Now that we’ve all finished bingeing the first volume of Stranger Things season four, you know what time it is? Easter egg time, baby!
Okay, so it’s pretty well known that there are about a million references to various 80s movies, especially of the horror genre throughout season four. I’ve made an executive decision to not include them in this list unless they have plot relevance, because otherwise these details are more a matter of incredible set design, ya know?
With that cleared up, let’s get into it!
The grandfather clock sound associated with Vecna actually appeared in key scenes earlier in the show
Two scenes in Stranger Things season 4 directly parallel season one
Natalie DyerTom CruiseStranger ThingsMaya HawkeJoe KeeryEl being intrigued by Nancy’s music box in Stranger Things season one. Image: NetflixShannon PurserNancy putting together a picture of Barb which leads her to discover the demogorgon. Image: NetflixRobert EnglundNancy Wheeler piecing together a picture of Victor Creel’s house. Image: Netflix
The Freddy Krueger references in season 4 might allude to how the gang will defeat Vecna
Nightmare on Elm StreetStranger ThingsRachael Evren@rechevranStranger ThingsNightmare on Elm Street
So, by now I’m sure we’ve all been Pavlov-conditioned into crapping our dacks every time we hear the dreaded chime of Vecna’s grandfather clock. Since, you know, it preceded every appearance of his evil antics throughout season four.
Well, TikTok user pointed out that we hear a similar sound at other key parts relating to the Upside Down earlier in the show.
In season one episode one of , it can be heard when the demogorgon first appears and attacks Will (). It also appears in season two episode four when Hopper ( enters the Upside Down via a strange tunnel AND again in season three episode two when Billy () is transported to the Upside Down and flayed.
I gotta hand it to the brothers — they really did craft meticulously. Except when .
As we learned in the absolutely iconic “Running Up That Hill” scene in season four episode four (truly cinematic art), music is the key to surviving when targeted by Vecna. The music activates a pathway to the brain that meddles with Vecna’s ability to hold his victims in the Upside Down, and that’s how Max () escaped his clutches.
It turns out this could also be what helped Will survive so long in the Upside Down in season one.
TikTok user pointed out that Will’s favourite song was “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” by The Clash, which he sang to himself all throughout his time in the Upside Down. At some point, he managed to actually play it out loud.
Considering season four’s grandfather clock chime has actually been around since the first season, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Will’s constant singing actually had plot relevance — not just in that helped the others find him, but that it kept him from becoming completely possessed by the Upside Down.
was a code-breaker during World War II but despite his hero status, he was persecuted for being gay. Since season one, other characters have been using “queer” as a derogatory slur against Will, so choosing Turing as his heroic historic figure for his school project could be a reference to his own persecution.
It could also be an . Will being gay is a pretty popular fan theory driven by his lack of interest in girls, the jealousy he felt when his friends started entering relationships, and his possessiveness of Mike ().
TikToker pointed out this clever Easter egg: when One () and El () are having their mind duel, the rainbow wall painting behind El is traditional — starting with red and ending with purple. However, the rainbow behind One is inverted — starting with purple and ending with red — which foreshadows that she’ll send him to the Upside Down, a literal inverse of her world. So cool!
In the first episode of season four, we see that Dustin (), Lucas () and Mike have joined “The Hellfire Club”, a DnD club led by Eddie Munson (). This isn’t actually the first time a “Hellfire Club” is mentioned: Dustin says in the very first episode of season one that he wants Will’s X-Men 134 comic. That issue is about the X-Men going up the Hellfire Club, a group who try to use Jean Grey’s telekinetic and telepathic powers for their own.
Obvs that’s pretty familiar to us since the entirety of this show is based around the exploitation of Eleven’s telekinetic powers. What’s interesting though is that in X-Men, the Hellfire Club are the bad guys. In season four of , our Hellfire Club are the good guys who persecuted for being “different” and therefore misunderstood, just like our fave X-men. Subversive foreshadowing, perhaps?
Aside from the narrative parallels, Jean’s name is also similar to Eleven’s real name, which is Jane.
When we are initially introduced to the relationship between One and Eleven in season four, we see One as a compassionate mentor. When the two play a friendly game of chess, he is quick to take El’s piece which gives him a false sense of security and arrogance, and by underestimating her she’s able to beat him.
This chess battle actually foreshadows their duel in the season’s finale: One takes the lead and pushes El back, but underestimates her power which ultimately culminates in her defeating him.
In season one, when Eleven first begins to secretly live in the Wheeler house, she wanders into Nancy’s () room and plays with Nancy’s ballerina music box before looking at her poster.
In season four, when Robin (), Nancy, Steve () and Eddie are in the Upside Down, they head to the Wheeler household to retrieve Nancy’s guns. When they walk in, Robin does the exact same things Eleven did, which references that they are actually in a different time: the week Will disappeared in 1983.
Later in season one, Nancy pieces together a photograph of Barb () which leads her to discover the Demogorgon is real.
In season four, this scene is mirrored when she’s the one who pieces together an image of the Creel house — realising the connection between Victor Creel () and Vecna — which foreshadows that yet again, she’s the one who has the answers. Which Vecna himself acknowledges in the finale.
If you’ve seen , you probably noticed the dozens of references of the movie in season four of . Vecna was based on Freddy Krueger, and the show mimics the villain’s original story: right down to teenagers being terrorised and killed in their subconsciousness. TikToker () pointed out that if continues to pull elements of , then maybe we’ll see El pull One/Vecna out of the Upside Down to face him as an equal and defeat him.
Also, Robert Englund who plays Victor Creel was actually the actor who played Freddy Krueger in the original movies! So they really are committing to these Easter eggs!
When Mike makes his way into Eleven’s room in season four, her door is cracked open a little — which is a sweet (and heartbreaking) nod to what Hopper told her in the previous season when she was kissing Mike: the door has to stay open three inches!
We’ll keep adding to this list when more season four Easter eggs pop up, so watch this space! In the mean time, you can read .
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