Stranger Things season 4 recap: What to remember ahead of season 5

As Stranger Things heads towards its conclusion, there’s a lot of backstory and details to keep in mind before the final showdown against Vecna in the Upside Down during season 5.

We’re here to help you catch up before the final episodes of the Netflix series arrive! We’ve broken down the entire fourth season, and the finale will be released in three parts throughout the holidays.

Here’s what happened, and where everyone stands before the finale.

Stranger Things season 4 recap: What happened ahead of the final season

In season four, the group gets separated, and the story follows four different storylines: one in 1979, one in California, one in Hawkins, and one in Russia.

The story jumps between the present and memories of 1979, revealing a tragic massacre at Hawkins Lab. Eleven was the sole person who lived through it.

It’s 1986, and Joyce has relocated Eleven (who no longer has her powers), Will, and Jonathan to California, hoping for a normal life away from the strange events of Hawkins. But when she receives a mysterious clue – a set of Russian nesting dolls – suggesting Hopper is still alive, Joyce and Murray travel to Russia to rescue him.

Things are changing in Hawkins. Lucas is focused on basketball and doesn’t spend as much time with his friends Mike and Dustin, who are now part of a Dungeons & Dragons club called The Hellfire Club, led by the rebellious Eddie Munson. Meanwhile, Max has withdrawn after her brother Billy’s death, often isolating herself with music and avoiding everyone.

Steve and Robin are still close friends and now work together at the video store. Meanwhile, Nancy is putting her skills to use at the local newspaper, working with journalist Fred.

As the story progresses and these courageous teenagers become the world’s last hope, it becomes clear they’ll have to team up again to confront their most dangerous enemy yet: a creature named Vecna, who is part monster and part human.

Who is Vecna and how is he connected to the gang?

Vecna hunts down teenagers who are struggling with past trauma. He torments them with frightening visions connected to a nightmarish alternate reality, weakening their minds before ultimately killing them. He raises them into the air, breaks their bones, and drains their life force, leaving their bodies horribly broken.

Chrissy Cunningham, a cheerleader dating the popular Jason, is the first to die. She sought out Eddie hoping he could help with disturbing visions, but she died while with him. The town immediately suspects Eddie, forcing him to go into hiding. Our group of friends, particularly Dustin, are determined to clear his name and prove he didn’t do it.

Vecna quickly begins killing, starting with Nancy’s colleague Fred and then focusing on Max. Each death weakens the barrier between worlds, letting the Upside Down expand. The group learns, through the story of a patient named Victor Creel, that certain music can help people fight Vecna by triggering positive memories. They use this knowledge – specifically Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” – to save Max from Vecna at the last possible moment.

It’s heartbreaking, but Victor Creel understood what was happening to Max because he’d lived through something similar decades ago – the loss of his wife and daughter. What he didn’t tell anyone, though, was the real reason. His son, Henry, was responsible. Even as a teenager, Henry had these incredible, frightening powers – psychic and telekinetic abilities. He ended up using them on his own family. Poor Victor was left to take the blame for everything. It’s just awful.

Henry was brought to Hawkins Lab and subjected to experiments by Dr. Brenner, becoming known as 001. After years there, he became friends with 011 (Eleven) and together they planned to change the world, with Henry believing he was superior to others.

After Henry killed everyone at the lab, El refused to side with him, leading to a fierce fight that she eventually won by banishing him to the Upside Down. There, the Mind Flayer took control of him, transforming him into Vecna. He remained in a warped version of the Creel House, guarded by demobats.

What happened in California?

Okay, so the film really dives into Eleven’s struggles. We find her in California, and honestly, she’s having a rough time. Without her powers, she’s feeling completely helpless and is getting relentlessly picked on. Things come to a head during a date with Mike – he’s visiting, which is sweet – and she just snaps at one of her bullies at the roller rink. It leads to her getting arrested, and it’s a really tough scene to watch because you can feel how much she’s been bottling up.

Once she’s recovered, Eleven learns what’s happening in Hawkins from Dr. Owens, and he offers to help her regain her abilities. This leads them to a hidden lab in Nevada, where she unexpectedly comes face-to-face with Dr. Brenner, the scientist she knew as “Papa.”

With the help of a sensory machine known as NINA, she eventually succeeds.

After their safe house is compromised, Mike, Jonathan, and Will hit the road in Argylle’s pizza van. During the trip, Will continues to grapple with his unexpressed feelings for Mike, who doesn’t realize how he feels, but finds support from Jonathan. They eventually locate El and rescue her from the military, though Brenner dies in the confrontation.

Now that her powers are fully restored, she can read the minds of her friends in Hawkins and see what they’re doing.

What happened in Russia?

At the end of season three, Hopper disappeared into a portal and has been imprisoned in Russia ever since. Everyone believes he is deceased.

Within the prison, Russians discovered a way to reach the Upside Down and were capturing demogorgons for research.

After learning Joyce’s son is still alive thanks to Enzo, she and Murray travel to Russia. They face danger from the KGB, experience betrayals from allies, and eventually find him, sharing a joyful reunion kiss. They then destroy the creatures the Russians had captured before returning home to Hawkins.

What happened in the Upside Down?

When Vecna kills again and creates a gateway above a lake, the group rushes to investigate, but Steve, Nancy, Robin, and Eddie find themselves trapped in the Upside Down, where they have to fight off terrifying bat-like creatures.

Dustin uses lights to signal his friends from the alternate dimension, and they plan to reunite at another gateway to return to Hawkins. They manage to escape, but Nancy is briefly pulled back and nearly captured by Vecna. Determined to defeat him, the group re-enters the dimension, now equipped with weapons, to confront Vecna.

Eddie creates a diversion with a powerful guitar solo to lure the demobats away from Vecna, allowing his friends to escape. However, he bravely chooses to stay behind, continuing to distract the creatures so everyone else can get to safety. Sadly, he dies in Dustin’s arms after ensuring their plan worked.

While the others are distracted, Eleven uses a self-made sensory deprivation tank to enter Max’s mind and try to access the Upside Down. Once inside, she realizes Vecna is targeting Max again. Things get even more complicated when Jason, who has fueled town-wide hysteria by wrongly accusing Eddie of being a satanic killer, stumbles upon the scene. He mistakenly believes they’re performing a dark ritual on a seemingly unresponsive Max.

Steve, Nancy, and Robin venture to the Creel House, another location connected to the Upside Down, where Lucas and Max are waiting. They narrowly escape being trapped and suffocated by vines covering the house, then manage to attack Vecna, setting him ablaze and shooting at him.

How does season 4 end?

While Lucas and his younger sister Erica attempt to intervene against Jason and his group, Eleven manages to connect with Max and Vecna in the Upside Down. However, Vecna proves too powerful, and pulls both Max and Eleven into his mental realm.

El is forced to watch as Max seemingly dies, and a new gateway opens, allowing the terrifying Upside Down to break into Hawkins, Indiana. This causes widespread destruction, including fires, and results in the deaths of Jason and many others.

El manages to bring Max back, but the damage is already done. Max is severely injured and in critical condition in the hospital, and it’s unclear if she will survive.

After the disaster in Hawkins, people are leaving town and families are frantically searching for those who disappeared. Most believe Eddie was responsible, thanks to Jason’s convincing claims that he was involved with Satanism.

Dustin sadly shares with his uncle that Eddie died a hero, explaining he was there when it happened, while his uncle frantically searches for him.

Now that the friends are back together, Will starts experiencing unsettling feelings that tell him the Mind Flayer is still out there. They all promise to finally destroy the Upside Down, whatever it takes.

2025-11-18 14:11