Stranger Things Season 4 'Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab' REACTION!!

[@NikkiStevenReact]

What a twist!!! Might find a twist in this pinned comment... maybe something fun coming... Stranger Things 407 full watch-a-long REACTION: bit.ly/3nmDO4c We will be watching & posting 408 ASAP The fun twist... we will be doing a watch-a-long for the season finale LIVE on the N&S Live Channel on Saturday night: kzbin.info Join the discord if you want to keep up on schedules, like when Stranger Things 4x7 will be posted or want updates or if you just want to connect with other members of the Stikker Fam: discord.gg/stikkerfam Join Steven's Star Wars Channel: kzbin.info Drop a 🕷 if you made it this far into the pinned comment

[@LavenderrLatte]

🕷

[@dumpsterdawg]

🕷

[@Myspace1]

Waiting for volume 2 trailer reaction...

[@jonotaylor8549]

What i learnt from that twist is never trust the shy quiet boy , he might turn out to be a serial killer.

[@ashleighsotomayor7139]

🕷

[@charlie53echo]

From 001's perspective, he had found someone as powerful as himself. He was genuinely trying to free both of them, because he was sure she was going to join him. He thought she was just like him. Oops.

[@erikperhs_]

Just like when Voldemort showed Harry a memory where he captured Hagrid, thinking it would make Harry gain his trust.

[@chillspud1363]

@@erikperhs_ well Voldemort’s whole plan was to kill Harry from day 1

[@Gahlahad431]

*cackles in Palpatine*

[@nicko1397]

@@chillspud1363 he did want him to join in the first movie though

[@Zombina638]

What u saying oops for

[@kroneexe]

What is cool is that Jamie Campbell is actually under the Vecna make up. He also does the voice, it's crazy.

[@mirrrstery]

He was truly absolutely incredible. Just wow all around

[@yayazow]

I love him he's great

[@bradcarver8127]

He’s such a good actor, he actually killed several teenagers with psychic powers he spent months learning just to prepare for this role. He’s amazing.

[@2KILLAVILLE]

That MF was Thorough!! I remember him in the Twilight movies back in the day

[@InspectorWhoReacts]

Hang on I know the episodes air all at the same time but did they kept his name for venca hidden for the early episodes?

[@angelbianchi5610]

No, Eleven escaped from the Labs in 1983 (The point where Time is stuck in the Upside Down) after making mental contact with the Demogorgon, doing so opened the Portal, the Demogorgon entered Our World and presumably he took Will to the Upside Down and Eleven escaped and ended up in the Woods. Her fight with Henry/One in this Memory is in 1979, 4 Years Before the Events of the First Episode of the Series, revealing that Eleven had already made contact with the Upside Down many years before, but had suppressed these memories, and also explains why Eleven was the only surviving member of the Program and why Breener insisted on taking her powers to the limit, possibly so that Eleven would replicate what she did 4 years earlier, after banishing One to the Upside Down.

[@lecruzz8739]

show me ur griddy show me ur griddy

[@VULA]

DRAWING STRANGER THINGS CHARACTERS | IT'S HERE ON THE CHANNEL !!!!!

[@OnMy116Fan]

She had to either have had some kind of a stroke or he did his best to make her forget this event which caused her to have to relearn her powers. If they don’t address this it completely doesn’t make sense with season 1.

[@CloudLightify]

@@OnMy116Fan Trauma. Our brain can become selectively amnesic to protect ourselves.

[@EdgarDiaz-pt4qx]

@@OnMy116Fan seconding the comment above me. It’s a common defense mechanism, especially in young kids, to suppress extreme traumatic memories. In fact, it’s how the mental disease of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) usually starts. That’s when you mind fractures and creates multiple personalities to cope with that trauma. Probably a little too deep of an explanation but it’s just a real life example that this does indeed happen

[@angelicawatchesmovies]

38:22. Remember all these memories occurred in 1979, Eleven didn’t escape the lab until 1983. Though she did use the escape route 001 shows her in this episode.

[@lecruzz8739]

show me ur griddy

[@iFranOne]

@@jims1046 That was implied plenty of times. And its Literally same size pipe that she crawled out of.

[@saddany3254]

@@jims1046 @jimsara she did. Scott Clarke the teacher, found her robe piece in pipe. And then Hopper followed the pipe, and it led him to the lab.

[@mehroxsyed7203]

@@iFranOne yeah El escaped from that pipe yes but she didn't escape until 1983, whereas this incident happened in 1979 .. as explained in episode 9 by papa that El fell in a comma after this and all her memories prior to this incident were lost because she exerted too much pressure, she had to learn everything again

[@iFranOne]

@@mehroxsyed7203 and the purpose of your comment was???? I saw the show, I know when she escaped. Why you telling me this?

[@christopherstorms5122]

Anyone notice that Henry's obsession with spiders is integral with the way he kills? Just like a spider sucks the insides of their prey out, so does Henry/Vecna.

[@bunnyslippers5183]

I am honestly furious at myself for having not figured that one out! Good noticing!

[@yayazow]

It's kind of obvious tho

[@LetsGetitBoah]

@@yayazow Of course it is Sven.

[@erikperhs_]

I mean... Spiders are very diverse. He was obsessed with Black Widows and they kill using venom, which is something completely different from what he does.

[@christopherstorms5122]

@@erikperhs_ semantics, spiders for the most part suck the insides of their prey out to devour and ingest. Principal observation still applies.

[@LuckDragonLair]

The scene where the kids were surrounding her making those pushing gestures in the skating rink was extra traumatizing because of the whole ring of psychic bullies pushing her with her mind.

[@iainsteele5737]

thank you captain obvious

[@LuckDragonLair]

@@iainsteele5737 You'd be surprised how many didn't make that connection, but I was responding to a particular moment in their video, not implying that they didn't know... chill dude. :)

[@LuckDragonLair]

@@iainsteele5737 All engagement is good for them :) Just throwing out a comment to help them out.

[@VULA]

DRAWING STRANGER THINGS CHARACTERS | IT'S HERE ON THE CHANNEL !!!!!

[@rugr82day]

001/Henry had to be the one who let 002 and the others out and cut off the camera in the Rainbow Room. 001 looked extremely worried when 002 was getting shock collared. I think 001 was worried 002 would tell on him. I also think 001 helped 008/Kali escape but she couldn't get him out. She has 001's ability to make others see what she wants them to see. 008 hates Everyone who was at the lab and in season 2 she told El to use anger to fuel her powers. 008 probably learned that from 001.

[@prophecygirl_]

This is by far my favorite season. The storytelling has blown me away and I love that this season went the direction of 80s horror. Love that they used practical effects and not just cgi. I can’t wait to see how they wrap up the rest of the season.

[@robert04872]

The hype for S5 now.

[@henryvirtum1520]

Vol 2 apparently is gonna have the greatest twist ever revolving around Henry and the upside down most people won't see coming so I'm hype for vol 2 alone. the duffers and Jamie have confirmed this in interviews for vol 2

[@eighteen-naked-cowboys]

agreed. I was kinda over this show after the 3 year break but when i started watching this season i couldn’t stop. I can’t wait for Friday.

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@eighteen-naked-cowboys same here honestly they blew my expectations for season 4

[@notBrocker]

@@henryvirtum1520 same For some reason I wasn’t even hyped and I didn’t watch it until like a month later and once I did I was hooked I even watched the whole show again and I’m on my third time watching season 4 with a family member

[@joshuarojas5543]

A nice detail that people miss, is that when 001 is killing the kids in the “rainbow room” as 011 walks in, 001 is shown killing 002 against the wall, but previously it showed he was still recovering in the medical room from when “papa” had electrocuted him. I just found it interesting that instead of hiding he chose to help the rest of the kids remaining.

[@ssotkow]

As Papa said to El here 9:29, good and evil aren't easily defined. 002 may be a bully, but like Billy, but may also exhibit heroism when need be, protecting the vulnerable against true evil.

[@jamesbaggett3655]

He probably wanted the challenge 😂, wonder if 1 had helped 8 get away...

[@asjadelic4695]

@@jamesbaggett3655 8 escaped long before

[@erikperhs_]

Or it was just a continuation mistake.

[@LeeCarlson]

Victor Creel did not leave anything out of his story to the best of his knowledge. Just that One, or Vecna, was aware of things that his father was not. Including the fact that his son was a psychopath.

[@deankoorey5871]

Well Vecna IS his son…

[@Clutch_vfxz]

It would be cool if in the end of the season Nancy and robin or someone else goes to victor and tells him that it was his son who did all of that. Let him know that the *spawn of Satan* was actually his son

[@internaut4257]

@@Clutch_vfxz i think at this point it would be more compassionate to preserve the momory of his son as that of an innocent boy

[@Strazman]

I think Nikki did sort of figure it out, when 001 was talking about waking up from the coma, she said something like, "Oh, ok". So I think they realized Victor was just recalling the story as he understood it. As far as Victor was/is concerned, his son is dead.

[@tracyleesmith781]

*Mother knows best" she knew what was going on but she didn't tell Victor yet. Bc Victor thought the house was haunted. The mother caught that creepy son till too late.

[@papahamdrew]

The actor of 001 said Voldemort was an inspiration for Vecna. And now watching this season a second time with you. When 001 is talking to el and saying “wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce and die” I got huge Tom Riddle vibes, mannerisms and tones. Fun fact, a little behind the scenes detail, the actor of 001 aka Henry Creel is the actor under the prosthetics and makeup of Vecna, he’s also the voice. It’s cool that he is Vecna in every way, in 1979 and 1986

[@kimthompson5313]

He was in the HP movies too!

[@papahamdrew]

@@kimthompson5313 true young grindlewald

[@TheNaughtyFrench]

I wonder if only the actor got inspired because Vecna doesn't have a noze on his face like voldemort

[@henryvirtum1520]

The key to beating the upside down and henry is positive memories instead of negative ones because it took El to think of one happy memory of her mother to beat Henry and El freed Billy from the mind flayer using his happy memories.

[@mainsource8030]

kinda like ghostbusters 2, mood slime!

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@mainsource8030 exactly lol

[@J-B-P]

Yes! I noticed that too, when Max escaped Vecna- it wasn’t the music, it was the montage of happy memories with her friends

[@youtubecommenter37]

So people just need their happy thought

[@lizd2943]

One was "willing to let her go" because she was eight and knew nothing of the world outside the lab and he knew she'd be too scared to go alone. Sociopaths are always trying to manipulate people.

[@Quixotic1018]

The scene where Eddie and Steve are agreeing about Dustin's ego makes me think that they're the perfect babysitting duo.

[@bryangivens1981]

I've been waiting weeks for this reaction! Fantastic! From the dates in the show, there's a 4-year gap between the massacre (1979) and Episode 1 (1983). This also means Eleven was only 8 when the massacre, making her manipulations by the 30-year-old Henry Creel (Vecna) all the more understandable for her and all the more evil for him.

[@EllaLeFavour]

The Peter Ballard=001=Henry creel=vecna was such a cool plot twist. Vecna is an insanely well written villian, I literally didn’t expect that at all.

[@DoctorNerf]

His story and reveal were amazing but he isn’t a well written villain imo. Any villain that just hates the world is boring af. Can’t stand “the world is wrong and I am right” as a motivation for torturous murderous psychopaths. It has to be more.

[@Michael-hc2vs]

@@DoctorNerfoh shut up

[@guitarman0551]

Victor was told that his son was in a coma for five days and then died. He told Nancy and Robin this when they talked to him in the asylum.

[@mirrrstery]

''Jesus christ this kid needs to get his ego in check'' ''Its the tone right?'' HAHAHA god that back and fourth between Steve & Eddie killed me

[@oOcitizenOo]

The best season so far. Each aspect - the visuals, the sound design, the plot twist, actors' performance - is top-notch!

[@henryvirtum1520]

The duffers wrote a whole draft before season 1 to Netflix on the origins of the upside down and how it works. So they have planned this all way back in season 1.

[@PeaceLoveMusic75]

Season two took a bit of a stumble but not bad at all. Just by the time we are in this season it seems pale in comparison, but all worth it! The storytelling is truly another level. Like my sister said- how on earth can anyone think of all of this!??? The creativity is insane to start with, but how everything connects and pays off, while also providing powerful emotional payoffs and lovable characters… it’s a special show; a phenomenal story!!!! So strange to think back to the almost simplicity of season one and where we are now!!!! I really thought season one or season three was peak Stranger Things, but this season is a 10/10.

[@Zachstahh]

The ending of this episode is not the start of season 1. It takes a while longer for her to run away. The “gate” she sent 001 through this episodes is not the same gate she opened at the start of season 1

[@falcychead8198]

Yeah, I think Dustin was right; the Mind Flayer is the big baddie ruling the Upside Down, and 1/Vecna is the "general." Elle banished 1, but I don't think she actually knew what she did. The events in season 1 came after this, when she touched the demogorgon and remade the psychic connection enabling the Mind Flayer to open the gate. At least that's my theory for now. We'll see what more surprises are in store in a couple of weeks.

[@nightfrost1891]

@XCVIII i disagree the main reason why the mind flayer is and vecna isn't is because presumably the mind flayer and demogorgon's are products of the upside down vecna was just banished there that being said, vecna is immensely more scary and threatening so i get why people would thing this but perhaps the mind flayer isn't even at full power either that or it's something else that is neither vecna or the mind flayer because i can't imagine the biggest threat is something that was just summoned there i'm thinking will may have a bigger part with this especially knowing when he went missing the upside down time stopped and obviously how he survived that long a lot of questions not saying you're not right because that's a possibility but it's personally hard to see that way when i know he is not native to the upside down and was simply banished there

[@jjminn95]

@@Jon.A.Scholt I heard the opposite lol

[@Chrissybrit43]

@@jjminn95 me too 😂 they’ve said it’s the mind flayer

[@xerozeven]

@XCVIII I agree, everything about the Mind Flayer and company +the vines all scream spider to me. Something Vecna is shown to be fascinated with. The vines in particular pretty much are a stand in for a spider's web. When Vecna is essentially banished to the void...there is no Updside Down. Vecna shapes it into something...he even kind of said he wanted to do that with the real world. I actually theorize that the Void/Upside Down isn't some other dimension, but a representation of the subconscious made physical. Sort of like if you were to pull out limbo into the real world in that movie Inception. A place of thought, but if shaped becomes tangible. Seems to me that Vecna didn't go there physically even though it looked that way with the place altering his body when he got there. I think she vaporized his body and sent his...mind/soul/essence there. The energy from that place may have deformed him but he sort of got a handle on it before it took him completely out...much like Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen...which I actually think the music during his recounting of what happened in that movie is the same music being played during Vecna telling his story. Ties in well with Freddy Kruegar and his Dreamscapes....er Nightmarescapes also. Might totally be wrong.

[@seantran3519]

For everyone who is fully caught up on Stranger Things 4: Buckle Up for this Friday. Volume 2 is going to mark the beginning of the end and have some Kleenex tissues prepared because it’s going to be a doozy.

[@anonymousstudios2002]

Well there is another season so not necessarily the end but yeah I get what you mean

[@seantran3519]

@@anonymousstudios2002 Well the Duffer Brothers said that this season will mark the beginning of the end so therefore I had to bring that up in my comment.

[@alisuhhh]

😭😭😭😭💔💔💔 this comment

[@jairon4231]

@@anonymousstudios2002 hence why he said "beginning of the end"

[@allenpayne927]

Have you seen it?

[@LeeCarlson]

Eleven did not "create all of this." The Upside-down has always been there. One was always a psychopath. When she pushed One through the barrier it is exactly the same as when she pushed the Demogorgon through at the end of Season One. Vecna is the result of One recognizing that with every person he kills, he becomes more powerful.

[@harleyquinn8555]

By "all of this" he wasn't talking about the upside down, He was talking about everything that has happened this season (All deaths) Because she basically created vecna

[@RenaissanceK]

@@harleyquinn8555 but this person is saying that no, eleven didn’t create vecna. one has always been vecna. he’s been a psychopath since he was child, killing his family and then massacring the entire group of children. all eleven did was send him to the upside down. yeah it might be the reason why he looks the way he does now and why he has access to all these monsters to manipulate but i would assume that even if he hadn’t been sent to the upside down, he would’ve still been a psychopath and kill as many people as “vecna” has. possibly more since he would’ve had access to the real world without trouble. so i don’t think it’s fair to say eleven created him.

[@henryvirtum1520]

Henry said to el "I could make my own rules." And then It shows reality warping for second when he turns the grandfather clock almost like that is when he made his perfect world with his own rules aka the upside down.

[@Shep2345]

i think a lot of people are missing this…the massacre occurred in 1979 (this date was in the initial flashback scene in ep1) when eleven was about 8 years old. she didn’t break out until 1983, 4 years later. So she actually stays with Brenner in the lab for 4 years before eventually breaking out.

[@elkins4406]

If only that face replacement CGI weren't so very expensive, they could have used the younger body actor throughout. It might have made it a little easier for viewers to remember that. There are a couple of scenes that I think would have worked even better with a much younger body for El.

[@vinsontanner21]

It can't possibly lead into episode 1 of season 1. Numerous times in season 1 we saw El being used as a subject to "go into" the upside down in the floating water tank thing. So she was there for a while after this event which opened the gate.

[@meghnagoel6766]

Also this happened in 1979. Eleven escaped the lab in 1983

[@susivarga7303]

4 years to be exact

[@imhighinthefolklorewood2769]

Maybe volume 2 will explain those ?

[@limofootball]

Yes, the door knew what 011 created so he decided to use her further to tap into the upside down and open the gate. I think Vecna created the monsters when he got banished and the Dr was just curious as usual.

[@susivarga7303]

@@limofootball El did not "create" anything. The doctor cannot have known what the Upside Down is. He never saw it, nobody did, there was only a small crack in the wall. He was using the only survivor, El for the usual Cold War spying project, like when she was spying on that Russian in S1. She completelu surpressed the events of '79. She met the Demogorgon by chance in S1 while her mind was wandering around and the gate was opened when she touched it, which she should not have but she was too curious. The opening of the gate in '83 was unintentional. Only after that did Brenner realise what the Upside Down is - they locked down the lab, sent soldiers in - and that's why he started bringing out her surpressed memories now. Vecna didn't have the powers to create any monsters, they already existed when he got banished there. We'll find out I guess how he became the Mindflayer's "general". He is a human with evil powers, he was useful to him.

[@WraithWTF]

I'm very curious to see if Dustin's theory about Vecna working for the Mind-Flayer was correct, or if it's the other way around...from what we see in this episode, it doesn't look like there was really anything developed within the Upside Down when One was sent there by Eleven...One is clearly a twisted sociopathic individual, his whole "we can create a perfect world" and "humans are a pestilence" spiel -- the Upside Down is a rough copy of Hawkins from the past, but minus the one thing One hated: people; his love of spiders -- the Mind-Flayer that we saw in the last couple seasons is fairly spider-like in form...it just makes me wonder if Vecna isn't the one in charge in the Upside-Down and everything there is just him creating his "perfect world" in an otherwise empty dimension.

[@LetsGetitBoah]

I think it's the opposite. In dungeons and dragons Vecna is far superior to the Mind Flayer.

[@erikperhs_]

001's powers do not include creating new creatures and buildings and stuff. That's why I think the Upside Down and the life that exists there were already there millions of years before 001 going through the portal. I think that that chaos we see is like their version of the Big Bang - all matter just mixed together - but when Eleven opened the first portal, the Upside Down could get a glimpse of our world and "learn" how to organize itself and form life. The MindFlayer would be the physical form of the life that exists in the Upside Down, and it took control of 001 when he arrived there.

[@mr.bootysnatcher3422]

I don't think it would make sense if he was in charge considering he was a human who got sent there it's not like all the monsters are just going to bow down and make him King

[@sensen1080]

Eleven created Vecna (partly) but we still don't know the origin of the Upside Down. Also, El escaped the lab in November 1983, and this memory (actually, all of them) took place in 1979. In part 2 we will learn more about what happened to her during her four remaining years in the lab by herself.

[@MarkHogan994]

How do you know that ? Part 2 isn't out yet. Are you speculating or did you work on the show ?

[@erikperhs_]

I really don't think they'll show more memories of her. The idea there was to show her what really happened. Now that we know the full story, their work there is done. Volume 2 will probably start with Will and Mike finding the bunker and taking Eleven back to Hawkins.

[@JoshBanshee666]

Steve talking about Dustin getting his ego in check is funny because Dustin hasn't been wrong yet so his ego is earned lol

[@bobilks]

We’re just being blessed by great TV content this summer, particularly this show and The Boys. Personally, this episode and “Herogasm” from The Boys are my two favourite TV episodes of all time. Great stuff

[@frkzoid]

Episode 4 and "Herogasm" for me

[@VULA]

DRAWING STRANGER THINGS CHARACTERS | IT'S HERE ON THE CHANNEL !!!!!

[@user-ii9ig7vq1e]

Of all time? You must be like 15 bro. It’s good television but there is objectively better episodes of TV out there.

[@filmfangirls9163]

I've been having a great time too! The Boys, Stranger Things and Umbrella Acadmey have been my favorite season premieres.

[@taylorlewis6223]

​​@@user-ii9ig7vq1e if you can read, he/she or it said it was their favourite episodes of all time, not a fact but an opinion

[@dumpsterdawg]

Nikki: "Thank you guys for joining us on this ride" You must be this tall to ride👉

[@katwebbxo]

That reveal.. 🤯 Can't wait to see Vol. 2 this weekend. Kinda sad for the season to end because it's been amazing but I'm looking forward to it.

[@Neela_Vermillion]

001 wanted a relationship with 011 and wanted her to join him because he felt that she was the same as him. And no 011 didn’t escape right after defeating 001 because the Hawkins Lab Massacre took place in 1979 and she escaped in 1983 when Will disappeared in season 1. And I doubt Owens and the others knew what happened in her memories they just sent her through them so that she can overcome the trauma she’d forgotten and become whole like Brenner said and overcoming her trauma gives her her strength back and her powers, probably mental power. And yea no Victor wasn’t aware that his son was responsible for his family’s death.

[@susivarga7303]

Just too add, I believe Brenner knew 001 committed the massacre and he knew El banished him, he just had no idea where to. All he could see was a crack on the tiles. 4 years later when she opened the gate by accident, and this time properly, Brenner realised the existence of this other world.

[@Neela_Vermillion]

@@susivarga7303 true

[@susivarga7303]

@@Neela_Vermillion Owens and the crew don't know much, I'm afraid to say Brenner is the key.

[@Neela_Vermillion]

@@susivarga7303 I know

[@Neela_Vermillion]

@@susivarga7303 Brenner’s helpful I just don’t like him

[@ssotkow]

45:16 In the first episode of the season 4 when introduced to Nancy with Freddie in their school newspaper office. Nancy recollects her guilt of Barb's swimming pool death, foreshadowing her predicament in the Vol. 1 finale. Well played.

[@Margot4454]

The moment I spotted Jamie Campbell Bower I instantly knew he will be the key character for this season. You don't hire such a well known actor to be the background.. And he can play cunning and scary.

[@radioactive_sunflowerz2450]

He's actually the reason I watched the show, and I'm so glad I did. Now it's one of my favorite shows!

[@geekybrian]

Definitely my personal favorite episode of Stranger Things just for that ending sequence. So beautifully put together.

[@W0NK042]

Nikki: "At least she knows she didn't kill people... _I guess_ " Us: Maybe not, but in a couple of minutes Hawkins is *_really_* going to wish she had. 😬 Worked out he was 001. Worked out 001 was Vecna. Didn't see it coming that he was Freddy's kid. 🤯

[@muse-ic2415]

I think we can all agree that we knew Peter Ballard was 001 but we never thought that he will be Victor Creel's son, Henry. Just when we thought we knew the plot twist, they decided to give us another one. It was always a question to me how El managed to have those moves (especially the neck thing that she does) when killing people. As for Nancy, I think we are all guilty of forgetting about her story with Barb. That is, I think, why almost all reactors are surprised/confused on why Nance becomes vecna's target

[@juliewinfield5986]

That's why I think number 1 and 11 might be blood related maybe he actually her brother and was adopted or he's actually her father as he's older than her and there both the strongest and maybe she's strong because of him as he's her father.

[@sarahhowatd4756]

The ending shook me completely. Finally revealing Vecna who he really was I saw him as a complete psychopath.

[@DjVanillaGuerilla]

In the opening when Steve does a Mortal Kombat Fatality to the bat and the lightning screeches. One of my all time favorite moments of the show. This season hits on so many levels. Probably my favorite season so far.

[@saddany3254]

Eleven escaped was several times after this massacre happened. Remember at S1, Papa was experimenting with El, but literally there was no other kid beside El. El stayed for quite a while. She escaped after she opened the mother gate (the big one we first saw in s1). And the mother gate was NOT from El vs 001, the gate we just saw in this episode is not the mother gate. Just what this episode shown, the gate immediately closed right after 001 got in. The mother gate opened when Papa pushed too far experimenting El, and that is when S1 E1 happened, demogorgon broke in via mother gate, killed almost everyone in the lab, El escaped. And then at S2, apparently the mother gate grew significantly larger, Dr. Owen tried to fix the problem. Fast forward in S2 finale, Hopper drove El to the lab, and finally El closed the mother gate.

[@MattyB207]

Victor had said that his son was in a coma and then died a coupe weeks later. I assume he was told that his son had died.

[@VegasPaladin]

In my mind, the winged creatures attacking Steve are very similar to a monster in Dungeons and Dragons called a Stirge.

[@LuckDragonLair]

Totally Stirges :)

[@ashleymutenha5093]

The reveal of Vecna connected well with events dating from season 1 , this is some great writing kudos to The Duffer Brothers

[@cindymonahan3741]

Now this is 1979, so now we know why she was the only kid there in 1983 when she escaped

[@darbyroo2007]

This season was absolutely amazing. I am so nervous for Friday and the next two episodes. I have become obsessed with Eddie and I need him to survive. This season needs to be nominated for a lot of Emmy’s. Everything has been absolutely brilliant!

[@Lia-uf1ir]

34:39 That's because he didn't know. Like Eleven's mom, he was told his child had died when Henry like Jane (Eleven) was brought to Hawkins Lab.

[@davewade30]

I think it's significant that One told Eleven to use a sad/painful memory as fuel for her powers, but when she defeated him and opened the gate she used a memory of the love of her mother as fuel. So it sets up a classic love vs. hate conflict.

[@henryvirtum1520]

If you thought this twist was huge then vol 2 is gonna blow you're mind because the duffers and Jamie have confirmed the twist in vol 2 is even bigger and revolves around Henry and the upside down just like the first one.

[@LetsGetitBoah]

Victor didnt' know his son had survived. He had zero idea that the real demon was his own kid.

[@rebeccahopkins9522]

NEXT. LEVEL. STORYTELLING. Best of the entire show.

[@lumariadp]

"Victor left this part out of the story" - Hahaha, because he had no idea his own son was the 'demon'.

[@Nicoleapanda]

Love the way steven gently nudged Nikki during the hoppJoy reunion, every older couple with kids watching definitely thought of eachother during that and melted

[@MiddletonPlays]

I was completely mind blown by that ending! Episodes 4 and 7 were the best episodes in S4 P1! I had figured out he was 001 in the previous episode but I had no idea he would be Vecna and the Creel son! So excited for the last 2 episodes!

[@kimmnq]

Fun fact: the massacre happened in 1979, but El was only found in the woods in 1983, the year Will went missing. Meaning that in 1979 El was 7 years old and had been held captive 4 more years until she was able to escape 4 years later when she was eleven years old.

[@AndreMoore1978]

This happened in 1979. S1 started in 1983. Most likely, over the course of the next four years, the military stepped in to fortify Hawkins Lab, and intensify the experiments on Jane...

[@dwarfchron801]

Im so happy you both loved this season so much so far!! I remember being bummed when Steven was talking about how down and annoyed he was with it and not even wanting to react to it 😂

[@KRenieM]

Murray is so underrated. I absolutely love him

[@piotrnowak8725]

Season 1 takes place a few years after the flashbacks. The Gate she opened here closed and Brenner wanted her to open it again and she did when she made a contact with a demogorgon.

[@jonathanpowell7256]

The Massacre at Hawkins Lab occurred on September 8th, 1979 but El didn't escape the lab for another 4 years. The start of Season 1 was November 6th, 1983 - This is the day El opened the gate, escaped the lab and Will disappeared. So El opened 2 gates one small one in 1979 defeating Vecna and another much bigger one in 1983 when she made a psychic connection with The Demogorgon.

[@lunaloutfy]

I love how we got to know more about the Upside Down with the older teens. The lite brite scene was so pretty and definitely one of my favorite aesthetic moments of the entire show :)

[@dimitrisgreen2883]

I literally shed a tear everytime I see Joyce and hopper reunite I watch so many reaction cry everytime

[@TheStefan6969]

Re-watching last season, there are SO Many Easter egg clues for THIS season!!! You have to watch closely and keep this season in mind when rewatching it, but they are there!!! Including Vecna's voice in upside Billy and clock ticks etc. too.

[@LuckDragonLair]

I took the "what did you do" as him seeing the gate closing, I thought he came in after 1 was gone already. I totally could be wrong. :) I also took it as the Upside-down was just another dimension without any kind of form, but as Vecna was in the upside-down after he caught himself enough to stabilize, he used his will to start forming the upside down as we know it... as he began to look through the eyes of those in the real world, and when the first major gate opened, it solidified time in the Upside-down at that point...

[@Fettman89]

IDK if it's deliberate but Joyce's outfit this season with the long coat and Red beanie reminds me of the one she wore in Mr. Deeds.

[@benolivieri7369]

This was such a great season and can't wait for pt 2! Love your reactions !!

[@lorenajowella.x3128]

Between us , the way 001 kills the first guards thats the way 011 kills the guards in season one 💘💘💘

[@Rakushi_Snea]

Caught that, too, and went 😮🤔 when I first watched

[@jakemcnulty]

You never actually notice it, but this big reveal at the ending of this ep, they’ve dropped a minor hint throughout the season. It’s right in front of us and nobody ever noticed: Vecna, 001, and Henry Creel, they all have the same eyes. Hidden completely in plain sight 😂

[@henryvirtum1520]

Notice how the upside down itself is made of the same energy as psychic energy because when it comes into contact in our world it makes the lights flicker just like when psychics use their powers it makes the lights flicker and the only way you have psychic energy is from a psychic aka the source of the upside down and creation of it has to be a psychic and the only one it fits perfectly to me is Henry. Great reaction just a cool detail I noticed

[@arwenlostlorn6569]

Please at least use commas, if not periods lol.

[@tanyatheendergirl8987]

40:02 "oh, she opened the portal that way" Me: and killed the Demogorgon that way

[@antman2802]

Y’all are becoming my favorite reactors ❤, the way you two genuinely experience the shows together 😊

[@RachaelTheFirboldDruid]

Eleven escaped the same night that Will got captured by the Demogorgon after she opened the door while in the sensory deprivation tank. My current theory is that Steve is going to snap Nancy out of Vecna's spell by singing the song he sang to her in season one. 🎶Just take those old records off the shelf 🎶 Another theory I have is that the only reason Vecna is doing what he's doing is because the Russians somehow managed to capture the mind flayer, and if they did then Vecna is doing all of this because "the boss" isn't around to stop him.

[@J-B-P]

I like the Steve singing theory!! But we’ve also seen Eddie play guitar in the upside down in the trailer for V2, so it could also be that 😍 if it’s either one of those I will liiive for it

[@legofun211]

The memory of her mother saying "I love you" is what gave her the strength to fight him. Mike saying it in the finale is what gave her the strength to fight him again. Love is stronger than hate.

[@fantomlx8823]

yea the "what did you do" had to take place after the portal was closed as to reference what he might have thought she might have done to the kids or her closing the gate infront of him (no red glow of his face). Which explains why then portal is then reopened or shown in S1 after her contact with the Demogorgon and memory of the other dimension.

[@LeeCarlson]

Did you realize that the place Steve found himself in after being dragged through the portal was actually the bottom of Love Lake, but drained of water?

[@henryvirtum1520]

I guess Henry hates water,lol

[@joshuarojas5543]

Oh wow really 😑🤣

[@harleyquinn8555]

Yeah no shit

[@nothudanasir]

thought that was obvious tho

[@carriesmith742]

Episode 1 of season 1 took place in 1983 . She was 12 then so she was at the lab for another 4 years before she escaped.

[@mehroxsyed7203]

The massacre at hawkins lab and el sending 001 to upsidedown happened in 1979 (El didn't create upsidedown, she just sent him into it, she had no idea what that dimension was) & El doesn't escape until 1983.. she was there after that, she fell in a coma and her memories were lost.

[@ShadowArtist]

in case you missed it "Vecna"'s real name is Henry Kreel, and the "upside down" or Nether realm existed millions of years before Elle or Henry, their minds like Will's affect how that realm "manifests". All the psychic/psionic children were where born of a parent that was injected with a serum based on Henry's blood and, all secretly taken from their mothers and raised in that secret lab. What Elle saw was a memory of seeing her mother when she was born saying "I love you", that is what gave her mind the emotional power to fight back against Henry/001

[@henryvirtum1520]

Well the upside down is exclusively connected to Hawkins and is made of psychic energy and is exclusively connected to henry aswell so it can't be millions of years old because the source of it has to be a psychic because psychic energy only comes from psychics.

[@mijanhoque1740]

@@henryvirtum1520 They literally state in the show it’s been around for millions of years and some Dinosaurs may have come from it.

[@jjminn95]

@@henryvirtum1520 uh no? The portals can only be made by a shit Tom of energy which is how the Russians could partially open it. El did not create that world, she just made a door to it.

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@jjminn95 exactly

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@mijanhoque1740 that is Dustin's theory and we see he is clearly wrong because it's exclusive to Hawkins and henry

[@ayaehab]

no, this was before her escape in season 1 by 4 years, she somehow remembered the way out and escaped then Jamie is fucking perfect as Vecna/001/ Henry. He said in an interview that Millie cried in their scenes together that's why poor girl was visibly terrified and Chrissy was frightened of him in the Vecna "suit" speaking of budgets, this season each episode has like 30 mil per episode.

[@LetsGetitBoah]

1 is like a cross between Freddy Krueger and Anakin Skywalker, the part where he gets all burnt up has serious Anakin becoming Vader vibes.

[@mar-shagazorpazorp6431]

@26:49 I couldn’t help laughing to myself, imagining as Hop & Joyce embrace, she lovingly whispers, _”….You owe me $40,000”_

[@misterb6416]

I think people tend to overlook what would have happened if Eleven wouldn't have sent One to the Upside down. He probably would have killed everyone in the lab, then left and killed who knows how many people in Hawkins. Her sending him to the upside down at least bought them some time. Also, she was like 5 when she did it but it seems like some people want to blame her for creating Vecna. One way or another, One was going to do what he did, as a child he killed his own mom so when he got out into public the entire community would have been game.

[@oliviaweaver9924]

There is a theory that the amount of gates that vecna opens in this season is the amount of people he kills. So for each person he kills another gate opens, Dustin mentions what if vecna makes such a powerful mind connection with his victims that it rips a hole in time and space. Which probably caused “watergate”😂 to open.

[@dracarysforlife5852]

Remember this happened back in 1979. El didn’t escape until 1983. My theory is that Papa was forcing her to recreate the gate, to open it again. And when she finally does years later, she inadvertently let in the demogorgon. 🤗 maybe. I could be totally wrong.

[@egypt1279]

Completely agree with not being super excited for this season- makes it such a treat that season 4 is amazing!!

[@maxx1mus1041]

That scene with the hole 🕳 to upside down bedsheets as rope gave me POLTERGEIST vibes

[@radioactive_sunflowerz2450]

I still think that 001 or Henry might be elevens real "papa". Just his interest in her and wanting her to join him despite saying he was a "solitary creature". Also how he was saying how "glad he was that she was born". He also said that once Brenner realized he couldn't control him he tried to "recreate" him

[@shawn.champagne]

Been waiting for this one! Love the reactions!

[@ldkinbote]

The Duffer Brothers, after the first season, said they didn't know if the show was going to get another season, but if so, they do have a 4-5 season story arc that they have in mind.

[@music.gov-ondiscord]

Omg I love you guys! I’ve been waiting for this episode ❤️

[@oliviermartin7063]

A year later, been rewatching Stranger Things with your reactions to get me hyped up ❤❤

[@dirrrtydawg9772]

I think Henry wanted to keep 11 alive long enough to become stronger than her. Then he would add her power to his by killing her. He killed all those kids in the lab for that reason. He started weakest to strongest as he grew stronger. I also think that he knew emotions fueled 11. That is partially why she was so powerful. Since he is pretty much a psychopath he doesn't have those same type of emotions. So he needs to steal emotions from those who have had traumatic experience and feed off of it to enhance his power. All deaths from the first season to now has been feeding Henry enhancing his power. Every death just to become stronger than El. Enhanced Psychic Powers + Traumatic Emotional Distress + Merged with the Upsidedown = massive gate in Hawkins.

[@uhtredsonofuhtred779]

This episode is perhaps the best of TV ever written. The twists and turns were epic.

[@Jeffw.35]

Must have never seen Breaking Bad, smh.

[@mattreynolds7729]

This season has been fantastic. Leaning more into the horror makes me happy. I see people saying the Upside Down has been around for a long time, but I really got the impression Eleven created it to banished One there. Also Vecna ain't no general, pretty sure he's been the big bad since day one which is why it's always been about Elevens relationship to the Upside Down - she created it and Vecna wants his revenge on her.

[@texascard]

The flashback takes place in 1979 Season 1 is in 1983 So Eleven was still in the lab 4 more years Then she escaped

[@rodrigosoria8319]

Eleven ran away later, remember she was in the laboratory by her own for a while

[@oliviaweaver9924]

now it’s like the first 3 seasons vecna was trying to get back at El and her friends and doing all that stuff in Hawkins was probably revenge cause vecna wants to take over the world. But I think it’s especially why it happens to El’s friends and will cause El meets Mike and Dustin and Lucas in the first season when Will went missing in the upside down. So I feel like it was vecna the whole time trying to get revenge on El and her friends.

[@papahamdrew]

All these flashbacks are from 1979 and don’t transition into season 1. Season 1 starts when eleven opens the gate while making contact with the demogorgon, the same night the demogorgon gets into our world and kidnaps Will in 1983. The gate she opens and sends 001 through closes right after, so it’s not the same gate as the one in 1983 season 1. And if you noticed as 001 turns into Vecna, the upside doesn’t look like Hawkins yet. Since the upside down is dated to 1983 the night the gate opened in season 1, I think when el opened that gate, the upside turned into Hawkins, that’s why it’s dated to that night

[@stephanstreet2160]

Perfectly explained I wanted to say the same things. But you have explained it better than I would of done.

[@henryvirtum1520]

It was always Henry and he was always after El it seems which adds so much meaning to why the upside down is what it is.

[@jjminn95]

But in season 2 it seemed like the mindflayer didn’t even know who el was

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@jjminn95 just because what seems doesn't mean what is. Plus that's because we never met him In person like voice to voice like in season 3 and it shows he knows her because of her opening all the portals.

[@henryvirtum1520]

@@jjminn95 watch the scene between El and mindflayer in Billy we see he remembers everything about El because he is the hivemind.

[@mirrrstery]

“Alright anikin skywalker” 😂😂😂