The countdown is on for our last trip to the Upside Down as the fifth and final season of Stranger Things hits Netflix this month.
The fifth season of the Duffer Brothers sci-fi blockbuster returns on November 27, with four episodes set to be released on the streaming service. Three more will be released on St Stephen’s Day, before the season finale lands on New Year’s Day.
Three years after the fourth season dropped, many viewers have been binge-watching the Millie Bobby Brown-led show in recent weeks, but others will be forgiven for not having the dedication to watch all 34 episodes again.
That said, while it does seem daunting to watch all four seasons of Stranger Things, if one wanted to ensure they were up to speed on everything, they could watch two episodes a day from now (Monday, November 10) until November 27.
If you really do not want to do that, but still want a crash course reminder of what happened over the last few years, a good method would be to watch the very first episode, as well as all four season finales — and of course, that Max episode.
Watch these episodes for a crash-course recap on Stranger Things…
No crash course can get underway without going back to where it all began. The episode introduces the central characters who are immersed in a innocent game of Dungeons & Dragons. Following the game, Will heads home and witnesses something terrifying before he is then disappeared.
We also meet Eleven for the first time, a young girl who escapes from a lab twice, before meeting Mike, Dustin and Lucas, who are out searching for Will.
The antics of the whole season culminates in the season finale with Will’s mother Joyce entering the Upside Down to rescue her son. She is admitted into the Upside Down after police chief Jim Hopper gives up Eleven’s location to lab director, Dr Martin Brenner.
The finale shows the real strength of Eleven as well as the weaknesses that come after she uses her powers for prolonged periods of time.
The kids attend the Snow ball dance in what is a brief moment of reprieve for both them and the viewers. A whole season after he gave her up to Dr Brennan, Jim Hopper officially adopts Eleven.
The dance sees a progression in the blossoming romances between Eleven and Mike, and Lucas and Max, and all is well and good until the final shots spell more of what is to come.
An Upside Down version of the gym is seen, with the Mind Flayer, an entity from the Upside Down, looming — still alive after he was removed form possessing Will earlier in the series.
Terror reigns in the food court in the season three finale as the Mind Flayer makes his grand return, attacking the Starcourt Mall. Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Will, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Robin and Erica all work together to lure and beat the Mind Flayer.
In Russia, there is uncertainty about Hopper’s survival as he alongside Joyce and Murray work to try and destroy the machine which is keeping the gate to the Upside Down open.
The episode that saw Kate Nash’s Running Up That Hill top the charts nearly 40 years later is a sure episode you should watch before the new season drops.
Despite being just half way through season four, the episode is monumental in Max’s role in the show as well as her mental struggles and attempt to survive Vecna’s preying. Max keeps these mental battles to herself and is alsmost taken by Vecna before she realises how important she really is to her friends.
The plan to attack Vecna is put into motion as half of the group head to the Creel House, and the other half go to the Upside Down version.
Meanwhile, Eleven enters Max’s mind in a bid to try and beat Vecna, who subsequently possesses Max — and shows off the total control he has over the Upside Down.
Eleven is briefly able to break Vecna’s control over Max, who then dies but is revived by Eleven. The episode ends with Max in a coma and the Upside Down beginning to take over Hawkins.
