Season 4 of Stranger Things has been the longest in terms of episode duration, with the finale running over 2 hours and 22 minutes. While quite a few things occurred, there weren’t as many revelations as in Episode 7.
Either way, here’s me explaining some critical moments of the finale of Stranger Things Season 4. I’ll also share what the events mean for Season 5 of the show, what the plot could be, and more. Let’s jump right in.
At the end of Stranger Things Season 4, Vecna is severely injured but still ALIVE. Hawkins is slowly merging with the Upside Down realm. So Eleven and her friends will have to stop Vecna from accomplishing this.
So, Eleven is rescued by Mike, and the group (Argyle, Will, Mike, Jonathan) is now on its way to Hawkins. Dr. Brenner’s death seems definitive this time because we saw him get shot and die before El.
Steve, Nancy, and the party (Lucas, Max, Erica, Robin, Eddie, and Dustin) plan on killing Vecna. They realize that when Vecna is busy entering his victims’ minds, his physical body is in a sleep state.
So, they decide that Max will act as bait, and when Vecna enters her mind, Eddie and Dustin will distract the Upside Down bats. This would give Steve, Nancy, and Robin the chance to destroy the monster.
Joyce, Hopper, Murray, and the Russian man are trying to escape Russia. However, after they come to know that the kids in Hawkins are in danger, they decide to stay back. This is because they had seen the dust in the Russian facility and deciphered that somehow it’d be connected to Vecna due to its hive mind quality. So destroying it would mean weakening Vecna and giving the kids a better shot at winning.
Now, I won’t describe the fight scene by scene because that would be a disservice to how it was depicted. All I’ll do is point out some key things and their underlying message.
Saving Max was significant for two reasons. While one is pretty obvious, the other is that if Vecna kills her, he’ll have enough strength to break the barrier between the Upside Down dimension and the real world we live in.
Vecna almost kills her. In fact, he even breaks her bones as he did with the others, but thanks to Eleven, she is resuscitated and gets admitted to the hospital. But how did it all happen even with Eleven’s help?
Eleven couldn’t reach Hawkins and decided to teleport into Max’s mind, where Vecna was already present. This way she’d be able to fight him inside Max’s mind without being present with Max physically.
This worked really well in theory, but when it came down to it, Vecna was far more potent than Eleven. He was flinging her around like a rag doll and could’ve ended her life too. But, Will and Mike’s presence, and their constant cheering gave Eleven the power to control Vecna, as she did when she was young.
However, according to Vecna, the damage was already done. He said Eleven and her friends think they’ve won when they’ve already lost. We don’t understand it at first, but we see it in the next scene. More on that later.
When Eleven took control of Vecna in Max’s mind, Steve, Robin, and Nancy managed to damage Vecna’s physical body, but that wasn’t enough. This is because he was too strong. He got severely injured but escaped.
After this, an earthquake hit Hawkins. The ground broke open, and if you see that part again, you’ll realize that the origins of the quake were from the four gates to the Upside Down that Vecna had created. While the world thought it was because of a Satanic cult, Eleven, the gang, and the families knew it was the monster.
However, it doesn’t end there. We also see a part of the fields turn black from green. Eleven closely examines a flower and sees how they’re wilted and almost dead. This is perhaps the most essential part. It means that the two dimensions have started merging.
In closing, everyone is reunited, but it’s much after the fight. We sadly lost Eddie to the bats, who sacrificed himself to save Dustin. Max is in the hospital, and Lucas is not leaving her side.
Will and Eleven are now in a relationship where Mike professes his love. Hopper and El reunited. Steve is well, still single. Robin is too, but things might happen for her in season 5. Will’s secret is not revealed yet, at least not officially. It is more or less established that he is gay and madly in love with Mike.
Now, the crucial part. What will happen now? Things still look dire for everyone, but only Eleven and her group realize it. They’ve got a few moments of respite because almost all characters have resolved their internal conflict, with the exception of Will, Nancy, Jonathan, and maybe Steve.
So, Season 5 would mean all-action right from the go, just like Season 4. In fact, ideally, there should be no time for anything else besides bringing closure to the existing subplots. Will Steve and Nancy end up together? Will Eleven die in Season 5? Are there any other big revelations waiting for us?
All of this would be answered in Season 5 and I just can’t wait for it to go on floors. Since you’re done watching this show, you might want to watch The Umbrella Academy on Netflix or The Boys on Amazon Prime. Both of them are incredible and you shouldn’t miss them.
About Stranger Things
Stranger Things is an American sci-fi horror TV series created by The Duffer Brothers for Netflix.
Set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the show follows the story of a young girl called Eleven, who has superpowers and her adventures with her group of friends. These dangerous adventurers include surviving in and saving a town that has an evil parallel universe attached to it called the Upside Down.
It stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Sadie Sink, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Maya Hawke. The show has been renewed for a fifth and final season.
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