Happy Veterans Day, my fellow strangers! It’s Mrs. Strange once more! On today’s episode
for Stranger Universe, I will break down the episode titles for Stranger Things 4 and go
over theories and predictions about what they could mean for the plot of season 4.
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And now, let us begin...
On November 6th, 2021, Netflix revealed the episode titles for Stranger Things 4 to celebrate
Stranger Things Day. Just like the previous two seasons, the titles tend to conceal as
much as they reveal, which is why Netflix can drop them so long before the show's release.
There are some that even have different names and meanings when translated to other languages,
and others that certainly don’t seem to have the final version of their titles. Here
are all the episode titles for Stranger Things season 4, along with all that can be deduced
from them.
Chapter 1: The Hellfire Club. The premiere episode of season 4 is a reference to the
X-Men from Marvel Comics. Introduced in the classic "Dark Phoenix Saga," which has had
a strong influence on Stranger Things, the Hellfire Club have been a constant thorn in
the X-Men's side. However, in season 4, it will be the name of Hawkins High’s D&D
club. The Hellfire Club will be led by a major new character, Eddie Munson, who is
played by Joseph Quinn. Mike and Dustin will be in the club, and Lucas is in it as well
but not as active as his friends.
Chapter 2: Vecna’s Curse. The second episode of Stranger Things season 4 is titled after
a Dungeons & Dragons monster, much like the Demogorgon or the Mind Flayer. Sometimes called
the Whispered One or the Undying King, the evil lich Vecna is one of the most dangerous
creatures in D&D lore. It's possible the Hawkins kids will ascribe the name "Vecna" to the
monstrous phenomenon that they encounter. Slight spoilers ahead, but back in July, the
paparazzi set leaker, Christopher Oquendo, took some pictures of the gang entering the
Creel House weeks before we saw them on the sneak peek and months before the third teaser.
What I found interesting is that Oquendo called the Creel House “the Vecna’s Lair” in
his videos. Unless there is some misinformation around, could it be that the villainous creature
in season 4 actually lives inside this house? Maybe it comes out at a certain time of the
night with that creepy ass clock announcing its arrival.
Chapter 3: The Monster And The Superhero. In a previous video, we speculated that the
title of this episode was referring to Will Byers and the Demogorgon. However, in the
Spanish versions of the title teaser, the word “superheroina” was shown, which is
Spanish for super heroine. Clearly it wasn’t referring to Will but rather Eleven, traditionally
the most notable superhero figure in the Stranger Things franchise. The title is still
ambiguous but I am assuming that this is the episode where El gets captured away from Mike
and her new adoptive brothers.
Chapter 4: Dear Billy. This one isn’t that hard to guess, but the possibilities are endless.
Max's older step-brother, Billy was a human antagonist in Stranger Things 2, and was
possessed by the Mind-Flayer in Stranger Things 3. He was a hero in the end, rebelling
against the Mind-Flayer's control and delaying the creature before it could kill Eleven.
It's reasonable to assume "Dear Billy" features Max remembering and mourning Billy, and it's
also likely this episode is primarily centered on her. Based on early set leaks and an audition
for the new counselor character “Mrs. Kelley”, Max looks to be going through depression,
failing her classes and having problems at home. It’s clear that Billy’s death affected
her. We previously discussed the possibilities of Billy returning based on the fact that
Dacre Montgomery was listed for episode 4 on IMDB. Now that we know that this episode
is called “Dear Billy,” our suspicions were proven correct.
Chapter 5: The Nina Project. This is another episode title that doesn’t say a whole lot
except for one thing: the name “Nina” is definitely Russian. Our initial theory
was that the Nina Project is an experiment that is being built in Kamchatka, where Hopper
is stuck as a prisoner. Remember the train tracks that were being built? Maybe the Nina
Project is a super-weapon that will be transferred in a train. Maybe it will be another machine
that serves as a key to open the Upside Down.I t’s also possible that Nina is a person,
but by now we would’ve gotten some sort of hint at a new Russian character that isn’t
Yuri or Dmitri.
Chapter 6: The Dive. It's difficult to say what this episode title refers to. It could
be anything from spelunking to scuba diving, to somebody diving into something like a tunnel
into the Upside-Down. A few translations, such as the Latin American one, went for titles
that translate back to “In The Deep,” which does suggest that it will feature some
sort of under water sequence. Lots of people immediately think of Steve with this episode
title, since that shot of him under water is the only thing we’ve seen from season
4 that seems to align with “the Dive.” We would have to wait to see what this episode
title means, if it will even be the final name for the sixth episode.
Chapter 7: The Massacre At Hawkins Lab. This is definitely getting darker. The title of episode
7 returns viewers to the old Hawkins Lab facility, which was shut down after the events of Stranger
Things 2. Although it's possible the U.S. government has begun operating at the lab
again after the Russians opened another gate at Hawkins, it's more likely that "The Massacre
at Hawkins Lab" refers to a flashback of some sort. Teasers for Stranger Things season
4 appear to have shown flashbacks to Doctor Brenner's initial experiments on Eleven and
other children, which could fit with episode 7. It does seem like something horrific happened
to those poor kids based on those images that we saw on screen for the Hawkins Lab Control
Room teaser. I will be shocked if we end up seeing this massacre on screen however. A
bunch of kids dying brutally will definitely cement season 4 as the scariest season of
Stranger Things.
Chapter 8: Papa. Another episode title that goes straight to the point. The mastermind
behind the experiments at Hawkins Lab, Doctor Brenner was initially believed to have been
killed in season 1. But then season 2 revealed he'd survived the Demogorgon's wrath and seems
to have gone to ground. There's been intense speculation about Brenner's fate; is he running
another Hawkins Lab? Is Brenner working with the Russians in Kamchatka? Whatever the answer
may be, it's reasonable to assume it will finally be given in episode 8, called "Papa,"
the name he insisted his young test subjects give to him. Last but not least, we have
Chapter 9: The Piggyback. For a season finale, this one is definitely weird. On a literal
sense, it could be that the title refers to the idea of a couple of Brenner's test subjects
- Eleven presumably numbered among them - synergizing their powers in some way. It could also be
referring to Eleven, Will Byers, and Mike Wheeler rescuing their friends in Hawkins.
Maybe they will all be carried into the Surfer Boy Pizza van. However, something interesting
has been spotted by fans very recently. When it came to translations in other languages,
the German translation was the only one that stayed with “the Piggyback” as the name
of this episode. This makes a fair amount of sense to be frank, because "Piggyback"
is an interesting word that has certain meanings attached to it in English that don't transfer
over to most other languages, so they would naturally have to change the translation up
in order to properly get at the specific intended meaning. The Turkish and Polish translations
went with something like “Stowaway,” the Japanese and French with “The Infiltration,”
Italian and Romanian with “The Plan,” Portuguese and Russian with “Eleven’s
Plan,” Vietnamese with “The Stealth Plan,” and Spanish with something that can translate
to either “The Guest” or “The Host.”
All of these titles are way too specific for it to be some sort of messed up game of telephone.
I mean, how do you get from the Piggyback to Eleven’s Plan? I think what’s happening
here is that all of these titles are coverups and that the name of the season finale of
Stranger Things 4 is currently being kept under wraps.
With that all said, what do you make of these translation differences? What might they reveal
about the plots of these episodes? Here’s hoping that we get to see those episodes earlier
than expected. Overall, very exciting times.
And that is all that we have for today. What do you think about the episode titles for
Stranger Things 4?
Today’s special shout-out is for Emma!
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