for Will continues. Eleven leads the boys to a quarry, where state troopers recover the body of a child. Eleven channels Will’s voice to a walkie-talkie, indicating that Will actually is still alive. Hopper isn’t really convinced about the entire event, so he investigates further and reveals that the body was nothing but a dummy. His first suspect is Dr. Martin Brenner of the Hawkins Lab.

· The Flea and the Acrobat—Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, along with their new mysterious friend, Eleven, discover that Will has been taken to another world. He is alive, but in a different realm. They keep on searching for ways to gain access to the strange place. A science teacher gives an interesting metaphor: a flea that goes upside down and an acrobat that can only move back and forth on a rope.

· The Monster—Eleven’s telekinetic abilities apparently have some sort of storytelling purpose. The government wants her captured not because of her superhuman ability – which can be dangerous – but it turns out that she is the property of the Department of Energy. Hopper and Joyce set out on a quest to track down El’s birth mother, who unfortunately is now suffering from catatonia.

· The Bathtub—Joyce pushes El to help find and rescue Will. At this point, El has grown to understand that some people can be affectionate and care about her. El is somehow the catalyst that encourages the union of main characters here: Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Joyce, and Hopper. Even Nancy and Jonathan, who have worked on their own, are now joining the team.

· The Upside Down—El opens the gate to the alternate dimension and eventually sacrifices herself to save Will. Now back in the real world, Will is recovering in a hospital room. Surrounded by his Dungeons & Dragons friends, they remember and tell stories about El.

Season 2

The fight against Upside Down is not over yet. Now, the citizens of Hawkins are under attack by an entity known as the Mind Flayer. Everyone must join forces to defeat a new monster sent by an old enemy.

· MADMAX—It has been 352 days since El disappeared in the Upside Down to rescue Will. As the name implies, “Eleven” is not the only one with the telekinetic abilities; there are 10 others like her. The town of Hawkins has two newcomers: Billy, who drives a Camaro, and Maxine, who likes skateboarding. Both are from California. Joyce is now dating the man who manages the local radio shack, Bob.

· Trick or Treat, Freak—Police Chief Hopper is investigating a curious case of a pumpkin patch, where every single pumpkin turns black. After taking a deeper look into the situation, he comes to the conclusion that the source of the problem is – just like last year – something in Hawkins National Laboratory. The boys are safe now, but Will has been experiencing episodes of hallucinations lately. Also, El is alive.

· The Pollywog—After the battle in Upside Down, El managed to find an exit from that realm and went back to the real world. Hopper knows all along she’s alive, but it is important for him to stay quiet about it; otherwise, there can be government agents coming and chasing her all over again. Dustin finds a pollywog, which he calls Dart (short for D'Artagnan). Will thinks Dart is from the Upside Down.

· Will the Wise—Barb’s parents learn that their daughter died in an alternate dimension. Will is not suffering from hallucinations; a monster has taken control over his mind. Whatever is inside Will, it doesn’t like heat. Dart escapes from the cage and devours Dustin’s cat. Dustin realizes that Dart is a small Demogorgon. Hopper figures out there is a tunnel leading to the Upside Down beneath one of the pumpkin fields.

· Dig Dug—In a hallucination-like episode, Will has a vision of Hopper being trapped underground. In some instances, Will doesn’t seem to have control over his own hand movements. He draws scribbles. Bob knows the scribbles are actually map of some sorts. After a closer look, Bob understands that Will is trying to show where Hopper is. Everyone goes to the pumpkin field to save the police chief.

· The Spy—Will mentions he knows how to stop the monster, or Mind Flayer, inside him. After one of his scribble lines is turned into a more understandable image, he points to a location where Dr. Sam Owens, the new director of Hawkins Lab, should send a team. Dr. Owens assumes that Will’s mind is affected by a virus.

· The Lost Sister—Eleven tracks down a girl known as Kali. In the past they were unwilling participants of government experiments. There might others apart from Eleven (011) and Eight (008).

· The Mind Flayer—The monsters are attacking the lab. Mike knows that Will (or rather the monster inside his mind) acts as a spy for the Upside Down. Will must be sedated to prevent him from tracking the gang. Bob opens a path for Mike, Dr. Owens, Joyce, Hopper, and Will to escape. However, Bob himself is attacked and killed. More monsters are now preparing to attack the Hawkins Lab.

· The Gate—Eleven is back. The gate connecting Hawkins Lab and the Upside Down must be closed, otherwise the monsters will come through it and ruin the real world. Eleven and Hopper go straight to the gate and work together to neutralize the threat. Realizing that the monster in Will doesn’t like heat, Nancy uses fire iron to force the Mind Flayer out of his brain.

Season 3

The previous season came to a conclusion when Hawkins Lab was finally saved. The gate connecting the real world to Upside Down has been closed and the Mind Flayer is no longer affecting Will.

· Suzie, Do You Copy?—In 1984, Soviet scientists are working to force open a new gate to the Upside Down. It worked, albeit for a brief moment. Fast forward to 1985 in Hawkins, there are few blooming romantic relationships. Mike and Eleven are in the “only kissing” stage; Dustin wants to contact his new girlfriend, Suzie, with his radio but ends up intercepting a Russian transmission instead; and Billy was on his way for a sexual encounter with Mrs. Wheeler when he was dragged away by an unseen force into the basement of an abandoned warehouse.

· The Mall Rats—Billy survives the attack, but he becomes a bit different, as if he is not entirely himself. Elsewhere, Max and Eleven have become new BFFs when shopping at the brand spanking new Starcourt Mall. Nancy and Jonathan, who now work for Hawkins Post, are visiting Mrs. Driscoll to look into a report of rabid rats. Dustin brings in Steve and another former classmate named Robin to help translate the Russian transmission.

· The Case of the Missing Lifeguard—The rabid rats are not only in the home of Mrs. Driscoll, but in homes all across town. Nancy and Jonathan discover Mrs. Driscoll eating fertilizer like the rabid rats do. Joyce suspects that an electromagnetic device in Hawkins Lab causes many object to lose magnetism. She and Hopper go to investigate at the lab. Will senses something strange is happening to Billy.

· The Sauna Test—It turns out that Billy, his fellow lifeguard Heather, and her parents are under the control of the Mind Flayer. Will, Mike, Eleven, Lucas, and Max make a plan to apprehend Billy and confirm if he is really possessed. Nancy and Jonathan are no longer hired by the Hawkins Post because of the news regarding Mrs. Driscoll.

· The Flayed—Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica (Lucas’ sister) discover a Russian Lab underneath the new mall. While searching for communication room, the group comes across an experiment area where scientists are trying to open the gate to the Upside Down. Nancy and Jonathan regroup with Will, Mike, Max, Eleven, and Lucas; they think the Mind Flayer is building an army of possessed people.

· E Pluribus Unum—Hopper and Joyce figure out (from a scientist named Alexei) that the Russians are trying to access the Upside Down. They inform Dr. Owens of the threat. Eleven uses her power to communicate with Billy. The Mind Flayer is now aware of Eleven’s position. Billy reveals that El is the primary target.

· The Bite: Will senses that the Mind Flayer is coming in hot. It attacks the group and manages to inflict an injury on El. Dustin contacts the group using walkie-talkie and explains the situation underneath the mall. Some Russians are now hunting Dustin’s group, but El’s group arrives just in time to the rescue.

· The Battle of Starcourt: the wounded El cannot do much due to the injury. That said, she is still able to free Billy from the control of Mind Flayer. Joyce triggers an explosion to destroy the gate. In the end, the Mind Flayer dies and the new mall is up for a demolition.

Stranger Things Season 4: What happened in Episodes 1-9?

Will there be a Season 5?

Stranger Things Season 4 features a much darker villain than ever before. The boys and girls at Hawkins (and some adults, too!) are still dealing with the aftermath of the battle against the Upside Down from the previous seasons, and now the villain is much more gruesome. Vecna, a demonic creature spawned from one of Hawkins’ own troubled residents, is hungry for blood.

Season 4 Part 1

Episode 1 – “The Hellfire Club”

Stranger Things marks its comeback with The Hellfire Club, the first episode of the fourth season. Much about the episode is a reintroduction to the characters. Eleven, Jonathan, Will, and Joyce now live in California. El no longer has her powers and is in an unfortunate situation of being targeted by bullies. There are also some indications that Hopper might still be alive. Chrissy Cunningham, a cheerleader at Hawkins High School, falls victim to an evil spell. Max, who is still grieving Billy’s death, notices the cheerleader entering Eddie Munson’s home, apparently to buy drugs. Soon afterward the cheerleader dies a gruesome death. Meanwhile Dustin and Mike are now members of the “Hellfire Club,” a group of Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts led by Eddie.

Episode 2 – “Vecna’s Curse”

Hopper is indeed alive. The explosion beneath the Starcourt Mall didn’t kill him after all. He is now in a Russian prison, being tortured. A ransom note arrives, asking for $40,000 for the safe return of the sheriff and telling Joyce to call the number written on the page. After the call and a conversation with an individual named “Enzo,” both Murray and Joyce realize the person is a Russian corrections officer Hopper bribed in the previous season. The drop point for the ransom is Alaska.

Fred and Nancy visit the neighborhood where the body of the cheerleader Chrissy is found. Unbeknownst to anybody else, Fred was in a car crash last summer; he accidentally killed an entire family. Now he also suffers from hallucinations. Somewhere in the woods, Fred sees the same strange clock that Chrissy did moments before her death. The family he killed in the car crash is also there, pointing their blame at him. Terrified of the situation, Fred makes a run for his life through the woods only to get killed in the same way as the cheerleader. Dustin, Robin, Steve, Max, and Eddie think that the mysterious deaths are somehow related to Vecna’s Curse, a dark spell casting its shadows over Hawkins.

Episode 3 – “The Monster and The Superhero”

El is involved in a fight with Angela, after which the latter suffers a concussion, and the El is taken into police custody. Dr. Owens intercepts the police car for two reasons: he has a plan to help El regain her power and that the mystery in Hawkins will be easier to solve if she is on board for the investigation. Robin and Nancy do some research about Vecna and think Vecna has always been in town since 1959. Assuming they are right, Victor Creel was wrongfully convicted for the murders of his family. Max and Nancy develop the same unexplainable symptoms as Fred like nightmares, nosebleed, headaches, and visions of a clock.

Episode 4 – “Dear Billy”

Murray and Joyce are in Alaska to deliver the ransom money. The worst happens: Yuri takes the money and then calls the warden along with the KGB to arrest the Americans. Max feels like she only has one day left before the curse takes her life. She writes a farewell letter to her friends and family. Robin and Nancy meet with Victor Creel, who tells them it was a demon who killed his family decades ago. Some detective work by the two leads them to Max at Billy’s grave. They come across Max being possessed and break the spell by playing her favorite song “Running up the Hill” by Kate Bush.

Episode 5 – “The Nina Project”

Hopper remains in a Russian prison. Murray and Joyce, while on their flight from Alaska to Russia, hijack the plane from their kidnapper and make an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere. In Hawkins, the crew discovers that Vecna uses the Creel family mansion as his lair. Vecna preys on another soul, Patrick. In an ICBM silo somewhere in Nevada, Dr. Owens and Dr. Brenner put their “NINA” project to good use for helping El access her lost memories. It’s a questionable tactic, but it works albeit for only a short while. Convinced of the benefits of the experiment, El is willing to keep on trying.

Episode 6 – “The Dive”

Joyce decides to disguise herself as a smuggler, and Murray pretends to be Yuri in the hope of infiltrating the Russian prison where Hopper is. In prison, Hopper is suspicious of a large feast being given for the prisoners. He thinks the guards are only trying to fatten them up so they can be fed to the Demogorgon. He steals a cigarette lighter, knowing the monster is terrified of fire. When Dustin realizes his compass doesn’t point north, he knows there is a gate to the Upside Down not far from his location. He follows the clues and determines that the gate is somewhere in Lover’s Lake. Steve takes a dive to have a better look and is attacked by a swarm of demonic bats. Back in Nevada, El remembers she killed people in the lab as a child.

Episode 7 – “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”

Vecna possesses Nancy, who then sees that Vecna is Henry, son of Victor Creel. Young Henry was capable of psychokinetic powers and used them to murder his own sister and mother, while framing his father for the crimes. Dr. Brenner used Henry as a test subject in an attempt to replicate his abilities. El now remembers Henry committed a massacre in the lab. She was the one who sent Henry to the Upside Down, where he transformed into Vecna.

Season 4 Part 2

Chapter 8 “Papa”

Episode 8 begins with an imminent problem: El in Nevada and the trio in Russia must get back to Hawkins at once to help everyone in town defeat the demonic Vecna. While Nancy is still under the curse, she has a glimpse of what Vecna intends to do. He wants to establish balance between Hawkins and the Upside Down. If the plan succeeds, it will basically remove the town from its real-world existence and make Hawkins an inseparable part of another dimension. To accomplish the objective, Vecna must open four gates, each requires a soul. Three are already in his bag.

Then Dustin has a brainiac idea. Vecna can only inflict death through the mind, and maybe, just like El when she exercises her power, her physical body is vulnerable. In the same way when Vecna intends to kill, his body is prone to attacks. Dustin also knows Vecna uses the attic in the Creel mansion as a lair. They must find Vecna’s body when he is busy attacking the fourth victim to have a real chance of ending his terrors. The problem is no one knows when the next attack will be. Max steps up. She knows Vecna still wants her soul, so she offers to be the bait for the plan.

Back in Nevada, El senses the far-from-perfect Hawkin’s plan and realizes to have a real shot at killing Vecna, the team needs her. Now that her powers are fully restored, she is ready to fight back, but this is where the “Papa” talks come to scene. Dr. Brenner keeps telling her that everything he has done thus far is for her own good, because he loves her like his own child. Furthermore, he tries to convince El that her abilities are still no match to Vecna’s powers. Thankfully El comes to realize that Dr. Brenner is the true monster, and all the regretful events in Hawkins are triggered by his desperate attempt to recover Henry from the Upside Down. When Henry was a boy, his anger put El in no position to do anything but open the first gate to the Upside Down in 1983.

The realization, however, angers Brenner, who then resorts to restraining El. The arrival of General Sullivan along with his heavy military power to kill El, forces Brenner to hide his hostage. During their run, and as a Surfer Boy Pizza van arrives thanks to Suzie’s tracking ability, Brenner takes a shot from a sniper in a helicopter. El responds to the attack by taking the aircraft down. The pizza van will take her to Indiana.

Murray, Joyce, Hopper, Antonov and Yuri manage to escape the Russian prison through the sewage pipes. They also discover a room full of Demogorgons in the prison. Antonov calls Owens to see if he can get help for them to return to Indiana.

Chapter 9 “The Piggyback”

Hopper and Joyce, in the season finale, kiss. It is a moment of joy before the phone rings. An agent working for Owens tells them that Eleven and the Byers kids are going to Hawkins to fight an evil that’s terrorizing the town, but the kids have gone radio silent. The first thing Joyce can think about is the Demogorgon, followed by the hive mind, and finally the Upside Down dust particles that are in the prison. She knows the “evil” must be connected to them as part of one massive organism. Attacking the hive should also inflict damage to the evil in Hawkins. So Joyce and Hopper go back to the prison to fight the Demogorgons.

The Surfer Pizza Van team in Nevada cannot possibly reach Hawkins in time. Eleven, with her superpowers, decides to mind-travel to Max’s memory and fight Vecna there instead. The plan seems to work, as Vecna intimidates Max and is about to execute her, Eleven pushes him back. Murray, Hopper, and Joyce have the upper hand against the Demogorgons. The moment Murray fires his flamethrower at the monsters, the bats fall to the ground and Vecna screams in agony. The vines also loosen their strangling grip on Nancy, Steve, and Robin.

As it turns out, Vecna/Henry/One is the undisputed ruler of the Upside Down. The Mind Flayer of the previous season existed with the sole purpose of taking away Eleven’s powers, but she did not lose her powers. The monster stole the powers from her on behalf of Vecna. Even with her powers now back to their full potential, One is simply too powerful a demon for Eleven to challenge. Thanks to Mike’s motivational (if not cheesy) speech, however, El feels empowered and throws Vecna away from Max. The blast renders Max unable to feel or see anything, and she falls into Lucas’ arms.

Nancy, Steve, and Robin locate Vecna’s vulnerable body. They throw some explosives, setting the body on fire. Nancy wields a shotgun and shoots Vecna out the window. Curious about what happens to the body, they go out for a look but see nothing. Vecna is not there, which only means he’s still alive and strong enough to run away. Then his clock chimes again, always four times. A giant X-shaped opening begins to consume Hawkins. Max is in a state of comma. The four gates are growing larger, and the Upside Down is finally in Hawkins.

Will There Be Season 5?

Matt Duffer has confirmed Season 4 will conclude with some loopholes. The statement implies there is going to be at least another season of Stranger Things, and clearly, with the bad guys still running amuck and little hope to stop them, we have decided there WILL definitely be a Season 5.

Where Season 3 of Stranger Things left a LOT to be desired, we LOVED Season 4. So much horror and character building, and enough reveals to keep us happy if/WHEN they come out with Season 5. Did you watch Season 4? If so, tell us what you thought about it. We’d love to hear from you.

Other things you might want to know about.

Will David Harbour (Hopper) be in Season 5?

According to hapersbazaar.com Hopper will be in season 5 with a lot to be revealed in his storyline. He lost 80 pounds for his role in season 4 by intermittent fasting and Pilates. After the shooting for season 4 was completed, he started packing on the pounds again for his role as Santa in a film called “Violent Night”. He stated that he loved his “dad bod” look and loves the idea of real bodies on television and making it real.

What will happen in season 5 of Stranger Things?

The Duffer Brothers have said that season 5 will wrap up the stories of all the characters in Hawkins. They also hinted that there could be a possible spin-off that will continue the Stranger Things world. Filming has not started (as of July 5, 2022), and it’s unclear what the shoot dates will be.

What are some interesting things about Millie Bobby Brown?

Millie Bobby Brown was born with a partial hearing loss, but now her hearing in that ear has completely faded away after years of tubes. When she is acting or singing she can’t fully hear herself. Sometimes she misses director cues unless it’s really loud. She has not let this hearing loss deter her from doing what she loves or wants to do.

Millie Bobby Brown was born in Marbella, Spain on February 19, 2004. She has three siblings. Her parents are from England. They moved back to England when she was four. At the age of 8, the family moved to Orlando Florida.

Brown has been in a relationship with actor Jake Bongiovi, son a musician Jon Bon Jovie since 2021.

Millie Bobby Brown has experienced online bullying which has made her decide to quit certain forms of social media.