Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 ending explained: What happened to Vecna and Max, is Hawkins dying?

Stranger Things exploded onto the scene by brilliantly mixing nostalgia, horror, adventure and innocence. The show has been one of Netflix's most successful ventures and the platform recently released the show’s fourth season. The fourth season was divided into two volumes and the second volume was released last week. 

While the first volume of the show saw ups and downs and failed to grab the viewers by the neck, the second volume, which consisted of only two episodes, did just this. The two episodes saw everything that made the show successful in the first place, giving the perfect blend of horror and fantasy as well as great action set pieces. 

Volume 2 saw out heroes walk into Vecna’s kingdom to try and take him down, after realising that Vecna is the son of Victor Creel, who was also Dr. Brenner’s first experiment. The second volume ran on a lot of emotions, and also offered some character deaths that hit hard. The final episode also ended on a cliffhanger, leading fans to beg the question of what to expect from the last and final season. There are also a few other questions that remain in the mind of the viewers while also providing some rather subtle hints of what to expect. 

Is Vecna finally gone for good?

Stranger Things fans can pat themselves on the back, because it has been a long time assumption that the mindflayer and whoever runs the upside down, has a personal vendetta against Eleven. Most of these theories came into light considering how El had to meet with the mysteries of the Upside down time and time again, almost as if she was targeted. Fans finally learnt how Vecna and El were connected towards the end of Volume 1 and saw the two take on each other in the ending of Volume 2. 

While we get to see El demolish Vecna (with help from her friends), but is Vecna really gone for good? Because we see Vecna claim his fourth victim before Hawkins erupts from within the ground in a pool of lava, just like Vecna had planned. Vecna’s final words also seemed like he was satisfied with his plans. 

It is pretty safe to say Vecna is still around. “Now that I’m here in Hawkins, I can feel him and he’s hurting but he’s still alive,” says Will towards the ending sequence of the season. He even feels the fair raising on his back, something that we have seen happen to Will before in the past seasons. Also, we never really saw Vecna’s body or what happened to him. So by all means, expect Vecna aka One aka Henry Creel to creep back into the world and try and take out El once again. 

Is Max dead? What is happening to her?

Perhaps one of the deaths that really caught fans off guard and opened the dams was that of Max. We see Vecna try to claim her as his fourth and final victim, with El and Lucas having to watch up close and personal as her body contorts and her eyes bleed. We also see her die in Lucas’ arms but El clearly does something that brings her back to life. But it was not all good news, as she wasn’t really alive. Looking like she is in a state of coma, we see her in the hospital towards the end. We will just have to wait and see what happens to Max and whether she can come out of the darkness and back into the light.

What is the book that Lucas was reading Max in the hospital?

Lucas, who is still by Max’s side in the hospital, can be seen reading her a book. Now, the Steven King influence in Stranger Things is very much talked about and it can also be seen in the show’s making. Lucas is seen reading The Talisman, written by King and Peter Straub. If this is a hint at what to expect in the next season, we could see a parallel dimension opening up because the book deals with multiple parallel realms opening up in the world. 

Will Eddie Munson survive?

Eddie, who was only introduced in the fourth season, quickly became a character everyone loves. In the Upside Down, he had a rockstar moment as he performed Metallica’s Master of Puppets to give his friends a fighting chance, but this came at a cost. He stood up and fought the demonic Upside Down bats, only to sacrifice his life for a town that saw him as the villain. Eddie can be seen dying in Dustin’s arms in heartbreaking fashion, and it looks like the dungeon master would not be returning for more. 

What is happening to Hawkins in the end?

Towards the end of the last episode, which was relatively paced on a happy note as old friends and family reunite, things go pale real fast. We get to see the ash-like particles that just float around in the Upside Down fall down to the real world. Then the heroes stand witness to a massive dark cloud of thunderous lightning heading towards the town. If you are guessing what is happening to Hawkins, it looks like Vecna’s plans are coming to fruition. “I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins, downtown on fire, dead soldiers, and this giant creature with a gaping mouth. There were so many monsters, an army and they were coming into Hawkins,” Nancy says after having seen into Vecna’s mind. And we can only assume the dark clouds, dying plants and falling ash are all the first glimpses of this happening.