- 5 hours ago
Hawkins is in serious danger as we head into the final season! Join us as we recap the essential plotlines and character developments you need to remember before the epic conclusion of Stranger Things. Our refresher includes Vecna's survival, Eleven's restored powers, Will's psychic connection, and that jaw-dropping Season 4 finale that changed everything! What's your prediction for how it all ends?
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most notable series plotlines and character
00:12developments to remember heading into the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
00:17Absolutely.
00:19Boom!
00:20The D&D Connection.
00:22This is the thing that controls everything. It's the brain.
00:25Like the mind flayer.
00:29What?
00:30Let's not forget how integral Dungeons & Dragons is to Stranger Things,
00:34going all the way back to the first episode, when a game amongst the boys set the table for what's to come.
00:40It's more than just a game they play. It's tied directly to the plot.
00:44D&D foes like the Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer, and most recently Vecna,
00:48have entered the characters' realities and threatened Hawkins.
00:52The game also drives dynamics amongst characters.
00:55Take, for example, Hopper and Steve's reactions to Dustin's D&D-based explanation in Season 2,
01:01or Will begging the others to play in Season 3.
01:04Can these play D&D now?
01:06No!
01:06Or Eddie Munson's introduction in Season 4.
01:09We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game.
01:12The D&D trope has been constant, so keep that in mind heading into Season 5.
01:17The importance of music.
01:19Beyond the consistently great use of tunes throughout the series,
01:23we should also remember how intertwined with the plot music has been in past seasons.
01:27In Season 1, Should I Stay or Should I Go by the clash served as both a warning of danger
01:32and a sign of the missing will.
01:39And how could we forget the oh-so-important, iconic, never-ending story moment
01:45between Dusty Bun and Susie Poo in Season 3?
01:48As for Season 4, Kate Bush's running up that hill was crucial to the plot.
01:59Not only did it help Max cope with the loss of her half-brother,
02:02but it helped her escape Vecna.
02:10That all begs the question, what role will music have in Season 5?
02:15Dr. Brenner's fate.
02:16We thought Dr. Martin Brenner had died in Season 1 after a Demogorgon attack,
02:21only for the unethical, toxic researcher to make a shocking return in Season 4.
02:27Hello, Eleven.
02:30We learned that he co-created the Nina Project,
02:33a top-secret government program and facility in the Nevada desert
02:36designed to restore Eleven's psychokinetic powers.
02:39Eleven quickly tried to escape, but to no avail.
02:42She was understandably done with who she calls Papa,
02:44upset and angry about the terrible things he'd done to her,
02:48her mother, and others.
02:49Toward the end of Season 4, Brenner was gunned down,
02:52and Eleven said her farewell in a heartfelt moment.
02:55Bye, Papa.
02:59But after his miraculous survival before,
03:02how can we be sure the guy's dead this time?
03:05Secondary characters with growing roles.
03:07Over the course of Seasons 3 and 4,
03:10some secondary characters greatly expanded their roles.
03:13First off, let's talk about Murray Bauman.
03:15While you probably didn't forget how funny he is,
03:18a refresher could be nice.
03:20Voila, okay, you are now calling from Durham, North Carolina,
03:23but if this is KGB,
03:25they will still be able to trace us eventually,
03:28so keep it brief.
03:29For one, his Russian fluency was critical in the infiltration
03:32of the secret Russian base and rescuing Hopper.
03:35But we technically aren't totally sure
03:37where he ended up at the end of Season 4,
03:39presumably somewhere back in the States.
03:41Then there's Robin, Steve's friend and co-worker.
03:44Are you kidding me?
03:46I made that shit up.
03:47In Season 4,
03:48she became more integrated into the main group
03:50and involved in the efforts to stop Vecna.
03:53The same goes for Lucas's little sister, Erica,
03:56whose understanding of D&D shown in Season 4
03:58could prove useful in Season 5.
04:01Or we gonna keep chit-chatting
04:03like this is your mommy's book club.
04:04Joyce and Hopper's relationship
04:06In Season 3,
04:08Murray hilariously said
04:09what many of us viewers had been thinking
04:10for a while about Joyce and Hopper.
04:13Why don't you two cut the horseshit
04:15and get to the part
04:16where you admit your sexual feelings for one another?
04:18Whoa!
04:19You are way off-base!
04:21Things had seemingly been building
04:22toward them getting together romantically.
04:25Indeed, it was only a matter of time.
04:27In Season 3,
04:28they agreed to a date,
04:29but it didn't happen.
04:31First, Joyce stood Hopper up.
04:32Then Hopper seemingly died,
04:34but fast forward to Season 4
04:36and we found out he survived.
04:38Phew!
04:46Joyce discovered Hopper was still alive,
04:48but imprisoned in Russia.
04:50Later in the season,
04:51we finally saw the sexual tension between the two
04:53reach a tipping point,
04:55as they shared a steamy kiss.
04:57They still gotta go to Enzo's, though,
04:59and get those fire breadsticks.
05:01The Steve-Nancy-Jonathan love triangle.
05:03First, Nancy was with Steve.
05:05Then, it was Jonathan.
05:07At the end of Season 4,
05:08Jonathan is back in town,
05:10and the love triangle remains unresolved.
05:13The two seemed to be drifting apart,
05:15and they themselves haven't been clear
05:17about where their relationship is headed.
05:19Jonathan even lied to her about his college plans.
05:22I feel like life keeps throwing things
05:24in the way of our big plans.
05:25On the flip side,
05:26there were signs of a reignited spark
05:28between Nancy and Steve in Season 4.
05:31The two spent a lot of time together,
05:33in dark circumstances
05:34as they helped fight against Vecna.
05:36Steve even implied to Nancy
05:37that he still has feelings for her,
05:39and envisions a future together.
05:41But that conversation was interrupted.
05:43You're there.
05:49You've always been there.
05:50At the end of Season 4,
05:56Jonathan is back in town,
05:58and the love triangle remains unresolved.
06:02Will's feelings for Mike.
06:04Actor Noah Schnapp, who portrays Will,
06:06once stated that his character's sexuality
06:08was, quote,
06:09up to the audience's interpretation.
06:11Particularly after Mike's line
06:13about Will not liking girls in Season 3,
06:15fan discussion about Will's sexuality ramped up.
06:18For what?
06:19You could swap spin with some stupid girl?
06:21Elle's not stupid.
06:22It's not my fault you don't like girls.
06:25Once people noticed more overt signs
06:28of Will possibly being gay in Season 4,
06:31Schnapp confirmed what many fans had thought,
06:34saying that it's, quote,
06:35clear that Will's gay and loves Mike.
06:39Their emotional conversation in the van
06:40with Jonathan driving
06:42all but confirmed it,
06:43albeit implicitly.
06:51Will may have been talking about
06:53what Mike means to Eleven,
06:54but it's apparent
06:55it also had very much to do with him.
06:57As we head into Season 5, though,
06:59Mike is still very much in love with Eleven.
07:02He even said it.
07:03Main characters have returned to Hawkins.
07:06In Season 4,
07:07main characters were spread out
07:08with plot lines developing in Russia,
07:10Alaska, California, Nevada,
07:12and, of course, Hawkins, Indiana.
07:14Mike visited Eleven, Will, and Jonathan,
07:16who were now living in California.
07:18Eleven then ended up being held
07:20at that facility in Nevada,
07:21which he escaped just as Mike,
07:23Will, and Jonathan arrived.
07:25It's me.
07:28I'm here.
07:30Everyone's here.
07:31Throughout the season,
07:32Hopper was imprisoned in Russia,
07:34where Joyce and Murray ended up flying
07:36to ultimately save him in the season finale.
07:38We had a funeral.
07:42Anybody's show.
07:44Are you kidding?
07:45Other main characters
07:46who've been present since Season 1,
07:48Dustin, Lucas, Steve, and Nancy,
07:50were home in Hawkins,
07:51unraveling the dark mystery
07:52throughout Season 4.
07:54And by the end,
07:55Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan,
07:57Will, Mike, and Eleven
07:58have all returned to town,
08:00now reunited in the midst
08:01of dire circumstances.
08:03U.S. military involvement.
08:05Eleven has faced a multitude of threats
08:07throughout the series.
08:08In Season 4,
08:10one of those was a U.S. military faction.
08:12Led by Lieutenant Colonel Jack Sullivan,
08:14they've been on the hunt for Eleven.
08:20Sullivan views the powerful,
08:22eggo-loving protagonist
08:23as a serious threat
08:24to national security,
08:25and he believes she must be killed.
08:27Horrible, right?
08:28He has no idea what's really going on.
08:30If only he'd just sit down with her
08:32and talk things out,
08:33maybe over some egos or something.
08:35But no, Sullivan's men raided
08:37the Nina Project facility in Nevada,
08:39killing staff members
08:40and attempting but failing
08:41to take out Eleven.
08:42Let's try this again, shall we?
08:48Where's the girl?
08:49Thank goodness she got away.
08:50But Sullivan doesn't seem like a guy
08:52who'd one, change his mind,
08:53and two, give up that easily.
08:55Eleven's powers are back.
08:57At times, it was tough to watch Eleven
08:59struggle without her powers.
09:00But by the end of Season 4,
09:08she finally got them back
09:09and seemingly in full capacity.
09:12Leading up to that point,
09:13we saw her at the Nina Project facility
09:15in the Nevada desert,
09:16where she was put through
09:17many mentally challenging steps
09:19involving repressed traumatic memories
09:21on the way to restoring her powers.
09:23She later got out of a potentially deadly situation
09:26by telekinetically destroying
09:27a military helicopter that was after her.
09:30Eleven had just recently learned
09:44about the immense danger her friends are in.
09:46So whatever comes next in Season 5,
09:49remember that her restored supernatural abilities
09:51could prove very, very useful once again.
09:54Max is messed up.
09:55One of the most important things to remember,
09:58and one thing that most fans
09:59probably didn't forget
10:00is that Max is completely messed up.
10:03Season 4 left the heroine
10:04in a very dark and questionable place,
10:06not just mentally, but physically.
10:09Max, Max, Max, Max, Max, stay with me.
10:14Max, stay with me.
10:15No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
10:16Max, Max, please stay with me.
10:19Help!
10:20Very physically.
10:22Countless limbs have been
10:23completely shattered by Vecna,
10:24and she has gone totally blind from the bleeding eyes.
10:28She even technically died,
10:30but was brought back to life by 11.
10:32As it stands, Max remains comatose
10:34and her consciousness is absent from the void.
10:37So, you know, that's not good.
10:39It's unclear how Max's story will progress going forward,
10:42but it's very unlikely
10:43that she'll return to her normal self.
10:45Max!
10:49Max!
10:50Max's letters.
10:52And speaking of Max,
10:54she left behind some letters
10:55that seem very important going forward.
10:57Max started writing letters
10:59after getting visions of Vecna,
11:00believing that she would soon be killed.
11:03For you.
11:05For you.
11:07And, um, you.
11:10Oh, and I'm gonna give these to Mike and Will.
11:15She wrote letters to her family
11:16and virtually every main character,
11:18even Will and Steve,
11:20both of whom she's barely interacted with.
11:22It's possible that these are solely of a personal nature
11:24and won't be important,
11:26but it's also possible
11:27that they contain more pressing information.
11:29Max told the boys not to open the letters
11:31until after she died,
11:33describing them as a fail-safe.
11:35Those are odd words,
11:36and it's probably not how she'd describe them
11:38if they were solely personal.
11:40So just what the heck is going on here?
11:42I'm sorry, what is this?
11:44It's, um...
11:46It's a fail-safe.
11:49For after...
11:49You know, if things, if they don't work out.
11:52Callie's group.
11:53Eight, real name Callie Prasad,
11:56was introduced in the second season
11:57when Eleven made her way to Chicago.
11:59Hello?
12:00Well, well.
12:05What do we have here?
12:07Unfortunately,
12:08neither Callie nor her group of punk superheroes
12:10were received well.
12:12Many fans criticized their acting,
12:14hated the whole Chicago subplot,
12:16and called the episode a failed backdoor pilot.
12:19As such,
12:19we probably won't be seeing them again,
12:21but you never know.
12:22Maybe Eleven will need their help
12:24in the battle to come.
12:25And maybe a quick trip to Chicago
12:27is in the pipeline.
12:28Pack your bags just in case.
12:30The bad men were trying to take you away again,
12:32and that made you angry.
12:35Good.
12:35So find that anger.
12:37Focus on that.
12:38Not the train.
12:40Not his weight.
12:41Will's psychic link to Vecna.
12:43Will has been majorly sidelined since season two,
12:45so some fans may forget
12:47that he has a major psychic link to Vecna
12:49and the Mind Flayer.
12:51Now that I'm here,
12:53in Hawkins,
12:54I can feel him.
12:57Will has the ability to sense danger
12:59from the Upside Down,
13:00and he has repeatedly announced
13:02a psychic connection to Vecna.
13:04He can reportedly feel the existence
13:05of the big bad,
13:06and he's always touching the back of his neck
13:08when he senses danger close by.
13:10This psychic link hasn't really been explored,
13:13but it probably came about due to his infection
13:15and his extended time in the Upside Down.
13:17Either way,
13:18it's very possible Will and his mental link to Vecna
13:21will play a major role in the finale.
13:23It's strange knowing now
13:26who it was this whole time,
13:28but I can still remember what he thinks
13:33and how he thinks.
13:35Eddie's name has not been cleared.
13:37My nephew is innocent.
13:40He's still missing.
13:42I'll put up as many posters as I need
13:44till he's found.
13:45It probably won't play a major role in the plot,
13:48but it's interesting to remember
13:49that Eddie's name has not been cleared.
13:51For those who don't remember,
13:52Eddie's reputation was tarnished by Jason,
13:55who worked the citizens of Hawkins into a fury
13:57by claiming that Eddie was a Satanist
13:59and that he murdered Chrissy.
14:01We've all heard about how Satanic cults
14:04are spreading to our country like some disease.
14:07And Eddie Munson,
14:08he's the leader of one of these cults,
14:11a cult that operates right here in Hawkins.
14:14As such,
14:14he became a major public pariah
14:17and died as such.
14:19We later see that his missing person poster
14:21has been defaced by Satanic imagery,
14:23indicating that the public still holds
14:25some major resentment against him.
14:26We know the truth,
14:28but Hawkins is still in the dark.
14:30Maybe Dustin will inform them
14:31just as he did with Eddie's uncle.
14:34He fought and died to protect this town.
14:39This town that hated him.
14:44He isn't just innocent.
14:48Mr. Munson, he's...
14:49He's a hero.
14:52The Russian Connection
14:54Oh my god.
15:08The Kamchatka facility played a major role in season four,
15:11with Hopper being imprisoned behind its icy walls.
15:14But the prison is also part military base,
15:17and it hosts the likes of demogorgons,
15:19demodogs,
15:19and even a portion of the Mind Flayer.
15:22Hey.
15:32Found something.
15:33It's a fascinating discovery,
15:35especially the part about the Mind Flayer.
15:37It's obvious that the Russians
15:39have some type of major connection
15:40with the Upside Down,
15:42but this connection hasn't been fully explored.
15:44We'd love to know the extent of the Russians' knowledge
15:46and what exactly they hoped to accomplish
15:48by housing these monsters in the facility.
15:51Scientific research or maybe something more nefarious.
15:58What the hell are they doing?
16:00The Origins of the Upside Down
16:02Imagine what we could do together.
16:06We could reshape the world,
16:09remake it however we see fit.
16:11It will probably play a major role going forward,
16:15so it'll be nice to have a refresher on the Upside Down.
16:17Eleven opened an interdimensional gate while fighting Henry Creel,
16:21sending him to what is known as Dimension X.
16:23I believed you had sent me to my death,
16:25to purgatory,
16:28but I was wrong.
16:31I was somewhere new.
16:34Henry described this as,
16:36a realm unspoiled by mankind,
16:39populated by alien creatures
16:41and a swirling mass of particles
16:44that Henry psychically formed into the Mind Flayer.
16:47He also created a collective hive mind,
16:50allowing pieces of the Mind Flayer to infect other organisms,
16:54like Will.
16:55Eleven then made contact with this dimension four years later,
16:58opening the Mother Gate
16:59and magically transforming Henry's world
17:01into a mirror replica of Hawkins,
17:03the Upside Down.
17:04What is it?
17:07Nancy,
17:08you're freaking me out.
17:10I think
17:11the reason that my guns aren't here
17:14is because they don't exist yet.
17:18Steve was bitten.
17:20Hey,
17:21good luck.
17:22Thanks.
17:23Steve is a fan favorite character,
17:25and despite all odds,
17:27he has made it through all four seasons.
17:29But things looked pretty rocky at times,
17:31like when he was swarmed and attacked by Demobats
17:34in the Upside Down.
17:43Steve was attacked by the bats
17:44after entering the Water Gate,
17:46with two of the creatures
17:47violently eating away at his sides.
17:49Nothing much came of this attack,
17:51and Steve seems fine,
17:53but it might be important to remember,
17:55as we don't know the full extent of his injuries.
17:57Maybe Steve will develop some kind of infection,
18:00or maybe, like Will,
18:01he will become a part of the hive mind.
18:03They are mentally connected to Vecna, after all,
18:05serving as his spies in the Upside Down.
18:08Are you okay?
18:11Well, he took about a pound of flesh.
18:15But other than that,
18:17yeah, never better.
18:18Vecna is still alive.
18:20Let's hope one is dead and rotting.
18:24He's not.
18:25While it looked like Vecna was defeated at the end of Season 4,
18:28it seems like he's going to be the endgame boss after all.
18:32Vecna was seemingly killed by the heroes in the Upside Down,
18:35going through the gauntlet of being repeatedly shot,
18:38set on fire, and sent through a window.
18:40But when they went to confirm his death,
18:42his body was gone,
18:43signifying that he had survived.
18:45This was later confirmed by Will,
18:53who arrived in Hawkins,
18:55and immediately sensed that Vecna was still alive,
18:57thanks to their shared psychic connection.
18:59He even told Mike that the villain must be killed,
19:02which definitely sets him up as Season 5's big bad.
19:05Poor Jamie Campbell-Bauer,
19:06having to get back into that bodysuit.
19:08Once we had a live cast of Jamie,
19:10basically we want all the appliances,
19:12rather than having a rubber monster suit,
19:13we were designing it as a kind of a jigsaw puzzle,
19:17which gives us a lot more fluid sort of movement,
19:20we don't have much buckling,
19:21and we have a really skin-tight sort of look.
19:24Before we continue,
19:25be sure to subscribe to our channel
19:26and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
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19:34If you're on your phone,
19:35make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
19:39Hawkins has been invaded.
19:41It's been less than 48 hours
19:43since a 7.4 magnitude earthquake
19:46rocked the quaint town of Hawkins,
19:4880 miles outside of Indianapolis,
19:50in an event that seismologists are calling
19:52a natural disaster of near-unprecedented scale.
19:56Season 4 ended on a major cliffhanger,
19:59and this is obviously the most important thing
20:01to remember going into Season 5.
20:03So let's recap.
20:04A gate opens whenever Vecna kills someone in the real world,
20:07and Max was his final victim.
20:15With her brief death,
20:16the final gate opened and connected with the others,
20:19forming a mega gate that connected the dimensions
20:21and allowed the Upside Down to invade Hawkins.
20:24We see this come to fruition in the final moments of Season 4,
20:27with the heroes watching in horror
20:29as spores and plumes of smoke emerge from the Upside Down.
20:32We suppose it's only a matter of time
20:34before the monsters come through as well,
20:36and then the real trouble begins.
20:47Do you have a bold prediction for Season 5?
20:50Let us know in the comments.
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