Stranger Things season 4

While there's actually a surprising amount of new content headed to Netflix in July, nothing is generating more hype than Stranger Things 4 Volume 2. This ...

Both episodes will go live at the same time. - 12am PT This second batch of episodes is only two episodes long, but these are two very long episodes.

An explanation of the psychological effects of what Max and Eleven are going through on "Stranger Things"

The study of moral injury asks us to remember that those who endure its unique flavor of anguish are not monsters. But given the recent tragic shooting at a school in Texas, viewers may find the opening scene of Episode 1 distressing. Owens is trying to convince El to return to Hawkins once more to join the fight against Vecna. But she looks him straight in the eye and demurs, saying, "What if I'm not good? Psychologists argue that one of the main characteristics of moral injury is a relatively normal guilt response that gets stuck in overdrive (just as PTSD is essentially the hyperfunctioning of an otherwise natural fear response). Many people feel guilty after committing a wrong for a few days or even weeks. Surely she, a victim of domestic abuse forced to witness the death of her brother at the end of Season 3, is traumatized — not morally injured. The image of the fiery cradle returns in his nightmares and is the fuel on which Vecna feeds. He has scars on his face, the result of a car accident he barely escaped. Or more simply, this season of "Stranger Things" is an extended meditation on moral injury, and one of the most psychologically fascinating pieces of recent television. Though the details of the accident are a little murky, Fred feels responsible for his classmate's death, and Vecna exploits that pain, calling Fred a "murderer" shortly before lifting him up in the air and breaking all his bones. Exploring the bomb site in the wake of the explosion, Creel sees a baby's cradle on fire and learns the horrible truth. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Steve (Joe Keery) and Max (Sadie Sink) have broken into Hawkins High and are rifling through the files of the school psychologist trying to figure out if there is any connection among the victims of Vecna, the season's snake-veined big bad whose favorite pasttimes include antiquing (that grandfather clock is a real find) and gruesomely mangling the bodies of children as he sucks out their souls. This startling revelation led a group of VA psychologists to argue that many were not traumatized; they were morally injured.

The world of “Stranger Things” left things on a cliffhanger. Steve is infected by the demobats from the Upside Down, and evil Vecna is alive and well.

With much still left to be solved, the second installment of Season 4 premieres in less than 24 hours. Where can I watch ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4, Volume 2? A guide to catching the ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4, Volume 2 premiere

Wondering who dies in 'Stranger Thing's season 4 on Netflix? Here's everyone who has died during the show's fourth season, including Chrissy.

By now we know the truth about what happened in Hawkins Lab all those years ago. Unfortunately, they didn't survive the battle. Hopper's escape came at the expense of a few fallen soldiers. The season kicks off with a flashback scene at the Hawkins Lab when El was there. Even the Duffers regret killing Chrissy off. Initially, Brenner notices El is still alive while the show implies she was the one who killed everyone.

That's right, season 5 will be the last season of Netflix's beloved supernatural drama as the Duffer Brothers look to tie up loose ends with a planned final ...

Ahead of the season 4 premiere, Netflix announced that Stranger Things had been renewed for a fifth season meaning that season 5 is indeed happening. If you’re watching season 4 of Stranger Things and wondering whether this is the final season, we have some good news! Wondering if this is the final season of Stranger things while binging season 4?

The Netflix powerhouse created by the Duffer Brothers is arguably the most popular show the streaming service has to offer. The nostalgia hits, intriguing ...

Netflix and the Duffers announced in Feb. 2022 that Stranger Things season 5 is in the works. Stranger Things season 5 has not yet started filming, but that isn’t any reason for concern. That said, this is just our theory, and we won’t know anything concrete until Netflix confirms the release date. Stranger Things season 4 is not the last season. Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 debuted on May 27 and fans absolutely loved the seven episodes. Volume 2 is now on the horizon, coming to Netflix this Friday, July 1.

Everyone's favorite babysitter from Hawkins could become the next sacrifice in 'Stranger Things', whether it's Season 4 Volume 2 or later.

If anything, this billboard is a reminder that although seeing the characters of Hawkins is a comfort for fans, nothing is guaranteed. However, there’s a possibility in order to raise the stakes for the series, there would have to be a shocking turn of events like this. Now, Steve could very well survive the final two episodes (and whopping 235-minute runtime), but his fate may be in doubt for the series’ last season. But if Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Zuko has taught us anything, it’s that a compelling redemption story is one of the most satisfying narrative arcs in any piece of speculative fiction. The fact that Steve has evolved into a de facto babysitter with excellent hair just makes him even more charming. In particular, there’s a literal big sign in the form of a real-life billboard.

The final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 are upon us, and fans are circling their wagons around Steve Harrington.

Season 1 Steve Harrington was kind of a dick, but now, even though he jokes about always having to be the babysitter, he’s done a damn good job of keeping all those kids alive! We're ready to fight for the life and hair that is Steve Harrington’s! We ride at midnight (or whatever time new Netflix content drops in your time zone)! There may not be a whole lot that the Stranger Things fanbase can do, but if Joe Keery’s character doesn’t make it out of Season 4, it won’t be for lack of effort.

Hello, Vecna. The next installment of the hit Netflix series debuts July 1. The finale will be very, very long.

“Everyone involved is incredibly proud of the results, and we can’t wait to share it with you.” But the end is near. I mean, the whole world’s gone mad ... What’s really wonderful, I think, is that this is a whole new audience who, in a lot of cases, they never heard of me and I love that — the thought of all these really young people hearing the song for the first time and discovering it is ... well, I think it’s very special.” “It’s such a great series, I thought that the track would get some attention,” Bush told the BBC. “I just never imagined that it would be anything like this. The classic tune gets prime placement in the show as a form of musical armor that Max uses to defend herself from Vecna’s intrusive presence. The Duffers have said that will be the final season of “Stranger Things.” The first episode of Vol. 2 — Chapter Eight of the fourth season — is titled “ Papa.” (That’s what Eleven called Dr. Brenner.) There are nine episodes in the entire fourth season of “Stranger Things.” To recap, “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer — the Duffer brothers — explained why the show is being released in two parts in a letter to fans. Who is in the cast of ‘Stranger Things’ season 4, Vol. 2? In the meantime, in our reality, “Stranger Things” season four Vol. 1 lifted Kate Bush’s 1985 song “ Running Up That Hill” to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 — her first top-10 hit in the United States — and No. 1 in the United Kingdom. Vol. 1 of “Stranger Things” season four premiered May 27 to much fanfare and a laser light show on the Empire State Building, but also a warning for a particularly bloody and violent scene in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

Mike feels like a lock to make it through, mostly because at this point he's too annoying to die. Hopper and Joyce feel safe too. Not everyone trying to get out ...

Now that she’s trapped in The Upside-Down with Vecna Steve’s going to be leading the charge to save her, and it is going to cost him dearly. With Max so deeply connected to Vecna and The Upside-Down, her life is going to be on the line. As I mentioned above, Eddie is a natural replacement for Steve. To me, everything is lining up for a heart-wrenching death of everyone’s favorite babysitter/hair icon/human punching bag. She will escape and finish the job that Henry Kreel/001/Peter Ballard/Vecna started. Our sweet Argyle may well do the same as the crew is going to put them in major danger. I believe the creators wanted us to think it was over Nancy, but it could easily be Argyle who they are mourning. Eleven will get her powers back and then some, and see the danger her friends are in. With the exception of Billy in Season 3, every character with a deep connection to the Upside-Down has been safe. Sacrifice in the name of love is going to be a common theme. Below are my predictions for the five characters who are the most likely to die in the season finale. Meanwhile, Eddie is being set up perfectly to be the new Steve should anything happen to him. Not everyone trying to get out of Russia will be so lucky though…

Published: Jun. 30, 2022, 10:03 p.m.. Season 4 Vol. 2. From left: Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Joe ...

The episodes come five weeks after Volume 1 was released on May 27. The final two episodes of Season 4 are set to drop at 2 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) on Friday, July 1. The final two episodes of the season have some explaining to do.

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 debuts on Friday. Here's how you can watch the long-awaited fourth installment online and all you need to know about it.

Are you excited for Stranger Things season 4, part 2? That fanbase has since grown exponentially, resulting in it becoming one of the most popular shows of this generation. Arguably the biggest show on Netflix of all time, it premiered back in 2016 to rave reviews and it quickly established a passionate base of fans.

Both episodes are visually stunning, with truly cinematic sequences that will have you wishing Netflix released the almost two-and-a-half-hour finale in cinemas ...

Volume 2 has all the elements that made this show a phenomenon: witty dialogue, heartfelt characters dealing with growing pains, and a whole lot of '80s nostalgia. A TV show doesn't have the same narrative structure as a big-screen film, and there are many loose ends to get to. A lot has been made of the inflated episode lengths this season, though I would argue they have been justified so far, allowing for deeper and more emotional stories without the shackles of the hour-long deadline. We were told before the episodes arrived that we should be "very concerned" for these characters, and that warning is indeed founded. Nancy is being held hostage in the Upside Down, the reporter trapped in a nightmare of traumatic memories, the others trying desperately to free her. As the final two episodes progress, the Duffer brothers elegantly weave these plots together – and soon enough, everyone is heading in the same direction.

The below is a spoiler-free review of Stranger Things Season 4, Part 2, which is now streaming on Netflix. It may have initially seemed like a ...

From the deserts of California to the slime of the Upside Down, everything simply looks incredible, and sleeker than Stranger Things has ever looked – not that it was ever a slouch in the visuals department. Still, in the middle of that tension, it’ll occasionally halt its own momentum for a detour to the Russian storyline (which takes the California subplot’s place as feeling the least necessary in this installment). It might’ve felt a little more manageable if Episode 9 were split up into two episodes, instead of giving us such a packed-to-the-brim behemoth of a finale. It’s hard to talk about too much without getting into spoilers (and even though this review is running on the day the episodes debut, we’re still going to play it safe here in case you don’t have four hours to immediately jump back into the Upside Down), but we can say that it’s nice to finally see the branching-narrative style of storytelling that was established in the first part finally converge in a way that feels incredibly satisfying. While the runtimes may seem overwhelming for some (1.5 hours for Episode 8 and 2.5 hours for Episode 9, for those curious about the math), the result is that not one bit of it feels rushed. It may have initially seemed like a head-scratcher when Netflix revealed that Part 2 of Stranger Things Season 4 would consist of only two episodes, as opposed to Part 1’s seven, but that doesn’t mean the hit’s big finale is a quick watch. This is Stranger Things as its most emotional, thrilling, and yes, ambitious, a word I used a lot in my review of Part 1, but it holds true even more so for the last two episodes.

The season's final two very long episodes contain an immense melancholy in addition to the blockbuster experience.

Plucky Max (Sadie Sink) continues dealing with the trauma that’s been haunting her all season (cue “Running Up That Hill”), while Will gets the long-awaited reveal of his sexual longings— sort of. “Right out of the gate I’m superconfident but I’m also like an idiot. It doesn’t help that the show’s central characters are all spread out across America and Russia, so that we are constantly jumping between the clusters of Vecna-fighters, each engaged in their own existential battle. Would the increasingly charming Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) bite the dust, or perhaps Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), who seemed to fade into the background with every passing episode this season? This overarching darkness, combined with the endlessly frenetic pace of the season, can make the long episodes exhausting to watch. Stranger Things has always worn its love for the movies on its sleeve, with its blizzard of 80s cinematic references.

Episode 8 opens right back where season 4 episode 1 began, with a bloodied Eleven standing over the massacred children while Dr Brenner asks "What have you done ...

A powerful psychic teen known as Eleven escapes and joins forces with a crew of local nerds, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, to fight monsters like the demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and season 4's big bad, a demon named Vecna. Episode 8 opens right back where season 4 episode 1 began, with a bloodied Eleven standing over the massacred children while Dr Brenner asks "What have you done?!" Stranger Things is back for the final showdown.

Vecna shows Nancy a glimpse aboiut what he's going to do in Hawkins and how he'll entering the city.

The entire group gets really nervous about it and is now working to stop Vecna. He tells her to tell her everything that she saw to Eleven so that she could know that Vecna is coming to wreak havoc. Steve was trying hard to bring her back and the entire group was looking for one musical hit that would save Nancy from the evil monster.

After the big Vecna/Henry/One reveal, the crew puts their various plans into motion. A recap of “Papa,” episode eight of season four of Netflix's 'Stranger ...

She kneels at his side, and in the greatest power move, when he begs her to tell him that she understands he did everything he did because he loved her, she refuses to give him that last win. They escape the prison through sewage pipes and arrive at Yuri’s stash house only to learn that he only has a helicopter to get them home. Their beeping distracts the military guys in the helicopter long enough for Eleven to get her bearings, and I know I’ve already said it, but it deserves to be repeated: She summons all of her strength and she brings that helicopter down in one giant, flaming crash. She realizes that Brenner was pushing her to her breaking point and forcing her to explore that dark void under false pretenses of tracking the Soviets because he was obsessed with finding One in the Upside Down. His anger led to Eleven opening that first gate in 1983. Dampening the power of his best weapon like a real idiot, Brenner is left to carry Eleven out of the bunker to safety. And when Owens and Brenner give her the full rundown of what has been happening — and is about to happen — in Hawkins at the (creepy, long) hands of Vecna, she uses her other power to check in on her friends in that dark void of hers. It’s quite the opposite: If Eleven’s journey this season is all about her finally believing that she is not a monster, then of course it would always come down to her realizing who the actual monster is and confronting him. Dr. Owens reminds his colleague that this isn’t a prison and Eleven is free to come and go as she pleases, but then Brenner turns around and has Owens handcuffed to a pipe and locks Eleven in a room with him. When she wakes up, she finds that she’s been collared in that device Brenner used to torture the other kids in her program. Aside from once again trying to make Eleven believe in his twisted family fantasy, he also knows where to hit her so it hurts — he tells her that she is only acting out because of the guilt she feels for freeing One and for causing all of this death and destruction. Did you use it wisely, or did you spend the whole time listening to Kate Bush and thinking about how you will slowly walk out into the sea if the body count at the end of this season — you know there is going to be a body count — includes Hopper or Steve? And then they realize that if Vecna is looking to make four separate gates, he must make four kills.

The 'Stranger Things' season 4 finale saw Eleven and Vecna in an epic showdown. Here's exactly what happened—and why it matters for season 5.

Maybe I showcase a tendency to fall for basic fan-baiting, but the moments “Piggyback” wanted to feel epic did feel epic. The hairs on the back of Will’s neck stand up, and they all look into the sky: A storm is coming. Nancy, Steve, and Robin find the real Vecna in the Upside Down and prepare a roast. And that’s the end: A next-season set-up worthy of a Marvel post-credits scene. Although a new character to the Stranger Things brigade—and thus one we’ve had less time to grow attached to—Eddie’s death is nevertheless a gut-wrenching blow, particularly when Dustin begins to sob by his side. Also, Eleven is coding in the salt bath, and Mike confesses his love in order to get her to stick around. He pleads with her to fight, and so she does: The tentacles release from around her neck and joints. He would then “pick up the pieces” of the broken world and remake it “into something…beautiful.” Alright, Thanos. They bus over to the local Surfer Boy franchise and take over the kitchen, with the help of a stiff joint, and discover the 600 pounds of salt Argyle promised. When Max asks, we get what will surely become another iconic Eleven quote, emblazoned on Reddit graphics and T-shirts everywhere: “I piggybacked through a pizza dough freezer.” But the good humor doesn’t last, as Vecna regains his strength and takes both Max’s unconscious body and Eleven’s writing one to his blood-red Creel lair in the Upside Down. “Papa is dead,” Eleven tells him, trying to calm his wrath. As Hopper and Co. orchestrate a method for trapping the demo-creatures in the prison pit and lighting them on fire, thereby weakening Vecna, Eddie and Dustin rally to wield off the remaining hell-bats. On the phone, Hop learns their kids are in trouble: As we saw in the penultimate episode, Dr. Brenner, a.k.a Papa, is dead, and Eleven is “indisposed.” Joyce’s kids are “off the grid,” too.

Ahead of Stranger Things Season 4 debuting on Netflix, audiences knew that the adventure would be split into two parts, as the writing team had the time ...

Stranger Things Season 4 is undoubtedly its biggest and most ambitious season yet, with these final two episodes being tasked with sticking the landing of a sprawling narrative. This finale leaves us with the feeling that there really is no going back, so with Season 5 set to be the final chapter of Stranger Things, it might finally be time for cataclysmic events to unfold. Especially given that both Season 1 and Season 3 concluded with teases of major character deaths, a case can be made that everyone is getting off too lightly from their battles with the forces of darkness. The Duffer brothers have been teasing some dire consequences for some of the characters in the series with these final two episodes, and, while one particular death is sure to leave some fans heartbroken, the season concludes with most of the ensemble intact, to some disappointment. With the roster of beloved characters expanding and the mythology only growing more vast and complex, it's hard to argue that creators the Duffer brothers needed to break up the experience into two parts as to not be overwhelming. And that's not to mention that Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett Gelman) have reunited with Hopper (David Harbour), only for this trio to uncover even more unsettling threats in the Soviet Union.

Psychic superheroine Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has unlocked memories from a childhood spent in a secure facility for kids with strange powers, revealing that ...

When the flames sputter and the vampire bats stop flapping, the survivors know who they are and are back where they belong. It’s hinted that this will involve a disaster on a global scale rather than a conspiracy only a select few geeks know about – and with the core cast no longer minors, some adjustments are surely necessary. The decisions over which character intervenes when, and how, are perfectly made – as are the ones over who dies and why. Sooner or later, you’ll have to stop being the class joker and admit there are things you believe in and people you love. The Duffers appreciate that all this is a metaphor for coming of age, so they sprinkle their finale with universal life lessons about slaying your personal monsters and growing up. In Hawkins, Indiana, in 1986, waiting for a gang of plucky teens to mount a final assault on Vecna, the demon who roams a dank dimension beneath the town.

Max (Sadie Sink) is in danger in Stranger Things season 4 with the introduction of Vecna. Does she die in volume 1 or 2? Spoilers here!

By playing Max’s favorite song, a portal in the Upside Down opens up and she’s able to see the real world. She’s still being followed by Vecna and the group comes to the conclusion that she is supposed to be his fourth victim. Meanwhile, Dustin and Lucas run over to Max and try to wake her up. Max discovers Vecna’s home in the Upside Down, and he’s surprised to see her there. Max does not die in Stranger Things season 4 volume 1. Because of this, she writes letters to all the important people in her life, including one to Billy. She goes to his gravesite and starts reading it aloud, while Steve (Joe Keery), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas watch nearby.

Midway through the super-supersized Stranger Things fourth-season finale, “The Piggyback,” Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke) are ...

(It also helps that by this point, “Running Up That Hill” is at full volume on the soundtrack, not just periodically coming out of Max’s headphones, and Kate Bush makes everything better.) That David Harbour looks spectacular running at a monster with a sharp metal weapon in his hand does not retroactively justify the seemingly endless Russia detours, but the sequence does suggest a more satisfying version of Season Four that worked harder at moving faster from beat to beat. There’s a scene where Jonathan all but begs Will to talk about how much it hurts to see Mike and Eleven together, and the strain by the show to not say the thing out loud is palpable, even though it’s so heavily implied that almost no one watching could miss it. * Since the end of Season One, the show has waxed and waned a bit on just how comfortable Eleven is maneuvering through normal society after spending her childhood in a government lab. Max is clinically dead for a minute, completing Vecna’s plan to open a massive gate between the Upside Down and Hawkins, but a more powerful Eleven soon brings her body back to life. Too. Much. The Duffers are trying to service every character properly, and most of those arcs and scenes — like Eleven refusing to forgive Brenner in his dying moments, or Nancy being charmed by reformed ex-boyfriend Steve’s confession that he wishes he was a good person like this when they were together — in isolation from one another. But — to paraphrase this season’s inescapable earworm usage of Kate Bush’s great “Running Up That Hill” — if I only could make a deal with God and get the Duffers to swap their subplots from episode to episode, Stranger Things would still be running up that massive hill the brothers built by seemingly refusing to let go of any single story or character beat. (Did anyone anywhere need a redemption arc for the duplicitous, peanut butter-smuggling Russian pilot?) Perhaps the Duffers still feel too scarred by the audience’s rejection of their last attempt at a relatively self-contained episode, when Eleven ran away to the big city to hang with some fellow superpowered youths in Season Two. But that episode wasn’t hated because it was standalone; it was hated because it was bad, and Eleven’s new friends were annoying in a way that most of the show’s cast additions over the years have not been. It is, first and foremost, a supernatural thriller about a group of kids who have somehow found themselves as the last line of defense between humanity and demonic Armageddon. That kind of storytelling relies on momentum that is just impossible to maintain over such a long episode of television — two long episodes, as this mini half-season also features an 85-minute episode (“Papa”) leading into “The Piggyback” — and that keeps tripping up the things that are working well. The problem is that it feels like a half-hour, if not longer, that the show has forgotten about Nancy, Steve, and Robin while they are on the verge of imminent death. But that is basically all we see of them for close to a half-hour, when Eleven turns the tide against Vecna, resulting in Nancy, Steve, and Robin being set free. (Stand By Me, which has a lot of non-supernatural DNA in this show, is nearly an hour shorter than “The Piggyback.”) That is slightly shorter than the two-and-a-half-hour version that Netflix promised (threatened?) a few weeks ago, but still longer by a comfortable margin than any previous episode of American television.

And there's really probably only one video you need to watch, the brief recap made by Netflix summing up the first string of episodes, which ran for about nine ...

They’ve discovered that music can help pull people out of the trance, which is how Max, despite being “marked” by Vecna, manages to escape. And there’s really probably only one video you need to watch, the brief recap made by Netflix summing up the first string of episodes, which ran for about nine hours in total. Even though it has only been a month instead of a few years like the gap between seasons 3 and 4, you still may want a refresher on what exactly happened in those first seven episodes.

After the explosive finale of 'Stranger Things' Season 4, Volume 2, we should take stock of the fates of the Netflix series' heroes and villains.

Plus someone from the Upside Down to keep torturing poor Will. Unless the CIA truly went batshit on the poor guy, he'll be just fine. Last time we saw Dr. Owens—who acts as a slight foil to Dr. Brenner, kinda-sorta helping Eleven along the way—he was cowering in a makeshift jail cell. Damn. Eddie Munson's act of self-sacrifice is a crushing loss on the level of Barb and Bob. Which is also why we refuse to believe that the man is gone for good—especially so soon after he learned to stand his ground and become a hero. Considering that Brenner never seems to go the hell away from the series, we can't give him a full 10. As all great blockbuster stories tend to do nowadays, Stranger Things likes to play fast and loose with its fatalities.

While the early deaths of the season were reserved for newer characters, many OGs found themselves in precarious spots as the season progressed including Nancy.

While they hit a few bumps in the road — RIP [Redacted] — their plan ultimately works as they’re able to stop Vecna, at least for the time being. Instead, Nancy falls into darkness and eventually ends up in a very familiar empty swimming pool which is when Vecna’s voice calls out to her. Using the light in their home, the group is able to send an SOS in Morse Code which Dustin, Lucas, and Erica answer after Dustin pieces together that they went through the water gate.

As it happens, Eleven and co. can't get back to Hawkins in time, so El comes up with the titular idea to piggyback on Vecna's infiltration of Max's mind by ...

At the same time, Murray rains hellfire on the demons in the prison, causing the swarm to drop out of the sky and Vecna to writhe in agony. When Hopper and Joyce take the kids to a nearby hill, they see black clouds coiling, red lightning crackling, and see the town’s beauty and nature begin to wither and die. As if to confirm this, even the touching reunion between Hopper and Eleven is interrupted by chills down the nape of Will’s neck, and ash tumbling from the sky. She reaches out to touch Max, and as memories of the two of them swirl around her head, Stranger Things season 4, episode 9 cuts to two days later. One of them is Eddie, who succumbs to the swarm attack after a touching farewell to Dustin. And another is… The fourth kill, the fourth door, will mean the end of Hawkins and the world. Steve, Robin, and Dustin help out with the community relief efforts. Hawkins will be first, and then the world, and in the ruins of what once was Vecna will build something new in his own image. As we see Max’s arms and legs begin to snap and twist, Lucas fights off Jason, Joyce saves Hopper from the Demodog, Dustin reaches Eddie in the midst of the swarm, and yes, Eleven sends Vecna flying. Lucas fights off Jason. Eleven fights off Vecna. Eddie turns to face the swarm as Dustin clambers back into the Upside-Down to help him. The swarm also manages to break through the trailer’s vents, forcing Dustin and Eddie to fight them off. There was plenty of explosive action in the penultimate outing to get you up to speed, so “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback” picks things up basically right where we left off.

The penultimate episode of season 4 resolves some plot points introduced in part one, while laying out the stakes for the finale. Vecna torments Nancy, ...

While it may seem kind of petty given all the death and the potential Upside Down-ification of the world, season 4 also shook up the love lives of many of the characters. (One of the crevasses bisects and kills Jason, the only upside to the disaster). Eddie also dies, and although he was only introduced this season, he’s a natural addition to the crew and it’s sad to see him go—especially since all of Hawkins thinks he’s a satanic murderer instead of a hero who just liked playing Dungeons & Dragons with his fellow weirdos. The screen goes to black, and cuts to “two days later.” The rest of the gang will go to the Upside Down. Eddie and Dustin will cause a distraction to lure Vecna’s creepy bats away from his body while Nancy, Steve, and Robin will go to the house and kill him. Hopper and Joyce have the least to do, but they make a risky phone call to the States and learn what’s going down. The encouragement gives Eleven what she needs and she bursts free of Vecna’s restraints, giving Nancy and Steve, and Robin an opening to assault his physical body. The fight against Vecna comes to a head in the season finale. Back in the U.S.S.R., Hopper and Joyce get a better look at the prison/Upside Down research lab, and learn that the Soviets also have a bunch of Demodogs and a swirling mass of Mind Flayer-like particles. Every time Vecna kills, he opens a gate to the Upside Down, and when he opens four he’ll be able to wreak havoc on Hawkins (and the world). Max realizes that she is still Vecna’s fourth and final target, so they come up with a plan to fight back by using her as bait. Eleven engages in a psychic duel with him, casting him into a gateway to the Upside Down where he becomes the creature we know of as Vecna. Nancy and the Hawkins crew, meanwhile, had ventured into the Upside Down to rescue Steve but Vecna psychically kidnaps Nancy’s consciousness right before she’s about to escape and reveals that he is Pennhurst Asylum patient Victor Creel’s son, and that he was responsible for the infamous killings before Doctor Brenner took him in and dubbed him “001.” The season ends with Hopper and Joyce reunited but still in Siberia, Eleven re-powered but still in an uneasy alliance with Brenner, and Nancy in danger. At just this time, though, the other faction of the government raids the facility, and Brenner is shot several times while trying to escape with Eleven. Despite the collar, Eleven takes down an army helicopter before she too can be killed, and Mike and his cohort arrive just in time to get her to safety.

On Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 8, more answers come to light as Eleven prepares for vengeance. Read our review of the midseason...

It did have some minor issues, but it got the ball rolling on the series in a big way, and I can't wait to see where it goes next. The tension in Russia is rising, and it only reiterated my initial concerns about the storyline. And Holly. Mike. And they... It was the most vulnerable Will's been, and I'm not sure Mike understood what happened, but Jonathan sure did. And then... And the dam will burst. And this... Hopefully, Eleven makes it back in time to join in this big fight. Eleven using her powers to take down the helicopter was satisfying. They need a fall guy, and if Brenner isn't alive to be that person, then Owens may be their next best shot. And when that happens, Hawkins will fall.Brenner And eventually, it will reach a breaking point.

The final two massive episodes of season four have arrived, and Hawkins, Indiana will never be the same.

The death! The deaths! to the audience!

'Chapter Nine' makes everyone feel connected in taking on Vecna, even with no conceivable way of getting everyone physically in Hawkins for the final ...

Listen, if a frantic makeout during a time of crisis when neither of you have showered in days is good enough for Hopper and Joyce, it is good enough for these two!! Everyone heads over to Hopper’s cabin to clean it up so that El can use it to hide out since on top of everything, you know Sullivan and the military are still on the hunt for her. Steve, Robin, and Nancy are able to get to Vecna’s physical body and they light that piece of shit up with some molotov cocktails before Nancy takes out her sawed-off shotgun and blasts that guy so hard, he falls out of the window. But then the tide turns all at once: Joyce, refusing to let another man she loves be eaten in front of her, saves Hopper. They’re able to get all the demogorgons back in the pit and Murray burns their asses to the ground with a flamethrower. They saw those demogorgons and that Upside Down dust back at the prison and they know that those monsters are all part of one organism. Steve, Robin, and Nancy are running out of time (and air!). In the Soviet Union, Hopper is trapped by a demodog. Everyone is well aware that Yuri is dicking them around with his claim that the helicopter isn’t working, but even if he were able to get them out of the Soviet Union right then and there, they still would never make it back to Hawkins in time. It takes a little work, but eventually Max’s plan of hiding in her happiest memory works and we find her back at the Snow Ball, where she had her first kiss with Lucas. This season has been chock full of callbacks to Stranger Things moments big and small, so it feels right that we’d revisit such a memorable one for the big climax. I guess it’s hard to fault him too much since this time the yammering he does reveals information that completely rewrites everything we thought we knew about the Upside Down and … all of Stranger Things, really. Through one of Owens’s agents, Hopper and Joyce learn that Eleven and the Byers boys are en route to Hawkins to fight some sort of evil and no one has been able to make contact with them. And yet still, Stranger Things has found a way to make everyone feel connected in taking on this season’s villain, even if there was no conceivable way of getting everyone physically in Hawkins for the final showdown (this show isn’t really concerned with the physics of space and time, but I’m glad they didn’t push things too hard), and the way they do it is through hive mind. Traditionally, Stranger Things likes to scatter its cast around Hawkins and then eventually bring the whole crew together by the end of the season to fight whichever Upside Down monster is plaguing them at the moment.