How the Stranger Things Season 4 Finale Sets Up the End of the Series-2

The big reason why there probably won’t be a big time jump after all is also the single biggest season 4 plot development that sets up the show’s endgame in season 5. Although our heroes put up a valiant fight, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) appears to have succeeded in his plan to unleash the Upside Down upon the world, and in doing so, pave the way for him to reshape reality as he sees fit.

Previously, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and co. fought against the Upside Down in secret. When they weren’t fighting Demogorgons, they were normal high schoolers. Their parents, with the exception of Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour), had no idea their kids were in grave danger fighting a supernatural threat. Now, though, it’s going to be hard to pretend otherwise. The Upside Down has invaded Hawkins, and that’s going to have to be dealt with out in the open.

And, for the first time, our heroes have a full understanding of just what sort of villain they’re facing. Robin (Maya Hawke), Steve (Joe Keery), and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) might have severely injured Vecna, and Eleven might have been able to best him in a psychic battle, but he has not been defeated. He’s still out there—and Wlil (Noah Schnapp) still has some sort of connection to him, a lingering effect of his possession by the Mind Flayer in season 2. Eleven might be the only person strong enough to stop Vecna, but is she strong enough or does she still have more to learn, as Doctor Brenner (Matthew Modine) insisted before his death?

Additionally, after a fourth season that had some characters in sunny California and another in Soviet prison, all the main players are in Hawkins when the season ends.

Max may or may not wake up from her coma

Although Eleven was able to bring Max (Sadie Sink) back to life after she died as a result of Vecna’s possession, her friend is still in bad shape. Eleven managed to stop Vecna before he could make her eyeballs explode like his three previous victims, but her limbs were all still mangled and her eyes milky white and bloody. Max ends the season alive, again, but she’s in the hospital and the doctors aren’t sure if she’ll ever wake up. Eleven can’t even find her when she uses her powers to reach out into Max’s mind. The final season will need to address Max’s fate, one way or another. (If there isn’t a time jump, don’t expect to see Max up and about even if she does wake up. Her arms and legs are all pretty busted.)

Early in season 4, we learned that there are two governmental factions with very different views on how to deal with Eleven and the threat of the Upside Down. One, spearheaded by Doctor Owens (Paul Reiser) and the late Doctor Brenner, thinks Eleven is their only chance at stopping the Upside Down. The other, led by Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus), thinks Eleven is the cause of all the chaos and must be destroyed. Sullivan and his forces attacked their rivals in the penultimate episode of season 4, killing Brenner and taking Owens prisoner, but Eleven got away. Now that the Upside Down has come to the real world, it remains to be seen what the army will do next—and whether or not they still view Eleven as a threat to be eliminated or an asset to use in the fight against the supernatural unknown.

Some love triangles need closure

The big scares and epic sci-fi plots are only part of why people like Stranger Things so much. Fans love these characters and the relationships they have with one another, and the Season 4 finale certainly sets up some interpersonal dynamics that will presumably be addressed in the final season.