Stranger Things threw a stun teaser on Valentine’s Day along with a big reveal: Jim Hopper is alive, and he’s in Russia. So, what does this mean for season 4? Stranger Things season 3 left countless release yarns that fans have been desperately trying to put together since it’s unknown when season 4 will arrive. By the end of season 3, the new and improved Mind Flayer had been defeated again, Eleven was left without abilities, the Byers( and Eleven) moved out of Hawkins, and Hopper was killed- or so was believed.

There has been a lot of privacy around Stranger Things season 4, with exclusively one advertisement teaser secreted back in September 2019, which peculiarity the series’ logo and a big four that unexpectedly appeared in the Upside Down, tantalizing that “we’re not in Hawkins anymore”. Since then, there has been a lot of surmise around where the new season will be set in( Russia? the Upside down ?), if it will piece time-travel, and what indeed happened to Hopper. Now, after months of countless beliefs and even some devotees losing hope on David Harbour’s return to the series, Stranger Things has confirmed that Hopper is alive.

Related: Stranger Things Season 4 Should Make Hopper The Villain

A brand-new teaser for season 4 been told that Hopper survived the explosion at the underground Russian lab in Hawkins at the end of season 3 and is now a prisoner in Russia. A mid-credits scene in Stranger Things season 3 climax showed that the Russians have an American prisoner in a cornerstone in Kamchatka, and the teaser confirmed that Hopper is that prisoner- and here’s what this means for season 4.

Of course, the first issue around Hopper’s survival is how it happened. In season 3’s climax, designation “The Battle of Starcourt”, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray infiltrated the Russian locate in order to close the barrier to the Upside Down. As Hopper and Joyce were preparing to shut the machine down, Grigori( also known as “the Russian Terminator”) arrived and contend Hopper. The two aimed up next to the machine, with Hopper throwing Grigori into it, killing him instant and creating an electrical barrier that blocked Hopper’s path. With no way out, he nodded to Joyce to close the gate, which begun an detonation and disintegrated all those near the machine. However, Hopper’s body( or what should have been left of it) was nowhere to be found. The mid-credits scene payed devotees hope for Hopper’s return, and it be paid for in the end.

Now, countless viewers have pointed out that Hopper wasn’t where he was supposed to be seconds before the machine exploded. In the moments between Joyce closing her attentions and turning the keys and the machine exploding, Hopper wasn’t on his recognise. Many believe that he jumped through the door and into the Upside down, while others are sure he found a way out at the last minute, and hid in some sort of safe zone. If Hopper got out through the entrance, that would mean there’s so much more to the gates than only being entrances to the Upside down, as they could also have the potential to transport a person to a completely different place- most probably one where a gate is also open. If Hopper managed to hide in a safe area inside the lab, this signifies he was attained not long after by other Russian scientists, and as he was wearing one of their costumes, they could have mistaken him for one of theirs and took him with them, as they surely had an evacuation plan ready in case they were caught.

The Russians’ means will depend a lot on how they got a view of Hopper. The Russians could see in Hopper someone they can use to get information about Hawkins and the ventures that have has just taken place there, as well as about test subjects like Eleven, who have exposed different special abilities. He could also be turned into a test subject and thus be part of the Russians’ experiments- after all, they continue to experiment on the Upside down, as they have a Demogorgon of their own, signifying they managed to open at least one entrance. Or, simply, Hopper could be a regular prisoner at a labor camp, and the Russians have no plans for him other than retaining him captive.

Related: Stranger Things Theory: The Truth Behind Russia’s Upside Down Gate

Season 3’s mid-credits scene made it clear that the Russians are not done with their plans after their laboratory underneath Starcourt Mall was taken down, as they continue experimenting on the other side of the world- but Hopper being the American means they will be even more important in the upcoming season. Given that Hopper is a main character in Stranger Things, season 4 will surely spend a lot of time in Russia, following Hopper’s journey there as well as what they’re doing at the Kamchatka base. Hopefully, this will likewise answer the large-scale riddle of the reasons why the Russians are doing all these ventures and what they expect to gain from all of this.

The other great question around Hopper being the American prisoner is how he will go back to Hawkins. With Eleven now powerless, it will be hard for the Hawkins group to know that he’s alive, unless Eleven recaptures her supremacies and can move him down( maybe even coming across with Dr. Brenner in the process ). Hopper being on the other side of the world opens the door for Eleven( and perhaps the Byers) to travel all the way to Russia to save him and wreaking him back, more so if she recaptures her powers. Another alternative is likely to be the entrance itself: if it does work as more than an admittance to the Upside Down, Hopper could be brought back through it as well, with the help of the Hawkins squad, maybe even Dr. Owens too.

It’s too possible that all the action in Stranger Things season 4 will take place in Russia rather than Hawkins, as pestered in the advertisement video, which would also signified at least part of the gang figure Hawkins will be participating there. Items around Stranger Things season 4 continue to be a mystery, and while the reveal of Hopper being alive seems like it solved one big-hearted puzzle, it simply terminated up causing more questions. What’s for sure, though, is that Hopper’s return won’t be an easy one, and it will take the combined efforts of the whole group to get him dwelling safely- and deal with all the threats this new season sheds their method, both human( the Russians) and supernatural.

Next: Stranger Things’ Original Plan Was Very Different

Read more: screenrant.com