"Stranger Things" premiered nearly a decade ago.President Barack Obamawas still in office, and music legendsDavid BowieandPrincehad only recently died. So it's safe to say, plot lines from the earliest seasons aren't exactly fresh in our minds.
After a more than three-year wait, the Netflix phenomenon finally returns on Nov. 26 with its first batch of four episodes fromits long-awaited fifth season.The ending is sure to tie back into Season 1, which aired so long ago that the show's child actors have since grown up, gotten married, or startedhaving kids of their own.
If you're foggy on the details of where we left the Upside Down in the Season 4 finale, read on for our complete recap of the entire "Stranger Things" saga to date and all the key storylines left unresolved heading into Season 5.
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna. From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Following the first batch of episodes, fans will have to wait until Christmas Day for "Volume 2" to binge three more episodes. Finally, it will all come to a bittersweet end on New Year's Eve with the series finale (which will also be hitting theaters).After the Season 5 premiere in Los Angeles, Jamie Campbell Bower, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard attended a For Your Consideration event at Netflix's Tudum Theater on Nov. 8, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Millie Bobby Brown was only 11 (no pun intended) when she attended the Season 1 premiere of "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Now 21, Brown is all grown up in a Rodarte black gown at the final premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
On Nov. 13, 2025, Brown wore another elegant black gown at the UK screening of "Stranger Things 5" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp was also 11 when "Stranger Things" first began. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp, now 21, looked dapper at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp and Brown, who have fostered a close friendship offscreen, share a laugh at the London premiere of "Season Things 5." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo was almost 13 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo, now 23, who plays the beloved Dustin Henderson onscreen, looked rocked a three-piece dark grey suit at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo at the London screening of the final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin was almost 14 when "Stranger Things" Season 1 premiered in the summer of 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin, now 24, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin wore custom Joshua Kane at the London premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Finn Wolfhard was almost 12 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Wolfhard, now 22, spoke to USA TODAY at the "Stranger Things 5" red carpet about how it feels to say goodbye to the hit Netflix show and his costars. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"I feel like I haven't ever said goodbye totally," Wolfhard said. "It comes in waves, I feel like. But it's really nice to be able to be here with everyone and experience sort of the end, even though it doesn't really feel like the end, because we all still talk a lot."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Natalia Dyer was 20 years old when she first appeared on Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer, now ushering a new season as a soon-to-be 31-year-old, opted to wear a bold red dress for the final "Stranger Things" premiere as she did for the first. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer attends the "Stranger Things 5" screening in London on Nov. 13, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
After a breakout Season 1 of "Stranger Things," the core cast was back at it on the red carpet circuit for Season 2. Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown attend the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 2 at Regency Bruin Theatre on Oct. 26, 2017." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Season 2 of the show saw new cast additions including Sadie Sink as May Mayfield and Dacre Montgomery as her brother, Billy Hargrove. "The Goonies" actor Sean Astin, "Beverly Hills Cop" actor Paul Reiser and "Teenland" actress Linnea Berthelsen also joined the cast." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Sadie Sink, now 23, attends Netflix's "Stranger Things 2" premiere on Oct. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends a "Stranger Things" Season 5 screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Brown walked hand-in-hand with costar Sink on the black carpet at the Hollywood premiere of "Stranger Things" Season 5 on Nov. 6, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The two have been red carpet besties since the beginning. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Joe Keery, now 33, has been part of the original "Stranger Things" cast since Season 1. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Fast forward a decade later, Keery has also forayed into the music industry. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Keery opts for an edgy, all-black look at the final premiere of "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Charlie Heaton, the brooding Jonathan Byers on "Stranger Things," has also been on the show since the start. Here he is pictured at the 2017 BAFTA Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Heaton, now 31, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Heaton, a UK native, attends the "Stranger Things" screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Mother! Winona Ryder attends the Season 1 premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Ryder attends the 2025 world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Blast from the past! David Harbour at the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
David Harbour, now 50, attends the final premiere of "Stranger Things." He plays Jim Hopper. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Father-daughter duo from the start. Harbour and Brown attend the after party for the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The final "Stranger Things" premiere was nearly plagued with controversy after reports surfaced from the Daily Mail on Nov. 1 that Brown had allegedly filed a harassment and bullying claim against her onscreen dad before filming began. During the Nov. 7 premiere, however, the actors showed a united front, conveying nothing but admiration toward each other as phones and cameras measured their every move." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas Sinclair's younger sister Erica Sinclair, also joined the cast of "Stranger Things" in Season 1. She has gradually become a fan favorite with her sassy attitude and quick wit toward her onscreen brother Caleb and the rest of the Hawkins gang. Here she is pictured at the Season 3 premiere of the show on June 28, 2019, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Priah Ferguson attends Netflix's "Stranger Things" red carpet premiere for Season 5. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Say "Vecna"! "Stranger Things" cast Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown (front right) attend the BUILD Series at AOL HQ on Aug. 31, 2016, in New York City. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Strike a pose! The Core Four of Hawkins hit the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on Dec. 11, 2016, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Gaten Matarazzo at the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 'Stranger Things' cast then and now: See Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp grow up in photos
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna.From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California.
Or … you could rewatch the whole series before Thanksgiving.
Season 1
The story begins with the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), who goes missing after biking home from his friend Mike Wheeler's (Finn Wolfhard) house in Hawkins, Indiana.
After a search, Will's body is found in a quarry, but his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), is convinced he's still alive and communicating to her from another realm. Jim Hopper (David Harbour), the police chief who is mourning his daughter Sara's death from cancer, realizes Joyce isn't crazy after he breaks into the morgue and discovers Will's body is a fake.
It soon becomes clear that Will has been taken into an alternate dimension known as the Upside Down, a gate to which is located inside a government laboratory in Hawkins run by Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine).
A girl with telekinetic powers (Millie Bobby Brown), who was a test subject at the lab, escapes and runs into Mike and his friends Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin). The trio helps protect the girl, known as Eleven because of her test subject number, from agents trying to find her, "E.T." style.
Along the way, Eleven and Mike develop feelings for each other, culminating in a kiss.
While investigating Will's disappearance, Joyce and Hopper visit Eleven's birth mother, Terry Ives (Aimee Mullins), but find she is in a catatonic state. Her sister explains that years earlier, Terry got involved in a CIA study, MKUltra, without realizing she was pregnant. Brenner kidnapped Terry's daughter, Jane (a.k.a. Eleven), when she was born, but covered it up by claiming Terry had a miscarriage; Brenner also told Eleven that her mother died in childbirth. Terry knows the truth about what happened to Eleven, but no one believes her.
'Stranger Things'core cast reacts to 2016 photo — more moments from the final premiere
It's also revealed that when Eleven was a test subject at the lab, she made psychic contact with a creature from the Upside Down dubbed the Demogorgon. In doing so, she unintentionally opened the gate to this other dimension.
Meanwhile, Mike's sister Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) is searching for Barb Holland (Shannon Purser), her friend who disappeared after attending a party at Nancy's boyfriend Steve Harrington's (Joe Keery) house. Barb, it turns out, was taken into the Upside Down and killed by the Demogorgon. During her search, Nancy teams up with Will's brother, Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), causing animosity between Jonathan and Steve.
By the finale, Joyce and Hopper travel into the Upside Down and bring Will home, the Demogorgon appears to kill Dr. Brenner, and Eleven seemingly dies using her powers to defeat the creature.
Season 2
Eleven lives! Immediately after the events of Season 1, Eleven wakes up in the Upside Down and returns to the real world, where Hopper finds her in the woods. To keep her hidden, Hopper makes a home for Eleven in an isolated cabin, refusing to let her go out for her safety.
Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will befriend Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), who moved to Hawkins with her stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery). But ever since returning home at the end of Season 1, Will has been having flashes of the Upside Down and of a large shadow monster, which the kids dub the Mind Flayer.
It's eventually discovered that Will is possessed by the Mind Flayer, which is using him to spy on the real world. An army of monsters from the Upside Down that are connected to the Mind Flayer via a hive mind soon begin attacking, and they kill Joyce's new boyfriend Bob (Sean Astin) near the end of the season.
Off in her own storyline, Eleven leaves the cabin to visit her mother, Terry, who remains catatonic. Flashbacks reveal that after Brenner kidnapped Eleven as a baby, a gun-wielding Terry went to Hawkins Lab to rescue her. She found Eleven in a room with a rainbow outside the door, but was quickly subdued, and Brenner subjected her to electric shocks that damaged her brain.
Eleven subsequently tracks down Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), a former test subject at Hawkins Lab.
Kali, a.k.a. Eight, leads a group of criminals hunting down anyone who was involved in the lab experiments. She gives Eleven a punk makeover and recruits her to her gang, but after they track down a former employee of Dr. Brenner, Eleven can't bring herself to kill him. While pleading for his life, the man reveals Brenner is still alive.
Eleven ultimately comes home and reunites with her friends after realizing they're in danger. Hopper and Eleven reconcile, the group saves Will by using heat to make his body uninhabitable to the Mind Flayer, and Eleven seals the gate to the Upside Down. After the dust settles, Hopper obtains a birth certificate for Eleven, which gives her the legal name of Jane Hopper.
"Stranger Things" is almost here! The fifth and final season of the Netflix horror series will return Nov. 26 (with subsequent installments on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve). Take a peek at images from the episodes, including Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler in "Stranger Things" Season 5. The third Wheeler sibling has been too young to be included in earlier seasons. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"Terminator" star Linda Hamilton makes her debut as Dr. Kay in "Stranger Things" Season 5." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Their teen romance will have to endure apocalyptic problems. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Everyone's favorite friends will have their own trials and tribulations. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Max ended Season 4 of the series in a coma caused by villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Lucas' little sister is a fan favorite." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Will's kidnapping by Vecna into the Upside Down in Season 1 started the whole series of unfortunate events of the show. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The gang's all here: Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, and Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair in "Stranger Things" Season 5." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
An image from "Stranger Things" Season 5. Things are looking positively like the end of the world in Hawkins, Indiana. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sneak peek photos from 'Stranger Things' Season 5, including Max Mayfield's fate
"Stranger Things" is almost here! Thefifth and final season of the Netflix horror serieswill return Nov. 26 (with subsequent installments on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve). Take a peek at images from the episodes, including Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers.
Other miscellaneous Season 2 developments include Nancy bonding with Jonathan after she and Steve break up; Steve becoming unlikely friends with Dustin and discovering he's surprisingly good with kids; and Lucas and Max beginning to fall in love. Nancy also gets some justice for Barb by, with help from conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), forcing government officials to admit involvement in her death.
Season 3
As Season 3 begins, Eleven and Mike are officially a couple and can't keep their hands off each other, upsetting an overprotective Hopper, who tries to break them up. Mike starts creating distance with Eleven after Hopper threatens him, leading Eleven, who bonds with Max over the drama, to end their relationship.
Over in Starcourt Mall, the hot new spot in Hawkins, Steve has started working at an ice cream parlor. Dustin, Steve and Steve's coworker Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) investigate a Russian transmission that Dustin intercepted while trying to reach his girlfriend Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo), whom he met at camp.
This leads them to discover a hidden base under the mall, where Russians have been building a machine to open a gate to the Upside Down.
Meanwhile, Nancy is working at a newspaper and is dating Jonathan, with whom she begins looking into reports of infected rats. This turns out to be connected to a much larger problem: Max's stepbrother, Billy, is possessed by the Mind Flayer and serving as its new host, much like Will was in Season 2. While under the Mind Flayer's control, Billy begins kidnapping people and bringing them to the creature, which has taken the form of a giant, spider-like blob made of rat flesh.
With Billy's assistance, the Mind Flayer assembles an army of people whose minds it has taken over, which the kids nickname the Flayed. Under the Mind Flayer's control, the Flayed start melting into goop and merging with the creature's body to make it even larger. The Mind Flayer attacks Eleven and leaves a piece of itself inside her leg, which she is forced to remove. After getting back on her feet, Eleven helps Billy fight the Mind Flayer's control, and he saves her life. The creature kills Billy in front of a distraught Max.
See the first 5 minutesof 'Stranger Things' Season 5 in this sinister preview
While this is happening, Joyce, Hopper and Murray sneak into the Russian base and destroy the machine. They close the gate to the Upside Down, which in turn kills the Mind Flayer's fleshy body (though this doesn't solve the problem that it remains alive in the Upside Down). But Hopper seemingly dies, as he's standing next to the machine when it explodes.
Three months later, with Hopper presumed dead, Joyce, Will and Jonathan move to California. Eleven, who lost her powers during the battle with the Mind Flayer, goes with the Byers family, but not before telling Mike she loves him.
Also on the romance side of things, Robin comes out of the closet to Steve this season after he reveals he has feelings for her, while Joyce finally agrees to go on a date with Hopper, at least before his supposed death gets in the way of their dinner plans at Enzo's.
Season 4 Vol. 1
Season 4 is the most plot-dense season of them all and was the first to be released in two volumes. (Season 5 will be released in three volumes, beginning the day before Thanksgiving, then on Christmas and New Year's with the series finale.)
Eight months after Season 3, Joyce, Will, Jonathan and Eleven are still living in California. In Hawkins, Mike, Dustin and Lucas have joined a Dungeons & Dragons group led by Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) called Hellfire Club, while Max has broken up with Lucas and is still grieving Billy's death. During spring break, Mike goes to California to visit Eleven, who still doesn't have her powers.
During this time, Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser), who became the director of Hawkins Lab after Dr. Brenner, tracks down Eleven. He tells her Hawkins is in danger, and the only hope of saving the town is to restore her abilities. Eleven goes with him willingly, while Mike, Will and Jonathan flee after soldiers come after them over knowledge about Eleven's whereabouts. Dr. Owens brings Eleven to a silo in Nevada, and she reunites with the very much alive Dr. Brenner.
In Hawkins, cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham (Grace Van Dien) begins having disturbing visions and starts seeing and hearing a grandfather clock. To find relief, Chrissy seeks out Eddie to buy drugs off him and when she goes to his trailer, she falls into a trance and is killed by a monster, later dubbed Vecna. After Eddie flees the scene and goes into hiding, Chrissy's boyfriend, Jason Carver (Mason Dye), and his friends blame him for killing her.
Vecna soon kills student newspaper reporter Fred Benson (Logan Riley Bruner), also Nancy's friend, after which Max starts having visions and realizes she's the next target. While searching for a way to defeat Vecna, Nancy and Robin investigate the case of Victor Creel, a man accused of killing his family in the 1950s. Victor maintains his innocence and claims Vecna murdered his wife and kids.
It's eventually discovered that a person can break free of Vecna's trance by listening to their favorite song, so the gang plays Max the Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill," allowing her to run from him to safety. Lucas apologizes to Max for not realizing how much emotional pain she was in, and they reconnect. Vecna subsequently claims another life: Patrick (Myles Truitt), one of Jason's friends.
For fans that have been keeping "the door open three inches" since "Stranger Things" last released new episodes in 2022, you're in luck. Season 5 is arriving on Netflix starting Nov. 26, and the stars are out in Hollywood celebrating the acclaimed show's final season.Scroll through for photos from the LA premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre
on Nov. 6, 2025, starting with Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour.
" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Millie Bobby Brown 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Finn Wolfhard" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Scott Mackinlay Hahn and Winona Ryder" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sadie Sink" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matthew Modine" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jamie Campbell Bower" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Jamie Campbell Bower" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Cara Buono" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Shawn Levy" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sadie Sink, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour attend final 'Stranger Things' premiere
For fans that have been keeping "the door open three inches" since "Stranger Things" last released new episodes in 2022, you're in luck. Season 5 is arriving on Netflix starting Nov. 26, and the stars are out in Hollywood celebrating the acclaimed show's final season.Scroll through for photos from the LA premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre
on Nov. 6, 2025, starting with Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour.
As Eddie is named a suspect in the murders, Jason riles up the town to hunt him down, claiming the Hellfire Club is a cult.
Dustin speculates that Vecna is killing people to open new gates to the real world from the Upside Down, meaning there are gates located in all the spots where Vecna's victims have died.
Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie wind up in the Upside Down after traveling through a gate at the bottom of the lake where Vecna killed Patrick. While inside, they discover the Upside Down is stuck in the past — specifically, Nov. 6, 1983, the day Will went missing in Season 1 and the day Eleven contacted the Demogorgon, opening a gate to the Upside Down.
Back in the silo, Brenner places Eleven in an isolation chamber, forcing her to relive repressed memories from when she was a test subject at Hawkins Lab. She recalls becoming friends with an orderly (Jamie Campbell Bower), who turned out to have telekinetic powers like hers.
The orderly is revealed to be Brenner's first test subject, a.k.a. One.
That's not all:One is also Henry Creel, Victor Creel's son. When he was a child, Henry went into a coma after using his powers to kill his mother and sister — murders that were blamed on his father — and was awakened in the care of Dr. Brenner. As Henry tells it, Brenner wanted to control him, but when he realized he couldn't, he tried to recreate him through the original lab program that Eleven was a part of.
As an adult, before the events of Season 1, Henry manipulated a young Eleven into removing a chip in his neck that was suppressing his abilities before he went on a killing spree in the lab. He planned to flee the lab and asked Eleven to come with him so they could reshape the world together, but she refused.
Instead, Eleven used her powers to banish Henry into the Upside Down, turning him into Vecna. Dustin theorizes that Vecna is working for the Mind Flayer as its "five-star general," though a flashback later shows Vecna seemingly forming the Mind Flayer out of black particles in the sky.
"Stranger Things" is almost here! The fifth and final season of the Netflix horror series will return Nov. 26 (with subsequent installments on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve). Take a peek at images from the episodes, including Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler in "Stranger Things" Season 5. The third Wheeler sibling has been too young to be included in earlier seasons. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> "Terminator" star Linda Hamilton makes her debut as Dr. Kay in "Stranger Things" Season 5." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Their teen romance will have to endure apocalyptic problems. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Everyone's favorite friends will have their own trials and tribulations. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Max ended Season 4 of the series in a coma caused by villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Lucas' little sister is a fan favorite." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in "Stranger Things" Season 5. Will's kidnapping by Vecna into the Upside Down in Season 1 started the whole series of unfortunate events of the show. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> The gang's all here: Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, and Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair in "Stranger Things" Season 5." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> An image from "Stranger Things" Season 5. Things are looking positively like the end of the world in Hawkins, Indiana. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sneak peek photos from 'Stranger Things' Season 5, including Max Mayfield's fate
"Stranger Things" is almost here! Thefifth and final season of the Netflix horror serieswill return Nov. 26 (with subsequent installments on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve). Take a peek at images from the episodes, including Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers.
Season 4 Vol. 2
While traveling back to the real world from the Upside Down, Nancy falls under Vecna's trance and sees visions of Hawkins destroyed by four gates. The group concludes that when Vecna kills again and opens another gate, Hawkins will fall. So they formulate a plan to have Max, still cursed by Vecna, serve as bait while everyone else sneaks into his lair and kills him while he's distracted.
After reliving her memories of Vecna's origin, Eleven gets her powers back. Brenner urges her to stay at the silo longer, but she calls him a monster. Military men, who have been chasing Eleven all season because they believe she's responsible for Vecna's killings, raid the silo, and as Brenner carries Eleven out, he is shot and seemingly killed.
Jonathan, Mike and Will arrive, reuniting with Eleven before they all flee.
Amid all this, Joyce has been on a mission to rescue Hopper, who survived the machine explosion from Season 3 and is being held in a Russian prison camp.
Joyce and Murray sneak into the prison, where the Russians have captured various Upside Down monsters. After fleeing the prison, Joyce and Hopper reinstate their plans for a dinner date at Enzo's and share a kiss.
Steve, Robin, Nancy, Eddie and Dustin head to the Upside Down, while Max, in the real world, baits Vecna by going to the Creel house with Lucas. Once Max enters Vecna's trance, Dustin and Eddie loudly play music to draw bats away from Vecna's lair, and Eddie is killed. In California, Eleven enters a makeship sensory deprivation tank and telepathically projects herself into Max's mind. Once inside, Eleven battles Vecna.
In Russia, Hopper, Joyce and Murray break back into the prison to kill the Upside Down monsters and injure Vecna, who is connected to them via a hive mind.
While Eleven is restrained, Vecna starts breaking Max's limbs. Nancy, Steve and Robin enter Vecna's lair, setting him on fire and shooting him repeatedly. He falls out of a window, but when the trio goes outside, his body is gone. As Max dies, rifts begin to form in the fabric of reality, causing widespread destruction and killing Jason, who had barged into the Creel house during the final battle. Eleven uses her powers to bring Max back to life, but she remains unconscious and seriously injured.
Two days later, Mike, Will, Eleven and Jonathan return to Hawkins, where 22 people have been killed. The official story is that the rift in reality was a deadly earthquake. Eddie, who is missing and presumed dead, is still the prime suspect in Vecna's murders, and Max remains in a coma in the hospital. Hopper returns home and reunites with Eleven, and Will says he can feel that Vecna is hurt, but alive.
On the personal relationships side this season, Will is heavily implied to be gay and have feelings for Mike, while Robin crushes on a girl named Vickie (Amybeth McNulty) and starts bonding with her in the finale. Before she went into her coma, Max was back on good terms with Lucas, and they made plans to see a movie.
Step inside Netflix, literally. The biggest shows from the popular streaming service come to life in the company's new Netflix House attractions, the first of which opens outside Philadelphia on Nov. 12. See exclusive photos from the immersive experience that will delight fans of "Wednesday," "Stranger Things," "One Piece" and more." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
The entrance hall for Netflix House. The attraction is in a former Lord & Taylor in the King of Prussia Mall in the suburbs of Philadelphia. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Netflix House has free and paid experiences for fans. In the free areas are many photo opportunities, like this "Bridgerton"-style throne. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Another free spot in Netflix House is this recreation of the Byers family living room from "Stranger Things."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Fans can buy tickets for more in depth experiences, including "Wednesday: Eve of the Outcasts," which combines an interactive mystery with carnival games. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The "Wednesday" experience can bring fans inside the set of the Addams Family show. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
A nine-hold mini golf course is also available, with holes themed around shows and sports from Netflix like WWE and "Love is Blind." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Fans will have to try to break out of the multi-tiered escape room experience, "One Piece: Quest for the Devil Fruit." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Get up close and personal with the "One Piece" set. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Step inside the world of "Stranger Things," "Squid Game" and "Rebel Moon" in this VR experience. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
In addition to games and attractions, Netflix House has a large merchandise store with bits and bobs from all your favorite Netflix shows. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
And if you're hungry you can get Netflix-themed dishes at Netflix Bites, a full-service restaurant. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 'Wednesday' and 'One Piece' come to life in Netflix House attraction (exclusive photos)
Step inside Netflix, literally. The biggest shows from the popular streaming service come to life in the company's new Netflix House attractions, the first of which opens outside Philadelphia on Nov. 12.See exclusive photos from the immersive experience that will delight fans of "Wednesday," "Stranger Things," "One Piece" and more.
There are also suggestions that Nancy and Steve could rekindle their relationship. Steve admits to Nancy that he has dreamed of starting a family with her, and we learn that Jonathan secretly doesn't intend to go to Emerson College with Nancy, as the two had planned. By the end of the season, though, Jonathan still hasn't had the guts to tell her.
In the closing scene of Season 4, ominous pillars of smoke appear on the horizon, indicating the Upside Down is spreading into the real world and setting the stage for an epic final battle with Vecna.
The end begins in the first batch of episodes from Season 5, which hit Netflix on Nov. 26.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Stranger Things' series recap: Everything to remember before Season 5