The four 'Stranger Things' episodes you have to rewatch before Season 5 drops

A fast-track guide for the busy fan who still wants maximum goosebumps

'Stranger Things' seson 5 publicity is displayed on a mobile phone screen for illustration photo. Gliwice, Poland on November21st, 2025. Stranger Things 5 Volume 1 will premiere on Netflix with the first four episodes on November 226th, followed by three episodes on Christmas, and the finale episode on New Year's Eve. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NOVEMBER 26, 2025 9:41 AM ESTNOV 26, 2025, 9:41 AM EST

There’s something oddly comforting about returning to Hawkins, like revisiting your hometown only to remember you never quite survived high school. The Duffer Brothers clearly know this nostalgia spell, because ahead of the grand finale of "Stranger Things," they revealed four very specific episodes to revisit.

They mentioned these episodes in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, and the choices are as ominous as you’d expect. If your memory of Upside Down lore is as foggy as the Byers’ living room during a demogorgon attack, consider this your cheat sheet. And a gentle reminder that the final season is rolling out in three parts: November 26, December 25, and December 31 of 2025.

Stranger Things mural is seen during Netflix's "Stranger Things" 5.

Here’s the express marathon the Duffers want you to take.

Season 2, Episode 4: Will the Wise

Rewatching this one helps you track the earliest hints about the Mind Flayer’s connection to Will, which Season 5 is expected to revisit with extra emotional punch. Anything involving Will’s visions, drawings, or haunted expressions is about to matter a whole lot more.

Season 2, Episode 6: The Spy

This is the episode where Will’s connection goes from spooky to catastrophic. He’s essentially being used as an intel pipeline for the enemy, giving the Mind Flayer a tactical advantage. "Stranger Things" turns into a paranormal espionage thriller, and somehow it works.

The finale season seems primed to circle back to this relationship, which was never fully resolved. Will has always been the heart of the series, so revisiting the moment he becomes The Spy helps you understand the emotional stakes headed our way.

Season 4, Episode 7: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab

Here’s where the puzzle pieces click together. Eleven’s memories, Henry Creel’s true identity, Vecna’s origin, and how the gates started forming.

If you only rewatch one episode, pick this one. The Duffer Brothers clearly structured it as the Rosetta Stone of the "Stranger Things" universe. Season 5 will be building directly on this foundation, and a refresher makes the twists ahead way more satisfying.

Season 4, Episode 9: The Piggyback

This supersized finale is the calm-before-the-apocalypse moment. The gang’s risky mind-travel rescue mission, Max’s terrifying encounter with Vecna, the emotional gut punch that still hasn’t healed — every thread here is dangling, ready to be pulled tight in Season 5.

Your Mini-Marathon, Fully Sanctioned by the Duffers

The Duffers aren’t just being nostalgic. They’re pointing you to the exact pressure points of the story. These episodes anchor the mythos, the emotional throughlines, and the supernatural logic that Season 5 is about to detonate.

If time is tight, you don’t have to binge everything. Just grab snacks, dim the lights, and run through these four chapters. You’ll step into Season 5 fully powered, like Eleven right after a dramatic nosebleed.