Stranger Things guide: Everything to remember before the final season

It’s the endgame for Stranger Things, one of Netflix's most popular shows. The hit series is gearing up for its fifth and final season, made up of eight episodes.

Split into three parts, the first four episodes will be released on November 26, followed by three more on Christmas Day and a two-hour finale on New Year’s Eve. As the Upside Down continues to spread and old threats resurface, the group faces one final fight to save their town and their world.

The fourth season of Stranger Things aired back in 2022. Before season five begins, here’s what to remember from seasons one to four, from the Demogorgon to Vecna, and everything in between.

Season one

When 12-year-old Will Byers disappears one night in Hawkins, Indiana, the quiet town begins to unravel. His friends – Mike, Lucas and Dustin – set out to find him, but instead meet Eleven, a mysterious girl with telekinetic powers who has escaped from a secret government lab.

As Will’s mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), insists she can hear her son through flickering lights, police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) digs into the town’s strange experiments. What they uncover leads to the Upside Down, a shadowy parallel world and a terrifying creature known as the Demogorgon.

Memorable moments

• Eleven flips a van mid-air using her powers.
• Joyce communicates with Will through flickering Christmas lights.
• The group’s first face-off with the Demogorgon.

How it sets up season two: The gate to the Upside Down is still open, hinting that Hawkins’s problems, as well as Eleven’s past, can come back and haunt them yet.

Season two

A year after Will’s return, life in Hawkins seems normal again, but only on the surface. Will begins experiencing terrifying visions from the Upside Down, suggesting its grip on him isn’t quite over.

A new, shadowy force known as the Mind Flayer starts spreading through the town, infecting minds and turning Hawkins into its next target. Meanwhile, Eleven, now living in secret with Hopper, struggles to control her powers and aims to uncover more about her past. The arrival of step-siblings Max and Billy (Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery) adds fresh energy and tension to the group, reshaping its dynamic.

Memorable moments

• The reveal of the Mind Flayer towering over Hawkins in the red-tinged sky.
• Eleven closing the gate beneath Hawkins Lab.
• The dance between Mike and Eleven to the Police's Every Breath You Take in the closing scene of the season.

How it sets up season three: The gate may be sealed, but traces of the Mind Flayer remain, suggesting that the calmness in Hawkins won’t last long.

Season three

In the summer of 1985, Hawkins feels brighter than ever thanks to the new Starcourt Mall, but there is still danger lurking below. The Mind Flayer returns, using the mall’s secret Russian lab as its base and possessing Billy and other residents to carry out its plans.

As the group juggles summer jobs, evolving friendships and new relationships, strange disappearances begin to point towards something sinister under the town’s new mall. As tensions rise, the friends must once again come together to face the horrors creeping back from the Upside Down.

Memorable moments

• Billy’s possession and final act of sacrifice.
• Dustin and Suzie’s NeverEnding Story duet over the radio.
• The explosion under Starcourt Mall and Hopper’s apparent death.

How it sets up season four: Hopper is presumed dead, Eleven is stripped of her powers and the group is separated as the threat begins to spread beyond Hawkins.

Season four

Now split across California, Russia and Indiana, the group of friends face their most haunting enemy yet. Vecna, a sinister being from the Upside Down with a direct link to Eleven’s past, begins murdering teenagers in Hawkins by preying on their fears and trauma.

Amid the chaos, newcomer Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), the metal-loving leader of Hellfire Club, becomes an unlikely hero, rallying the group with his courage before meeting a tragic end.

As old secrets resurface, Eleven regains her strength to confront both her own history and the darkness threatening to consume their world.

Memorable moments

• Max levitating to Running Up That Hill as she attempts to escape Vecna.
• Eddie Munson’s solo guitar sacrifice in the Upside Down.
• The Upside Down breaking through and merging with Hawkins in the finale.

How it sets up season five: As the Upside Down spills into Hawkins, the stage is set for an epic final battle.

Netflix has confirmed season five will wrap up the story that began in Hawkins back in 2016. The Duffer Brothers have also hinted it will tie Eleven’s origin to the Upside Down and bring every surviving character back together for a battle that could decide the fate of both worlds.

Stranger Things season five cast

Most of the Stranger Things cast will return, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Noah Schnapp. The series also stars Priah Ferguson, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Jamie Campbell Bower, Winona Ryder and David Harbour.

New to the final season are Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly and Alex Breaux, along with Terminator star Linda Hamilton. “I’ve watched every season with relish. I just love it,” Hamilton told Us Weekly in 2024. “It’s kind of like impostor syndrome. It is different when you’re a fan of a show to sort of go: ‘Well, how do I fit?’ But we’re working on it. It’s good. It’s really good.”