It wasn’t long ago that the fourth season of Stranger Things turned the entire internet upside down. The final episode came out on July 1 and even now, almost a month later, you can feel the waves this two-part season has made. It wasn’t easy, but we’ve picked out 13 memorable moments from the 9 episodes and mixed them with some brilliant off-screen moments.
ATTENTION: The following list contains SPOILERS! Don’t scroll any further if you haven’t seen the season!
13th on-screen: Prisoners fight Demogorgon
One of the most gory and impactful scenes of the season was the fight against the Demogorgon in Kamchatka prison. The 15-second scene is a stunt masterpiece that combines practical stunts with VXF. Jim Hopper’s spear throw into the Demogorgon’s neck is the icing on the cake at the end.
12th off-screen: Millie Bobby Brown’s water-bomb revenge
Millie Bobby Brown revealed to Jimmy Fallon that she spared no effort to play a prank on her best friend Noah Schnapp. After she made a phone call asking him to say goodbye to her on set, he was surprised by 20 set members and bombarded with water balloons. In the clip above, Millie tells the story of the prank (from minute 2:40).
11. on (and off) screen: Robert Englund as Victor Creel
Remember the scene when Nancy and Robin interview Vecna’s father? None other than Robert Englund played Victor Creel – horror fans will immediately know who that is, as Englund is behind the legendary Freddy Krueger. When Creel scratches the table, it’s a reference to Krueger’s famous bladed glove.
10. off-screen: Gaten Matarazzo spoiled season 4 back in 2016
Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson, spoiled Vecna’s origin story in an interview years ago. Gaten talks about one of his favorite fan theories, in which “other test subjects, besides Eleven, like One through Ten, are dead, but others were sent to the Upside Down. They turned into monsters.” Oops. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
9th on-screen: Chrissy’s death
Chrissy Cunningham’s death was the first shocker from episode 1 and is breathing down all of our necks as a taste of Vecna’s power. We’re still devastated that Chrissy and Eddie didn’t get closer.
8th on-screen: Vecna house battle
When Robyn Buckley, Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler try to kill Vecna with some well-placed Molotov cocktails and gunfire, a burning Vecna falls out the window. But after the three run out of the house, Vecna is nowhere to be found. Just like Michael Myers in Halloween.
In this video, Joe Keery and Maya Hawke describe the scene.
7th off-screen: “Running Up That Hill” tops the Spotify charts
Have you been listening to Kate Bush’s“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” on repeat? You bet, because the song has been topping Spotify’s charts for weeks. At this point, it would probably save us all from the Upside Down.
Here’s an hour-long loop in case you get queasy.
6th on-screen: Shootout at the Byers’ house
How unexpected was the scene when Mike Wheeler, Will and Jonathan Byers get caught in the middle of a firefight in their own home? It’s even more impressive when you watch the video above and realize that the whole thing was shot in one take.
5th off-screen: Jamie Campbell Bowers transforms into Vecna
One of the viral videos that give us a look at the backstage of season 4 was Jamie Campbell Bowers’ transformation into Vecna. The whole look was achieved almost entirely with makeup and practical effects, so it took a whopping 7 hours to get Jamie camera-ready each time.
4. on-screen: Eddie Munson’s death
Eddie Munson captured the hearts of fans early on. This made his death and sacrifice all the more painful. “I didn’t run away this time, right?” he asks. No, you’re not Eddie 😭
3. on-screen: Max escapes Vecna
Viewers went completely bonkers when Max escapes Vecna’s clutches (with the help of Kate Bush) in a nerve-wracking episode 4. She runs for her life, dodging falling rocks and finally wakes up in the graveyard surrounded by her friends. In the ninth episode, she survives his second assassination attempt when Eleven revives her. But we have yet to see if she comes out of her coma…
2nd off-screen: The Doja Drama
As mentioned in point 4: We’re all obsessed with Joseph Quinn, who plays Eddie Munson. Doja Cat is no exception. Via DM, she asked fellow actor Noah Schnapp to set her up with Joseph. When Noah made the DMs public, Doja was not pleased. After she slammed him in an angry Instagram Live about Noah, fans switched sides. Schnapp gained almost 1 million new followers, while Doja Cat lost over 200,000.
1st On-Screen: Eddie Munson destroys Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down
MOST. METAL. EVER.
Read more: Don’t miss these Netflix highlights in August.
This article is based on the original by Jamie Ferrell for Secret San Francisco.