Stranger Things season 4 is almost upon us. Here's everything to remember from Stranger Things season 3, and the biggest lingering questions.
Struggling to remember what went down in Stranger Things season 3? Here's everything you need to know ahead of season 4's premiere. Stranger Things made a huge splash when the strangeness began in 2016, redefining Netflix's original content and launching/relaunching the careers of virtually everyone involved. As Stranger Things transformed into a Spielberg-drenched cultural behemoth - and as Hollywood came a-calling for the young cast - the Duffer brothers' humble Goonies-with-horror concept grew to Mind Flayer-esque proportions, increasing in ambition each and every season.
The gap between Stranger Things seasons 1 & 2 was a relatively standard 15 months, but the waiting time between seasons 2 & 3 nudged two years. By the time Stranger Things season 4 hits Netflix, almost three painful years would've passed since we last visited Hawkins, Indiana. Contributing to that unbearably long gap was COVID-19, of course, but also the sheer scale of the Duffers' vision. According to the brothers themselves, Stranger Things season 4 simply kept expanding in scale, necessitating more production time to execute those ideas onscreen. Glancing at season 4's episode lengths - some exceeding most movie runtimes - you can see where that extra work went.
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The three-year gulf between Stranger Things seasons 3 & 4 means audiences will have hazy memories of where the story left off. What happened to the Hawkins kids? Who died? Where is everyone when the new season begins? Here's everything worth remembering ahead of Stranger Things season 4.
Stranger Things season 2 ended with the evil Upside Down creature known as the Mind Flayer pushed back into its native dimension by Eleven when she psychically shut the dimensional gate underneath Hawkins' lab. The Stranger Things gang also managed to free their beleaguered pal Will Byers from Mind Flyer possession, exorcising a chunk of the monster from young Will's body.
The events of Stranger Things season 3 are triggered when USSR scientists secretly crack open another Upside Down gate beneath Starcourt Mall. The schism between worlds means the Mind Flayer can reestablish a psychic connection to the chunk of gunk removed from Will's body, allowing the monster to construct a real-world body from dead rats and possessed Hawkins residents. The Mind Flayer also inhabits Max's brother Billy as its chief servant. Seeking to dominate life beyond the Upside Down and kill Eleven in revenge for shutting the gate in Stranger Things season 2, the final showdown against the Mind Flayer begins at Starcourt Mall.
The Flayed Billy takes Eleven hostage and presents her to the Upside Down beast's fleshy avatar, but when Eleven used her psychic powers to commune with Billy earlier in Stranger Things season 3, she witnessed his most personal, treasured memories from childhood. By reminding the possessed Billy of these times with his mother, she sparks resistance from the real Billy Hargrove's oppressed consciousness. Fighting back against the Mind Flayer's control, Billy protects Eleven, but is killed for his trouble.
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As one battle rages inside Starcourt Mall, another happens underground. While the Stranger Things kids distract the Mind Flayer and protect Eleven (with a reinvigorated Billy's help), Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper and Murray Bauman fight desperately to power down the Russian "Key" - a laser machine that opens an Upside Down gate. In theory, this will close the psychic link between dimensions, and stop the Mind Flayer in its tracks. The machine's shutdown process usually requires two separate keys turned at the same time, but Hopper's attention is diverted by a sudden appearance from Grigori, the Terminator-esque USSR henchman. Although Joyce figures out an innovative method of turning both switches while her boyfriend pummels the Schwarzenegger impersonator, Hopper finds himself trapped in the Key chamber, and solemnly nods to Joyce as permission to go ahead. The shutdown causes a massive explosion that disintegrates anyone standing in the blast zone.
Joyce and Hopper's plan is a success - the Mind Flayer body in the mall above collapses, and the battle is over. But does this mean the Mind Flayer is dead? Not quite. The massive black monster corpse lying in Starcourt Mall is just a proxy body psychically constructed from rats and other assorted victims. The real Mind Flayer remains in the Upside Down, so when Joyce shuts down the Key, she's merely recreating Eleven's trick from Stranger Things season 2 - severing the link between worlds that allows the Mind Flayer to wreak havoc. Although the creature hasn't appeared in marketing material or trailers, it's absolutely possible that the Mind Flayer returns in Stranger Things season 4. The genuine article is out there somewhere in the Upside Down, and probably angrier than ever.
Jim Hopper is standing directly by the Key when Joyce destroys it, so the Stranger Things world naturally assumes he died in the ensuing explosion. Fortunately for David Harbour fans, season 3's final moments prove otherwise. As confirmed by trailer footage released ahead of Stranger Things season 4, Hopper is now a Russian prisoner, and this surprise twist was teased as early as season 3's premiere. Before the USSR built the machine underneath Starcourt Mall in Hawkins, another gate-making Key was constructed in Russia. Since Hopper survived, we can perhaps assume he jumped through the Hawkins gate before Joyce closed it, then reemerged out the Russian side. The random American cop materializing at a foreign military research facility obviously would've been arrested, and that's exactly where we find Hopper in Stranger Things season 4. This theory would also explain why Hopper's prison also houses a pet demogorgon.
Stranger Things must still address exactly how Hopper averted certain death in season 3's finale, and whether he really did choose the unknown of the Upside Down over an inevitably messy death, or found some other means of escape. Viewers will enter season 4 wondering whether Hopper escapes his Soviet incarceration and returns to Hawkins. Trailer footage has teased Hopper leading some kind of great escape, and also (blink-and-you'll-miss-it) shows Joyce and Murray in a snowy environment that definitely isn't California. They're likely attempting to spring Hopper from jail. All clues point toward Hopper breaking free, but don't expect a swift resolution.
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When the average Stranger Things fan thinks of Eleven, they imagine psychic powers and bloody nostrils, but those famous powers let Millie Bobby Brown's character down during Stranger Things season 3's climatic battle. During an earlier fight against the Mind Flayer's proxy body, Eleven suffered a nasty bite to the leg, and a chunk of the creature's flesh was left inside her. After reaching the relative safety of Starcourt Mall, Eleven managed to telekinetically lift the foreign body from her shin, but those powers have been inaccessible ever since. During the final Mind Flayer fight and even after the dust has settled, Eleven's abilities appear totally lost, and a complete explanation hasn't yet been provided. Maybe the Mind Flayer's flesh stole away whatever fueled Eleven's psychic prowess, or perhaps the creature left behind a poison that suppresses it.
Will Eleven's powers return in Stranger Things season 4? Quite simply, they have to. It's unfeasible that an entire season of Stranger Things would pass with Eleven as a regular kid, and though she'll likely not bounce back to full working order in episode 1, Eleven must recover her trademark talent eventually. If not, this season will feel even longer than it actually is. Thankfully, trailer material has already laid the foundations for Eleven's powers to resurface. The nosebleed-free teen is visited by Dr. Owens, who warns of an impending war between worlds and essentially admits the world is screwed unless Eleven rediscovers her mojo. This dire forecast should set Millie Bobby Brown's protagonist on a path toward reawakening her dormant abilities.
Having largely stayed within the borders of Hawkins during previous years, the character logistics of Stranger Things season 4 are way more scattered. Jim Hopper has found himself in Russia somehow, while a large group of the main cast remain in Hawkins - Mike and the Wheeler family, Lucas and Erica, Max, Dustin, Steve Harrington and Robin. After 3 seasons of mishaps and calamity, Joyce Byers takes the overdue decision to leave Hawkins behind, and relocates to California alongside her sons Will and Jonathan. In the aftermath of Hopper's death, Joyce has also adopted Eleven (and given her the haircut to match). Stranger Things season 4 trailers keep these two groups separated, meaning the narrative will likely stay split between Hawkins, California and Russia for quite a while. Having said that, chemistry and camaraderie between characters is arguably Stranger Things' best asset, so a reunion looks inevitable further down the line.
Stranger Things season 3 ends with Hawkins lab still abandoned and the Russians removed from Starcourt mall, but the presence of Dr. Brenner hangs heavy in the air, and Matthew Modine is a confirmed returnee for season 4. Netflix already released a Brenner flashback from the upcoming premiere episode, but could the villain also return in Stranger Things' present day timeline?
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Dr. Brenner was last seen being viciously attacked by a demogorgon during Stranger Things season 1's climax, but the audience never spy a body, and his fate is left ambiguous. Stranger Things season 2 later confirmed Brenner's survival, as Kali revealed to a stunned Eleven that the man who tortured her was still breathing. Though the Brenner trail has since turned cold, Stranger Things will surely revisit his arc in season 4. When Eleven realizes she needs to reawaken her powers for the coming Upside Down war, maybe she tracks the sadistic doctor down for assistance. Brenner is, after all, the man who nurtured those gifts in the first place.
The gray-eyed, corpse-like Upside Down monster shown in Stranger Things season 4's trailer is Vecna, the story's brand new antagonist. Though little is known about this newcomer, many theories mention a connection to the season 4 setting of Creel house, once owned by Robert Englund's Victor Creel. Other theories suggest Vecna is the Upside Down's creator and true ruler, which fits the Dungeons & Dragons lore all Stranger Things monsters are based on. Vecna is typically considered the most powerful enemy in tabletop gaming, so it's only natural he's the big boss as Stranger Things enters the "beginning of the end." As mentioned above, the Mind Flayer is still very much in play too, and it'll be interesting to see how these two villains are linked. Is the Mind Flayer a servant of Vecna? Does Vecna overthrow his spidery Upside Down counterpart? We can be fairly sure Vecna is behind the "war" Dr. Owens warns Eleven about, but then how does Owens know danger is approaching if all gates to the Upside Down are closed? All will be revealed in Stranger Things season 4.
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