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Maybe I have watched HBO's Chernobyl miniseries a few too many times, or I've read too many Stephen King books, but Stranger Things's quaint town of Hawkins, Indiana, is looking a lot like Chernobyl in this lead-up to the fifth and final season of the show.  

If you remember, season 4 ended on a pretty ominous note. Even after Vecna is seemingly defeated by Eleven and her buddies, a shockwave hits small-town Hawkins on par with a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. The town is thrown into disarray, and the omens don't stop there. In the final moments of the show, whitish flakes start to fall from the sky, prompting Nancy's younger sister to remark that it looks like it's snowing outside. And while the kiddo is in awe of the weather situation, everyone else on the show recognizes that something is very, very wrong. 

Now, what is going on exactly? Look, I don't have all the answers, but if we take a look at world history and Stranger Things' creative influences in general, we can start to piece things together. Let's remember that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's explosion happened in April of 1986 in the then-Soviet Union. Season 4 of Stranger Things takes place at the end of March 1986, so it predates the disaster in Chernobyl, by a simple month.

However, the imagery of the flakes falling from the sky certainly alludes to the Chernobyl event. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was located near the town of Pripyat, where 50,000 people lived at the time of the explosion. After the power plant exploded, radioactive ash rained down from the sky. In Pripyat, townsfolk gathered on a railway bridge to watch the fire at the power plant, unknowingly exposing themselves to high levels of radiation. In the wake of HBO's Chernobyl show from 2019, which depicted the lead-up to and aftermath of the disaster, the imagery at the end of Stranger Things season 4 is loaded with potential meaning.

Based on the trailers we've gotten for season 5 of Stranger Things, which takes place in 1987, Hawkins is looking a lot like the world of Stephen King's The Stand and The Mist. The military is stationed throughout town, with armed guards looking out from watchtowers. It's also worth noting that episodes of season 5 were directed by Frank Darabont, who directed the bleak as hell movie adaptation of The Mist. So clearly, The Mist vibes were curated on purpose. 

Now, the question is, to what end is all of this for? We'll only know once Stranger Things season 5 starts streaming on Netflix on November 26, 2025. 

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"