“Stranger Things” is releasing season four after nearly three years since the last season came out. “Stranger Things 4” is being split into two volumes, with volume one to be released on May 27 and volume two on July 1. 

“Stranger Things 3” was released pre-pandemic in 2019, which makes it feel like ages since fans have had “Stranger Things” content, but the wait is finally over! Because it has been quite some time since most people have delved into the “Stranger Things” world, here’s The Pace Press’s recap of the first three seasons of the show.

(Warning! Major spoilers ahead.)

Season One

Going back to season one, “Stranger Things” is based in Hawkins, Indiana in the ’80s: a small town that seems to have a lot going underneath the surface, literally. There seems to be a supernatural force that wreaks havoc on the town and the only one who can conquer this force is Eleven, a young girl who was taken into a lab by Dr. Brenner to have her telekinetic powers used for the government’s advantage. 

Viewers then meet best friends Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas right away, and Will goes unexplainably missing one night. At the same time, Eleven escapes from captivity in the lab and encounters the three other boys, where they quickly realize that Eleven is going to help lead them to Will.

By the end of the season, we discover that Will was trapped in the Upside Down, an alternate universe that holds terrifying creatures. The only person who has access to this world is Eleven because she holds telepathic and psychokinetic abilities. The main creature, known as the Demogorgon, cannot withstand Eleven’s powers, and we see it die off at the end of the season. However, viewers learn in season two that the Demogorgon is still very much alive.

Season Two

“Stranger Things 2” continues with the battle between Eleven and the underworld, and new complications are brought in. Viewers meet Max and Billy, who came from California to Indiana, and Eleven is shown living with Hopper, the sheriff of Hawkins, in hiding from the government, but not much hiding could be done when we find out there is something even bigger going after Hawkins. 

Will is experiencing PTSD from being trapped in the Upside Down, except his hallucinations are real. In this season we learn that there is much more to the Upside Down than a single Demogorgon: The Mind Flayer.

Season Three

“Stranger Things 3” starts to get even more intense when the town of Hawkins seems to be getting possessed by an unknown force, and once again, Eleven is the only one who can stop it. Will begins to feel the presence of the Mind Flayer again, Jonathan and Nancy watch multiple people “melt” away after being possessed and Dustin and Steve team up with a new character, Robin, to decode Russian messages through a radio transmission.

Towards the end of the season, the whole crew ends up in the Starcourt Mall fighting off the Mind Flayer, where Eleven comes to save them. Unfortunately, Billy is killed by the creature, and Eleven’s powers are drained from the Mind Flayer’s attack. At the same time, Hopper, Joyce and Murray, who helped them translate the Russian transmission, are working to close the gate to help the kids. This is sadly where Hopper’s death occurs when he gets trapped on the other side of the gate. At the end of the season, we see the gang split up after Hopper’s death, with Eleven, Will, Jonathan and Joyce moving away.

Season Four and beyond

From what fans have seen of “Stranger Things 4,” the trailer is everything they expected and more. Hopper isn’t dead, which many fans theorized after season three, and he is currently trapped in a Russian prison where he is being trained to fight the Demogorgon. We also see the season’s newest villain, Vecna, which seems to be a powerhouse monster of the Upside Down. This season seems much more intense than the last, with a war finally being played out.

There have been many theories about who this new creature is, with some fans saying it could possibly be Dr. Brenner from season one or even Billy. Clips in the trailer show Max at Billy’s grave, and many fans on Twitter have pointed out that in one clip the grave says “Billy,” and another says “William,” and though Billy is a nickname for William, it may insinuate a time jump, as there is an ominous clock seen throughout the trailer. There has also been speculation that the second volume of season four might take place in the future, or at least far enough to lead us into the fifth and final season.

There are many unresolved plots and unanswered questions in the “Stranger Things” world, and it seems like this fourth season will reveal a lot to the fans. Even after three years, this show really knows how to keep the hype, as the world is all excitedly waiting for the release of “Stranger Things 4.”