Stranger Things Season 3 Recap: A Summer Full of Surprises, Love & Deadly Secrets

Ahead of the release of Stranger Things Season 5, here’s a throwback to the key events of the third season.

- August 2, 2025 | 12:26 PM IST

Here’s A Lookback At Stranger Things Season 3 Before The Release Of The Fifth Season! — A Throwback To The Key Events Of Stranger Things Season 3 ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The final season of Stranger Things is almost here, and fans can’t wait to see how it all ends. But before we get there, let’s return to where it all heated up—Season 3. Set in the summer of 1985, Hawkins looked cheerful on the outside. School was out, a fancy new mall had opened, and the kids were growing up fast. But this time, a new threat arose that was more dangerous than ever.

Stranger Things Season 3 Recap: The Growing Darkness inside Billy

The summer season began with Dustin returning from summer camp. He constructs a radio tower to communicate with his new girlfriend, Suzie, but ends up hearing an odd message in Russian. He gets together with Steve, Robin, and Erica to decode the message and discovers a hidden Russian laboratory under Starcourt Mall, which is attempting to open another gate to the Upside Down.

In the meantime, Eleven and Max spend more time together after the former splits from Mike. Max’s stepbrother, Billy, is attacked by a monster from the Upside Down and becomes possessed. He starts abducting people, including his coworker Heather, and delivers them to a decaying steel mill. There, the monster transforms them into part of its new body.

Nancy and Jonathan, now working at a local newspaper, investigate strange rat behavior. They track the evidence that leads them to individuals being possessed by the creature. Something strange happens to Joyce, too, such as magnets falling off her refrigerator and refusing to stick. She partners up with Hopper, and together, they realize that the Russians are responsible for the unusual occurrences in town.

Official new #StrangerThings3 photos promise old friendships and – more importantly – new outfits 😍

(via @seewhatsnext) pic.twitter.com/ty5r2FuBdp

— Fandom (@getFANDOM) March 20, 2019

Stranger Things Season 3 Recap: How Does The Third Chapter End?

As the Mind Flayer grows stronger, the kids try to fight it. They set a trap to prove Billy is under its control, and they’re right. Eleven uses her powers to find where the creature is hiding. But during a fight, she gets badly hurt and loses her powers.

Hopper, Joyce, and Murray capture a Russian scientist named Alexei to learn more about the secret base. With help from Dustin’s group, they plan to shut down the machine that opens the gate. In the final battle at the mall, the Mind Flayer attacks. Billy almost kills Eleven, but stops when she helps him remember who he really is. He sacrifices himself to save her.

Hopper fights a Russian guard and gets trapped. Joyce has no choice but to blow up the machine. The gate closes, and Hopper is gone, believed to be dead. After the fight, the monster dies, and the truth is hidden from the public.

Months later, life in Hawkins has changed. The Byers family and Eleven move away. Eleven, still without her powers, shares an emotional goodbye with Mike. But far away in Russia, a Demogorgon, and someone the guards called “the American,” is shown, leaving fans with a big mystery.