Anticipating Stranger Things 4 Volume 2

With Volume 2 of Stranger Things right around the corner, let’s take a look at what we know going into it, including where characters are, and where they may end up.

Finishing Season 4 Episode 7 ‘The Massacre At Hawkins Lab’, we learned new information about the backstory of the upside down, and we were forced to speculate on the fate of some of our favorite characters and locations.

The Upside Down:

At the end of 4x07, we see 011 send 001 (Vecna) into The Upside Down in 1979, 4 years before the gate was opened freezing time there, as seen in 4x06. Opening up a major plot whole, viewers question why The Upside Down would be frozen 4 years later with the opening of the main gate, but not the first connection between worlds. This also brings the question why Henry Creel was immediately transformed into the monstrous figure that is Vecna, but why someone like Will Byers wouldn’t have faced a transformation after spending nearly a week in the same place. The follow up to this information, as well as understanding why Will survived in Season 1, begs the question, who did capture Will? Was it a Demogorgon, or was it Vecna?

Vecna:

Stranger Things. Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in Stranger Things. Cr. Steve Dietl/Netflix © 2022

Vecna, formerly known as Henry Creel or 001, was born in 1947, being 39 in 1986. Henry’s past involved discovering his vision-altering, telekinetic abilities, and using them to brutally murder his mother and sister, and drive his father insane. Dr. Martin Brenner would go on to discover him and his powers and designate him as the first test subject, 001. He used Henry’s abilities as a baseline experiment to see if these abilities could be forced onto others. You can read more about this here. Reemerging in 1986, Vecna quickly began working on his plan of opening gateways between The Upside Down by killing Chrissy Cunningham, Fred Benson, Patrick McKinney, and the attempted killing of Max Mayfield who survived due to the sensitive centers of the brain reached by music, that words cannot. This brings our past question back into the light, who did capture Will? Was it a Demogorgon, or was it Vecna? When we see and hear Will in The Upside Down in season 1, he’s singing Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash. It’s this information, along with hearing Vecna’s low bell chime sound effects, the shape of the figure seen in the premiere episode, and the secondary question, wouldn’t the Demogorgon have eaten or killed Will like it did to Barb?

Where we’re at:

At the end of Season 4 Volume 1, our characters are split into four separate locations, but it seems like the group will face more divides soon.

Russia:

After escaping a brutal end from the Demogorgon, Hopper reunites with Joyce and Murray, and the three still have work to do in Russia. In the Volume 2 trailer, the three can be seen still in the Russian facility, wielding a new arsenal of weapons, including guns and a flamethrower.

Lenora:

After being raided by soldiers, Mike, Will, Johnathan & Argyle have fled their homes and checked in with Susie, and are on their way to find El. Trailers and behind the scenes footage shows them nearing the NINA base and hopefully picking up El and heading back to Hawkins.

NINA:

After going to the lab team’s NINA base, El is reunited with Dr. Brenner in hopes of restoring her powers after they were lost during the fight with The Mind Flayer. Through this journey we relive her past memories in the lab, and this is how we’d discovered 001’s true identity, and the origin of The Upside Down. Trailer footage shows El leaving the base against the wishes of Dr. Brenner, saying, “My friends need me.” We also see her being met by the military forces as they infiltrate the base and try to capture her, and this is followed with a shot of her blowing up equipment and a helicopter. Hopefully this means that our favorite superhero is ready for action.

Hawkins:

Finally, we’re back in Hawkins, Indiana. With most of the same group being intact, along with some new additions, the Hawkins team regroups in full force, featuring Steve, Eddie, Nancy, Robin, Erica, Lucas, Dustin, Max, and the rest of the Hawkins community that decide to help.

Back to The Upside Down:

Trailers and stills show Dustin, Nancy, Robin, Steve, & Eddie back in The Upside Down, and also shows Eddie playing what will undoubtedly be a masterful guitar solo.

Overall, we could not be more excited to return to Hawkins for the last time this season. We can’t wait to see what happens, and how it sets up the fifth and final season. Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 streams July 1st at 12:01 AM on Netflix.