#AND THE EL AND HOPPER REUNION!!!! AND CALI GETTING BACK TO HAWKINS

[demadogs]

no offense but i cannot believe some people only watch this show for byler and dont care about the upside down and everything else oh my god thats so insane to me

[ellewritesandrants]

Fem!Billy gets pregnant with Steve’s baby post Starcourt and moves to California for college where the Byer-Hoppers’ already are.

There's a more detailed version of this in the works but I want to share the bare bones of it anyway.

Everything starts when Billie reunites with her mom who finds her after the Starcourt incident was reported on and she’s there for her recovery. Billie graduates valedictorian with a full ride to Caltech and UCLA. She tries to invite Steve to come with her to California but he thinks she wants to stop the friends with benefits agreement they have.

Steve’s actually been thinking of ending it since Nancy’s been making moves ever since she and Jonathan broke up. Billie thought they were actually together. She cries to her mother about shitty boys and they make the move early. Max and her mom come up right before school starts only to find out all together that Billie’s pregnant with Steve’s child.

The Byer-Hoppers’ live in the house beside Billy’s mom’s house because she became friends with Joyce when she took care of Billy during her recovery and when she found out about the neighbor selling, she immediately brought it to Joyce who was sick and tired of her boys being put in danger in Hawkins. Billie takes a gap year and she ends up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl who has Steve’s eyes but her coloring.

Strangely enough, Jonathan became really close to her since he was friends with Argyle who was her best friend. He was a big help with everything, partially due to his guilt in not preventing his little sibling’s miscarriage due to Lonnie’s abuse which was part of the straw that broke the camel’s back.

He loves babysitting little Sophia and he uses Billie as his muse for his photography classes which gets her a foot in the door as a model which she starts doing on the side to pick up a bit more money once Sophie’s out of her terrible twos.

Billie’s mom and her new step-dad are ecstatic to have Sophie there in their house because they’d given up on having children after all of the damage that her mom has been through so Sophia was really a blessing in disguise. They have absolutely no problem spoiling their daughter and their grandkid.

Cue the party having a reunion in California because Max, Will and El and graduating high school and heading to college. They decide to do it in California so that they could show the others around their favorite spots and because Hopper and Joyce were finally getting married and they were doing it on the beach in California.

Steve gets the surprise of his life when he finds out that Billie’s not only in the line up as a bridesmaid but that her daughter was going to be the flower girl. All of the Cali teens adore Sophia but Jonathan kind of acts like her dad because after so long, Jonathan and Billie became best friends and there’s a hint of something more brewing between them.

Joyce was absolutely playing matchmaker by pairing them together and getting Steve with Nancy because she didn’t know they tried again and failed again. Imagine Steve’s surprise when he sees a blonde kid with his eyes run up to Jonathan calling him Daddy and to see Billie chasing after her, looking even more beautiful.

Apparently, it was a running joke between the Cali Teens that Billy was the mom and in that case, Jonathan was the dad and Sophia got confused and thought it was real so they all just played along.

Steve spends the entire wedding prep trying to win Billie back while Jonathan tries to finally make moves on her. Her first dance that night is Jonathan followed by Steve. In the end, Sophia has two dads so she’s the one who really wins.

[heavencasteel420]

A few steps that would’ve made S4 better:

Remove Eddie and have Joseph Quinn play a nearly identical character in a fun, spooky Fear Street knockoff.

Give Steve most of Eddie’s plot. He almost hooks up with sweet Chrissy, sees her Vecna’d before his eyes, goes on the run, and incurs the wrath and suspicion of the already on-edge townsfolk (who have decided that their former golden boy turned aimless video store clerk must have gotten deep into drugs and the occult). He’s started playing D&D with the kids over the past year and, although it’s just a fun activity he does out of boredom/affection for Dustin, it gets twisted into something more sinister. Most of us the teens and the kids band together to help him out and manage to keep him safe from the mob; however, he’s still arrested at the end of the season and sitting in the county jail. He’s not gonna die because I thought it was stupid when it happened to Eddie. I think we should also get to meet his parents (I vote that they’re a cheesy blowhard salesman type and an absurdly uptight WASP lady, both of whom care for him but are clueless and unhelpful).

Let Jonathan come to Hawkins for spring break and be an absolute wreck about leaving his family, especially after they stop answering the phone a few episodes in. His college dilemma should be simpler and clearer (he did get into a school he wants to go to, with or near Nancy, but he’s decided he can’t go and has made up his mind that she’ll dump him once he tells her, which he does two or three episodes in); that way we can get into the meat of their conflict without wasting time on miscommunication or trying to figure out exactly what Jonathan’s position is. They’re both more thoughtful and understanding of each other than in their S3 fight, but that doesn’t make the problems go away, and she’s still mostly rightfully pissed off at him. His presence allows more interaction among the four main teens: Nancy and Steve hash out the past (he’s no longer in love with her but he’s gratified that she cares fiercely about him as a friend), Jonathan and Steve find some common ground, Nancy and Robin make friends, and actually I think Robin and Jonathan could have some interesting interactions). Jonathan, unfortunately, gets partially Vecna’d when Vecna can no longer get to Max. El and Will (who has discovered that he has more than trace amounts of powers) try to save him from afar but aren’t fully successful, and he ends the season in a coma.

Give Joyce Jonathan’s spot on the Cali Crew. She receives no foreign communiqués re: Hopper, but she’s been having weird dreams that hint he’s alive. She knows that there’s something going on with all her kids, but they’re all avoidant teenagers who won’t tell her shit anymore and she has a lot going on with her job/household worries. So she’s blindsided by El’s arrest, the weird vibes amongst her younger kids and Mike, the revelation that her oldest has walked into his fourth consecutive annual Hawkins Hell Week, the recruitment of El back into lab shit, a shootout in her own damn house, and Will’s struggles with his sexuality/burdensome emerging psychic powers. Argyle is also there, and they scoop up Murray along the way. It also turns out that the lab is offering El the recovery of not-dead Hopper in exchange for her cooperation, so Joyce still has her reunion with him.

Have Hopper be in the custody of the lab, not the Russians. They sold him or whatever. He can have a lab-captive friend instead of a Russian friend, and we can get another angle on the lab mythology.

Let Will and El be spooky psychic pseudo-twins already.

This wouldn’t be all I’d change (most notably, Dustin needs something to do, and I would tweak Lucas/Nancy/Max’s stories), but I think this would’ve been great.

[z1ggy2003]

the piggyback (hawkins, el in max's mind, ending)

stranger things 4 vol 2 predictions, st5

Max is The Bait

So Lumax + Erica enters the Creel House. The plan is for Max to be the bait. They just have to wait for a sign from Stobincy (Steve, Robin, Nancy). Maybe flickering the light, a sign for Max to get ready. Because while Max lures Vecna and he's focus on her, Stobincy will burn the Creel House, in hopes that it'll kill Vecna. Eddie and Dustin distracts the demobats away from it.

(Burning the Creel House causes a strong earthquake, so strong that it affected Hawkins too in the real world)

They're waiting. And as they wait, Lumax will have a heart to heart talk.

Max will open up to Lucas. She will tell him the truth, what she's keeping in her heart for months. Similar to the Jopper heart to heart scene.

Then they'll see the lights flickering, the go signal from Stobincy. Max will go to the attic but before this Lucas will give her a hug or maybe they'll kiss. It'll be sad and the last time Lucas talks to Max.

Max at The Attic, Ready to Lure Vecna

Lucas & Jason Fight

Max pauses her tape. She's getting ready to lure Vecna. The plan is for Lucas to help her wake up from the trance. But it's not going according to plan.

After Max goes upstairs, Jason knocks on the door. He will confront Lucas. Lucas will try to make him leave but Jason suddenly punches him. Erica leaves the Creel House (BTS of Priah running outside the Creel House with fog).

Max successfully lures Vecna, she's in a trance again. Time is CRUCIAL here. They're really relying on Kate Bush. Max trusts that Running Up That Hill will save her again. So everyone has to do their parts, they need to win this fight. They need to end Vecna before he successfully kills Max.

Vecna chasing Max. Similar to him chasing Chrissy in her home.

Meanwhile in Nevada, the Cali gang goes to a chain of Surfer Boy Pizza. This id after El blew up the Silo and escaping from the military and Brenner.

The boys makes an improvised salt bath for El. They're checking on what's happening in Hawkins. El chose to look for Max, completely unaware of the events. It will be similar to when El looks for Billy, but she ends up in his memories.

El ends up in Max's Memory in a Skatepark in California

The memory is mixed of California and the Snowball. The DJ booth is there so it's kinda creepy. El walks to the storm. The source this time is the Creel House because that's where Max is. El arrives in time to stop Vecna from killing her.

El Enters The Storm, Finds Max Just In Time

The girls escapes him. But I think when they go out using the door, they'll be transported to Max's Snowball memory. This is where El and Vecna have their final fight in ST4.

El Fighting Vecna in Max's Mind

There's a theory that Max's mind will reach its limits (two superhumans literally fighting INSIDE her mind). Max will give up during this fight and she slips into a coma. El and Vecna were forced to leave her mind. But Vecna's not leaving empty-handed, he takes Max's soul/consciousness with him because he can still use her to lure El.

El opens her eyes, and she says she wants to protect Max and everyone. She doesn't know what happened and why their fight was interrupted. The Cali gang immediately goes back to Hawkins. But they're already too late.

Cali gang arrives first, and then the Russia group. Maybe the reunion scene is in Hopper's cabin? Either way, the 3 groups will reunite.

Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica are at the school, helping the earthquake victims. El, Hopper, Joyce, Mike, Will, Jonathan, Nancy, and Argyle are cleaning the cabin. While Lucas is at the hospital with Max in a coma. He reads Max her wonder woman comics, the one Max reads to El during their sleepover in S3.

Vecna Lives

I believe this is close to the cliffhanger, if it's exactly not the cliffhanger. The boys are at the cabin. There's a leak that the ending shot of ST4 is at Hop's cabin.

Not until he's taken everyone. Vecna already took Max, leaks of Eddie dying a hero while eaten by demobats, and of course; Chrissy, Fred, and Patrick.

Headcanon:

A final fight between our heroes and Vecna in ST5. A time jump of maybe 3 years, and set in 1989. There's no way it'll be set in the 90's. I think we'll be surprised that the upside down is already taking over Hawkins. That's why the time jump is needed because everyone's an adult now and can use weapons. It's going to be like the apocalypse/walking dead.

[sennqu]

Ok so this was initially made to map out Mike's visit but then turned into a semi-comprehensive timeline for most events in S4V1.

(putting under a readmore so edits transfer to reblogs just in case)

March 21 (Fri). DnD game, Basketball championship. Chrissy dies.

March 22(Sat). Mike arrives in Cali. Roller rink drama. Fred dies back in Hawkins. Dustin and co. find Eddie.

March 23(Sun). Joyce and Murray leave for Alaska. El gets arrested and subsequently intercepted by Owens. Back in Hawkins, Dustin and co. join Nancy. The agents visit the Byers house in the evening of the same day. Lucas joins the Hawkins group

March 24(Mon). Shootout at the Byers home. El arrives at the bunker and starts the Nina project. Nancy and Robin visit Pennhurst. Max gets tranced. Joyce and Murray meet Yuri and get into plane crash. Hopper attempts escape and gets recaptured. Dmitry is put in jail with him. I think the last supper with the inmates probably happened on the same day but unsure.

March 25(Tues). Pizza gang bury unnamed hero agent man. Hawkins group visit Creel House. Patrick dies. Hop and co. fight the demogorgon. (tbh the timeline for the Russia storyline is kinda confusing? i'm blaming it on the timezones. it's possible the fight happened on March 26 nighttime Kamchatka time, so early morning on the same date Hawkins time)

March 27(Thurs) - Supply run for Hawkins (daylight). Arrival at Nina Base for Cali (daylight). Then attack on Henry / Piggyback (nighttime). Russia group doing whatever.

March 26(Wed). Pizza gang arrive at Suzie's. Dustin and co. go back to Lovers Lake. Older teens get into the UD. Parents of the party are at the Wheeler house. Dustin and co. go to the trailer park. Nancy is tranced(?). El learns the truth about the Hawkins Lab massacre in 1979.

edit: following two dates from Vol.2 (done July 27, 2022)

March 29 (Sat) - timeskip. Arrival of Cali gang to Hawkins.

And assuming the events for every group all run in semi-parallel and I didn't miss anything super significant, we ended volume 1 on March 26. Mike was supposed to stay for a week in Cali, so he isn't expected back home for another 3-4 days. The Pizza gang were still at Utah last we saw them so they have around 8hrs to reach Nevada. and after that, they have around 30 hours of nonstop driving to get to Indiana. If they don't stop for overnight rests, the soonest they can get back to Hawkins would be around March 28. Apart from Mike being 1-2 days home before schedule, haha, that means the action in Hawkins needs time to slow down for a day or two so Cali can get up to speed.

And as for what that means for the Russia group, since their storyline is most likely running around 16 hours ahead (kamchatka vs indianapolis timezones) of the Hawkins group, the Hopper and Joyce reunion most likely happened around the same time Dustin and co. reunited with Eddie or even earlier. Which means that by the time Nancy is tranced, the Russia storyline would have progressed even further.

[aliferousdreamer]

my theories/predictions for volume 2

young el collapses after banishing peter/001/henry to the upside down and goes into a coma because she used too much of her powers (like henry)

young el then loses her powers as well as her memories of everything that happened (aka has had trauma induced amnesia this entire time) and has to learn how to talk and use her powers again

nancy sees henry when he was put in the lab whilst still in vecna's memories (and also sees brenner?!)

robin remembers nancy's tapes and together she and steve get nancy back

joyce and hopper kiss

max puts herself in danger to get more info on vecna (like will spying on the mindflayer)

jason gets vecnad and diessssss

present day el is overwhelmed by the revelation of her "killing" peter/001/henry and her powers come back in an explosive fashion

nina project goes boom

brenner survives because of course he does

mike, will, jonathan and argyle find el after she destroys the lab

emotional reunion between el and mike

sullivan catches up to the remains of the lab and if doctor owens survives el blowing up the lab then he's killed by sullivan

argyle drives the cali group all the way to hawkins in his lil pizza van

vecna is mad at max for escaping him and tries to kill her again in the creel house

vecna also targets lucas because of his guilt with max, patrick and maybe even bringing erica and putting her in danger?!

somehow hopper, joyce and murray make it back to america

argyle runs out of palm tree delight 💔

everyone finally reunites in hawkins

el and hopper have a very emotional reunion and both remark how they both lost their hair

emotional el and max reunion

jancy reunion is kinda awkward and steve will get jealous

we see will's painting with him and mike talking about their relationship

argyle gets high again via mushrooms idk

mike confesses his love/feelings for el(?)

robin has a flirty scene with vickie to set them up for s5

nancy gets vecnad again

will gets vecnad

everyone gets vecnad

nancy, steve, robin and eddie decide to cause a distraction for el in the upside down

eddie plays his electric guitar in the upside down (as seen in the trailer) to mess up the demobats' echolocation and cause a distraction

eddie ultimately dies protecting everyone because we can't have nice things and completes his story arc from running away and thinking he's a "coward" to becoming a hero 💔

will senses the mindflayer and begins to understand what role they're playing in the story with vecna

el has a 1v1 fight with vecna

vecna lives

we get a teaser of the mindflayer right at the end for season 5

we get an "infinity war"/"empire strikes back" type of ending where it ends on a bleaker and more sad/depressing note, with season 5 being like "endgame"/"return of the jedi" with the epic final showdown

[shesoveranalyzingagain]

i'm actually heartbroken and disappointed.

first off, using the gay character's feelings as a way to build up the hetero relationship? what the fuck. i feel as if i've lost all hope for byler because i am really disappointed. they didn't even have to be canon this season. a coming out scene or confirmation on will's sexuality would've been nice. and also, mike?? will's voice was clearly breaking and there were formed tears in his eyes and you didn't notice it?

he's either blind considering will was sitting right next to him and then he immediately turned away from you after saying all that and you didn't sense anything wrong? (funny bc mike s1 + s2 would have) or he's a dick who did notice it but didn't do anything about it. it was also those words that helped mike say his whole 'i love you' monologue to el, a direct response to will's feelings.

it feels weird because the ending makes it show that nothing has been resolved. steve still has feelings for nancy and can't move on, will can't be open about who he is, and jonathon and nancy are still lying to each other. that's part of the reason i have small hope for s5. and speaking of nancy i am quite glad she didn't get with steve. (jancy still has my heart)

and finally a jopper kiss, i have been waiting for that. i thought way more people were going to die but the only person's death i really cared for was eddie's.. that death shattered my soul tbh. and when i tell you i screamed when max's bones started breaking. i loved how they built up the sinclair's sibling bond way more this season and i also loved that scene with eddie and dustin in the field. "never change henderson."

as for more things i didn't quite like besides the obvious queerbait,

they didn't show anybody else's reactions to eddie's death which really upset me. mike was also his friend so i wanted to see his too. and no one even comforted dustin :(

we don't actually know if dr. owens died or not. (assuming it's important in s5)

wasn't there supposed to be a letter or smth?? ending in "love, __". (assuming it's mike) we never got a letter like that and no matter who it was addressed to, i'm upset it wasn't in there.

i really thought will was gonna get possessed. purely based on the fact of noah's photo with him in a harness. and although it wasn't the same harness sadie was wearing, what purpose was it used for?

what happened to the military guys? aren't they still looking for el?

they never used music again. and i know that no one else really got possessed the fact that the music thing was never brought up again really puts me off.

we never saw max's letters at all.

vickie just feels like a copy of robin. :/

they never explained what's gonna happen with the byers. like are they staying in cali or moving back to hawkins?

honestly, there were just a lot of unanswered questions. lumax and a hopper and el reunion are what kept me going. but i still enjoyed it somewhat. hoping s5 makes up for it.

that's mostly all, i'd love to hear what you guys think !! :)

[jancys-blue-bayou]

I’m not planning on watching volume 2 because of the sheer mess of volume 1 and the disgusting Stancy shipteasing but could you say what the gross Stancy scenes are and if there’s actual substance behind them? Make it make sense please I just wanted Jancy to reunite and be happy and have them have their own individual storylines without this stupid love triangle :(

Hey anon so after all I'd def recommend watching volume 2 if you watched volume 1 because, well volume 1 is worse. On all accounts, both regarding Jancy and just the show in general. And the season ends with Jancy having a sweet reunion, then there's an ambiguous scene with them where they talk but don't really resolve all the tension between them, but at least say they're okay. And most importantly: Final shot of s4 has Jancy, Jopper, Mike, El and Will all together watching how the Upside Down is now fully leaked into our world. And in the shot they have Jopper stand together holding hands and Jancy stand together holding hands. So the season ends on Jancy holding on and staring danger in the face again together, which is of course good. Plus the fact that they mirror Jopper in the scene, the Jopper ship was super realized in vol 2 with making out scenes and all.

The Stancy shipteasing remained just shipteasing and onesided. It was very gross to watch and completely unnecessary (the love triangle is absolutely not needed, they're doing Nancy a huge disservice and Steve as well). First shiptease moment in vol 2 is when Nancy comes out of Vecna's trance (Nancy has a really good scene with Vecna that opens vol 2 so that was cool), basically Vecna just lets her go after telling her everything (why he did that I don't fucking know maybe it'll come up in s5?) and when she snaps out of it Steve catches her and is like "I've got you". Gross but nothing more than that.

Then there's like a moment when they and Robin go into the UD again later, they like halt and look at each other for a moment but nothing more.

There's a scene where Steve randomly tells Nancy that his future dream is to have 6 kids and drive around the country in a winnebago WEIRD THING TO TELL YOUR EX WHO HAS A BOYFRIEND STEVE. Nancy is surprised and says "That's... nice?" and then is like "except for the 6 kids part". She clearly doesn't want to be a baby making factory in a winnebago. I take Nancy in that scene as not really into Steve's future dream but glad he suddenly has one after being so directionless previously. Then later when they're in the UD Steve tells her he wants Nancy to be the woman in that future dream, aka his baby making factory (my words not his but). Nancy looks at him shocked but Robin interrupts before she can respond.

Then they're p much busy fighting supernatural stuff so not anymore big shipteasing moments between them after that, that I can remember at least but I pulled a 13 hour shift before watching vol 2 so I might forget smth.

So the season ends with the Cali gang finally rolling back into Hawkins two days after the big battle. Jancy have a super sweet reunion, he lifts her up and everything, presses a kiss to her forehead. Apologizes for that she couldn't get a hold of him and she tries to start explaining what happened in Hawkins but he tells her he knows, and she's confused and he says he'll explain everything. During this Steve is in the background looking forlorn and Robin pats his back lol.

Then Jancy and El, Max and Will go to see Lucas and Max at the hospital (Max is in a coma). Jancy don't have any lines in this scene but I like that they took the kids.

Then they're at Hopper's cabin, where they plan to hide El. The cabin is in uh bad shape so Nancy whips everyone into cleaning mode. Jancy then have a scene where they talk while boarding up a hole in the wall. First they have a funny moment watching Argyle being weird. Then Jonathan says he's sorry he wasn't there, but Nancy says she's glad he was with Mike and Will. Then Jonathan says he's glad she was in Hawkins bc "Otherwise, who'd have been in charge? Steve?" WHICH IS TRUE everyone in Hawkins would've died 20 times over by ep 3 if it wasn't for Nancy. But here's what I despise the Duffers for, they then have Nancy say: "He's actually grown up quite a bit, you know?" Which is like, fine whatever, that's not saying she has feelings for Steve but it's just so weird to keep a little shipteasing alive still by having Nancy bring up Steve here. Then Jonathan asks if they're okay and Nancy says yeah, but there's some hesitation from both, then they agree it's hard and Nancy says "life keeps throwing things in the way of our big plans" and Jonathan is like "sure seems like it". Then Nancy jokes about putting "saving the world" on your college resume. Then she asks "not that it matters at all" if he's gotten his acceptance letter and he says no not yet and doesn't mention the community college thing. Then scene ends. Then Jopper show up and the Byers family have a sweet reunion as Nancy looks super happy watching it, then it ends with the final shot I mentioned above.

So this was rambling but yeah to sum up: I still think Jancy is endgame. But I hate how the Duffers have written them lately. I don't get why they try to keep the played out love triangle alive into s5 but I guess they think it's good for buzz around the show or whatever. Like I said I hate they have Nancy mention Steve in that last talk, not bc I think she has feelings for him, but bc it's just unnecessary. I think the other stuff they talk about in that scene, the feeling that life keeps throwing obstacles in their way, and the issue around their college plans, that's enough for tension in the relationship. The Stancy shipteasing is completely unnecessary because it's clear Nancy absolutely doesn't want what Steve wants. Also, given all the "looks" in the Stancy shipteasing moments, take note of this: The way Nancy looks at Jonathan is WAY different, deeper, happier, muuuuch more meaningful than how she looks at Steve.

I think Jancy will work through some issues in s5 and come out the other end together. The obstacle of issues around college plans can be solved a myriad of ways, and like Nancy and everyone else says by the end of s4, stuff like that don't really matter much anymore given everything else that's going on. Jancy will be together for s5, face off against evil together again, when they're at their best. And I do think they'll work through their shit and at the end be together.

[crazy-shapes]

ST Vol 2 SPOILERS

I just finished Vol 2, so here are some thoughts.

- The Vecna scream when the Demodogs and Demogorgon got set on fire was so fucking funny

-Why do they continue to do Will so dirty 💀 He got so many cringe-y, over dramatic lines.

-I thought Will pretending that El had asked for the painting to help her and Mike’s relationship was actually really interesting. . . but Will sobbing while Mike was oblivious was so hilarious and sad.

- the lipstick on Robin’s teeth while she was making sandwiches and talking to Vickie was so distracting

-Why did they have to kill Eddie!?!?!? It was so unnecessary. It felt like they did it just for the drama. He wasn’t even posthumously proven innocent. Gutted.

-The scenes with Lucas and Max in the Creel House were top tier. Caleb was right when he said that Sadie was the best actor. They both did amazing.

-Getting to see Lucas and Erica be siblings was really nice.

-Watching Johnathan awkwardly standing in the background of 90% of the reunions while everyone else hugged killed me.

- Jason got let off too easy. Sure, he got ripped in half and disintegrated, but that wasn’t enough.

- the very serious montage of the groups getting ready to fight Vecna with cut scenes of Argyle making a pizza 💀

- the Cali crew returning to Hawkins and dramatically getting out of the van, acting like they fucking did anything.

- the Mike and Hopper Moment was sweet, I’ll give ‘em that.

- The Will and Johnathan heart to heart was sweet too. . . . . But also anytime someone spoke to Will for more than five seconds he started crying. Like, can someone please get him help? I get it, his entire personality is apparently Sad™️ and Gay™️ but it’s getting ridiculous at this point.

- Joyce and Hopper!!!! Finally.

- I like these new Russian friends and was incredibly surprised when neither of them died. . . But I’m sure they’ll be done for in S5. Or just won’t be in S5.

- The parallels of Henry’s Mind Flayer drawing and Will’s!!!

- I loved all of your theories for why Karen had her own poster. Haha.

- Max’s monologue about Billy was actually really good and made sense to their narrative. I see that the Billy apologists aren’t liking it too much tho.

- I’m all for Steve and Nancy ok, but it got too much for me to handle without eye rolling.

- Why were there so many weird filler conversations? They seemed out of place and like they were just trying to throw little character facts out to the audience.

-Why does Mike always look so confused?

- Robin and Vickie are gonna be endgame.

- Robin slow mo throwing the Molotov cocktail and then Nancy firing the shotgun into Vecna was fucking next level.

- Dustin screaming for Eddie as Eddie cut the sheet and moved the mattress so Dustin couldn’t come back in after him. So good.

- Does Argyle not have a family he needs to contact?

- El saying Goodbye to Brenner instead of answering him was Boss AF.

-I loved that Vecna showed Nancy his entire life story and what he was planning to do to Hawkins and was like “go and tell the young girl who I’m creepily obsessed with cause she beat me in a fight once that I’m gonna destroy the world in a tantrum.” And Nancy just said ‘Nah.’

Ok that’s it for now. I’ll shitpost more later.

[tirednerd2012]

Joyce being the one to ‘die’ in the mall, leaving Hopper behind with the kids. Jonathan and Will are gutted, of course. The brothers clinging to each other and Jonathan reassuring him that he won’t let them be separated or taken by Lonnie. Hopper hears this and is quick to assure them they won’t, he’s going to be there for them. No matter what it takes.

El trying to be there for her siblings and process her own grief of losing a mother she finally had. But it’s hard when she barely understands how she feels, and seeing what the grief does to them.

Jonathan would still probably bottle everything up and become a shell of who he was before. Trying to be everything to his siblings and Hopper. Falling back into old routine of being the second parent even though he really doesn’t have to.

I’m not sure if theyd move to cali still or not. But the reunion of Joyce and her kids would be sweet and tear filled

Dude. This one hurt me more than anything else ever sent to me lol, but we all know I love angst, so here we go:

Hopper gets to the kids and Jonathan knows immediately by looking at him that something happened. Will stays by his side anyway because they just faced a giant monster and Jonathan needs to keep him close otherwise he's going to have an actual meltdown. He's angry at first. Jonathan screams for the first time ever, demanding to know what happened, screaming at Murray and Hopper that he trusted them with his mom. Meanwhile Will is standing there, stunned. The world stopped moving and he just watches his brother go off, completely gutted.

El is processing herself. Joyce loved her. She cared for her and she was gone. She wants to be sad but all she can do is look at the two boys whose worlds just fell apart. The party is crying together, and even Steve looks at Jonathan with pain as he continues to scream over and over again to Hopper "I trusted you! You were supposed to keep her safe!"

Jonathan yells and cries, Nancy trying to comfort him but nothing can help because his mom is gone. And then he looks at Will standing there, tears silently pouring down his face because he's just in shock. And Jonathan does what he does best, he pushes his emotions aside because his little brother needs him. He walks over to Will, pulling him into him and promising that nothing is going to separate them and neither of them are going back to Lonnie. They'll run away and live in the car before Jonathan lets someone take Will from him. Hopper hears that and tells him they won't have to, they can stay with him and El. Jonathan is hesitant, but he doesn't have much of a choice. Hopper himself is heartbroken by the loss of Joyce, but he knows he has to be there for her kids.

They do end up going to California to get away, taking Owens' advice. Jonathan is spiraling into a horrible depression and he and Will stick together. El and Will grow close, but Will comes to Jonathan at least once a week in tears because he dreamed about their mom. He becomes insanely protective of the twins. Hopper is worried about him, but he can't really father Jonathan, the kid grew up without a father too long to need him. He just tries to be there when he can.

He still befriends Argyle and that helps, but one day a senior is picking on Will and El and brings up their dead mom and grabs Will's arm when he tries to walk away, only for Jonathan to beat the absolute shit out of the guy. He has so much built up rage that it takes Argyle and Will to pull him off the guy and El just hugs him, restraining him because she knows he'd never hurt her.

Hopper gets the letter the same day Jonathan's suspended. He tells the kids he needs to go on a trip with Murray to handle something, but Jonathan knows something's up. When he confronts Hopper, Hopper just tells him he needs to stay here and keep the twins safe. So he does. Of course everything else happens as it does, but instead of Jonathan being the one outside the cabin in Hawkins, it's El and Nancy. Jonathan is comforting Will inside, as they process what's going on and once again, Jonathan promises Will he's not going to be alone, that nothing is going to take them from each other. They hear El scream and run out only to see Joyce stepping out of the car.

They both call out to her and run and hug her. She starts crying the moment her boys are in her arms again and Jonathan practically lifts her off the ground in the hug. They both cry as she hugs and kisses them, apologizing for being gone so long, and they stay like that for awhile, but no one dares to interrupt.

[enamouredless]

Weird theories I don't see anyone talk about that I want to get out of my system

The possibility of el not going back to Lenora w the byers

like el was already getting bullied before, she was getting bad grades and then she bashed Angela's head which is not gonna help w her bullying... now she has her head shaved and she got her powers back? ALSO the government knows about her existence now and they're pretty much after her?? Like there's no way she's going back to school after all this.. also her entire storyline this season reminds me a lot of hoppers in S3 that with both of them sort of ruining their lives leading up to the end of the season? like hoppers car blowing up, his cabin getting destroyed, him p much losing his job with all the drinking in public he did and threatening the mayor, and all that sort of lead up to him "dying" at the end if the season, so take that as you will.

Hopper Murray and Joyce not making it back to Hawkins for the finale in vol2

I mean think abt it, as far as Joyce is concerned her kids are still back in cali safe and sound, how would she even know they're on their way to Hawkins rn plus how would they even get back? the plane Joyce and Murray came in is destroyed and they're currently in a Russian prison all 3 of them

What i can see happen is them doing things simultaneously as the hawking's crew that sort of compliment each other that help defeat vecna at the same time? like maybe destroying that part of the mind flayer that the Russians caught that's shown in the teaser or something idk (I hate this one bc i really wanted to see the el/hopper reunion but idk if it'll happen this season) I also saw some ppl talk bat how the show is gonna end with the cold war (which is a whole another theory on its own) but if that is right it would make sense for them to stay there longer if that ends up being true

Karen's involvement with the story? Maybe with Eddie?

Ok so Eddie is a wanted criminal right now, ppl literally think he is a serial killer and most of the town has a whole witch hunt out for him.. vecna being defeated or not, I don't see how he's gonna make it out of this one so easily lmao

One thing that I can see that could come into play w the whole satanic panic storyline that's happening rn is Karen, she got a poster after all so she's probably gonna play a bigger role in that story somehow, my best guess is she finds out about what's been going on in Hawkins this whole time and decides to help her kids and clear eddies name somehow? this is literally based on nothing btw just vibes lmao but yeah

anyways I just was bored and wanted to talk to myself abt these theories rattling in my brain, that's it

[clumsycapitolunicorn]

Last minute Stranger Things S4 thoughts no one asked for...

Getting the sad stuff out the way first...

I think Murray is kicking it. Along with Brenner (yay) and Owens. I don't know who between the Hawkins group could go. I've been worrying about Jonathan from the Cali group. I think since they said it's a body count, as well as extras, I think we will get some secondary Hawkins characters who've been around since S1/2 going. That'll be sad since I've liked them too (I've been worrying about Karen but what if something happens to Ted and then she gets in the know about stuff. She has her own poster and was front and centre with the parents).

Ok, onto some other stuff.

I'm really excited for characters to get Vecna'd only because we get a look at what's going on in their head and they address all they've been through.

Will...SO MUCH TO ADDRESS WITH WILL IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY ANYMORE. I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF HE HAS POWERS ALREADY. SERIOUSLY, he's a huge part of kicking off S1 with El AND all the explanations that have to lead back to him having powers. I need them to address this. I want him and El working together like the d&d game. I love their siblings relationship and would like more please.

Will is the most likely to get Vecna'd. He has been THROUGH IT. Taken (NOT K*LLED) to the upside down for a week, possessed by the main creature there which led to deaths of people that he probably feels guilt over, can now sense him, nearly got killed when his house was shot up, has been feeling pushed away AND he's dealing with his sexuality and is probably worried about how people react. Oh, and add having a crappy father to the list. I want to see all that's going on in his head. I'd love it if this awakens his powers. There's so many parallels to him and Henry/One/Vecna. Give me this.

HOPPER AND EL REUNION. I NEED IT LIKE YESTERDAY. I KEPT THINKING SHE WILL LOOK INTO HER VOID AND SEES JOYCE ONLY TO SEE HOPPER BEFORE THEY REUNITE AND MAYBE HOPPER BEING ALIVE IS LIKE A POSITIVE EMOTIONAL POWER BOOST (if anyone is going to give her that let it be hopper). Also El seeing Hopper first is like when Joyce saw him first in the pit. When they reunite and they cry and I cry and El feels a bit better about her hair cause he's shaved too.

I NEED AN EL AND JOYCE INTERACTION. I feel so robbed I'm going to need them to reunite and when Joyce tells her she's sorry for lying to her about where she was, this leads to El admitting she lied to about how school was going and everything that followed. And we get them hugging and El thanks her for bringing her dad home and Hopper is emotional over Joyce taking in his daughter and how well they bonded.

JOPPER. AFTER 6 YEARS THEY ARE HAPPENING. I know they are probably going to make out (probably in the demogorgon pit after taking them out and Joyce saved Hopper) and wearing matching clothes. The way they'll reunite with the others (definitely has to be through a gate at this point) like WTF DID WE MISS and then the others clicking onto them like WTF DID WE MISS. I REALLY GETTING CANON JOPPER. FEELS GREAT.

[ribbonthief]

apropos of absolutely nothing (well maybe of seeing a bts pic of Millie in the cabin) but it’d be such beautiful symmetry if Hopper and El’s reunion ends up happening in the cabin of all places.

It’s after the last big battle, after the decimation of Vecna, and most of the groups have reunited, Cali and Hawkins back together. Joyce is still absent, and they can’t get in contact, which creates a heavy sense of worry between them all.  To distract themselves they tend to the cabin space instead. They’ve swept away all the broken glass, pushed away the fallen logs and have cleaned it up, made it a resting place and it’s - well - it’s not exactly nice but it’s at least better than what it was before, after it had been destroyed. But El looks around at the space, remembering what was and there’s a lump in her throat as she turns to Mike and says, “It’s not the same. It’s not home anymore, not without him” and THEN. THEN in true Stranger Things fashion there’s a pounding on the door.

Everyone is immediately apprehensive, afraid there’s yet more danger awaiting them and Steve, armed and completely exhausted but absolutely ready to protect his people if need be, carefully opens the door. A wild commotion fills the room, people are gasping and moving around. El can’t really see who it is, it’s too crowded but there’s such a shift of energy in the air, people are surprised and relieved and...happy. The flood of worry that had filled her stomach clears a little and now she’s just mostly curious. Will, who was sitting to El’s left, suddenly stands up, as if realizing something, and practically flies over to the doorway and El, rising to her feet now too, finally sees that it’s Joyce who he’s spotted. 

It’s Joyce, El exhales like she’s just taken her first breath, Joyce and Murray, who are their unexpected but very welcome visitors. El’s heart fills with overwhelming gratitude, that Joyce is okay and back here with them and not lost or badly injured or worse. And so taken off guard from this fresh appearance, she almost doesn’t notice the third figure who was also seemingly connected to their party. The figure who was bent over, shrugging off their backpack and setting down their rifle in the corner where the coat rack used to be. Where Hopper would hang up both of their scarves and jackets at the end of the day. El watches the figure carefully, as they turn back around, watches them stand because something is familiar, something is achingly, wonderfully familiar in the way they move and as the figure’s eyes -  her dad eye’s, her dad’s eyes - wildly look around the room in an attempt to locate something, someone - El is moving, her entire chest, heart, body, filling with a type of dizzy happiness that she thinks might actually engulf her. She runs straight into his open arms, envelopes him, and it’s unclear who holds who tighter and it’s Hopper. It’s her dad. He’s home. They’re home.

[mayahawkeswife]

how do you think they'll bring hopper “back” to hawkins? like everyone there thinks he's dead…

honestly, i don’t think he’ll really come back until after the events of s4 play out, or maybe even in season 5. i think there’s still a lot that’s going to happen in russia from what we’ve seen in the trailers, and so far joyce still thinks that her kids are in cali just— enjoying their spring break. even then, there’s still a lot of loose ends in the russia arc too.

but in terms of the scene of them actually reuniting, i can 100% see a parallel of at the end of season 2 when eleven comes back from her trip with kali. and honestly- i’m going to start sobbing once we get and el and hopper reunion 😭😭

[glittergradient]

what are your thoughts? i think it's my favourite season yet. the quality is crazy high and the story has me hooked. i'm also curious/excited about how they're gonna deal with wills crush on mike, steve and nancy and how the whole gang gets together again.

I loved it. there are a few narrative choices that left me a bit perplexed, but we haven't seen the last two episodes so it doesn't mean much because obviously most storylines haven't been resolved. but in general absolutely incredible. it feels like an evolved version of the show, like you say the production value is really high. now I understand why this is the second most expensive season of television in history lol. it doesn't even feel like a tv series anymore, I was watching a film in several parts. I love how it starts slow and then escalates more and more until the CRAZY last episode. ep 7 and 4 are the standouts for sure, some of the best episodes in the entire show, I'm obsessed.

I have my theories about will and mike's storyline, as well as steve and nancy’s. the choice of introducing not one but two love triangles in the penultimate season is... well, a choice. which is why I think both of these love triangles have to serve a purpose. for will/mike/el I think the purpose is to lead to a will coming out storyline, confessing his feelings for mike, mike accepting him etc (I don't think mike reciprocates tho). for steve/nancy/jonathan.. it def made me think either steve or nancy are going to die, because why else bring back something that was so dead and buried lol. also like it was pretty forced, it didn't even just happen naturally, robin, eddie and dustin had to play matchmaker and remind the audience steve and nancy even used to be a thing. but we'll see

and I LOVED eleven's storyline, I think it's my favourite one, with the hawkins plot being a close second. cali plot was barely there (huge waste of three OG characters and one of the few things that left me a bit :/ tbh), russia was a drag mostly with the exception of a few moments (demogorgon fight, jopper reunion and hopper’s monologue about his past).

[that-thing-that-feeling]

From the teaser for vol 2, it looks like a lot will happen in Russia with the upside down (what is Hopper looking at? Another monster?). I wish they had spent more time on that and less on rescuing Hopper. And since there’s still a lot of stuff for El (her escape from the lab) and Hawkins we haven’t seen yet (Hawkins being destroyed, the second visit to Creel house, more Nancy in the mindscape etc), I fear we won’t see a lot of the Cali group.

Yeah I wonder how the rest of the Russia plot connects into Hawkins (and that would have been better to spend time on).

There’s still obvs tons of plot left for Hawkins, plus we’ll have the reunion of all groups there, and what I feel like has to be at least the partial destruction of the town.

As for Cali, they definitely have some more here because the major thing in their plotline hasn’t yet happened: El needs to get out of the silo, they need to get and reunite with El, and then there should be at least the gas station, a stop at an SBP for the salt bath, and idk if they show any more of the road trip. So very curious to see how that reunion with El is, if any characters get to talk, and then there’s the whole reunion with Hawkins for them (presumably after Creel House Battle). It should be that El has at least an initial confrontation with Vecna (based on that one shot)? But that’s obvs really a thing for s5. Idk what the rest of Cali gang will do when back in Hawkins (other than some vague things like jancy technically “reuniting,” a hopper and Byers fam reunion(?), something at the cabin that also involves cleaning it.

In any case, they should have put a Cali gang moment in the teaser, but didn’t other than the explosion.