“Stranger Things” Seasons 1-3 Summary: What You Need to Know Ahead of Season 5
You may have watched all 35 hours of Stranger Things seasons 1-4, but with those releases spread across the past decade, many viewers are in need of a recap. Season 5 is set to be even more jam-packed and arrives at the speed of a scampering demogorgon on November 26. Volume 1 consists of the first four episodes and runs 4 hours and 31 minutes. Run times for Volume 2, which streams on Netflix on Christmas Day and consists of three episodes and the finale. The Duffer brothers, Stranger Things creators, compared season five’s episodes to “eight blockbuster movies”—to that end, the two-hour finale, which will drop on December 31, is getting a historic theatrical release. In the first part of our Stranger Things recap, we provide a high-level overview of seasons 1-3. Part 2 will dive into the most recent action of season 4 and the questions left for season 5 to answer.
As we recap season 1, imagine the Stranger Things intro music taking you to the nostalgic place of 2016 when season 1 was released. Stranger Things takes place in Hawkins, Indiana, during November 1983, but was primarily filmed in Georgia, USA.
Season 1 introduces the boys, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), who are playing their favorite Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) game when it gets all too real. Shortly after the game ends, a real Demogorgon abducts Will, creating a chilling parallel to the game’s outcome where the Demogorgon defeats Will’s character at the end of their 10-hour DnD campaign. This sparks the search for Will throughout Hawkins. Will’s mother, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), grows increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers around her son’s disappearance and finds a trusted friend in Jim Hopper (David Harbour), the town police chief.
Meanwhile, the Hawkins Laboratory is a secretive testing facility where Eleven (subject 011), one of many children with extraordinary powers, is subjected to unethical experiments. This facility is led by Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine), a primary antagonist whom Eleven refers to as “Papa.” Eleven escapes the laboratory, and while on the run, she is found by the boys, who are on their own mission to find Will in the woods. Mike helps Eleven hide out in his basement. At this point, it is shown that Eleven loves “Eggo” waffles, which quickly becomes a defining personality trait as the boys don’t know much about Eleven. The boys are also dealing with bullies at school, but with Eleven by their side, she discreetly uses her powers to teach them a lesson. This will not be the last time Eleven uses her powers to help her friends.
Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Mike’s older sister, is a key character in the group of older kids. Nancy’s friend Barb goes missing, adding to the growing number of unusual events in Hawkins. Nancy begins teaming up with Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) to uncover the mysteries of Barb and Will, which causes conflict in Nancy’s relationship with Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), a handsome and popular jock at school.
Season 1 introduces the “Upside Down,” which is a parallel dimension that has the same locations as the human world but is plagued with a toxic environment of gruesome creatures and monsters, alien vines, and murderous villains. Joyce Byers, still determined to find her son, makes a contraption in her home with Christmas lights and the letters of the alphabet to communicate with Will in the Upside Down. While communicating with Will, she asks where he is, and he spells out “Right here.” This leaves Joyce unsure how to retrieve her son, but then Will spells out for his mom to “Run,” and the Demogorgon rips through the walls of her house as she frantically flees.
As each group’s search uncovers more strange inconsistencies, police officers find a body in the lake of the gorge that looks like Will. While the boys believe this is the end, Joyce won’t accept it. Hopper sneaks into the room where the body is being held and finds that it is a fake stuffed body, not Will. Hopper quietly continues his own investigation and finds the profusion of unusual activity at the Hawkins lab facility while breaking in.
The boys want to find the entrance to the Upside Down, but Eleven is hesitant to lead them there because of the dangers. Nancy and Jonathan find an entrance to it while searching for a faceless creature that appeared in photos Jonathan took the night of Barb’s disappearance. Nancy confronts the Demogorgon and is saved by Jonathan, which makes Steve increasingly jealous and ultimately leads to a physical fight between the two.
On the topic of relationships, Mike and Eleven share a romantic moment in which they almost kiss, before being interrupted by Dustin, panicking after receiving a call from Lucas, warning them that “bad men” are coming. The kids get on their bikes to flee from fake “repair men” who show up at Mike’s house, while Dr. Brenner watches this unfold from the front lawn. Lucas joins the kids as their fake repair van makes gains behind them. Another van turns in front of them and blocks them in. In an electric scene, Eleven saves the day and flips the van over her and the boys, taking out the vans behind them.
With the search escalating and the stakes rising, the younger kids, adults, and older kids, including Steve, join forces to work together. In a sensory blocking tub of salt water, Eleven attempts to use her powers to reach Will and Barb. Sadly, she finds the Barb is dead and Will is stuck in the Upside Down but losing strength. Joyce and Hopper then finagle their way into the Lab and go into the Upside Down and retrieve Will. With all hands on deck to save Will and Hawkins, Nancy reveals her fierce nature and experience with firearms to protect the group and fight the Demogorgon. To finally disintegrate the Demogorgon, Eleven sacrifices herself using the last ounce of her power, which is devastating to Mike, who has just confessed his feelings to her.
A recovering Will returns home from the traumatic events but cannot shake the effects of his time in the Upside Down. Closing out season 1, Hopper is shown putting Eggos waffles in a box outside in the woods leading to speculation about Eleven’s survival.
Season 2 picks up a year later, and the group is introduced to “Mad Max,” the mystery player who has beaten the boys’ high score in their favorite arcade game. The girl, named Max (Sadie Sink), joins the group at Hawkins Middle School when her family, including her older brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery), moves into town. Will is still physically suffering from the Upside Down with flashbacks and hallucinations of a dark, frightening sky and Shadow Monster. A local conspiracy theorist, Murray (Brett Gelman), also reveals his own investigation and suspicions surrounding this case while confronting Hopper. Meanwhile, Eleven escaped the Upside Down and is hiding out with Hopper in a remote cabin. To Hopper’s dismay, Eleven gets tired of hiding out and takes action to find her group of friends.
We also meet Joyce’s new boyfriend, Bob (Sean Astin), and Will’s new doctor, Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser), who is keeping a close eye on Will’s episodes and oversees the maintenance of the Upside Down Gateway. The Upside Down tunnels are revealed to be a vast network that Dr. Owen’s team attempts to contain with heat and fire. However, this fire and a new threat, the Shadow Monster, are affecting Will’s body.
Eleven is going on her own side quest of discovering more about her mother. The two were separated when Eleven was born because of experiments done to her mother that suggested Eleven’s powers. Eleven also meets a “long lost sister,” Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), who was subject number eight at Hawkins Lab. Kali uses her powers with her friend group of vigilantes to serve justice to those she believes have wronged them. Eleven is influenced by the group and growing more powerful with Kali’s help, who also gives her a “Bitch’n” makeover to fit in. This new look proves to be just a phase, as Eleven returns to help her friends on their mission to fight the Upside Down and Shadow Monster. Unfortunately, time has changed some dynamics, and there is tension between the new friend, Max, and Eleven when reuniting with Mike.
Nancy, still feeling overwhelmed by Barb’s death, calls it off with Steve, famously calling their relationship “bullsh*t.” Later, Nancy and Jonathan share intimate moments as they investigate the strange events in Hawkins, while Steve still wants to get Nancy back. Steve helps Dustin and the kids fight off “Demo Dogs” that started off as unsuspecting small creatures.
Dustin discovers that the Shadow Monster is like a Mind Flayer, so Will feels what it feels. At the facility, the threats have yet to be fully contained, and Demo dogs infiltrate the building. Eleven goes to the facility to fight the Upside Down and close the gateway while the rest of the group fights off the Demo Dogs and destroy the tunnels.
After this, things seem to be returning to normal, and everyone is attending the Snow Ball Dance at school. Normal, however, is not the way things stay in Hawkins for long…
Season 3 introduces a Russian base working to make a super weapon that opens the gateway to the Upside Down, jeopardizing the hope that Hawkins can return to normal.
Back in Hawkins, Mike and Eleven’s relationship is blossoming, and the whole crew heads to Starcourt Mall and meets Steve’s co-worker Robin at Scoops Ahoy Ice cream. Of course, things have to get strange, and a city-wide blackout plagues the town due to underground activity. Joyce is extremely concerned about this as well as Nancy and Jonathan who are officially interning at a local newspaper and investigating related suspicious activity.
Hopper is struggling to accept Mike and Eleven’s relationship, as Hopper is very protective of Eleven, which causes conflict throughout the season. When Mike stops hanging out with Eleven due to Hopper, Eleven is angry and ends their relationship, then forms a close friendship with Max. Billy, Max’s older brother, becomes a more prominent character after being possessed by an Upside Down creature, and starts bringing victims to a steel mill for feeding. Eleven and Max team up with Will, Mike, and Lucas to uncover further information about Billy. Eleven ends up fighting the monster within Billy and narrowly escapes. The creature finds its way to the hospital, where Eleven continues to fight it off.
Robin, Steve, and Dustin tune into a Russian transmission, learning code words and taking on this mystery. With help from Lucas’s sister, Erica Sinclair, they find a massive Russian base and operation below Hawkins. Joyce and Hopper are on the tail of this mystery and end up kidnapping a Russian scientist, Alexei (Alex Utgoff), who becomes an endearing fan favorite. Robin, Steve, and Dustin discover that the Russians are trying to develop a dangerous superweapon that opens the Upside Down, but Robin and Steve are kidnapped in their attempt to escape. Dustin and Erica team up to save them, which they pull off successfully. Meanwhile, Eleven discovers that the creature within Billy is growing and gets a look into his memories and dark motivations.
The town is celebrating at the Fair, oblivious to the dangers beneath them. At the Fair, Alexei is killed when the adults are searching for the kids, devastating viewers. After this, Joyce, Hopper, and Murray, the conspiracy theorist, go to the Russian base in disguise with a mission to close the opening of the two worlds from the inside. Joyce must close the portal with Hopper in a dangerous position, leading to his supposed death.
Eleven struggles with losing her powers from taking a piece of the creature outside of her when her leg was injured. Eleven has to remind Billy, who is being controlled by the creature, of the memories that she saw from his childhood, but soon after, the creature kills Billy. Just in time to save the rest of the kids, Joyce closes the portal from the Russian base, killing the creature. Max is left devastated that her brother, although often unkind to her, is dead. Soon after, Eleven learns of Hopper’s death from Joyce and is completely broken, as Hopper had become not just her father figure but had adopted her at the end of season 2. Eleven is still without powers and joins the Byers family on their move from Hawkins to California, saying goodbye to Mike.
That’s a wrap on what you need to remember from Stranger Things seasons 1-3. To be fully prepped and ready to press play on November 26. Check out our recap of Season 4, and then you’ll be fully prepared.
Featured image: Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Sadie Sink, and Caleb McLaughlin in ‘Stranger Things.’ Courtesy Netflix.
