Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

What Stranger Things Season 4 Episode Titles Suggest

image of a man standing in front of an explosion in a field.
Things sound like they’re going to get a bit bombastic during the fourth season of Stranger Things. Netflix

In addition to a new teaser trailer detailing Eleven’s not-so idyllic California life and what looks to be a bombastic spring break for the Stranger Things crew, Netflix has provided audiences another clue to potential upcoming content for season 4. 

Given that destroying the Mind Flayer at the end of season 3 also meant the end of the Byers’ and Eleven’s time in Hawkins, the potential dissolution of Eleven’s powers, and the suggested end of Sheriff Jim Hopper (David Harbour), the story seems to be spiraling toward a conclusion. Slated to stream in mid-2022, Netflix released the titles for each of season 4’s episodes this week. Let’s see if we can break down what they might mean for the now teenage monster fighters and their allies.

Related Videos

The Hellfire Club

It appears that the kids who remain in Hawkins are still major Dungeons and Dragons players. Footage released via Stranger Things social media accounts shows rolling dice and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) carrying a flag for the “Hellfire Club.” 

This is also the show’s second reference to X-Men’s Phoenix saga, highlighting a loose connection between the powerful minds of Jean Grey and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). The Hellfire Club is a nasty mutant organization in the Phoenix saga, which hints at some brutal baddies on the horizon. 

Vecna’s Curse

Another D&D reference! Vecna is a wizard turned undead necromancer and one of the most formidable creatures in the game. After achieving immortality, Vecna was maimed by a usurper, which led to his left eye and hand becoming magical artifacts themselves.

Like previous plot points, D&D might lead the remaining Stranger Things gang to unravel a Hawkins mystery, possibly at the Creel House, teased a couple of months ago. We also have Will (Noah Schnapp), who did technically die and come back to life. Could there be another character bringing back creatures from the other side?

The Monster and The Superhero

Who is the superhero here? Eleven, who has presumably lost her powers? Hopper, who’s presumably dead? A new cast member granted superpowers? And who is the monster? An escaped Robert Englund as Victor Creel? A Russian scientist at the base where Hopper is recovering?

The ambiguous title invites a number of possibilities that are fun to explore, but we will have to wait until the season arrives to find out.

Dear Billy

The nasty bully, Max’s older stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery), actually died a hero, saving Eleven’s life in the season 3 finale. This episode title suggests we’ll see how Max (Sadie Sink) is dealing with his death, but this is Stranger Things, so things could take a weird turn in this journey through trauma. 

Related Guides

The Nina Project

Here’s where the fictional Hopper may collide with actual history. Nina Kulagina was a real-life willing subject of the 1970s and 1980s USSR experiments that tested her supposed telekinetic powers. Could her story collide with Hopper’s at the facility where he’s being detained?

The Dive

Another murky title that will be better understood as season 4 unfolds. Does this dive refer to actual deep water or into another world like the Upside Down?

The Massacre At Hawkins Lab

Yikes. This one’s pretty on the nose. While the Hawkins Lab is shut down by the end of season 3, perhaps this is a flashback to previous days at Eleven’s former home. The title of the next chapter certainly suggests this episode as a forerunner. 

Papa

Here marks the return of Matthew Modine’s Martin Brenner. Is this the final meeting (and the final clash) between the mad scientist and his acolyte Eleven?

The Piggyback

Though the word ‘piggyback’ is benign, the Stranger Things world suggests an ominous undertone. Who is carrying who and into where? Whoever or whatever it is, we will likely get to see something very bad and someone very good exiting this world in the last episode of season 4.  

Read More: Things End Badly For the Creel Family in ‘Stranger Things: Season 4’ Trailer

Editors' Recommendations

Should You Be Keeping Up With ‘The Boys’ in Season 3?
Hughie, Butcher, and Mother's Milk look down into a mysterious car trunk in "The Boys"

Yes, that is a real-life, giant prosthetic penis that actor Brett Geddes (and his stunt double) navigate in season 3 of The Boys, streaming now on Amazon Prime.

"For those wondering… the dick is real," actor Geddes captioned on Instagram along with a pic of himself and stunt double Alex Armbruster covered in white powder and posing in front of the 11-foot high and 30-feet long dong. As Termite in the antihero show, the young man was only trying to reach his friend’s prostate for a friendly tickle before a coke-fueled sneeze accidentally returns him to normal size… and his poor pal into mincemeat.

Read more
Cobra Kai Season 5 Already Filmed and Around the Corner
Ralph Macchio (left) and William Zabka (right) as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence in 'Cobra Kai.'

Suddenly, Cobra Kai is hot. Since arriving on Netflix in 2020, the show has released four seasons in just under 16 months. Continuing the success of 1984’s Karate Kid sounded unlikely, but the show is now wrapping up filming up season 5 after a stellar season 4.

Cobra Kai Season 4 | Official Trailer | Netflix

Read more
Kristen Bell May Have Witnessed a Murder in New Netflix Dark Comedy Series
Kristen Bell as Anna, who's having a bit of trouble cutting back the drinking after she may have witnessed a murder in the new Netflix series, 'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.'

TEXT GOES Show creators want you to know that The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is not a spoof of the Amy Adams psychological thriller, The Woman in the Window, Netflix series.

"I don't think we are making fun of any of these books, or the movie version of these books," co-creator and showrunner Rachel Ramras told EW.com. "We are having fun with the genre, as opposed to making fun of the genre."

Read more