Stranger Things – Season One Explained (Spoiler Alert!)
Some of us may have had some questions or were confused by the ending of Stranger Things Season 1, and I can’t blame you; sometimes it could get a bit confusing. If you had any inquiries about the finale or you’re just the kind of person to find out what happens at the end before watching, make sure to read this.
Just a warning, there will be spoilers!
First, here’s a quick summary: In Hawkins, Indiana 1983, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Mike are playing Dungeons and Dragons, Will’s player in the board game gets taken by the demogorgon then as Will is biking home, the demogorgon brings him to the Upside Down (fun fact, it’s also called The Nether). As Lucas, Mike and Dustin search for Will, they find Eleven who escaped from, Dr. Brenner’s lab. As Will’s mom Joyce goes ‘crazy’ trying to find Will, she sees many strange things such as the demogorgon bending the walls trying to get through them, but she is successful with communicating to Will through lights. As Dr. Brenner searches for Eleven, Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Joyce, Hopper, Nancy, (sorry, so many characters) and Jonathan searches for Will setting off on a crazy adventure that could cost them their lives.
What happened to Barb?
Barb (Barba) Holland, Nancy’s best friend is unfortunately dragged into the Upside Down. Literally. Nancy convinces Barb to go with her to Steve Harrington’s ‘party’ and she accidentally cuts herself. Now because the demogorgon can smell blood like a shark, the demogorgon comes after Barb. She is not seen next until the finale where Eleven sees her in the Upside Down and she looks pretty…dead.
Joyce and Hopper go to the Upside Down
After being caught sneaking into Hawkins lab, Joyce and Hopper eventually make a deal with Dr. Brenner to go into the Upside Down to search for Will. Dr. Brenner does not think that they will survive, but fortunately they do. They also manage to find Will and bring him back.
Nancy and Jonathan battling the demogorgon
Earlier Nancy and Jonathan had planned on killing the demogorgon on their own but all of the supplies to do it were confiscated by the police. They are able to sneak into the Hawkins police station and get back the supplies. They then go to Johnathan’s house where they set up the traps and summon the demogorgon by cutting themselves. Steve gets caught in the battle and goes to leave but instead jumps in saving Jonathan and Nancy, and then they burn the demogorgon.
What about Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin and Eleven?
As they all stay in side of their school patiently waiting for this all to be over, Eleven must ‘recharge her batteries’. Every time she uses her powers she becomes weak and last time she used her powers to see Barb and Will, it made her very weak so she now needs time to recover. Dr. Brenner finds them and gets Eleven but is interrupted when the demogorgon busts through the wall. Mike, Dustin and Lucas get Eleven and goes to one of the classrooms where they hope to stay safe. Unfortunately the demogorgon finds them, and Lucas gets out his wrist rocket hoping that it will injure the demogorgon, and it works – sort of. Eleven uses her powers to make the rock from the wrist rocket hang the demogorgon on the wall. Eleven’s last words were “Goodbye Mike”. She then uses all of her powers to destroy the demogorgon as the lights flicker on and off. Then the lights turn back on and the demogorgon is gone but so is Eleven.
Will Coughing Up the Slug
When we saw Will in the Upside Down in the finale, something was attached to his mouth as he stood asleep. Joyce took it out off of his mouth is followed by pulling out a long slug which Hopper kills. One month after all of this happens it’s Christmas time and we see Will going to the bathroom to wash his hands. He then coughs up a slug which lets the audience realise that some thing from the Upside Down is inside of him. After that he is still in the bathroom but suddenly Will is back in the Upside Down for a split second.
Stranger Things season one had definitely left us with some questions that most where hopefully answered. Make sure to watch season two to watch Mike, Eleven, Lucas and everyone else grow up and maybe you will have more questions waiting to be answered.
