Hi everyone, I'm Gaten Matarazzo.

And I'm Finn Wolfhard.

David Harbour.

Caleb McLaughlin.

Winona Ryder.

Sadie Sink.

Maya Hawke.

Priah Ferguson.

Joe Keery.

And we're from Stranger Things. 

With season four coming up very soon, we thought it might be helpful if we gave a refresher on what happened in Stranger Things one, two and three.

Wow.

It's crazy.

[sighs] I know. 

So, let's rewind all the way back and start with the recap of season one.

[button clicking] The show follows the stories of a group of friends in a little town of Hawkins, Indiana. 

So to start, we've got Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, who are all best friends. 

There's also Will's older brother Jonathan, Mike's older sister Nancy, and her boyfriend Steve. 

You're an idiot, Steve Harrington. 

Anyways, scary government types are in town, and doing lots of top secret stuff involving underground monsters and the like, as well as some stuff with a young girl, who has telekinesis.

[can crunching] 

The gang has to team up in season one to fight the Demogorgon, a super scary monster that basically has a head made of teeth. It comes from an alternate dimension called the Upside Down. And they have to save Will, who has been kidnapped by the Demogorgon, and is being held captive in the Upside Down.

The wrist rocket.

You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot? 

And they have to do this 99% by themselves, because, of course, most of the adults in Hawkins, Indiana, are less than helpful.

[whooshing] Except for, of course, Will and Jonathan's mom, Joyce, and Sheriff Hopper, who actually later adopts Eleven. Mostly because he's a sweet guy, but also because Eleven was raised by those evil scientists.

[screaming] Papa!

[Finn] El, by the way, defeats the Demogorgon with her superpowers, and everyone assumes she perishes in the fight too. But the good news is, Will is back in this dimension and reunited with his friends and family. 

All seems normal. Except, well, this is Hawkins and it won't stay normal for long.

[clanging]

[monster shrieking] 

Season two brings a new batch of friends to Hawkins, like, Max and Billy, a sibling duo who moved all the way from California. 

This is also the season where we meet Lucas's smart-mouthed younger sister, Erica. She's super cute. Hilarious. 

Everyone needs an Erica. But, it also brings some unpleasant new characters, like, the Mind Flayer, who, if you couldn't guess from the name, is not a hero in this show. 

It enslaves races of other dimensions by taking over their brains, using its highly developed psionic powers. 

So obviously with creatures like that in town, this year doesn't go much better than last.

Let me go! 

It turns out El survived and Hopper has been keeping her safe in his cabin. They eat some awesome waffles together. 

She's antsy in isolation, wants to see her friends. Or like… anyone.

[Gaten] Eventually, she runs away and meets up with some other kids who also have superpowers.

Watch it, kid.

Mouth breather. Friendships are tested, relationships are born, El gets a makeover…

And closes an interdimensional gate.

[whooshing] 

Will gets possessed, and Joyce's new boyfriend gets eaten by Demodogs.

[snarling]

No!

Did you mention a gate closing?

Yeah.

The sci-fi monster stuff is over, right?

Yeah. On to season three. The big thing happening in Hawkins this year is the opening of the new Starcourt Mall. Remember, it's 1985, malls weren't weird abandoned mega-buildings back then. They were weird thriving mega-buildings.

[Sadie] And with the evil monsters of past seasons vanquished, all the kids can finally relax, and start living a normal American teen lifestyle. You know, shopping, ice cream, dating, more makeovers, just general non-monstery stuff. 

Except for, of course, Will, who still has tons of PTSD from the whole being held captive in an evil dimension, and then possessed by a monster thing.

Hey.

[gasping] Are you okay? 

We should also cover the relationships in season three, because there are a lot of them. Mike is dating El, and they keep kissing with the door closed.

Hey!

[gasping]

[Sadie] Lucas is dating Max, sometimes. It's kind of your typical on again, off again romance. Jonathan is dating Nancy, and Dustin is dating his mystery camp girlfriend Susie. 

Oh, and Steve wants to be dating his new co-worker Robin, but that probably won't work out for him.

[whispering] Steve… 

Also, a lot of crew have jobs now, like, real jobs. 

Jonathan and Nancy are working at the local Hawkins newspaper. 

Billy is lifeguarding at the pool. 

And Steven and Robin are working at Starcourt Mall's Ice Cream Scoops Ahoy, where Erica is their number one customer. 

Remember before how before we said that all the sci-fi monster stuff was over? Well, folks, that was a lie. We lied to you. The Soviets have come to town, and are attempting to open a portal to the Upside Down.

[energy crackling] Which, if you watched the previous two seasons, you know is a bad idea. Like, the worst. 

And with that, the Mind Flayer is back. And not only is he back, but he's enslaving Billy to do his bidding. 

And there's also a whole thing with rats. Just bad news all around.

[squeaking]

Jonathan!

Huh? I have a lead. But Hawkins is a town full of outright badasses. Our crew of heroes sets off to uncover what the Russians are up to beneath the mall. And for good measure, Sheriff Hopper and Joyce set off to do the same, 'cause Joyce has been freaking out about her fridge magnets. True story. A magnet, magnets. And then they…

Where we kidnapped you

Joyce, please. 

Now, this leads, of course, to a series of misadventures. But we get to meet Alexei, a friendly Soviet scientist, who just wants to have a Slurpee and be friends, especially with Murray. Hi Alexei. 

We, however, do not love Grigori, the ruthless assassin sent to kill Alexei for his defection. Boo to Grigori.

Tomatoes.

Tomatoes. We'll throw 'em.

It's like an old Shakespeare.

Tomatoes. So at this point, things are looking very grim for our Hawkins heroes. The Red Army forces are hunting them from high and low. The Mind Flayer is getting stronger and more relentless. And Billy is totally possessed.

[roaring]

Up at Hopper's cabin, the Mind Flayer finally comes for El, seeking revenge because she closed the gate to the Upside Down.

[roaring]

[yelling] 

To make matters worse, over at the local fairgrounds, Grigori tracks down Alexei, who was with Hopper, Joyce and Murray…

[gunshot]

…shoots him dead. 

They got Alexei, Jim! 

Since it's the '80s, all this converges on the local mall. First, the kids break into the underground Russian base…

[clanging] Let's be honest, that's pretty brave. 

Then, the adults break into the very same underground Russian base, using a bit of cunning trickery, which includes a very memorable rendition of the theme of Neverending Story.

Yeah. ♪ Reach the stars ♪ ♪ Fly a fantasy ♪ 

Meanwhile, the kids take cover in the mall to hide from the Mind Flayer and his disciple Billy. 

And even more bad news, the fight at the cabin left El without her powers, so things are shaping up to be a little one-sided for this fight. 

So the Mind Flayer, which is a super terrifying monster from another dimension, definitely has the upper hand.

[roaring] 

But the gang is able to keep it distracted, thanks to a genius idea from Lucas. Throwing fireworks at it while El helps Billy break the control the monster has over him. 

Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!

[roaring] 

Billy, who's been a mega-jerk since the moment we met him, fully redeems himself by sacrificing himself to the Mind Flayer. Saving Max and her friends.

[screaming]

Billy! 

What a complex character. 

Deep below the food court, Hopper and Joyce place a bomb on the Russian's Upside Down opening machine. But Grigori shows up, and while Hopper is able to defeat him, he is left trapped with the bomb. When it detonates, it appears Hopper gets blown up too.

[energy whooshing] 

Poor Hopper. 

Well, the good news is that the bomb closed the gate to the Upside Down, 'causing the Mind Flayer to keel over dead, saving everyone else. The government, the US one, not the Soviet one, swoops in to destroy the mall and sweep all this nasty interdimensional business under the rug. 

El and Byers pack up their house, deciding to move to another town that isn't Hawkins.

Can you blame them?

No. 

If a monster attacks the town once a year, I'd be packing a suitcase too. 

Absolutely. I would have left season one. But don't worry, Mike and El finally confess that they love each other, and make plans to reunite. 

In the final shots, we see a remote prison somewhere in Russia, with guards discussing an American prisoner. So, like, maybe, just maybe there's some hope for Hop. 

Yeah, he's definitely a Soviet prisoner.

[groaning] 

Don't worry. He survived. He'll be back in season four. 

Hopefully this little recap has gotten you all excited to watch the new episodes. 

Volume one of Stranger Things 4 premieres May 27, and volume two comes out July 1.