Need A Stranger Things Recap Before Season 5? Watch These 4 Episodes
Chances are, you probably need a quick refresher.
After nearly a decade of Upside Down mysteries and inter-dimensional monsters, Stranger Things is finally going to give fans some answers in its farewell season. The only problem is there are a lot of things to remember before pressing play on Season 5 — especially because it’s been over three years since the fourth season aired. Thankfully, co-creators the Duffer Brothers have you covered. The showrunners have said there are only four episodes fans need to rewatch to get the necessary recap for this final season.
So, if you’re scrambling to remember who’s been opening gates to the Upside Down, or how Vecna is related to the Mind Flayer and Demogorgons, this quick watch list will have you fully primed to dive into the saga’s last chapter.
The four episodes that Matt and Ross Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter fans should rewatch ahead of Season 5 are the following:
- Season 2, Episode 4: “Will the Wise”
- Season 2, Episode 6: “The Spy”
- Season 4, Episode 7: “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”
- Season 4, Episode 9: “The Piggyback”
The final two picks should be no surprise. It only makes sense to rewatch the Season 4 finale ahead of Season 5, and the seventh episode of that season is the one that reveals Vecna’s whole backstory, which will obviously be important context for the show’s final big bad.
It’s the Season 2 selections that should tip fans off about an important wrinkle in Season 5. Both of the Duffers’ choices from that season center on Will Byers’ connection to the Upside Down, which is still a big mystery within the show. Considering the Season 5 trailer ended with an ominous meeting between Vecna and Will, it appears unraveling the truth about Will is very important in these new episodes.
The Duffers also pointed out that Season 2 is one of the most important iterations in terms of Upside Down lore. “Season 2 is when we really started to build out the mythology and started to dive into everything,” Matt said. “That’s where we started to really plant the seeds for the mythology, and I think probably that’s why that is as relevant as it is.”
