When season 4 of Stranger Things begins streaming on Netflix on May 27th, 2022, fans of the incredibly popular series will get some answers to questions that they have been asking themselves for a long time now. Season 3 was released in the summer of 2019, so now it's been around three years since fans last saw a young group of adorable friends in Hawkins, Indiana who have dealt with some supernatural elements that most kids only watch in movies.
There's one problem that Stranger Things is dealing with: the fact that the young actors have aged since filming season 3 and season 4 and will likely look much older. But in season 3, they still look like the ages that they are supposed to be playing. Before watching season 4 of Stranger Things, there are some parts of the previous season that fans should remember.
One big part of season 3 of Stranger Things is the Starcourt Mall setting. This is not only a really fun, colorful, retro and nostalgic location, but it's the place where a lot of change happens in the characters' lives. Steve Harrington (Joe Kerry) and Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) are working at the mall's ice cream shop and when Steve says that he has a crush on her, Robin comes out. Robin is a wonderful new character who fans want to see more of in season 4.
Another thing that fans should remember is the Mind Flayer kidnaps Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) for many season 3 episodes and he's absolutely terrified by what is going on. Near the end of the season, the Mind Flayer comes close to murdering Eleven and her friends, and Billy lets the creature take his life instead. Losing this main character is a huge deal for the show and while Billy wasn't the nicest or most likable character, it's still sad to watch and a reminder of how dangerous this world is. Anyone could be taken by The Mind Flayer.
Stranger Things fans should also remember that by the end of season 3, it seems like Jim Hopper (David Harbour) has been killed... but there is some hope that he might still be alive. Fans see agents talking about giving an "American" to the Demogorgon. Viewers wonder if this is Hopper and this will likely (and hopefully) be revealed in season 4. There are some Stranger Things season 4 images that show Hopper, which seems to suggest that he didn't die after all.
Season 3 also ends with the friend group being split up, which is so sad to think about. Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are moving away from Hawkins, but there's some hope for fans who ship Eleven (and Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) as they confess their feelings for one another. The friends say that they will get together at Thanksgiving, and while that's really sweet, it doesn't stop the fact that they won't be able to see each other very often at all.
There are some small moments in this season, too, as Eleven befriends the new girl Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), and Lucas Sinclair's (Caleb McLaughlin) younger sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) makes everyone laugh as she says hilarious lines and is a super tough young character. But there are also some big, important moments, with scientists aware of the Upside Down and wondering how they can get control, which really scares Eleven and her friends.
Eleven's storyline in Stranger Things season 4 seems like it will be a tough one, and fans should remember that in season 3, Eleven is taken over by The Mind Flayer and she ends up losing her powers. By the season 3 finale, Eleven can't do anything at all, which is horrifying for her since she has no idea how she could get these powers back. Up until this point, Eleven has hated her powers and just wanted to find a loving, warm, comforting home. Now that she has found that with Hopper, she realizes that her powers can help her friends, like when she uses her psychic abilities to see that The Mind Flayer has taken Billy.
Fans want Stranger Things season 4 to answer questions, as many relationships hang in the balance, and no one is sure how it will work when the characters are separated for so many months as half of them move out of Hawkins. With promises that season 4 will be scary, one thing is for sure: when part 1 of season 4 drops on Netflix in May 2022, fans will happily devour the episodes as fast as they can.