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Canonical events from Stranger Things VR regarding Henry Creel's time in the Upside Down must be added to ensure timeline accuracy.
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This article or section reveals details from the fifth season. Read at your own discretion...
This page provides a comprehensive timeline of the events occurring within the Stranger Things universe.
Unknown Date - The town of Hawkins is founded in the state of Indiana.[1]
1848
September 13 - While working as a railroad worker, Phineas Gage is accidentally struck through the head with an iron rod. He miraculously survives but experiences a dramatic change in personality.[2]
Some time in 1959, the Creels move to a lavish new home in Hawkins. One month after the move, the youngest of the Creels, Henry, discovers he possesses psychokinetic and telepathic abilities, and begins to terrorize the neighborhood in secret.
Unknown Date (possibly Friday, November 6 or Saturday, March 14)[canon-rationale 1]
The Creel family's dinner is interrupted when Henry uses his abilities to kill his mother and sister by snapping their bones and gouging out their eyes, while putting his father in a trance. However, Henry overexerts himself and falls into a coma; Victor returns to reality upon hearing the radio.
While comatose, Henry falls into the custody of Dr. Martin Brenner, with Brenner bringing the boy to Hawkins Lab. Upon awakening, Brenner begins to monitor Henry's activities and tries to study his abilities.
Victor is arrested for the murders of his wife and daughter.
Patty Newby goes missing from Hawkins hospital.
Unknown Dates
Brenner designates Henry as the first of a new series of test subjects and tattoos "001" on Henry's forearm.[8]
Victor is told that Henry died in his coma. He is sent to Pennhurst Mental Hospital, Victor attempts suicide by gouging his eyes out with razor blades, only for the warden, Anthony Hatch, to stop him.
1959 - 1979
Unknown Dates
Brenner attempts to replicate Henry's powers in new child subjects, infusing them with Henry's blood.
Brenner implants "Soteria" into Henry's neck, inhibiting his powers.
Joyce Maldonado and Jim Hopper bid farewell to each other as the latter is shipped off to fight in Vietnam; Hopper is subsequently exposed to Agent Orange.[6][15]
Terry infiltrates Hawkins Lab to rescue Jane, gunning down a security guard and finding her daughter; however, Terry is captured and subjected to electroconvulsive shocks under Brenner's order, leading her to suffer from acute catatonia.[29]
According to one source, Terry's rescue attempt actually occurred in 1978. The security breach and commotion caused by Terry distracted the lab's staff, allowing Ricky/Three,Francine/Six and Marcy/9.5 to escape.
Mike Wheeler meets Will Byers on their first day of kindergarten, becoming best friends. The two later meet Lucas Sinclair, Mike's neighbor, and form a friend group.
1977
Unknown Date
Lonnie Byers forces Jonathan to shoot and kill a rabbit for his tenth birthday, causing him to cry for a week.[30]
1978
Unknown Dates
Sara Hopper is diagnosed with cancer due to Jim's exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. She eventually passes away in front of her parents, leading to Jim and Diane divorcing and causing Hopper to suffer from a drinking and drug problem.[31]
Unknown Date
Kali escapes Hawkins Lab. She originally finds a family that takes her in, but loses them after she fails to control her abilities. She is driven to hide out in Chicago, and resolves to take revenge on former Hawkins Lab employees by murdering them.
Joyce and Lonnie divorce, with Lonnie moving to Indianapolis, Indiana. That day, the Byers brothers build Castle Byers for Will based on blueprints he made himself. The brothers pursue building the fort despite Will struggling to hammer and it beginning to pour, causing them to become sick for a week.[24]
Eleven wins a telekinetic game against Two conducted by Dr. Brenner. Brenner tortures Henry after deducing he had helped her win, while Two and the other experiments give Eleven a concussion in retaliation for beating him.
Henry manipulates Eleven into removing the Soteria implanted in his neck, which restores his abilities. After instructing Eleven to wait in a closet, he seemingly kills all of the lab staff, security, and test subjects, though he only incapacitates Brenner. Eleven enters the Rainbow Room, where Henry reveals his true motive to destroy human civilization with her by his side. A telekinetic battle ensues; Eleven ultimately overpowers Henry and sends him through a gate to an inter-dimensional hellscape; Henry ultimately finds himself in an alternate dimension.[8] As Brenner regains consciousness, he enters the Rainbow Room to witness Eleven falling into a coma, having had overexerted her abilities.[16]
Henry explores the alternate dimension and fends off Demodogs. He soon stumbles upon a sentient cloud of black particles; the entity first adopts the voice and form of Alice, Virginia and Victor before settling on the likeness of Dr. Brenner. It subjects Henry to visions and makes him re-experience his memories; Henry rebels and learns he can escape the memories by using psychic rifts. Henry travels through the minds of creatures connected through the hive mind as the entity tries to distract him with further visions. Henry threatens the entity and systematically destroys Demogorgon-esque lifeforms located at the core of each mind. After some time, Henry wins control of the hive mind; Henry reshapes the entity into a spider form that pleases him. Henry vows to use the Mind Flayer's power and hive mind to escape The Abyss and enact his revenge.[35]
Henry finds himself in a strange realm populated by humanoid creatures. Upon discovering a mass of living particles, he uses his powers to reconstitute them into a form that pleases him.[3]
Eleven regains consciousness from her coma, but has become somewhat amnesiac. Brenner, reviewing the security footage of the massacre, takes interest in what had happened to Henry.[3]
Unknown Date - Eleven is forced to kill a cat, but can‘t bring herself to do it. Brenner decides to punish her via solitary confinement. As she is about to get locked up, she kills two guards with her powers, which pleases Brenner.[40]
Unknown Date - Eleven is made to repeat words a man in another room is saying, and manages to broadcast them on speakers.[41]
Robin runs into Karen Wheeler and the Party while shopping for junk food in the local grocery store. [42]
Sunday, November 6
Eleven goes on a mission to make contact with the Demogorgon and in the process creates the Upside Down as a passage to the Abyss, allowing it to pass through. Eleven escapes Hawkins National Laboratory via a drain pipe.[43][8]
Joyce Byers goes to the police station to report her son as missing. Police Chief Hopper is initially reluctant to investigate but later agrees.
An area of Hawkins National Laboratory is quarantined. Dr. Brenner and other scientists investigate the area and find that the gate is spreading into the lab.
Hopper and his team search the woods and find Will's bike. They go to the Byers home to investigate further, and Hopper experiences strange noises in the shed.
Agents arrive to capture Eleven and Connie Frazier kills Benny. Eleven escapes, killing two agents in the process.
Joyce receives a phone call where she hears only breathing and growling, and is electrically shocked by the phone.
After searching for Will the entire night, the police and volunteers still have no clues, but continue their search throughout the day.
Mike stays home from school with Eleven and she recognizes Will in a photo. She demonstrates her telekinetic abilities in front of Mike, Dustin, and Lucas.
There is an assembly on the football field of Hawkins High School for the disappearance of Will.
Benny is found dead in his diner and it's been staged to look like a suicide.
Eleven says Will is hiding, flips the Dungeons & Dragons board upside down and places the Demogorgon game piece on the board to demonstrate that he's hiding in the Upside Down and the monster is after him.
Nancy Wheeler and Barbara Holland go to Steve Harrington's party, where Barbara, sitting alone by the pool, is dragged into the Upside Down. Jonathan Byers takes pictures from the forest.
Joyce receives another phone call with strange noises. The lights intensify and the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" plays from Will's room. The Demogorgon stretches through the wallpaper and Joyce runs out of the house.
Nancy discovers that Barb is missing. She goes to investigate around Steve's house and is scared by something she sees in the forest.
Jonathan is revealed to have taken pictures of Nancy and Steve breaks his camera.
Chief Hopper and officers Powell and Callahan investigate at the Hawkins National Laboratory and discover that the employees are lying to them. They go to the library, where they discover that Dr. Brenner was involved in Project MKUltra.
Joyce hangs Christmas lights all over her house and paints the alphabet on the wall so Will can communicate with her. He tells her to R-U-N, and the monster breaks through the wallpaper.
Eleven leads Mike, Lucas, and Dustin to Will's house and claims he's hiding there.
Mike is hurt to learn that Will is dead. But Eleven convinces Mike that he is alive as she makes contact with Will through Mike's Supercom. The boys give her a makeover and go to school to make contact through the AV Club'sham radio where they all hear Will's voice.
Nancy and Jonathan look at the photos he took, and Nancy recognizes the monster in a picture of Barb.
Shepard, a worker at Hawkins National Laboratory, enters the Upside Down attached to a security line, but is taken by the Demogorgon.
Hopper talks to state trooper David O'Bannon, who found "Will's body" and discovers he's lying. He breaks into the coroner's office, where he finds that the body is a fake, stuffed with cotton.
Joyce sees Will through an opening to the Upside Down in her wall.
Henry and Dale go hunting in the woods before noticing a brutally mauled dead bird. As they both separate to hunt down the unknown animal, Henry stumbles across a Demogorgon. Henry wakes up in the Upside Down and finds Dale's corpse. He looks for a way out and sees some strange portal through a tree. Before he could investigate, a Demogorgon attacks him. He bleeds out near a tree when he encounters Will who comforts him before he succumbs to his wounds.[44]
Hopper breaks into Hawkins National Laboratory where he sees the gate. However, lab workers drug him and return him to his trailer, while placing a bug in his light bulb.
Will's funeral is held. His father Lonnie returns to Hawkins, intending to make money from his death through a lawsuit.
Hopper finds the bug and teams up with Joyce, admitting to her that she was right about Will from the beginning.
Mike, Dustin, and Lucas try to locate the Gate with their compasses, but Eleven distorts the compasses to lead them in the wrong direction to protect them. A fight breaks out, and Eleven knocks Lucas unconscious before escaping.
Nancy and Jonathan go searching for the Monster, and Nancy enters the Upside Down.
Joyce and Hopper track down Terry Ives. Her sister tells them about Terry's involvement in Project MKUltra, and her belief that she had a daughter.
Nancy and Jonathan purchase weapons to kill the monster. A fight breaks out between Jonathan and Steve, resulting in Jonathan getting arrested.
Agent Connie Frazier visits Scott Clarke at his residence and finds out about Mike, Dustin, and Lucas.
Lucas goes out on his own to locate the gate, and follows the false magnetic north indication to Hawkins National Laboratory.
Mike and Dustin are cornered by Troy and James and Mike is told to jump off a cliff. As Mike jumps, he is levitated to safety by Eleven in the nick of time, and she breaks Troy's arm. El falls to the ground and apologizes. Mike comforts & calms her and says she is not the monster as she saved him. Mike, Eleven, and Dustin then reconcile.
Mike, Dustin and Eleven flee from the agents that come to Mike's home.
Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, and Jonathan break into Hawkins Middle School and make a sensory deprivation tank for Eleven to use. She finds Barbara dead and Will weakened in the Upside Down, and he disappears as the monster approaches.
Will attempts to escape the monster by climbing a nearby tree, only to fall and get knocked unconscious after failing a jump to another tree. The monster drags Will to the library, where Vecna pins him to a wall and shoves a tentacle inside his throat. He states that their plan can finally begin while telling Will that they will do "such beautiful things together".
Joyce and Hopper are caught breaking into Hawkins National Laboratory. Hopper makes a deal with Brenner; Hopper reveals Eleven's location and promises to keep the lab's activities secret, and in return he and Joyce are granted access to enter the Upside Down via the Gate.
Nancy and Jonathan set traps for the monster in the Byers' home. Steve arrives, wanting to apologize to them, and together they assault the monster with a bat and set it on fire, but it disappears.
The agents come to Hawkins Middle School to capture Eleven, but she kills them. The Demogorgon arrives, and before it can harm the boys, Eleven pins it to the wall. Eleven bids farewell to Mike and then disintegrates the monster, but in the process disappears herself. The clock on the wall of the classroom indicates that Eleven and the monster disintegrated about 10:03PM on Saturday, the 12th.
Joyce and Hopper enter the Upside Down and find Will as a host to a long tendril which Hopper pulls out of his throat and through his mouth. Hopper and Joyce perform CPR on him and he begins to breath. Joyce puts her oxygen apparatus on him and he is brought to Hawkins General Hospital. He wakes up later in the night to rejoin with his friends.
After defeating the Demogorgon, Eleven awakes in the Upside Down version of Hawkins Middle. She finds her way out via one of the Demogorgon's temporary portals and briefly appears to Mike's house. Realizing that the agents are looking for her, she hides out in the local woods.
Sunday, November 13
Mike begins his attempts to contact Eleven via his radio. He is unsuccessful, but persists for at least 352 days.[46]
Wednesday, November 23
After getting rejected by Bob Newby for a job at the RadioShack, Robin Buckley gets a job in the Hawk. [42]
Saturday, November 26
Steve visits Nancy at her house and both check on Mike in the basement. Mike is still distraught over Eleven's disappearance. After they talk about Will, Nancy convinces Mike to start another Dungeons & Dragons campaign.[47]
While hiding in the local woods, Eleven encounters a hunter. She knocks him unconscious using her telekinetic powers and steals his coat and hat for warmth.
Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas play Dungeons & Dragons in Mike's basement again.
Nancy and Steve give Jonathan a new camera for Christmas.
Hopper places Eggo waffles in a box in the forest, which Eleven later discovers.
Will coughs up a slug-like creature and momentarily phases into the Upside Down.
1983 - 1984
Unknown dates
While Hopper is again leaving food for Eleven, she reveals herself to him. He takes her to his grandfather's cabin and she begins living with him.[2]
Sam Owens becomes the new Director of Operations at Hawkins Lab.
Will begins to have appointments at Hawkins Lab to monitor any lasting effects of his time in the Upside Down.
Underneath Hawkins Lab, a secondary entrance to the Gate is formed. A series of interconnected tunnels, serving as an extension of sorts to the Upside Down, also begins to form below Hawkins.
Eleven lives with Hopper in the cabin who furnishes it to be her new house and develops a father-daughter relationship, but restricts her from seeing her friends for everyone's safety.
The lab begins regular 'burns' on the Gate's original entrance, in attempt to stall the Upside Down's spread.
Mr. and Marsha Holland hire Murray Bauman to investigate Barbara's disappearance.
Hopper continues to investigate the quickly spreading crop degradation.
Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max go trick-or-treating. Will has another vision of the Upside Down, seeing the Mind Flayer. Mike takes Will back to Wheeler's basement where he explains about his vision, but pleads not to reveal it to anyone.
Steve and Nancy have a falling-out at Tina's Halloween party, sparking the breakdown of their relationship.
Eleven waits for Hopper to return to the cabin so they can celebrate Halloween together, but he loses track of time. She shuts herself in her bedroom and visits Mike telepathically, who was simultaneously trying to contact her.
When Dustin arrives home after trick-or-treating, he discovers a creature in the trash can outside his house.
Hopper deduces the blight affecting the local crops is positioned in such a way that it forms a series of concentric circles, centered at Hawkins Lab. Hopper demands Owens and the lab investigate.
Dustin brings Dart to school hoping to impress his friends, especially Max. However, Dart escapes, making the kids spend the rest of the day searching for him.
Eleven, having grown impatient, decides to leave the cabin to see Mike. She spots him from afar, but does not directly interact with him.
Nancy and Jonathan arrange to meet Barb's parents over the phone. Hawkins Lab intercepts the call.
Will has yet another vision of the Upside Down, in which the Mind Flayer traps him and latches onto his body.
Nancy and Jonathan are forcibly taken to Hawkins Lab while waiting to meet Barb's parents. Owens warns them about the possible consequences of revealing what really happened to Barb in November 1983. Unbeknownst to Owens, the teens recorded his speech.
Will attempts to explain the Mind Flayer to Joyce and Hopper. He makes a series of drawings, which Joyce and Hopper join together to form a larger image. Mike goes to the house to see Will.
Eleven finds a box at the cabin containing info on Hawkins Lab. She finds Terry Ives' file, and decides to contact her via the Void.
Dustin returns home to discover a much grown Dart, feeding on the lifeless body of Mews.
Hopper theorizes that the drawings depict the vines and tendrils as seen in the Upside Down. He goes to one of the pumpkin patches and digs, until he finds himself in one of the underground tunnels.
Hopper is sprayed with spore-like particles in the underground tunnels and loses consciousness.
Will explains his connection to the shadow monster to Mike and tells the possibility that the monster might spy on them. But Mike assures that they won't let it and he will be safe.
Jonathan and Nancy check in to a motel, where Nancy questions why nothing ever came of their relationship last year.
Will tells Joyce that he saw Hopper in the tunnels, and points out where he saw Hopper on his drawings, marking an X on the spot.
Hopper regains consciousness and continues his attempts to escape the tunnels, realizing the vines dislike fire. While resting a moment, vines entangle and trap him.
Lucas tells Max the truth about what happened last year, but she does not believe him.
Dustin traps Dart in the cellar and attempts to get help, but cannot reach anyone. Eventually he encounters Steve and enlists his help to kill Dart.
The lab discovers the soil samples from the infected pumpkin patches react adversely to heat, and do so with a hive mind.
Eleven hitches a ride to Terry Ives's home where she meets Aunt Becky and discovers her unresponsive mother. She is able to connect with her through the Void, but can only see the memories replaying inside Terry's mind of Eleven's capture and her subsequent failed attempt to retrieve her.
Jonathan and Nancy meet with Murray Bauman and tell him the truth about Barb's disappearance. He decides the best way to take down Hawkins Lab is to publicize a "watered down" version of the story.
Bob arrives at the Byers' home and Joyce asks him to help to "find the X." Bob correctly realizes the drawings are a map of Hawkins and locates the X. They leave to find Hopper in the tunnels, where they are able to help cut him free. As workers from the lab arrive in the tunnels and torch it, Will experiences extreme pain and collapses to the ground.
Will is rushed to Hawkins Lab where he is sedated.
Dustin and Steve find that Dart has molted again and escaped the cellar through a tunnel.
Nancy, Jonathan, and Murray Bauman send out the evidence against Hawkins Lab to national newspapers. After prodding from Murray, Nancy and Jonathan give in to their feelings for each other and spend the night together.
Eleven tells Becky what she saw in Terry's mind, and that she believes Terry wants her to find the girl who was with Eleven at Hawkins Lab as a child. Becky helps her find a picture of her, and Eleven is able to locate her psychically. Eleven steals money from Becky and leaves to find the girl.
Eleven arrives in Chicago and finds the girl, Kali, and her gang. Kali accepts her as her sister and the two swap stories about their lives and powers.
Will regains consciousness, but is found to be losing his memory, recognizing only Joyce and Mike but not Dr. Owens, Bob or Hopper. Dr. Owens explains to Joyce and Hopper that Will has been infected with a kind of virus, and he is now connected to the hive mind.
Jonathan and Nancy leave Murray Bauman's and discover Will's drawings at the Byers home, with evidence that someone else has been there.
Lucas makes contact with Dustin and he and Max go to help him and Steve trap and kill Dart. Several Demodogs show up at the Junkyard (causing Max to realize that everything Lucas told her was true), but are called away by the Mind Flayer before they do any serious damage.
Acting through Will, the shadow monster tricks the lab soldiers to check the tunnels. Mike attempts to warn them but he is too late. They are attacked and killed by Demodogs, who then turn to the lab itself.
Kali trains Eleven in using anger to focus her powers. Eleven locates Ray Carroll, and the gang makes plans to murder him that night.
That night, they arrive at Ray Carroll's house. Dottie and Axel begin looting while Kali and Eleven remind Ray of his crimes at Hawkins Lab and Eleven psychically chokes him. But seeing a photo of Ray with his children, Eleven changes her mind and lets him live and prevents Kali from shooting him.
Back at their hideout, the gang is ambushed by the police. They narrowly escape, but Eleven, after seeing visions of Hopper and Mike in danger, abandons the group to return to Hawkins and save her friends.
The Demodogs invade Hawkins Lab. Joyce drugs Will to make him unconscious, preventing the shadow monster on spying on them. Dr. Owens, Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Will, and Mike take shelter in the security surveillance room as the Demodogs pursue them and the lab loses power.
Neil and Susan arrive home and notice Max missing. Neil sends Billy out to find her.
Steve, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Nancy, and Jonathan all arrive at the lab and realize Will, Mike, Hopper, and Joyce are likely trapped inside the lab.
Bob leaves the surveillance room to reset the breakers. He succeeds in clearing a path for everyone to escape, but is killed by Demodogs in the process.
At the Byers house, everyone discusses options and realizes the shadow monster is similar to the Mind Flayer from D&D. If they can kill the Mind Flayer, they will also destroy its army.
They reason that Will may know how to defeat the monster. They plan to question him without the shadow monster discovering their location.
After camouflaging the shed at the Byers home, they wake Will up and attempt to reach him. Will manages to communicate through tapping Morse code and delivers the message, "CLOSE GATE."
The Byers' phone rings, alerting the shadow monster to Will's location. Joyce drugs Will again, but the shadow monster already dispatches the Demodogs.
Everyone arms themselves and hears the Demodogs arrive, but none attack. After a dead Demodog flies through the window, the door is opened telekinetically, and Eleven surprisingly walks in. Mike is astonished to see her.
Eleven reunites with everyone. The group decides that Eleven will close the Gate, believing this will kill the Mind Flayer and his army. Before doing so, they realize they must force the Mind Flayer out of Will or else it will kill him, and decide they will do so by heating Hopper's cabin until Will's body is unbearably hot for the Mind Flayer. Hopper and Eleven leave for Hawkins Lab while Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy take Will to Hopper's cabin. Before leaving, Eleven promises Mike that he will not lose her again.
Billy stops by the Wheelers' house looking for Max, and flirts with Karen Wheeler before being sent to the Byers'.
Mike, Dustin, Max, and Lucas hatch a plan to set the tunnels on fire, thus drawing the Demodogs away from Eleven and Hopper. Steve refuses this plan, but Billy arrives and the two fight. Steve is knocked unconscious by Billy, and Max finally ends the fight by sedating Billy. Mike, Dustin, Max, and Lucas take the unconscious Steve, with Max driving them in Billy's car, and leave for the hole Hopper dug into the tunnel network.
Steve wakes up as he and the kids arrive at the tunnel entrance. He argues with Dustin, but finally agrees to take point with the spiked baseball bat and protect the others. Steve, Mike, Dustin, Max, and Lucas set fire to the tunnel nexus, successfully pulling the Demodogs from the lab and clearing the way for El and Hopper to reach the gate.
The tunnel fire also proves to be the last bit of pressure needed to expel the Mind Flayer from Will; Jonathan calls Hopper and El on the walkie talkie and tells him to close the gate.
Eleven begins to channel her power into the gate, while in the tunnels Steve boosts Mike, Max, and Lucas out of the entrance hole. Before he can help Dustin out, the Demodogs catch up to them, but race right past them on their way back to the lab . Hopper defends Eleven from the returning Demodogs while she matches her strength against the Mind Flayer's, finally forcing it back and sealing the gate, which kills the remaining Demodogs.
Dr. Owens gives Hopper a forged birth certificate for Eleven which states she is officially Hopper's daughter, Jane Hopper. Hopper convinces Owens to give Eleven a night out to attend the Snow Ball.
Thursday, November 29th - Friday, November 30th
Grigori takes a plane to America and visits the construction site to Starcourt Mall to make the workers including Alexei hurry construction.[12]
The kids, including Eleven, attend the Hawkins Middle Snow Ball for the first time and dance together.
The Mind Flayer, still alive in the Upside Down, looms over the Hawkins Middle School.
Tuesday, December 25
Mike and Lucas were picked up by Dustin and Steve to spend Christmas at Will's house. as they were on their way, Dustin freaks out after he saw something in the woods. The kids presented Eleven her present which contained a walkie-talkie. Will and Jonathan had collected several Christmas specials in VCR form to help make Eleven's first Christmas celebration extra-special. The gang then took turns in explaining the plot of each VCR special to Eleven. Dustin began to insist that there was something outside in the snow, Eventually, They decided to go out into the woods to find the creature. They found a rabbit caught in a trap. They decide to take it back to Mike's house to heal it. They all sat down to watch all of the Christmas specials together.[54]
1985
Unknown Dates
The Soviet Union enacts their plan to finally perfect the Key. After covertly buying properties and land in East Hawkins, the USSR commences work on the construction of a secret Russian facility, as well as the Starcourt Mall which encloses it. Mayor Larry Kline is aware of the infiltration.
Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max go to Starcourt Mall and watch the preview of George Romero's Day of the Dead.
Inside the hidden base beneath Starcourt Mall, the Soviets activate the Key and successfully produce the beginnings of a Gate. A power outage sweeps through Hawkins, and at Brimborn Steel Works, a dormant piece of the Mind Flayer re-awakens.
A huge horde of rats become infected by the Mind Flayer and gather at the Steel Works.
Dustin comes back after a month from Camp Know Where. Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Max surprise Dustin with a welcoming.
The kids walk up the hill they call "Weathertop" to set up Cerebro, hoping to contact Dustin's girlfriend, Suzie.
The Mind Flayer melts down the bodies of the possessed rats, and uses them to create a more corporeal body.
Hopper discusses with Joyce how to handle Eleven and Mike's burgeoning relationship.
At night, Billy drives to meet Mrs. Wheeler. However, something hits his car. He gets out, only for the Mind Flayer to drag him down to Brimborn Steel Works to possess him.
Nancy and Jonathan visit Mrs. Driscoll who tells them she thinks the rats wanted to eat her fertilizer. She also shows Nancy and Jonathan one of the rats she caught and it's acting erratically.
Dustin visits Steve at Scoops Ahoy and tells him about the Russian message. Robin overhears their conversation and offers to help. She eventually manages to crack the code by the end of their shift.
Hopper goes to Town Hall to talk to Mayor Kline about the Starcourt Mall protesters on the town hall lawn. While there, Hopper notices a strange man leaving Kline's office.
Eleven spends a day with Max at the mall after Mike is forced to lie to her, straining their relationship.
While leaving the mall, Steve deduces a connection that the bit of music he heard on the Russian message is the same as a kid's ride in the mall. This leads Dustin, Robin and Steve to conclude the message was recorded inside the mall.
At night, Billy kidnaps Heather Holloway, taking her to the Mind Flayer in Brimborn for possession.
Eleven and Max have a sleepover. While spying through the Void, Eleven witnesses Billy along with a frightened Heather. Eleven and Max decide to investigate it in the morning.
Joyce informs Hopper about the magnets. She theorizes Hawkins Lab has something to do with it and convinces Hopper to investigate the lab.
Eleven and Max check out the Hargrove house, but Billy isn't there. They learn about Heather at the community pool. Eleven goes into the Void to check on her and sees she is in trouble.
Robin deduces that the Russian code refers to different locations within the Starcourt Mall.
At night, Joyce and Hopper break into the Hawkins Lab but find nothing. Hopper later gets ambushed by Grigori who then escapes. Joyce takes Hopper back to his cabin.
Eleven and Max visit the Holloway house. They find Heather alive, but she and Billy are acting peculiarly.
Heather helps Billy drug her parents, Tom and Janet. They take them to the Mind Flayer at Brimborn to turn them into his drones.
Nancy and Jonathan go back to Driscoll's house. They find Mrs. Driscoll eating fertilizer. She is later rushed to the hospital.
Hopper wakes up at the cabin. Joyce tells him about the hitman who escaped after attacking him. Her description jogs Hopper's memory about the man he saw at Town Hall.
Hopper and Joyce visits the Town Hall. After confronting Kline, Hopper learns the hitman is Grigori who works for the Russians to help them acquire Starcourt Mall and several farms near the Hawkins power plant.
At night, Hopper and Joyce resolve to check out the farms.
Mike manages to get Eleven and Max over to his house. Will reveals to the group about the Mind Flayer's presence in the real world. They assume Billy to be the new host of the Mind Flayer.
Nancy and Jonathan are fired from the Post by Tom.
At Scoops Ahoy, Robin notifies Steve and Dustin that the air ducts may help them get into the loading bay to check what the Russians are up to. They recruit Erica who goes through the ducts to open the door. The four find an unusual substance in one of the boxes. However, they become trapped in the room which turns into an elevator and descends.
Mike, Eleven, Lucas, Max, and Will perform the sauna test to surmise if Billy is possessed by the Mind Flayer. The group lures Billy into the sauna to trap and heat him. Billy shows signs of his possession and breaks out. Eleven fights Billy but is overpowered. Mike intervenes, allowing Eleven to telekinetically throw Billy out of the pool. However, Billy escapes to Brimborn.
Nancy visits Mrs. Driscoll at the hospital. As the kids perform the sauna test, Nancy observes Driscoll behaving abnormally.
Hopper and Joyce find Alexei working in the basement of the Hess farmhouse. Grigori tracks them and a brief fight ensues between them. Hopper and Joyce take Alexei hostage and flee.
On the road to Illinois, Hopper's vehicle breaks down, forcing the two to walk through the forest taking Alexei with them.
In the Wheeler's basement, Eleven tracks Hopper and Joyce going to Illinois by the Void. The kids plan over what to do to stop the Mind Flayer.
Hopper borrows a man's car at 7 Eleven gas station and leaves for Murray's warehouse along with Joyce and Alexei. Murray reluctantly lets them in.
Grigori arrives at the gas station where he interrogates a clerk about Hopper.
Nancy and Jonathan meet the kids in the basement. The kids reveal that their sauna test confirms Billy's possession by the Mind Flayer, similar to how Will previously was. Realizing that Mrs. Driscoll also reacted similarly to Billy during the sauna test, they assume there are even more flayed, including Heather. They visit the Holloway house, but couldn't find anyone. They decide to visit Driscoll at the Hawkins Memorial Hospital to learn more about the source.
At the hospital, Nancy and Jonathan go to visit Mrs. Driscoll, but instead, they find Tom and Bruce, flayed by the Mind Flayer. They attempt to kill Nancy and Jonathan.
Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica reach the Russian HQ. They witness the scientists trying to open the Gate to the Upside Down.
Jonathan and Nancy manage to kill Tom and Bruce. Despite that, their bodies melt and congeal together into a bigger monster.
The monster chases Nancy until she is cornered in a room. The kids arrive and Eleven telekinetically tosses the monster out of the hospital. However, the remains of the monster seep back to Brimborn through the sewers.
Grigori meets Kline at the Hawkins Fairgrounds in the morning and demands him to lure Hopper and Joyce to the Fun Fair.
Alexei reveals the Russians are trying to open the Gate.
Hopper requests the FBI to inform Dr. Owens about the Russians' plan to open the Gate and asks to bring back-up.
Steve and Robin are taken in as prisoners and interrogated by the Russians while Dustin and Erica escape into the air ducts.
Eleven, Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Will, Lucas, and Max go back to the Hopper cabin. Eleven goes into the Void. She sees Billy, who under the Mind Flayer's influence threatens to conquer Hawkins.
The Mind Flayer grows larger by absorbing dozens of his hosts and burst out of Brimborn Steel Works to confront Eleven.
At the Hopper cabin, the group arm themselves against the Mind Flayer. After a brief fight that leaves Eleven wounded, the group escapes the cabin and takes refuge at Bradley's Big Buy.
Dustin and Erica save Robin and Steve. They make it back to Starcourt Mall, but hide in the food court when the Russians begin searching for them.
At Bradley's Big Buy, Lucas and Will take explosives as back-up against the Mind Flayer. While tending to Eleven's wounds, Mike apologizes to her. Dustin radios Mike for help but low battery interrupts their communication.
After El learns that Dustin is at Starcourt through the Void, the group head back to the mall.
Following Alexei's assassination, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray manage to evade Grigori and escape the Fun Fair. They pick up Dustin's distress signal and head to Starcourt.
The Russians corner Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Erica, but Eleven arrives with the group and saves them by flinging a car at the Russians. The groups reunite with each other. Eleven collapses on the floor due to the pulsating wound in her leg.
Eleven uses her powers to fling out a piece of the Mind Flayer from her leg. This results in her becoming too weakened to evoke her powers anymore.
Hopper and Joyce arrive at Starcourt with Murray. They plan to close the Gate in the Russian lab under Starcourt while Erica and Dustin help to guide them down.
The kids depart to take Eleven to Murray's warehouse, but take refuge back at the mall after being cornered by Billy. The Mind Flayer arrives at the mall, breaking through the roof and searches for them. As the monster closes in on Eleven, Mike and Max, it is distracted by Lucas's slingshot, giving the group time to evade it. But Billy confronts them and seizes Eleven to take her to the Mind Flayer. Yet, before it can possess her, Steve along with Lucas, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, and Will attack the monster by throwing explosives.
Suzie provides the Planck Constant with which Hopper and Joyce retrieve the keys to destroy the Key.
Eleven gets through to Billy and frees him of the Mind Flayer's control. Billy stands up to the monster, sacrificing himself to protect Eleven.
Hopper and Joyce reach the lab. Grigori intervenes and fights Hopper. Though Hopper triumphs, he ends up stranded on the platform beside the Key as the energy field around him blocks his ability to escape. Joyce is forced to shut the machine off. The machine explodes, killing the Mind Flayer's avatar. The shock-wave from the machine presumably disintegrates Hopper.
Hopper survives the explosion by jumping off the platform, and is captured by the retreating Soviets.
Dr. Owens and the U.S. military arrive at Starcourt mall and immediately take over the Russian base.
Eleven realizes Hopper didn't make it back, and is devastated.
The Cutting Edge releases a commercial for an investigative report that covers all of the strange events which occurred in Hawkins over the last two years.
Max and Lucas break up, officially ending their relationship.[57]
1985 - 1986
October - March
Dr. Owens assists in relocating the Byers and Eleven to Lenora Hills, California. Eleven publicly adopts the name "Jane Hopper".
Upon learning Eleven lost access to her powers, Owens and Brenner begin work on the "Nina Project" in the hopes of restoring them.
Joyce works as a telemarketer selling Britannica books.
El, Will, and Jonathan attend Lenora Hills High School. El starts to get bullied by a popular girl named Angela, her boyfriend Jake, and their clique.
Jonathan befriends a lonely stoner named Argyle, and starts smoking weed with him to relieve stress about his long-distance relationship with Nancy.
Mike, Lucas, and Dustin join the school's controversial Hellfire Club, run by the eccentric repeating senior Eddie Munson. Lucas struggles between Hellfire and joining the school's basketball team, headed by Jason Carver.
Neil abandons Susan and Max, causing the Mayfields to lose their home and move to Forest Hills Trailer Park. Susan takes up an extra job and begins to drink heavily. Max suffers from depression and breaks up with Lucas. She begins seeing the school's new guidance counselor, Ms. Kelley.
Nancy becomes head editor for Hawkins High's newspaper, The Weekly Streak and receives an early acceptance letter from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.
Robin starts to harbor a crush on her fellow bandmate, Vickie.
1986
Sunday, March 16
Chrissy Cunningham begins to suffer from headaches, nosebleeds, and nightmares. She shares her experience with the school counselor, Ms. Kelley.
Monday, March 17
Fred Benson begins to suffer from headaches, nosebleeds, and nightmares of the car wreck he was involved in. He shares this with Ms. Kelley.
Tuesday, March 18
Max begins to suffer from headaches, nosebleeds, and nightmares of Billy's death. She has counseling sessions with Ms. Kelley, though feels unable to open up to her.
Joyce receives an odd package containing a porcelain doll. Per the advice of Murray over the phone, Joyce smashes the doll open; she discovers a hidden letter which claims Hopper is still alive.
El presents a diorama of Hopper's cabin for class, but is mocked by Angela. Later in the day, Angela and her cronies continue to bully El and destroy her diorama; El's teacher finds out that Angela is responsible, which prompts her to take Angela to the principal's office.
At Hawkins High, the Tigers face off against the Falcons. Lucas scores the final point at the game's closing seconds, pushing it over the edge for the Tigers.
After the game, Eddie and Chrissy complete a drug purchase at Eddie's trailer. While there, Chrissy is targeted by Vecna, and the death-gate ritual takes place. Eddie is helpless to watch as Chrissy is psychically mutilated and murdered from across dimensions; horrified by what he has seen, Eddie flees the trailer.
Murray arrives in Lenora to help Joyce evaluate the mysterious Russian doll. Finding a hidden phone number, Joyce and Murray call it and talk with Russian prison guard Dmitri "Enzo" Antonov. He briskly tells them to meet his contact at Yuri's Fish n' Fly in Nome, Alaska.
Mike arrives in Lenora to spend spring break with El. At the local roller rink, Angela and her friends pull a humiliating stunt on El, causing her to retaliate by striking Angela in the face with a roller skate.
After learning of Chrissy's death, a grief-stricken Jason Carver declares that Eddie must be the culprit. Lucas unsuccessfully attempts to convince Jason and his teammates that the Hellfire Club isn't a cult.
Listening to Powell's report on Chrissy's body, Colonel Jack Sullivan arrived in Hawkins to witness Chrissy's autopsy, believing Eleven to be the culprit.
Max, Dustin, Steve and Robin discuss Chrissy's murder, and the theory that Eddie is her killer. Robin discovers the address and profile of Rick Lipton, an incarcerated friend of Eddie's. They discover a shaken Eddie hiding at Rick's boat house near Lover's Lake. Eddie describes how Chrissy died, while the others explain the Upside Down and its inhabitants; Dustin and Eddie decide to call the mysterious entity that killed Chrissy "Vecna".
Everyone in Rink-O-Mania, including Mike, El, and Will watch Angela being tended to paramedic before they are picked up by Jonathan and Argyle. While having dinner at the Byers' house, the kids meet up with Murray and Joyce lies to them, saying she's going to Alaska tomorrow for a conference for her job.
Colonel Sullivan interrogates Sam Owens at Owens's homestead in Ruth, Nevada, demanding to know Eleven's whereabouts. Sullivan shows Owens photographs of Chrissy's mutilated corpse, which Owens recognises as the work of Henry Creel. After Sullivan's departure, Owens decides to initiate the final phase of the Nina Project, sending a secret message to Dr. Brenner.
El is arrested by California police for assaulting Angela. The authorities decide to send El to a juvenile detention center; however, Owens, flanked by Agents Stinson, Harmon and Wallace, intervene and assumes custody of El. Owens tells Eleven he has figured out a way to rejuvenate her powers, and that a "war" with the Upside Down is fast approaching. Eleven agrees to join Owens, and they travel to the Nina facility.
Joyce and Murray arrive in Alaska.
Hopper bribes a fellow prisoner to help break his ankle chains, in advance of his escape attempt.
Nancy is informed of Vecna by Max, Dustin, Steve, and Robin before she and Robin split up from the others who go to ask Ms. Kelley about Chrissy's sessions with her.
Nancy and Robin go to the library to research Victor Creel, an infamous inmate at Pennhurst Mental Hospital who allegedly killed his family. They find an old issue of the fringe tabloid The Weekly Watcher, which reports Victor's claim that "a demon" killed his family.
At Hawkins High, Max, Dustin, and Steve break into Counselor Kelley's office. They read through the patient files, and Max realizes she is experiencing the same symptoms that Chrissy and Fred did. Soon after, she begins to hallucinate, and sees Vecna's grandfather clock protruding from the wall.
Stinson updates Mike, Will, and Jonathan on Eleven's status, and informs them Harmon and Wallace will be looking over them for the foreseeable future.
Max breaks out of her hallucination and tells Dustin, Steve, Robin, and Nancy of the symptoms Fred and Chrissy were suffering from before they died while experiencing terrifying visions. Max reveals she is also experiencing the same symptoms Fred and Chrissy before they were killed, making the others realize Max is Vecna's next target and will likely die tomorrow. Lucas arrives at the school to warn his friends of Jason's manhunt for Eddie, only to be told of Max's predicament.
Jonathan gets Harmon and Wallace to order from Surfer Boy Pizza; they plan on using Argyle's Pizzamobile to sneak away from the agents. However, Sullivan's military forces launch an attack on the house, injuring both agents. Argyle pulls up, allowing the boys and an injured Harmon to flee the chaos.
Joyce and Murray meet Yuri Ismaylov at Yuri's Fish n' Fly, who promises to help rescue Hopper after personally counting his promised $40,000. However, Yuri gives Joyce and Murray drugged coffee, hoping to hand them over to the Soviets in exchange for a bounty.
Hopper escapes the prison camp and flees to a church in Kyrzran, but is quickly recaptured.
Nancy and Robin go to Pennhurst Mental Hospital to interview Victor Creel, pretending to be students at the University of Notre Dame. The interview is cut short by Warden Hatch, who forces them off the premises. Nancy and Robin escape Hatch's attempt to have them arrested, and realize that Victor escaped the 'demon' attack due to the influence of music.
Max reads a farewell letter aloud at Billy's grave, before beginning to experience a Vecna-induced hallucination. She enters the surreal expanses of Vecna's mind, where she is attacked by Vecna. A panicked Dustin contacts Nancy and Robin over his Supercom, who relay their theory that music could save Max. The group play Max's favorite song over her Walkman; a mental window to reality appears within Vecna's mindscape, through which Max escapes; moments later, Max awakens from her trance and returns to reality.
Eleven and Owens arrive at the Nina Project facility, where Eleven is shocked to re-encounter Dr. Brenner. She tries to escape, but Brenner orders to the staff to sedate her. She is placed inside the 'Nina' isolation tank.[58]
In the early morning a wounded Agent Harmon dies from his injuries, but not before telling Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle about a number that would help them find Eleven, and gives them his pen.
Inside the 'Nina' isolation tank, Eleven is forced to hallucinate her own repressed memories as a seven-year-old at Hawkins Lab, initially confusing her. Glimpsing a memory of the September 8, 1979 massacre, Eleven panics and has a seizure inside the tank. After being brought out of the tank, Eleven defies Brenner and once again attempts to escape; she unintentionally incapacitates several guards, and she realizes her powers are partially restored. She decides to stay at the facility, and to cooperate with Brenner and Owens.
Lt. Colonel Sullivan kidnaps Agent Wallace, and begins to interrogate him about Eleven's whereabouts.
After burying Harmon in a junkyard, Mike finds a phone number hidden inside Harmon's pen. Upon calling it, they hear a dial-up tone. Mike realizes they are calling a computer, and they decide to seek help from Suzie Bingham to figure out which computer they are calling, and where.
After being returned to Kamchatka, Jim Hopper is thrown in a cell with Dmitri Antonov and several other prisoners.
While tied-up in Yuri's plane, Joyce and Murray use a shard of a broken jar to cut their binds. Murray knocks Yuri out, forcing him and Joyce to perform an emergency crash landing upon arriving in Kamchatka.
Max draws what she saw in Vecna's lair; Nancy realizes she has drawn a version of the Creel House. The Hawkins group breaks into the house, where Max finds the grandfather clock from her visions. As the group explores the house, the lights flicker. Realizing the flickering lights are tied to Vecna's presence, they follow him up to the attic.
Jason Carver concludes that the Hellfire Club are hiding Eddie. Jason, Patrick, and Andy investigate suspicious activity at Rick Lipton's supposedly abandoned home. Eddie flees to the boathouse, before attempting to escape in a boat. Jason and Patrick notice Eddie out on the lake and start swimming after him. Patrick is pulled underwater by Vecna, before shooting back into the air and being killed by Vecna in front of Jason and Eddie. At the Creel House, the group's flashlights and the attic light bulb explode as Patrick dies.
Chief Powell publicly releases Eddie's name as the primary suspect and sets an open forum at town hall. Powell announces a curfew, but Jason interrupts, blaming the murders on the Hellfire Club, and attempts to rally the townspeople behind him.
Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman, stranded in the Russian woods, convince Yuri Ismaylov to lead them to his safehouse in Kyrzran. Murray disguises Yuri as himself, and himself as Yuri, in order to break into the prison camp housing Hopper.
Murray's scheme is successfully enacted. From a balcony, they watch as Hopper, Dmitri and the other prisoners are forced into a quasi-gladiatorial area, commanded to fight the Soviets' captured adult Demogorgon. Setting a spear alight, Hopper and Dmitri fend off the creature, which massacres the rest of the prisoners. Murray pulls a handgun on Warden Melkinov, and eventually incapacitates much of the base's staff; in the base control room, he and Joyce trigger the opening of a door, through which Hopper and Dmitri escape. Hopper and Joyce reunite, and the group then depart from the base. On their way out, the group discover a cell containing a portion of the Mind Flayer and a number of paralyzed Demogorgons.
Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Dmitri and Yuri travel to Kyrzran and take refuge at Yuri's warehouse. At the prison camp, chaos breaks out after the Mind Flayer particles are accidentally freed from the cell, which possesses the paralyzed Demodogs.
Eddie meets with the others in the woods. Nancy checks Eddie's broken watch and realizes Patrick's death matches the lights exploding in the Creel House; they speculate that Vecna performs the curse ritual from within the Upside Down's version of the Creel House. Dustin realizes his compass is malfunctioning, indicating that a gate may be nearby.
The California group arrives at Suzie Bingham's house. Suzie gets her many eccentric siblings to distract her father, allowing Suzie and the group to break into his office. They use Suzie's confiscated computer to find the Nina Project's coordinates.
Dustin's compass leads the group to Lover's Lake. The older teens take the compass and take a boat out on the lake; Steve dives under the water and finds a gate at the bottom of the lake. Briefly returning to the surface to inform the others, a vine extending from the gate wraps around Steve's leg, dragging him through and into the Upside Down, where he is attacked by Demobats. Nancy, Robin and Eddie dive in to rescue him, entering the Upside Down and fight off the bats.
The bats block off the "watergate", and even more bats start to converge from afar. The group is forced to flee into the nearby woods.
The police catch Dustin, Max and Lucas while watching the events occurring out on the lake. They are confined to the Wheeler House as officers interview them, one by one.
Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie travel to the Upside Down's version of the Wheeler house to retrieve Nancy's weapons. Nancy discovers her guns are missing, due to the Upside Down seemingly being "frozen" in 1983.
The kids realize their older allies are in the Upside Down's version of the Wheeler house. The two groups make contact through electrical manipulation of Holly's Lite-Brite. They make a plan to meet at a hypothetical gate inside Eddie's trailer, at Forest Hills Trailer Park.
The two groups cycle to their respective version of Forest Hills, with the kids breaking free of police custody. As the older group cycles through the Upside Down, a Demobat alerts Vecna to their whereabouts.
The younger group locate the gate and help their allies escape the Upside Down, who flip between two modes of gravity as they pass through the gate.
Vecna targets Nancy as she attempts to leave the Upside Down. He reveals his origins to Nancy, and gives her a vision of "the future" before letting her go.
At the Nina Project facility, Eleven re-experiences the Hawkins Lab massacre of September 8, 1979.
Brenner and Owens tell Eleven the truth about Henry, informing her that he has returned to terrorize Hawkins. Eleven demands that she leave to help her friends; Brenner, wanting to further strengthen Eleven's abilities, is resistant, but Owens disagrees and arranges transportation to Hawkins. An incensed Brenner goes rogue and takes control of the facility, incapacitating Eleven and orders a group of guards to apprehend Owens.
Colonel Sullivan and his forces lead a full scale assault on the Nina facility. Brenner is killed in the attack, but Eleven escapes with the help of Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle. Eleven informs them that they need to travel to Hawkins immediately if she is to have any hope of stopping Vecna.
In Hawkins, Max, Nancy, Eddie and the others gear up to fight Vecna. Max, Lucas, and Erica return to the Creel House.
Hopper, Joyce, and Murray learn an "evil" has emerged in Hawkins. The group decides to return to the prison camp, as they hope destroying the fragment of the Mind Flayer will deal damage to the Upside Down's hive mind, and benefit their allies.
Realizing that physically returning to Hawkins in time to help is impossible, Eleven decides she will instead "piggyback"; by remotely entering Max's mind as Vecna attacks her, she can directly attack Vecna. Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle create a makeshift sensory deprivation tank in the back of a Nevada Surfer Boy Pizza. Floating in the water, Eleven projects her consciousness to the Creel house, enters Max's mind, and begins navigating her memories.
At the Creel House, Max acts as bait to draw Vecna's attention. Meanwhile, Nancy, Steve, and Robin venture back into the Upside Down, hoping to attack Vecna in the Creel attic while he is distracted attacking Max.
Eddie and Dustin assist their allies by distracting the Demobats with the power of heavy metal, and further divert Vecna's concentration. Eddie ultimately sacrifices his life in a bid to further lure the bats away.
Vecna launches a fresh psychic assault on Max, but Max escapes into a memory of the 1984 Snow Ball. Vecna and Eleven find their way inside the same memory, and become engaged in conflict. Vecna is ultimately victorious, incapacitating both Eleven and Max. He pulls the two girls into his mindscape, using vines to bind them to the fractured house.
Vecna begins the death-gate ritual and starts killing Max; however, Eleven regains her strength and intervenes, pinning him against a pillar.
Jason Carver arrives at the Creel house to investigate the teens' activities. Upon seeing Max in her trance, a frightened and confused Jason threatens Lucas with his gun, and the two ultimately end up in a fistfight.
Hopper, Joyce, and Murray return to the Soviet base, and a dying Warden Melkinov tells them "the shadow" has possessed the Demodogs. After chasing Hopper and Joyce around the Soviet base, the Demodogs gather in the same spot, allowing Murray to burn the bulk of the creatures to death with Yuri Ismaylov's flamethrower. The adult Demogorgon survives, but moments later, Hopper uses a sword to behead the creature. Hopper, Joyce, and Murray are rescued by Yuri and Dmitri in Yuri's helicopter, Katinka. The Demogorgon deaths weaken everything else connected to the hive mind.
Nancy, Steve, and Robin reach the Upside Down's version of the attic; they attack Vecna with gunfire and Molotov cocktails. Simultaneously weakened by Eleven, Murray and the trio's attack, Vecna is sent flying through the Creel House's boarded window. The trio rush outside to make sure of his death, but find he has disappeared.
Eleven's consciousness returns to the mental void after Nancy, Steve, and Robin's attack, and Max's consciousness briefly returns to her body in the attic. Despite Vecna's failed attack, Max succumbs to her injuries and her heart stops. Moments later, a fourth gate opens in the attic, bisecting and killing Jason. The curse gates then converge on the Hawkins town square, causing destruction and killing dozens of residents. Eleven uses her powers to restart Max's heart, but she remains in a comatose state.
Friday, March 28
The opening of the curse gates is reported by the media as a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale. President Ronald Reagan declares Hawkins as a federal disaster area. The United States military, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Indiana National Guard are deployed to the region. Thousands of residents are displaced, and an exodus from the town begins.[59]
Mike, El, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle finally arrive in Hawkins, where many residents have fled or have been left homeless. The California crew reunite with their friends at the Wheeler house. Eleven cannot find Max's consciousness when she reaches into her mind, and Will senses Vecna is still alive.
While volunteering at Hawkins High, Robin and Vickie grow closer to one another. Dustin tells Wayne Munson that Eddie sacrificed himself to save others.
While the California crew and Nancy begin to repair Hopper's cabin, Hopper and Joyce arrive from Russia and reunite with their kids and friends.
Plumes of smoke and spores from the Upside Down emerge from the four gates. Eleven watches in defiance atop a withering hill, her allies gathered behind her.
Hawkins is placed under strict military quarantine.
The military covers up the curse gates across Hawkins using metal plates. A portion of a gate is left exposed at the disaster's epicenter, at the Public Library. The library and surrounding town square becomes an occupied militarized zone known as the Military Access Control Zone (MAC-Z).
Without anywhere else to stay, the Byers move into the Wheeler house.
Hopper's cabin is fully repaired, where Hopper and Eleven live together in secrecy.
The group of allies begin "crawls", where they scour the Upside Down for Vecna. Approximately thirty-seven crawls are carried out in total.
Erica injures Tina's love interest Josh, giving him a black eye. Believing it to be a tactic to prevent her from dating Josh, Tina decides to cut ties and end her friendship with Erica.
Saturday, October 31
Mary stays over with Holly at the Wheeler House for Halloween and they watch a horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Warriors, together. Henry, in the form of Mr. Whatsit, starts following Holly.
Monday, November 2
After school, inside the school library, Holly meets Henry in the form of Mr. Whatsit.
Murray arrives in Hawkins under the alias "Austin Milbarge" to inform Nancy about a burn being held that night. Robin discreetly broadcasts this information to the others for their "Crawl" mission.
Will gets a confusing vision after he, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas go over their part of the mission.
Karen is called in by Holly's teacher, Miss Harris, because of her concerns about Holly's imaginary friend, Mr. Whatsit
Dustin is ambushed by Andy and his friends at Eddie's gravesite after Dustin had put a corn snake in Andy's locker. Jonathan replaces him in the mission.
The Crawl mission begins, requiring Mike and Lucas to lookout over the Military Access Control Zone (MAC-Z) from their observation post. The military begins their burn of an exposed section of the gate. The boys give Hopper the green light to stow away onto the supply convoy heading into the Upside Down. Once Hopper "flips", Steve follows along from the Right-side Up in the WSQK broadcasting van with Jonathan tracking him with a telemetry tracker, keeping the signal within negative 60 and negative 70 dB. From the WSQK radio station, Joyce signals Hopper when to jump out of the convoy to begin his 2 hour search for Vecna.
Their mission goes wrong however, when a Demogorgon attacks the supply convoy causing a power surge and lose of Hopper's location. Will goes into a trance, having the ability to see through the Demogorgon's eyes until eventually falling to the ground. He snaps out of it and warns everybody that the Demogorgon is after the Wheeler house. El and Nancy rush over to save them.
The Demogorgon brutally attacks Ted and Karen before taking Holly. El and Nancy arrive too late. El goes through a temporary gate left behind by the Demogorgon. Ted and Karen are taken to Hawkins Memorial Hospital while Colonel Sullivan and his men investigate the Wheeler house. El attempts to track the Demogorgon by following its blood after Karen had attacked it with her wine bottle, but comes across Hopper instead.
Dustin catches up to Steve and Jonathan. While searching for Hopper's telemetry tag, Jonathan picks up an odd noise that Dustin originally brushes off.
In pursuit of the Demogorgon, El and Hopper come across a giant wall made out of material from the Upside Down.
Will and Robin sneak out of the radio station despite Joyce's demands. They return to the site where Will had his vision and discover that Will had been seeing through Holly's eyes. They also discover that Vecna has targeted Derek Turnbow.
Mike believes there's more to Holly's imaginary friend than just a coincidence. He and Nancy sneak into Karen's hospital room for answers and discover that Mr. Whatsit is in fact Henry.
Holly wakes up in a field within Vecna's mind. Vecna, in the form of Mr. Whatsit, invites Holly into a 50s version of his childhood house.
Derek, Mary, Debbie, Thomas, Rebecca, Glenn, Wendy, Joshua, Benji, Roger, and Valerie wake up in the same field Holly woke up in. Vecna, still in the form of Mr. Whatsit, invites them into the 50s version of his childhood house.
The Party defeat Vecna and the Mind Flayer and save the kids, bringing them through to the Upside Down and then to Hawkins. C4 is detonated at Hawkins Lab, causing a collapse in the Upside Down, presumably killing Eleven.
Kali Prasad dies after being shot in the stomach by Robert Akers.
Unknown Dates
The military retreats from Hawkins.
Rebuilding efforts start in order to repair Hawkins.
1988
September
Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin move out of Hawkins to go to college in different cities, with Nancy moving to Boston to attend Emerson College to study journalism. Jonathan then follows his dream by moving to New York to attend NYU and studies film making. Robin moves to Northampton, Massachusetts to attend Smith College.
1989
Unknown Date
Nancy drops out of Emerson College and becomes a trainee journalist at The Boston Herald.
Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, and Dustin graduate from Hawkins High School. Dustin, the valedictorian, delivers a speech that riles up the students, much to Principal Higgins' dismay and fury.
Joyce and Hopper become an engaged couple when Hopper proposes during their Enzo's date and she accepts.
Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max play Dungeons & Dragons for possibly the last time. Holly, Mary, Debbie, Derek, and Joshua then take their place and play D&D for the first time, creating a new Party and continuing the original Party's legacy.
June - December
Joyce and Hopper leave Hawkins together and move to Montauk, New York where Hopper works as chief police.
Mike, Will, and Dustin move to separate colleges.
Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Robin meet up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1989 - 1990
Unknown Dates
Joyce and Hopper get married.
Mike begins writing stories inspired by their adventures.
Will probably goes in his first relationship with a college boy.
Dustin and Steve go on a road trip together.
July 1990
Lucas and Max go on a movie date, watching Ghost.[63]
References
↑The colonization of Indiana occurred in the 19th century: see Indiana on Wikipedia.
↑In Steve's application to work at Scoops Ahoy (included in Windows 1.11), Steve lists his age as 19. If the application was written in June 1985 (or earlier), this would mean Steve was born no later than June 1966.
↑In "The Hellfire Club", Eddie's friends state that he was supposed to graduate in 1984, indicating he was probably born sometime between 1965 and 1966. Since he is now graduating in 1986, this would likely place him at 19-20 years old.
↑In "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab", Holly was stated to be 6, suggesting she was born in 1979 or 1980. In "Sorcerer", Dr. Kay implies that Holly belongs to the same school cohort of children aged between 9 and 10, suggesting she was born in 1977 or 1978.
↑In the book Runaway Max, on October 30, Max says that she has spent the last three days since she arrived at Hawkins in the arcade, and wouldn't mind if she had spent a fourth day that day. If we start counting back 3 days before October 30th, we arrive at October 27nd.
↑It is unclear if the arcade scene at the beginning of "MADMAX" is meant to take place on October 28 or October 29, due to an apparent continuity error.
According to superimposed titles, the Pittsburgh car chase occurred on October 28.
A news report - shown immediately before Dustin bikes to the arcade - says that the Pittsburgh chase occurred earlier that night. Going by this, the chase and the arcade scene both occurred on October 28, with the rest of "MADMAX" logically taking place the following day (October 29).
However, in Stranger Things: Runaway Max, Max beats Dustin's high score on October 29, suggesting the "MADMAX" arcade scene occurred later that same day (while also disregarding the dating from the superimposed titles).
In a later scene in "MADMAX", Merrill Wright refers to it being the day before Halloween (October 30). This suggests the arcade scene can't have took place on October 28, not unless the episode jumps forward two days after the arcade scene.
↑In "The Crawl", Robin says it is November 3rd, her 500th broadcast. If we start counting back 499 days before November 3rd, we arrive at June 22nd, which is a Tuesday.
↑In Indiana, high school students graduate in either late May or early June, typically the day after they take finals, on a Saturday. The epilogue takes place around 18 months later, meaning it's set in May 1989. The biggest clue to the 27th is the shot showing that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is playing in the theater, which was released May 24, as well as the Memorial Day signs hung up in the front of the stores. Therefore, the Party graduated on May 27.
↑ 1.01.1Multiple Tier 2 sources are in conflict regarding the dating of the Creel family's move to Hawkins and the subsequent deaths of Virginia and Alice.
The Indianapolis Gazette article 3 Dead as Police Probe Deadly Scene (from "The Monster and the Superhero") states that the Creel murders occurred on March 14, 1959. The article also states that the Creels had lived in the home for two years at the time of the murders.
Suspicious Minds shows Brenner arriving at Hawkins Lab at 1969, yet the fourth season suggests Brenner has run Hawkins Lab since at least 1959; The First Shadow later depicted Brenner already running the lab by 1959.
↑Information from Stranger Things: SIX, a Tier 3 source, conflicts with what's presented in the main series.
The comic versions of the test subjects are at odds with what the fourth season depicts. Additionally, the dating of Terry's rescue attempt differs between Stranger Things: SIX and what behind-the-scenes material suggests (an Instagram post by lead makeup artist Amy L. Forsythe)
This conflicts with "The Gate", which shows that the 1984 Snow Ball is on December 15, 1984 (per the date on Jonathan's camcorder). This date also features on the Snow Ball leaflet included in Hawkins Memories: Vecna's Curse.
Canon hierarchy