STRANGER THINGS 4 Episode Title Breakdown

I recently wrote an article explaining the significance of the Stranger Things 4 episode title “The Nina Project,” but what about all the others? Here’s a breakdown of all the newly released episode titles and what they might have in store for us.

“The Hellfire Club”

Pretty straightforward, this is the name of the Hawkins High School Dungeons & Dragons club that also shares its name with a group of X-Men. The Hellfire Club is a nefarious group that comes into play during the Phoenix saga. Could this reference a group of evil super powered children meant to counter balance Eleven? Or is it just a reference to tell us this is the episode that Eleven’s powers come back stronger than ever before? 

“Vecna’s Curse”

The long time D&D player may recognize the name Vecna as an evil wizard turned undead lich. He is maimed, but his remaining hand and left eye become magical artifacts. While I have no idea if the show will go into undead territory, the clock face in the Creel house in the first trailer looks an awful lot like an eye, so maybe it will have some powers of its own. Be on the lookout for characters missing limbs or who only have their left eye, something may be afoot. Canonically, Vecna hasn’t been invented in the world of the show so we’ll see if we include time travel or if we’re just going to ignore that fact.

“The Monster and the Superhero”

This is one of the more ambiguous titles, especially considering we don’t see a lot with the superhero genre. Regardless, I think this is going to be a confrontation between Victor Creel and one of our protagonists, or perhaps whatever is haunting the Creel house. I’m of the opinion that this is a red herring type title, that the monster is not going to be a literal Upside Down style creature just as the superhero will not in fact have any supernatural powers.

“Dear Billy”

This title suggests an episode where characters come to terms with Billy’s death. As Max’s stepbrother, she would seem the natural choice for this episode to focus on. But Billy did have a wide reach, he sacrificed himself for Eleven and the whole crew, and he almost had an affair with Mike’s mother. There are a lot of characters profoundly affected by him who each could be seeking out advice from their memories of him. Or this could take a more supernatural turn, like the famed “Dear Abby” column, they could be trying to find a way to communicate with our dearly departed to get some crucial answers.

“The Nina Project”

I’ve already written a more extensive article about the history of this one, but to sum it up during the Cold War the US and USSR were in a race to best utilize people with telekinetic abilities. Nina Kualgina was a Soviet woman who claimed to have telekinetic powers that kicked off the whole need to study it. We already know the Russians are trying to use the Upside Down, this could be an episode focused on Hopper uncovering data about the experiments involving a fictionalized version of the real Kualgina.

“The Dive”

Another ambiguous title, this one could mean physically diving into the Upside Down or metaphorically diving into some books for research. I think this could be the episode where Hopper returns to America by diving into the Upside Down. But who knows, as the show wears on the meaning may become more clear.

“The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”

Ah Hawkins lab, a site of profound advancements and brutal carnage. Will this flash us back and make us go through the trauma of losing Bob all over again? Or will there be a brand new massacre to scar us all? One thing is clear, Hawkins lab has got to go because it cannot stop having mass killings happen.

“Papa”

We knew Brenner would be back, but in what capacity? It’s unclear if he has been on the run or if he found a new place to continue his experiments. Given the last episode title I would say he probably went somewhere no one would ever look for him, back to the abandoned Hawkins lab. This time will he be more friendly? Or does this mark the final confrontation between him and Eleven?

“The Piggyback”

Did anyone else get a Yoda training Luke kind of image in their head with this initially? With this being the finale episode it is really hard to even venture a guess about what this could mean, but my theory is that it references something that piggybacks its way out of the Upside Down. Or it references how the supernatural entity of the Creel house arrived in our world in the first place. 

There you have it, what do you think? Am I totally crazy for some of my theories? Let me know what you think some of these episode titles could mean and let’s geek out together while we wait for Season 4 to start.

Source: Nerdist