Nearly a decade after the first season dropped, the final episodes of “Stranger Things”—the sci-fi/horror/coming-of-age series created by Matt and Ross Duffer—are almost upon us. That’s 10 years of demogorgons, tweenage 1980s antics, and moments that changed American pop culture forever. Here are just a handful of those scenes. Reader, beware: Spoilers ahead.
1. Joyce talks to Will via Christmas lights: Season 1, Episode 3
When Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) gets stuck in the Upside Down, his desperate mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), will try anything to get him back—including attempting contact via Christmas lights and letters painted on her wall. Aside from being one of the most visually iconic scenes in the series, it’s also one of the first of Ryder’s many expertly executed Joyce-is-inches-from-a-full-blown-meltdown scenes (which, fair enough, the woman’s been through a lot over the show’s five seasons). It’s hard to remember 10 years into the show’s run, but “Stranger Things” really reignited Ryder’s career to heights it hadn’t seen since the early 2000s. But Ryder—who was a bit of an “it” girl in the late ’80s and early ’90s, starring in films like “Beetlejuice,” “Heathers,” and “Little Women”—wasn’t the only ’80s star the Duffer brothers sought out to populate their series. The show is full of actors who made a name for themselves in the decade in which the show is set, including Sean Astin (“The Goonies”), Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”), and Paul Reiser (“Aliens”).
2. “She’s our friend and she’s crazy!”: Season 1, Episode 6
In the series’ first season, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) has just taken a probably deadly leap off the edge of a cliff in order to get a duo of bullies to leave his friend Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) alone. Suddenly, their new friend Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) appears out of nowhere, saves Mike, and then immediately breaks one of the bullies’ arms with a jerk of her head. As the bullies retreat, Dustin yells triumphantly, “That’s right, you’d better run! She’s our friend and she’s crazy!” It’s a real moment of victory for the show’s lovable losers, and it encapsulates what works best about the show: a perfect blend of action, heart, and humor, all brought to life by this young cast. But we’re not the only people who love the scene—Brown called it her favorite line in an interview with Vanity Fair.
3. Steve Harrington works at Scoops Ahoy (and gets a new attitude): Season 3
Season 3 sees Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) donning a goofy outfit and working at the fictional Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream parlor in the town’s new Starcourt Mall. It’s a real turnabout for the character, who was introduced in Season 1 as Nancy’s (Natalia Dyer) jerk of a boyfriend. By the show’s third season, however, Steve’s transformed into a likeable guy mostly used for comic relief and as a pseudo-father figure to the younger characters (and an internet darling, if the number of fan edits on YouTube is any indication). This reportedly wasn’t the plan for him: The Duffer brothers initially wanted to kill Steve off in the first season, but they liked Keery so much that they changed their minds and reworked the character. So to the actors out there, here’s a little lesson for you: Be likeable on set and you may find yourself with a longer gig. And to the ice cream lovers out there who are suddenly hungry for some Scoops Ahoy, never fear, it’s a real brand now.
4. “Chrissy, wake up!”: Season 4, Episode 1
In the show’s fourth season, leader of the Hellfire Club Eddie (Joseph Quinn) tries to help out cheerleader Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) by selling her drugs to calm her down after she has some intense visions. Unfortunately for both of them, the drug deal goes bad—because Chrissy is hoisted in the air by Vecna and has all of her bones snapped. Although the show had always been scary, this marked its first time doing something quite so viscerally creepy. While leaving such a pivotal moment to two actors in their first episode might have been a risk, Quinn and Van Dien both give bonechilling performances. And if you’re wondering why this scene seems so familiar, it’s likely because if you’ve spent any time on the internet over the past few years, you’ve encountered a TikTok (or seven) set to an auto-tuned version of this scene.
5. Max (and Kate Bush) run up a hill: Season 4, Episode 4
When Max (Sadie Sink) is inches away from certain death at the hands of Vecna, her friends are clever enough to remember that music is the key to helping her escape his clutches and return to reality. They blast Kate Bush’s “Running up That Hill,” and eventually (after, quite literally, running up a hill) Max is back on Earth, safe and sound—for the moment, at least. The kids really shine once more in this scene, able to channel an appropriate amount of chaos and panic to their friend being lifted feet in the air. Sink is also great here; in an incredibly strong ensemble, she’s consistently a standout. Her monologue to Billy’s grave earlier in the episode is expertly done. But what really pushes this scene from another great one in the series to pop-culture-legend territory is the use of Bush’s song, which suddenly was everywhere after the release of this episode—it even ended up hitting an unprecedented No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s too early to tell how this final season will influence pop culture, but if (spoiler alert!) the last scene of Episode 4 is any indication, we’re in for a wild ride.