Stranger Things: a complete recap ahead of Season Five

With the fifth season of Stranger Things being released three years after season four, viewers may need a recap of the story that brought us to the fall of 1987.

Season One

Season one set the tone, with Will Byers being abducted by a mysterious figure after a Dungeons and Dragons session with his friends Mike, Dustin and Lucas. While searching for Will, the boys meet Eleven for the very first time in the woods after she escaped the Hawkins government laboratory, where she gained telekinetic abilities.

Eleven recognises Will from pictures and claims she can help the boys find him using her powers, saying Will is being hunted by a creature from the Upside Down, later known as a Demogorgon.

Will then communicates with his mother, Joyce, through light bulbs as the Demogorgon comes through the wall to attack Hawkins, before Eleven and Will begin to communicate again through Walkie Talkies.

Police Chief Jim Hopper grows suspicious of the laboratory and breaks in, causing Hopper to find the entrance to the Upside Down.

The gang eventually meet in their school, where a final battle takes place between Eleven and the Demogorgon, where El comes out successful, saving Will from the Upside Down.

Season Two

Season two adds new characters Max Mayfield and Billy Hargrove to the story after Will is contacted by the mind flayer and Eleven returns after being stuck in the Upside Down to find Mike, all while Dustin finds a Pollywog and makes it his pet.

Will describes his episodes with the Mind Flayer, helping the boys realise that the Pollywog is from the Upside Down, Will then is attacked by the Mind Flayer.

Will then begins drawing a network of vines that leads to a tunnel system in the Upside Down and Hawkins, before lab personnel set the tunnels on fire, causing Will to collapse.

Eleven then reunited with the rest of the gang, causing for a mission to end the Upside Down, where Eleven channels her anger and manages to close the gate.

However, the season ends with the Mind Flayer still alive, in the Upside Down.

Season Three

The season jumps forward to the Summer of 1985, where Steve Harrington’s coworker Robin Buckley is introduced.

Will continues to have visions of the Upside Down, while Billy is taken by a creature and begins to help the Mind Flayer controlling him, kidnapping his coworker in the process.

Robin, Steve and Dustin interfere with a Russian frequency and research into their involvement in Hawkins, finding a Soviet base, along with Hopper and Joyce finding a Russian Laboratory.

The gang find out Billy is possessed by the Mind Flayer, resulting in his death as Eleven kills the Mind Flayer and loses her powers in the process.

Season Four

In 1986, the story introduces Eddie Munson, the main suspect for many killings in Hawkins, later revealed to have been caused by the leader of the Upside Down, Vecna.

The gang investigate and find Vecna was the first subject at Hawkins lab, where he was banished to the Upside Down by Eleven.

Hopper is found alive in Russia and Joyce and Murray attempt to rescue him, whilst Eleven is taken to a secure facility, where she regains her powers.

Vecna targets Max as his next victim, resulting in the gang battling Vecna through music and Eleven in the Upside Down, narrowly saving Max’s life in the process.

However, it may be too late, as Vecna opened gates to the Upside Down, setting up a huge war in Season five.