What happened last on 'Stranger Things'

IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE THE LAST SEASON. AHEAD OF THE FIFTH AND FINAL ONE, HERE'S A REFRESHER ON THE SERIES' HEROES AND VILLAINS AND ALL THAT'S TAKEN PLACE IN HAWKINS AND THE UPSIDE DOWN.

- BY KAITLYN HUAMANI

Los Angeles Times photo collage; photographs from Netflix Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, clockwise from top left, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson.

SINCE “STRANGER THINGS” last released new episodes in 2022, a lot has happened. The writers’ and actors’ guilds went on a historic strike, delaying production on the final season. The Duffer Brothers, as the show's creators Matt and Ross are known, developed a stage play set in the “Stranger Things” world that premiered on London's West End and transferred to Broadway earlier this year. The star, Millie Bobby Brown, who was 12 when the show premiered, became a wife and mother. The time between the fourth and fifth seasons is long enough that many fans - save the ones who have been faithfully rewatching and carefully taking notes in preparation may not remember what happened last. And key context and developments from earlier seasons may be even fuzzier in our memories, such as Eleven trying to recall what happened in the rainbow room. Let's refresh our memories together.