Stranger Things season 4 was a long time coming, and Volume 2 tested our patience even further by making us wait an extra five weeks for the last couple of episodes. Turns out, though, the Duffer brothers really needed that extra production time.
On June 30, the day before the two-parter landed on Netflix, Collider's Steven Weintraub took to Twitter to reveal that Matt and Ross Duffer had "finished a bunch of VFX shots" on the 140-minute finale that very morning. He also suggested that it'd be advisable for those in the US not to hit play at midnight, and instead get some sleep before tuning in bright and early.
"If you watch the episode at 2am tonight you might not see the final shots," he wrote on the social media platform, adding in a follow-up tweet: "I believe they said 20 VFX shots. Should have said that. Which means you can watch [the] episode and probably not notice what wasn't 100% done. I don't want to make it sound like the episode wasn't 99% done."
The Duffer Brothers previously noted that the final episode of Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 featured more visual effects shots than the whole of season 3, which explains why it wasn't ready until late June despite the cast wrapping filming way back in September 2021.
In episodes 8 and 9, which are titled 'Papa' and 'The Piggyback' respectively, our heroes wage war on Vecna, the powerful being that's been killing kids and opening gates up and down Hawkins. Each group of characters – based in Indiana, in Russia, and in Nevada – unknowingly team up to take down the Upside Down-dwelling big bad, and it proves to be one of their most challenging battles yet.
For more on Stranger Things, check out our explainer on the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 ending. Only if you've seen it or don't mind knowing details ahead of time, mind: it's full to the brim with spoilers.
If you have binge-watched the whole chapter and are stuck on what to watch next, check out the best Netflix shows and the best Netflix movies available right now.