‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Part 2 saw the Hawkins gang unite and take the fight to Vecna, while scattered in different parts of the world. Hopper, Murray, and Joyce are stuck with Yuri, and the friendly prison guard in Russia. Will, Mike, and Eleven are teamed up with Jonathan and his stoner friend Argyle. Finally, there are people in Hawkins itself – including Steve, Nancy, Dustin, Eddie, Robin, Max along with Lucas and his sister.

They all devise their own plans to take down Vecna, who’s emerged as the heavy this season. The three-pronged plan comes together in the final episode titled ‘Piggyback’. 

Here’s the breakdown and where things went wrong. 

From Russia, with a vengeance 

Hopper and company manage an escape from the Russian prison camp but return to try and enter the Upside Down through the gate that the military opened in the facility. Armed with a gun and flamethrower, the trio make their way into the camp while the prison guard stays back to convince Yuri to help with the airlift. 

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Although they can’t access the Upside Down, they unearth a larger problem of the Demogorgon and Demodogs breaking loose. Hopper sets himself up as bait, and Joyce saves his life, while Murray rains down fire from the flamethrower, taking care of the Russian front against the Upside Down. 

Mind games 

Eleven doesn’t actually physically face Vecna, something that’ll likely happen in Season 5. However, she uses her psychic powers and with the help of the sensory deprivation plan, assists Max in the mental battle against Vecna. 

Argyle, Will, and Jonathan set up the tank but it is Mike who is the heart of the group and spurs Eleven on in the fight against Vecna when she’s almost given up. 

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In the showdown, Eleven gains the upper hand against Vecna, once again showing why the psychic bested One in the first place. 

Running up that hill 

The Hawkins group have their own plan in motion. Lucas’ sister is supposed to coordinate signalling to her brother and Max, who go into Creel manor where the latter tries to bait Vecna to enter her mind. 

Max has a host of happy memories where she tries to hide from Vecna. Meanwhile, Eddie and Dustin’s job is to distract the bats in Upside Down, clearing a way for Nancy, Robin, and Jonathan to sneak up on Vecna, who’s in the Upside Down version of the Creel mansion, and launch an attack on the antagonist. 

What goes wrong, before things go right

Patrick and the Hawkins basketball team cause a problem in the plans. One pins Erica, Lucas’ sister, breaking their chain of communication. Patrick himself enters the house and tries to force Lucas to get Max out of the trance, which Vecna puts her into. 

This leads to a confrontation between the two, with Lucas emerging victorious but taking a beating. In the process, Max’s music player is ruined so no Kate Bush’s ‘Running up the hill’ comes to her rescue, and at the end, we see Max in the hospital.

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Vecna senses Robin, Jonathan, and Nancy’s presence too, and the hivemind vines have the three in a death grip. 

Eddie and Dustin’s distraction doesn’t go according to plan either, since the bats begin entering through the vents in their hideout. The former tries to distract them, buying some time, and Mike’s urging of El gets her to fight back. 

With Vecna focused on the powerful psychic, the trio of young adults get the drop on him and “flambe” the villain with Molotov cocktails. Nancy’s sawn-off shotgun does the rest, as Vecna loses the round to the brave folks of Hawkins.