Stranger Things season 4 part 2: Here’s the full scoop on the new episodes

It’s hard to believe but we’re just a few days away from Stranger Things season 4 part 2. That means we’re about to watch two of the largest and most insane episodes of the show yet!

Below we’ve got the full scoop on these two episodes before what will be another long and painful wait for the fifth and final season. Luckily, the wait between seasons should be significantly shorter this time, but will still, no doubt, take at least a year or so before it comes to Netflix.

Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things seasons 1-4.

The action-packed first part of Stranger Things season 4 delivered on the thrills, chills and angst, but expect all of that to be doubled when the show returns with the last two episodes of the season.

Since it will be more than one month since

we binged all seven episodes in one sitting

part 1 premiered, you might need a quick refresher on what happened in season 4 part 1. The new season started with a catch-up on what all of our favorite characters have been doing between seasons 3 and 4.

Stranger Things season 4 part 1 recap

Eleven moved with the Byers family to the fictional town of Lenora Hills in California to get a fresh start after everything that happened at the Starcourt Mall and the constant terrors plaguing Hawkins, Indiana. Despite Eleven telling Mike via letters that she was getting along well in California, we learn that she is actually struggling to fit in and falls victim to a group of vicious bullies led by a girl named Angela.

Will also appears to be struggling in California without his friends around and Jonathan is going through a rough patch with his girlfriend Nancy, who has opted not to come visit him over spring break with her brother, Mike. Since relocating, Jonathan has basically gone full stoner alongside his new best friend Argyle.

Over spring break, Mike finally comes to visit, reuniting with Eleven. But the reunion is short-lived when things start to get crazy, as they so often do. For starters, Joyce gets a mysterious package containing a secret coded message leading her to believe Hopper is alive. She and Murray get confirmation of this by contacting the phone number.

They end up on their own journey to Russia to save Hopper, who is being held in a maximum-security Russian prison—seemingly where he wound up after going through the portal/tear in the Upside Down at the end of season 3.

Once Joyce leaves, Mike, Will, Eleven and Jonathan are left on their own. But it doesn’t take long before Eleven is side-tracked on her own mission. She has to find out what really happened in the Rainbow Room all those years ago, and that means reuniting with Papa who is still alive! Eleven spends the first part of the season in a sensory chamber as she tries to re-access her memories and recall what happened during the massacre that opened the season.

Meanwhile, back in Hawkins, we witness the arrival of this season’s Big Bad, Vecna, a dangerous dark warlock who curses people by re-traumatizing them with their darkest moments and ultimately killing them. Chrissy becomes his first victim.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for Dustin, Lucas, Steve, Nancy, Max, Erica, Robin and newcomer Eddie Munson to figure out what’s happening and try to implement a new plan to save their friends, including Max, who becomes Vecna’s next proposed victim. The gang is able to save Max as Nancy and Robin discover that music can bring a person back from Vecna if they can play their favorite song before it’s too late.

The problem is, the rest of the town is incited to riot by Chrissy’s boyfriend Jason and the other members of the basketball team who believe Eddie is a serial killer murdering people (when in reality, it’s Vecna).

Part 1 culminates with Steve, Eddie, Robin and Nancy going into the Upside Down via a gate in the lake (the group realizes Vecna is tearing open new gates between the dimensions with the murders). When we last leave off with the Hawkins group, all four of the older teens are trying to return to their dimension via one of the gates in Eddie’s trailer but just before Steve and Nancy cross the threshold, Vecna takes hold of Nancy, using her trauma over Barb’s death to capture her. We’re left with Steve and Nancy’s fate hanging in the balance.

And back at the underground lab with Eleven, we finally see what happened in the Rainbow Room all those years ago. Papa’s test subject Peter Ballard, a.k.a. 001, manipulated Eleven into removing a chip from his neck and setting him rogue. He massacres everyone there and then he and Eleven get into a fight that ends with her sending him into the Upside Down where, over time… he evolves into Vecna. In a twist, we also find out that Peter is Victor Creel’s and he killed most of his family, including his sister and mother.

Back in California, Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle go on their own mission to find Susie who they know is smart enough to help them find out where Eleven is and learn about the mysterious Project Nina. We leave off with them with Susie in Utah.

In Russia, Murray and Joyce manage to infiltrate the prison by taking a traitor named Yuri hostage. They arrive just in time to watch Hopper and his new friend Dmitri face-off against a Demogorgon. Luckily, they survive and Hopper and Joyce share a heartwarming reunion. Let’s just hope they can all get out of there and return home ASAP.

Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things season 4 — STRANGER THINGS. (L to R) Jamie Campbell Bower as Peter Ballard and Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022, Stranger Things season 4

What is Stranger Things season 4 part 2 about?

We don’t have an official synopsis but based on how things ended at the end of part 1, we can predict the general outline of what’s to come in the second part. The trailer, linked below, also helps give shape to our predictions.

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 will likely see the Hawkins gang gear up to face Vecna and defeat him once and for all. We still haven’t seen Eddie playing his guitar in the Upside Down, so we can probably assume that they’re all going to return to the Upside Down to fight Vecna on his home turf.

It seems likely we’ll also see an epic showdown between Eleven and Vecna. It’s possible that the gang will not defeat Vecna in this part, since there is another season to follow.

We will also probably see some kind of resolution between Will and Mike and maybe Mike and Eleven, since we still don’t know what Will painted. Plus, it has been confirmed that Will’s sexuality will be addressed in part 2. We also need resolution between the Jonathan/Nancy/Steve love triangle that has started up again.

In Russia, Murray, Joyce and Hopper will need to escape somehow. And what about Yuri and Dmitri? How will they factor into that plan? Then there’s Jonathan, Will and Argyle, who were last seen with Susie. I’m assuming they’re going to make their way to Hawkins.

Will Stranger Things season 4 part 2 end with a cliffhanger?

Yes, unfortunately, we know that the finale will end with a cliffhanger, as confirmed by Matt Duffer. During a chat with Empire Magazine, the series co-creator stated that the ending won’t end with a “nice little bow” like previous seasons have, implying that things will be left unresolved ahead of the fifth and final season.

Here’s the full quote, courtesy of Syfy Wire:

"“Usually at the end of a season, we tie things up with a nice bow, before a little tease that says, ‘Hold on, something is unraveling,'” series co-creator Matt Duffer recently said during an interview with Empire Magazine. “As we move into Season 5, we won’t have to do that. There won’t be a reset from where we finish this season.”"

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 cast

The cast shouldn’t change much, if at all, from part 1 to part 2. Here’s the full list of who you can expect to return.

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
Finn Wolfhard as Mike
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas
Noah Schnapp as Will
Sadie Sink as Max
David Harbour as Jim Hopper
Winona Ryder as Joyce
Brett Gelman as Murray
Joe Keery as Steve
Maya Hawke as Robin
Natalia Dyer as Nancy
Charlie Heaton as Jonathan
Priah Ferguson as Erica
Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson
Eduardo Franco as Argyle
Jamie Campbell Bower as Peter Ballard
Tom Wlaschiha as Dmitri
Nikola Djuricko as Yuri
Mason Dye as Jason Carver

Out of the newcomers, the only one who we may or may not see again is Robert Englund as Victor Creel. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be back since he mostly served his purpose to the plot already. But who knows, maybe we’ll get to see him one more time (perhaps Vecna returns to finish the job?)!

Nancy - Stranger Things season 4 part 2 — STRANGER THINGS. Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Tina Rowden/Netflix © 2022

Does Nancy survive Vecna’s Curse in Stranger Things season 4 part 2?

Sorry to those who didn’t want to be spoiled, but Netflix already let the cat out of the bag on this one. Nancy Wheeler will survive her dance with Vecna. At the end of the first part, Vecna tried to curse Nancy, leaving a desperate Steve attempting to get through to her before she dies.

But the trailer and photos released for the second part (like the one above) show Nancy is alive and well. The question is now how they get through to her. I’m guessing Steve will have to sing to her or maybe Eddie plays his guitar, somehow they do get through to her.

Of course, even though Nancy survives that instant, that doesn’t necessarily mean she will live until the end of the season. She could always die from another incident or situation that has yet to occur, but odds are, Nancy is going to be okay.

Will there be deaths in Stranger Things season 4 part 2?

Noah Schnapp has teased that there are more deaths and gore coming in the second part. The Duffers have also said that fans should be concerned for all of the characters. However, that doesn’t mean a fan-favorite will die.

Many fans are, understandably, stressed about Steve and even newcomer Eddie who has quickly become a beloved part of the cast. Joseph Quinn has more or less confirmed Eddie will survive and, by extension, Jonathan since he said in an interview that he and Charlie Heaton were pushing for more Jonathan/Eddie content in season 5, which would imply they both make it out alive.

But Steve got bitten by creepy demobats while in the Upside Down. Many have taken Robin’s semi-joking concerns about rabies to be potential foreshadowing. What if Steve does get sick from the bites? Could he die? Well, according to a new interview with the Duffer Brothers, Steve might die but if he does, it will not be related to the bat bite.

That being said, a few seasons ago, executive producer Shawn Levy said he’d “walk off the show” if Steve died and fans LOVE Steve. He’s arguably the show’s most beloved character. It seems like it would be a significant mistake to kill him. At least let him make it until season 5!

Also on a personal level, I’m pretty tired of shows stressing fans out by hinting toward their favorite characters dying. Death isn’t the only way to create drama and raise the stakes guys! After a while it gets cliché and makes fans feel jaded and hopeless. Can’t we have a little levity and a happy ending? These guys have surely earned it.

I digress. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I believe that if anyone dies this season, it will be a side character like Karen Wheeler, Dr. Owens, Yuri, Argyle, Papa (Martin Brenner), Victor Creel, Murray Bauman and/or Dmitri.

And by “more deaths,” there’s also the possibility Schnapp might mean nameless Hawkins residents. What if the whole town finally finds out about the Upside Down and/or Vecna? Maybe he wreaks havoc across the community. Or how about Jason and some of his basketball cronies?

When does Stranger Things season 4 part 2 come out? Release date and time

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 will release on Friday, July 1, 2022. Like most Netflix new releases, the second volume will come to Netflix on Friday at 12 a.m. PT / 3 a.m. ET. I don’t know about you, but I’ll probably be staying up late to binge-watch the final episodes because I’m dying to know what’s going to happen!

For those living outside of the United States, you can consult this helpful guide to figure out the exact timing of the release date where you live.

How many episodes are in Stranger Things season 4 part 2?

Fans were lucky enough to get seven, super-sized episodes in the first part of the season, but the second part will only have two episodes. That might not sound like much, but don’t worry, the final two episodes are also super long, each running over 1 hour in length (the finale is actually more than 2 hours long!).

How long are the Stranger Things season 4 part 2 episodes?

There has been a lot of rumors swirling about the runtime for the season 4 finale. We now know that it will be close to 2 hours and 30 minutes, albeit not quite that long. In total, the runtime of the last two episodes is almost four hours. Both episodes are written and directed by the Duffer Brothers.

Stranger Things season 4, episode 8 is titled “Chapter Eight: Papa” and runs at 1 hour and 25 minutes
Stranger Things season 4, episode 9 is titled “Chapter Nine: The Piggyback” and runs at 2 hours and 19 minutes

Is Stranger Things season 4 part 2 the final season?

No! Some people have become confused about the final season of the show since season 4 is such a massive season and split into two parts, but don’t worry, we still have one more season to go! The Duffers have already confirmed that season 5 will be the fifth and final season and they’re already working on writing it.

The question is, how can the fifth season possibly top this season in terms of scope? Will it be more expensive? Longer? Or will the story lend itself to a shorter ending? We’ll have to wait and see. The good news is, the wait time between seasons should not be as long this time.

And not only that, but the Duffer Brothers have also said they have an idea for a spin-off, so it’s possible the Stranger Things universe will continue for many years to come.

Stranger Things season 4 part 2 trailer

Netflix recently released the official trailer for the final two episodes and it’ll give you some serious chills. Things are going to get much darker before this season is over.

Where to watch Stranger Things season 4 part 2

Stranger Things is a Netflix Original, so the only place you can watch the show is on Netflix, including the new episodes. It will not stream anywhere else, although it might eventually be released physically on DVD or Blu-ray, as was the case with the first two seasons. Need a Netflix account? Sign up on their website here!

The countdown for Stranger Things season 4 part 2 is officially on, just five days left! Check back with us at Netflix Life for all of our coverage when the new episodes drop on on July 1.

What can we expect from Stranger Things season 5

Since the final two episodes of season 4 haven’t debuted yet, it’s hard to predict what direction the show’s fifth and final season will go in. But we do know that there is probably going to be a time jump between seasons. It also doesn’t seem likely that Vecna will be fully defeated yet.

Given the finale is expected to end on a cliffhanger, we should see resolution of that in the fifth season. My personal theory is that Eleven might end up trapped in the Upside Down with Vecna, perhaps willingly going with him to save her friends, and/or the existence of the Upside Down and its monsters will become public knowledge to the other residents of Hawkins and, potentially, the world.

Also, according to a new interview with the Duffer Brothers, the fifth season will explore the lore surrounding the Upside Down in much more detail. Here’s more info on what we know about Stranger Things season 5 so far.

Check out even more from Stranger Things

Stranger Things season 4 part 1 is now streaming on Netflix and Stranger Things season 4 part 2 arrives on July 1.