Stranger Things: Four Episodes the Duffer Brothers Say You Should Rewatch

While audiences have been obsessed with Stranger Things since the 1980s-set horror adventure first burst onto the scene back in 2016, the many years that have passed between seasons and the show’s frequently overstuffed and lore-heavy episodes mean that it can be difficult to recall the details of its many complicated plot twists. What’s the difference between a demogorgon and a Mind Flayer? How did Barb die? Where did Vecna come from? How do Eleven’s (Millie Bobbie Brown) powers work? How did Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) get out of the mysterious Upside Down? Why is Max (Sadie Sink) in a coma? And Hopper’s where, now?

Luckily, the folks in charge know that keeping track of the vast amounts of Stranger Things mythology they’ve introduced is a Herculean task at the best of times —even when it hasn’t been four years since the last season came out. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Duffer Brothers have done their best to slim down the show’s mammoth 35-hour runtime into a more manageable chunk, listing four key episodes they recommend fans take another look at as we head into the final season. 

They are: 

• “Will the Wise” (Season 2 Episode 4)
• “The Spy” (Season 2 Episode 6)
• “Massacre at Hawkins Lab” (Season 4 Episode 7) 
• “The Piggyback” (Season 4 Episode 9)

The fact that these must-watch episodes all come from just two of the series’ four seasons is…certainly a choice, and probably an unfortunate commentary on how narratively unwieldy this show has grown over time, but let’s roll with it. 

“The Piggyback” is an obvious pick, if only because it’s the season 4 finale and the last episode any of us saw, in which the gang faces off with Vecna across multiple dimensions and the Upside Down essentially begins invading Hawkins. But what about the other three?

“Season two is when we really started to build out the mythology and started to dive into everything, and how this was going to be an ongoing [series],” Matt Duffer said. “That’s where we started to really plant the seeds for the mythology, and I think probably that’s why that is as relevant as it is. Season four is also highly relevant — ‘Massacre at Hawkins Lab’ is a good one.”

“That [episode] starts unveiling some of the Upside Down mythology and starts giving some answers, and, of course, all the stuff with Henry and Eleven continues to resonate throughout season five,” Ross Duffer added. “Those are some good ones to revisit.”

These episodes repeatedly stress the importance of Will’s time in the Upside Down, Eleven’s disturbing history, and the pair’s unexpected connection with the demon known as Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), indicating that these two characters are the key to whatever is going on in this last group of episodes.

Will has taken something of a backseat in the show’s most recent seasons as both its cast and the scope of its story have expanded. As for Eleven, her powers have only grown stronger since she was first introduced, and her surprising history with Vecna means she has a vendetta of her own to settle. In its final hours, Stranger Things certainly seems poised to bring things full circle to the two characters who essentially started it all. Does that mean they’ll both survive the journey? That’s still anyone’s guess. 

Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 releases on Netflix at 8pm EST on November 26, 2025.