Stranger Things Season 4 is finally coming out this week. Volume 1 is dropping this Friday and Netflix is making the final marketing push to make this the biggest season yet for the popular horror series. To prepare for Stranger Things’ return, Netflix has just released a final trailer for Season 4 and recap videos for all three previous seasons.
The recap videos are a great nostalgia trip and a reminder of how far we have come with all these now-beloved characters. Season 1 introduced us to this mysterious horror world full of government conspiracies, Dungeons & Dragons, 80s bliss, and the dreaded Demogorgons. The first arc of the series saw Eleven escaping Hawkins Lab and Will Byers going missing in The Upside Down. However, socially speaking, the biggest topic of discussion was if Barb was still alive. Sadly, as we would learn in the next season, she wasn’t.
Season 2’s video focuses on Will still being tethered to The Upside Down, the introduction of Max (Sadie Sink), Hopper starting to raise Eleven as his child, and the rise of the Demodog army. The second season also saw the transformation of Steve's character from your stereotypical bully to fan-favorite hero as well as the start of the romance between Nancy and Jonathan. However, the most important plot detail expanded upon this season was Eleven finding more of “Hawkins Experiments” in the infamous seventh episode of the season. A lot of fans have called this particular narrative detour the weakest of the series so far. That being said, with the upcoming grand scale of Season 4 and the first eight minutes of the new season being one big flashback to Eleven’s time at Hawkins Lab, that plot thread may have become way more important.
Season 3’s video takes us back to its fun summer vibes that saw the town pool, Hawkins’ fair, and the new Starcourt Mall become major hot spots for the story. The scale of the series was further expanded upon with the Russians having a secret base under the mall. Also, Robin (Maya Hawke) was introduced as a major new player, and they had a lot of added humor with Hopper dealing with Eleven becoming a teenager. The relationship between Max and her brother Billy was further explored in Season 3 and the story arc between Steve and Robin was a highlight as well. The season was topped off with its pleasing neon aesthetic and Invasion of the Body Snatchers Mind Flayer influences.
Now just one week away from the premiere, we have the final trailer for Stranger Things Season 4. While it doesn't reveal anything new about the story, it’s chock-full of classic Stranger Things imagery that cranks up the grand scope of the horror series to a rock ‘n roll level of cool. All our favorite characters are preparing for battle in both the real world and The Upside Down. A pending war can definitely be felt throughout the trailer, and it feels like it is the beginning of the end. This is fitting since Season 4 is the second to last season of the show. The Duffer Brothers are pulling out all the stops this season with the direction appearing to hold nothing back creatively. There is one shot, in particular, that is a fun play on the series' classic bike riding scenes with the camera starting off with one group of characters in the real world, with us looking down at them from the sky before it literally flips to the same shot of another group of parallel characters biking in The Upside Down.
The Duffer Brothers have compared this season to Game of Thrones and a few of the key episodes in Season 4 will be feature-length horror shows. This new trailer adds more credence to that supposed epic scale. It will be really exciting to see how the season will juggle all these different storylines with Hopper being trapped in Russia and Eleven and the Byers being in another state entirely. We will find out soon as the witching hour is almost upon us. Stranger Things Season 4 Vol. 1 releases on May 27 with the first seven episodes before wrapping up the season with its final two episodes in Vol. 2 on July 1. While we anxiously wait for The Upside Down to return, you can watch the final trailer and the recap videos down below.
Stranger Things Season 1 recap:
Stranger Things Season 2 recap:
Stranger Things Season 3 recap:
Here's the official synopsis for Stranger Things Season 4:
It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.