Stranger Things 4's Infinity War Parallels Set Up Season 5 In 2 Big Ways

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Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4.

Stranger Things season 4's ending draws unexpected parallels to Avengers: Infinity War,and the link between them could set up season 5. The portals to the Upside Down have, for many seasons, been contained in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. The dangers are commonly met by the rag-tag group of heroes, who have fought evils widely unknown to the rest of the world, and have been keeping their town safe for years. However, Stranger Things 4 finally unmasks this evil and puts Hawkins in some very real danger.

Stranger Things season 4 is the first time Eleven loses a fight, and it's a big one. Vecna successfully opens the gates to directly connect the Upside Down to the primary dimension. The end of season 4 shows Hawkins turning grey, with flowers decaying and dying due to the effect of the Upside Down, with a hellish storm brewing in the sky. These bad omens further confirm that Vecna's mission is complete, as well as show how big the heroes lose in their match against him.

Related: Why Vecna Didn't Just Attack Hawkins Himself Earlier

Losing the first time around was something that famously happened in the Infinity Saga. Thanos, shockingly, collected all six Infinity Stones in Infinity War and snapped half of the living population out of existence. This snap included a plethora of heroes turning to dust, too, and their defeat was enormous. Stranger Things season 4 ending in a similar manner to Infinity War, a loss, could mean that season 5 's key narrative points might resemble those in Avengers: Endgame.

Narratively, there was a five-year time jump from Infinity War to Endgame. Due to the colossal size of Thanos' destruction, the heroes didn't see any