'Stranger Things 2' Ending and Season 3 Setup Explained

Threat of the Mind Flayer

The main threat of season 2 was the gateway between the Upside Down and Hawkins that was subject of study by the Hawkins National Laboratory. That gateway allowed a giant, evil, creature known as "The Mind Flayer" (more on him HERE) to gain access to Hawkins.

The Mind Flayer spends most of season 2 hatching a two-pronged plot: creating a network of vine or vein-like growths beneath Hawkins, which would've seemingly transformed the town into an environment like that of The Upside Down. In order to accomplish that goal, and stop the forces opposing it, The Mind Flayer creates of a small army dog-like Demogorgons, which Dustin dubs "Demodogs."

In order to stop The Mind Flayer, the group from Hawkins has to attack on several fronts:

Saving Will

One of the big twists of season 2 comes when poor Will Byer is possessed by The Mind Flayer. Early in the season, Will is caught between our world and being stalked by a dark creature, in several nightmare sequences set in The Updside Down. When Will tries to face the threat, his mind taken over by The Mind Flayer, who fills Will's body with a black smog. Once possessed, Will is used as a puppet and spy for The Mind Flayer, helping the monster track defeat his friends.

Will's mom Joyce (Winona Ryder), along with Hopper (David Harbour), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer), all establish that there are traces of Will still left inside. Using what little Will told them about The Mind Flayer, The Byers and friends use heat from a furnace to disrupt the monster's connection to the young boy.

he Mind Flayer fights back, taking physical control of Will and using him to strangle Joyce. It's Nancy who finally makes the decisive move, grabbing a hot poker from the fire and using it burn Will. That pain (combined with Will's friends simultaneously attacking the monster on other fronts) forces The Mind Flayer to relinquish control of Will in order to consolidate the power it has left for its own defense. The black smog comes pouring out of will and floats away, leaving the boy seemingly cured of the evil inside him.

Closing the Gate

The Hawkins National Laboratory is found to be the epicenter from which the Mind Flayer's corrosive touch is spreading. In one of the season's most pivotal episodes, The HNL works with Hopper and Joyce Byers to use will as a conduit for finding a weak point in The Mind Flayer's network. What they don't know is that the conduit is actually flowing the other way, with Will delivering intel to the shadowy beast that commands him. When the HNL burns some of the Mind Flayer's vine network, the creature retaliates by sending an army of Demodogs to HNL HQ, an event that quickly turns into a massacre.

After escaping from the HNL site and being saved from a Demodog attack by Eleven, Hopper takes Eleven back to HNL where the gateway between our world and the Upside Down is getting bigger.

Meahwhile, a second group made up of Will's friends Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Steve (Joe Keery) and newcomer Max (Sadie Sink), head into the tunnels of dark vines The Mind Flayer is growing under Hawkins, in order to provide a diversion. They soak a central point in the vine network with gasoline and light it on fire - a painful blow that forces The Mind Flayer to release its hold on Will, and summon all the Demodogs away from the lab building and into the tunnels, in order to defend. The kids are nearly cornered by one Demodog, but luckily it turns out to be "D'Artagnan," the Demodog Dustin unknowingly raised as his own. Thanks to that act of compassion, D'Artagnan lets Dustin and his friends pass unharmed.

After realizing Dustin and Steve's attack is a distraction, The Mind Flayer bring all its Demodogs back to the gateway, in order to stop the main attack, from Eleven (it also saves Dustin and Steven from becoming demodog food). Even though the Demodogs savagely attack the lift that Eleven and Hopper take down to the gateway, Hopper is able to keep them at bay, while Eleven (tapping into new depths of her psychic power) closes the rift between worlds, before The Mind Flayer can break through.

Don't You Forget About Me...

Stranger Things season 2 ends on a somewhat bittersweet note, as the kids all attend a winter formal dance at school. However, even as the Hawkins otherworldly defense crew (not an official name) starts to relax, we get a glimpse into the Upside Down version of their school, where we see The Mind Flayer standing over them, now intently watching their every move. That will set up some possible dark developments for season 3.

Here's a more specific breakdown of where each character ends up.

• Will - starts to return to life as a normal kid, and even sees his reputation as "Zombie boy" start to bring some attention from girls.
• Mike & Eleven - Two love birds get to enjoy the dance and move forward together, thanks to Eleven getting a chance at true freedom, in exchange for saving the HNL.
• Dustin, Lucas & Max - This cute little love-triangle ends with Lucas and Max seemingly getting together, with Dustin being the odd man out. Poor Dustin has trouble advancing into the romantic mysteries of life like his friends are - but he gets a much-needed confidence boost when Nancy reveals that one day girls will appreciate him. Max gains her independence by finally putting her psychotic step-brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) in his place.
• Jonathan, Steve & Nancy - Jonathan and Nancy finally do the deed while on their mission to bring justice for Barb while (sort of) exposing the HNL cover up. Steve seemingly accepts the union, though a final scene shows he clearly still has feelings for Nancy. Nancy, for her part, is finally ready to embrace the woman she truly is, instead of playing up her popular girl image.
• Hopper and Joyce - these two troubled parental figures end appreciating each others company and sharing a cigarette, continuing a "Will they, won't they?" flirtation into season 3.

Stranger Things season 3 is currently in the works. No release date has been announced yet.