Here's a Complete Recap of "Stranger Things" Season 3 Ahead of Season 4
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Can you believe that it's been almost three (!) years since we last got new episodes of the Duffer Brother's Netflix sci-fi smash hit Stranger Things? With season 3 having come out back on July 4, 2019, it's totally understandable if you're a little foggy on where the action left off. As we head into Stranger Things Season 4, we're here with a refresher.
Splitting away from the traditional dropping of all episodes at once, Season 4 will be split into two parts for a "supersized" season, with episodes in volume 1 releasing on May 27 and the remainder of the season debuting on July 1.
The new season is sure to be bigger than ever, with the promise of brand-new characters, more Russian mischief afoot, and a return of the Upside Down. And Season 4 feels even more special following the open letter announcement to fans in February that revealed Season 5 would be Stranger Things's final stand.
While we count the hours until Season 4's release, here's a recap on what happened during Stranger Things Season 3, and what you need to know before hitting the play button on May 27.
So get ready by heating up your Eggo waffles and putting a hold on your Dungeons and Dragons campaigns because we're going to catch you up on Season 3 as quickly as you can say "Friends Don't Lie."
*Major spoilers for Season 3 of Stranger Things below!*
The Russians Invaded Hawkins’s Starcourt Mall
It turns out that the Americans aren't the only ones interested in getting to know the Upside Down. Episode one of Season 3 begins with the Russians failing to open their own gate from their home country into the peculiar dimension. So where do they go to try their gate-opening experiment? Why, the gang's very own Hawkins, Indiana, of course.
The first sign that the Russians are Hawkins's newest neighbors comes after Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) tests out his new ham radio to try and contact his girlfriend from summer camp. Instead of hearing sweet nothings on the other side, he picks up a Russian code over the airwaves. Dustin then turns to mentor and friend Steve (Joe Keery) to help him out. That's when we are introduced to Robin (Maya Hawke), Steve's co-worker at Scoops Ahoy, who happens to have a knack for understanding languages.
With some amateur sleuthing, the trio discovers that the Russians have created a lab that exists underneath Hawkins's Starcourt Mall.
Billy Got Possessed by the Mind Flayer
While driving his way to meet up with Mrs. Wheeler (Cara Buono) to give her "swimming lessons" at the local motel, Max's stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) gets into a car accident, which lands him right into the lair and hiding place of the Mind Flayer. Yeah, the same exact Mind Flayer that possessed Will (Noah Schnapp) back in Season 2. And just like Will, Billy falls under the Mind Flayer's spell.
Through Billy's body, the Mind Flayer begins to control the minds of Hawkins residents, (a.k.a. the Flayed), with the controlled people eventually turning into a pile of flesh-goo, which further morphs into a giant Spider Monster. And because nothing with the name Spider Monster is good, the creature then does the murderous bidding of the Mind Flayer.
More on Billy's fate later.
Hopper and Joyce connect, hinting at a possible romance
As Hopper (David Harbour) struggles with parenting a now-teenage Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who is now in a relationship with Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Hopper turns to Joyce (Winona Ryder) for advice, bringing them closer together.
Ultimately, we never get to see the duo go on a date at Enzo's, as Joyce becomes distracted by her magnets losing their connectivity. Concerned that the lack of magnetic connectivity is caused by the supposedly defunct Hawkins Lab, Joyce and Hopper return to the abandoned government facility.
They find that the Hawkins Lab still remains closed, but their journey is not a waste. The pair are confronted by a violent Russian agent which makes them realize that something is very wrong in Hawkins. Capturing Russian scientist Alexei (Alec Utgoff), who arrived in town to work on opening a gate to the Upside Down, Joyce and Hopper ask former investigative journalist Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) for assistance. As a team, they work to uncover the true extent of Russia's stay in Hawkins.
Robin comes out as gay to Steve
While Joyce, Hopper, and Murray are investigating the Russian presence, Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Lucas' little sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) break into the lab under the mall — but things don't go according to plan. Steve and Robin end up getting captured, tortured and injected in truth serum. With the truth serum in Robin's body, she admits to Steve that she never had a crush on him in high school, as she is gay. The Scoops Ahoy duo is luckily saved by Dustin and Erica (which is good news considering that no one else seems to work at the ice cream shop and it would go under without them).
Eleven's powers disappear
While the Mind Flayer's monster grows in power beneath the surface, Eleven, Lucas, Will, and Max reconnect with our fave couple, Will's older brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Mike's older sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer), who've been investigating weird occurrences popping up around town due to their newspaper internship. Deducing that these problems must be caused by the Upside Down once again, the crew heads to the mall, where they reunite with Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica, to fight off the new beast.
During the battle, Eleven was bitten on the leg by the monster. She is then forced to use all of her power's strength to remove the remaining parts of the beast from her body. The exhaustion of using her abilities leaves her drained, with her powers fully disappearing.
Two characters are sacrificed
Moment of silence for our fallen heroes — it seems as though we have lost Billy and Hopper at the end of Season 3.
It's true! Billy, who remains possessed by the Mind Flayer brings powerless Eleven to the Spider Monster, but in a last-ditch effort to save herself and the world, Eleven reminds Billy of some of his happier memories, which allows him to become back in control of his mind.
Billy then chooses to sacrifice himself to the Spider Monster which saves Eleven and the other kids in the process. He is not seen again and is presumed dead.
Moving to another battle in the mall, Hopper, and Joyce attempt to foil the Russian's plan of opening up another gate to the Upside Down by destroying the machine. Their original plan was to break the machine together, but Joyce is forced to do it alone as Hopper feds off the attack of a Russian agent.
Because of him having to fight the agent, Hopper is in the proximity of the machine while it blows up, which leads everyone to believe that he is unfortunately dead.
The Byers and Eleven moved away from Hawkins
Just three months after the battle at Starcourt Mall, Eleven, who is now living with Joyce and her kids, is shown packing up all of her belongings. During this, she is given a heartfelt letter penned by Hopper, which reveals how much he loved being her adopted dad.
She and the Byers say goodbye to their loved ones before driving off, seemingly leaving Hawkins, Indiana, and the Upside Down behind forever.
The Russians are revealed to have a Demogorgon
We hope you stayed around for the end credit scene, as it got pretty juicy.
In the final episode of Season 3, two Russian soldiers are shown walking through a prison in Kamchatka, Russia. After grabbing a prisoner and pulling him into a bloody room, a Demogorgon emerges, signaling that the Hawkins crew as well as fans haven't seen the last of the terrifying Upside Down monster.
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