*SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 VOLUME 1 OFWEIRD STUFFBELOW!*
It was only a matter of time before things turned upside down (*wink*) instrange things 4. And while it's not ideal that we have to wait until July 1st to finally wrap up the season, the extra time means we basically haveof theend of these already wild episodes, and it looks like our hearts are going to need it. Episode 7, which also serves as the last episode ofstrange things 4Volume 1 is packed as everyone races to try to save each other while discovering the truth about Vecna, the Russians and the military. But with everything happening at once, keeping up can be tricky. Don't worry. We've created the ultimate guide to what happened at the end so you won't be left confused when the rest of the season is over.
Here is the final breakdown of thestrange things 4volume 1 final.
Okay, first things first: Steve!
Of course, we have to jump right in to see how our favorite babysitter turned hot swimmer (who somehow got sucked into the Upside Down) is faring. The last time we saw Steve, he ended up alone in the alternate world after finding the "watergate" and tons of little creatures chasing him.
Luckily for him, help soon arrives when Nancy, Robin and Eddie save him before he loses a ton of blood. Seeing more creatures chasing them, they decide to enter the forest in hopes that the trees will help hide them.
Eddie gets a rundown of everything on the Upside Down while the rest of the group tries to regroup and come up with a plan to survive and escape. Nancy remembers that the Upside Down is a copy of her world and she has weapons in her room, so the group runs there to get the weapons to protect themselves.
However, when they get there, Nancy is shocked to find none of their weapons, sending the group into a panic. Looking through her diary and school notes, Nancy realizes that although the Upside Down is a copy of Hawkins, it is from two years ago.
Staying downstairs, Steve discovers that he can hear Dustin and the group despite being worlds apart. He tries to find a way to communicate with them, but they cannot hear him. Which brings us to…
Hang on. Dustin, Max and Lucas are in trouble, aren't they?
Yep, things don't exactly go smoothly when the police get involved. After tricking the police into following them and not finding Eddie at the lake, the three are taken to the Wheelers' home for questioning. Everyone asks where the older boys are, but their lies are contradicted and the police decide to question them one by one. They get Max first, leaving Dustin and Lucas to figure out what to do next.
Erica threatens to reveal one of Lucas' secrets if he doesn't tell her. Dustin and Lucas try to explain everything that's been going on, which leads them to realize that Vecna isn't randomly killing teenagers, but trying to create portals between them. the Upside Down and its world.
As they are putting the pieces together, Erica notices the lights flickering in the house. Dustin (who can read morse code) understands it's an SOS. Back at the Upside Down, Nancy remembers that Will was able to communicate with them through the lights and finds a way to manipulate them into sending a message.
Dustin takes a Lite Brite and finds a place where they can talk. Nancy can write that they are trapped and Dustin says they need to go back to the lake to get out. Nancy says that it is guarded by monsters, which means they need to find another door. Now that they know there are open doors at the locations where Vecna has killed someone, they head to Eddie's house (where Chrissy was killed) to try to get home.
When Max is finally done being questioned, she, Max, Lucas and Erica sneak out of the house to find the Upside Down group at Eddie's and help them get back.
Okay, but what about him?
Agent Wallace is still being tortured by the government in hopes of revealing El's location. Finally reaching his breaking point and after almost being put back in a box, he decides to tell them something, though what he is saying is not revealed. .
Meanwhile, El continues his training under Papa, aka Dr. Martin Brenner, so he can regain his powers. The Doctor. Sam Owens is worried that he is regressing, so Brenner tells him that he needs to face his past. Eleven, fearful that she is the reason everyone at Hawkins Lab died so many years ago, says he cannot accept what he has done. Brenner tells her that ultimately it's all up to her and she must make a decision about whether or not to continue.
With a limited amount of time left, Eleven decides to try again, and Brenner chooses to jump into the slaughterhouse at Hawkins Lab to help El with her progress. She begins to relive the aftermath of her attack by the other children, leading Two to receive an electric shock from a collar as punishment while everyone else watches.
She is then seen back in the rainbow room playing chess with Peter Ballard, the kindly lab assistant who takes an interest in Eleven and her progress. He tells her that Two and the rest of the kids are planning to kill her after he is released from the infirmary and that she has to try to escape the lab if she wants to survive.
Peter tells Eleven that Dad is afraid of her and that his plan was always to kill her, given her strength. Peter helps her come up with a plan to escape that very day.
and Hopper? Are you still in Russia?
The last time we checked in with our favorite sheriff, he discovered he's facing off against another Demogorgon in a Russian prison. Joyce and Murray successfully enter Kamchatka by having Murray pretend to be Yuri, who takes them in for questioning by the KGB.
The prison general advises that they have arrived just in time to see the prisoners face the Demogorgon. Hopper uses alcohol he stole from dinner, a rag, and a lighter to turn a spear into a firearm. But it takes a while for the spear to catch fire, and with nothing to protect them, he and Enzo are the only prisoners left alive when the fire finally starts.
Murray decides to pull a gun on the general so they can open some of the doors so Hopper and Enzo can survive, but when they go to the control room, everyone refuses. In a fit of rage, Murray starts attacking everyone while Joyce clicks various buttons in hopes of opening the door.
Hopper and Enzo manage to escape when one of the back doors opens, and Hopper throws the fiery spear at the Demogorgon in an attempt to take it down once and for all. Unaware that Joyce and Murray are the reason they managed to escape, Hopper and Enzo are worried they've been sent to another prison cell to await a worse fate... until another door opens, revealing Joyce and Murray! Murray! Joyce and Hopper finally embrace when they meet for the first time since season three.
Now that that's settled, can we head back to Hawkins?
Back at the Upside Down and Hawkins, the two groups meet at Eddie's trailer and discover that their theory has been verified. They proceed to use a rope made from sheets to climb the portal and bring everyone back to Hawkins. After Robin and Eddie successfully pass, it's Nancy's turn. But when he tries to cross it, it'saspectas if he fell, but it is shown later that he actually fell into Vecna's trance.
Nancy begins to view scenes of Barb's death, highlighting her guilt over her best friend's death. But everything changes when he starts seeing Creel House.
And this obviously has to do with…
Eleven, who is now trying to escape Hawkins Lab in her memories. Peter tells him that he cannot leave as he is trapped there due to an implant in his neck. Just before they can escape, Eleven takes them out using her powers, but security quickly catches up with them.
Back on the main floor, they end up cornered in a hallway and Peter reveals his own powers. He takes them to a nearby closet to hide, where he rolls up his sleeve to show her his 001 tattoo. Eleven finally realizes that he is One and also has powers like hers.
He tells her to wait in the room until he can go find her. He hears sirens and screams coming from a nearby walkie-talkie and heads to the rainbow room. There he sees that One has killed everyone else in the lab. Someone then tells him that he is also Henry Creel.
Nancy, still under Vecna's trance, can see Henry growing up, while One tells Eleven in his memoirs all about his childhood. He tells her that he was the one who killed her parents and that her father was accused of the murders. One also says that he was taken to Hawkins' lab to be experimented on, but when Brenner realized he was getting too powerful, Brenner used the implant to strip him of his powers and kept him locked away.
Someone asks El to join them in an attempt to take control and find balance in the world, but after seeing all the damage he has done, she decides to fight him. In the present, Brenner realizes that Eleven finally knows the truth. In El's memories, she and One are visibly shocked when they realize that she has become powerful enough to stop him. She is able to open a portal to the Upside Down where Henry/Peter/One is sent when it becomes Vecna and the screen cuts to black...
Wait, is that all?
For now! The last two episodes of the season will premiere on July 1st, so better mark your schedule or risk major spoilers. If you're sad to only have two episodes, you might be surprised to learn that Episode 8 will be around 1 hour and 25 minutes long, while Episode 9 will be 2 hours and 30 minutes long. So yeah, it's going to be huge!