Stranger Things Season 4 recap: Everything that happened and how it ended ahead of season 5

WARNING: Major spoilers for Stranger Things in this article

Ah, Stranger Things - the sci-fi horror series set in the 80s where a group of young friends take on supernatural forces and uncover secret Government exploits has gripped the world ever since Season 1 started streaming nine years ago (can you believe that?!).

Since then, we've seen the relationships of the young protagonists fluctuate, Government secrets exposed, the world of the Upside Down growing even more complex and the enemies that the gang have to take on getting ever more threatening.

Season 4 ended by setting up what's to come in Season 5 but as Volume 2 aired all the way back in July 2022, we thought you might need a reminder of what exactly happened so you're ready to pick up where it left off.

So with that in mind, here's everything that happened in Season 4 and how it finished.

Max uses herself as bait to get to Vecna in Season 4 / Netflix

What happened in Stranger Things Season 4?

Season 4 started with a flashback from 1979 showing a massacre at Hawkins National Laboratory. Dr Brenner finds his staff and the kids he's experimenting on at his lab all dead. And Eleven seems to be behind it. Or is she?

This series of flashbacks eventual reveal; Henry Creel, or One, was actually behind it all. He killed his mother and sister, showing other-worldly abilities, which father Victor took the blame for.

One wanted Eleven to join him in taking over the world but in a face off between the two, Eleven sent One to the Upside Down, where he turned into Vecna and sought his revenge, living in the Upside Down version of the family home where he committed the murders of his family.

Back to the present day (well, that Stranger Things is set in), Joyce has moved the powerless Eleven and her family (Jonathan and Will) to California with the rest of the gang still in Hawkins.

Joyce receives a message that Hopper is still alive and goes to Russia to try and find him. There, after being betrayed by those who are meant to help, she manages to rescue Hopper after they take down the creatures the Russians captured (or so they think) and return to Hawkins.

Hopper spent most of Season 4 fighting his way out of Russia / Netflix

Those still in Hawkins have started to drift apart until they're reunited to take down Vecna.

Vecna targets and murders teens with trauma they have not processed in order to try and open a gateway between the Upside Down and the real world.

Eleven is reluctantly reunited with Dr Brenner and she manages to get her powers back. After disappearing seemingly without trace, Mike, Will and Jonathan manage to track her down and rescue her when the doctor is killed in the process.

After one of the Vecna murders, a portal opens over a lake with Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie investigating before getting stuck in the Upside Down and having to battle demobats.

They eventually make it out before Nancy is pulled back in and almost taken. They return armed with weapons to take Vecna down in the Upside Down version of his family home, eventually managing to get to him and set him on fire.

The last person Vecna tries to target is Max, who after being taken to the Upside Down is saved after it's found that music is a deterrent - she dramatically escapes with Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' playing.

But the damage has been done - as she was technically dead for a brief moment and was revived by Eleven, the rift between the Upside Down and the real world opens.

And it seems the Mind Flayer, who was thought to be killed in Russia, is still alive after Will gets tingles. The gang are now determined to stop Vecna and the threat of the Upside Down for good.

Eleven gets her powers back / Netflix

How did Stranger Things Season 4 end?

Pretty disastrously to be honest. Hawkins looks like a warzone as Vecna opened up the rift between the normal world and the Upside Down.

After journeying to the Upside Down, it seemed as though Robin, Steve and Nancy's plan to kill Vecna worked but his body was nowhere to be found after he was set on fire and fell out of a window. His whereabouts are unknown.

Max is in a coma with a number of broken limbs after using herself as bait to draw out Vecna. Everyone is now back together in Hawkins.

On the romance side of things, Nancy and Jonathan are still together but it's clear there are still feelings between Nancy and Steve. Hopper and Joyce seem to finally be getting together, Mike declared his love for Eleven, Lucas is devoted to Max and Robin and crush Vickie are getting on well.

You're now ready for Stranger Things Season 5 - grab that popcorn and enjoy!

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 with four episodes is available on 27 November, Volume 2 with three episodes on Christmas Day with the season finale on New Year's Day.

Elsewhere from indy100:

• Your Stranger Things rewatch before Season 5 may be missing one important detail
• Netflix drops first five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5 - and it ‘confirms’ character’s fate

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