Stranger Things – that massive season 4 finale explained-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

Eleven, Mike and the Hawkins gang will have to be ready to fight again (Picture: SplashNews.com)

***Warning: Major spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 lie ahead. Enter at your own risk!***

Well, that was a humdinger.

Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers promised viewers that they would deliver a massive fourth season, and boy did they.

Fans of the Netflix sci-fi show are still recovering from the lengthiest, most expansive set of episodes yet – the season closing with that mammoth 160-minute finale.

After nine episodes (all of which were over an hour long) and visits to seemingly every corner of the USA, plus a journey into deepest, snowiest Soviet Russia, and the most evil parts of the Upside Down, the fourth season is over.

But what happened in the final two episodes that dropped on Netflix on July 1?

Vecna, the season’s main villain, wreaked havoc on Hawkins (Picture: Netflix)

Where did Hopper and Joyce end up?

Picking up after Volume 1, where Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett Gelman) infiltrated the Russian prison where Hopper (David Harbour) and Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha) were being held captive, Joyce and Hopper reunited.

The group, accompanied by Yuri (Nikola Djuricko), then discovered that the prison was also a lab built for Soviet prison guards to study Upside Down creatures.

After initially escaping, Joyce, Hopper & co. ventured back to the prison to fight the remaining monsters, in a bid to weaken Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), who’s wreaking murderous havoc back in Hawkins.

Successful with their part of the mission, the troupe escape in Yuri’s helicopter and return to the US. (By the way, does anyone know where Enzo and Yuri went? They were last seen arriving above a Soviet prison in a helicopter but haven’t been seen since.)

Hopper faced off against yet another demogorgon in the season finale (Picture: Netflix)

Who died in Volume 2?

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) finished Volume 1 having discovered that Vecna was One/Henry, the first participant in her Papa’s (Matthew Modine) experiments. Learning that Henry was responsible for the Hawkins Lab massacre years before, Eleven banished him to the Upside Down, where he developed more powers.

She escapes the NINA Project in Nevada, but her ‘Papa’ Dr. Brenner perishes during the gunfight with the military. She reunites with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Will (Noah Schnapp). They realise they won’t get to Hawkins in time to save the day, so Eleven connects to Max’s (Sadie Sink) mind instead to fight Vecna.

Eleven fights Vecna in Max’s mind, but more than meets her match when she comes face to face with her old foe.

Another death to add to the list is Jacob (Mason Dye), boyfriend to Vecna’s first victim Chrissy and enemy of the Hellfire Club. He tracks down Lucas and Max, engaging Lucas in a fight. Lucas wins and can only watch as Jacob melts into the foundations of the Upside Down when Vecna’s plan eventually comes to fruition.

Eleven had a tough time of it again during Stranger Things season 4 (Picture: Netflix)

Speaking of which…

In Hawkins, the Hellfire Club & co. re-enter the Upside Down to defeat Vecna on his home turf. With Nancy (Natalia Dyer) now possessed, they realise that a fourth victim will allow Vecna to expose Hawkins to the Upside Down. Max offers herself up as bait, and their own plan begins.

To distract the Upside Down’s many evil creatures, new fan favourite Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) shreds Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’, sacrificing himself while Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) tearfully watches on. Eddie dies in Dustin’s arms after being attacked by several monsters.

Eddie rocked his way into our hearts with an epic Metallica solo (Picture: Netflix)

Did Vecna survive?

Eddie’s heroics allow Nancy, Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke) to get closer to Vecna. They travel through the Upside Down and manage to burn Vecna’s physical form with some pre-prepared Molotov cocktails.

Max allows her mind to be overrun by Vecna, but sadly her plan appears to fail. Max appears to die in Lucas’ arms, allowing Vecna to fully unleash the Upside Down’s power. Vecna’s physical form is destroyed, but not before he tells Eleven that the humans have ‘already lost’ and opens a ginormous four-way gate into Hawkins.

Vecna’s actual fate is left uncertain for now – he was left severely damaged, but he was not confirmed to be fatally injured. He disappeared into the Upside Down wilderness before Nancy, Steve, and Robin could find him. Remember the rule: if you don’t see the villain’s corpse, they’re not dead.

What does this mean for season 5?

Two days later, Hawkins recovers from an ‘earthquake’. There are emotional reunions with the main cast, who are all back in Hawkins for the first time in what feels like forever. Max is in a coma, having been brought (almost) back to life by Eleven, while the town reels from yet another ‘unfortunate accident’.

Season 4 appears to be nicely wrapped up, but things start to feel uneasy when Eleven enters Max’s mind again and finds nothing but empty darkness, indicating that Max’s memories may well have been wiped in order to bring her back.

And then Will senses that Vecna is in fact still alive. His worst fears are then realised when ash and dust from the Upside Down rain from above. Our Hawkins heroes assemble on a hillside as clouds of black and red smoke rise into the sky above the town: Vecna won, and the Upside Down has been unleashed.

You can watch Stranger Things on Netflix now.

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