 STRANGER THINGS. Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022 Show
They’re not in Hawkins anymore. Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 is almost here, and it’s going to show us a couple of new locations. Jim Hopper (David Harbour) is out in Russia as a prisoner after the events of the season 3 finale, while Joyce (Winona Ryder), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are now living in Lenora Hills, California. SPOILERS ahead for Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 Eleven and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are managing a long-distance relationship. They reunite for Spring Break, which is great for El especially because she hasn’t been fitting in at school. Though it doesn’t seem like Will is really making any friends either, Eleven is severely picked on. Without her powers or her friends, Eleven feels helpless in her new surroundings. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) are also in a long-distance relationship, though theirs isn’t too strong. They don’t even decide to spend time together for Spring Break. Jonathan smokes a lot of weed with his new friend Argyle (Eduardo Franco) and tries to figure out what he should do for college. As for Joyce, she’s got a new job that isn’t terribly fun and is understandably missing Hopper. Lenora Hills isn’t shaping up to be the best place, so why do the Byers and Eleven even move there in the first place? Why do the Byers and Eleven leave Hawkins in Stranger Things?Throughout Stranger Things season 3, it’s hinted that the Byers will move out of Hawkins. During one scene where Joyce and Hopper are investigating the old Hawkins Lab, Hop mentions her plans to leave, though she doesn’t confirm it. At the end of the season, however, the decision is made to get out of town for her family’s safety. From Will’s abduction and possession to the death of Bob (Sean Astin) and the “death” of Hopper, Joyce has enough of Hawkins, understandably. The final moments of season 3 are so emotional as the Byers pack up their things and prepare to leave. With Hopper believed dead, Eleven is now part of the family, so she goes with them to California, too. But obviously, whatever safety the Byers family finds in California isn’t going to last; otherwise we wouldn’t have a fourth season on our hands. We’ll find out just how things fall apart when the first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 debuts on Netflix this Friday, May 27. The final two episodes will follow on July 1. To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter. Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels Warning! This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 part 1. The Byers left Hawkins, Indiana behind after three seasons of Stranger Things, but the family returned in Stranger Things season 4. Since it was clear they hadn't been written out, many wondered why did the Byers family leave Hawkins in the first place. Beginning back in 2016, the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things has grown from a cult hit to a major pop culture phenomenon. It began as a relatively grounded small-town mystery that followed a sheriff searching for a lost child, while the kid’s friends come across a mysterious girl with psychic powers and a monster from an alternate dimension. Previous seasons had been set in Hawkins, so following the Byers as they head out of state seemed like an odd direction for the fourth. However, Stranger Things season 4 is a far cry from its original story and vibe. Stranger Things season 1 fused sci-fi tropes, horror elements, and 80s coming-of-age nostalgia unlike anything else on TV at that time. The series became a massive success for streaming service Netflix thanks to its impressive cast, intriguing overarching mystery, and chilling villains. But all good things must come to an end, and the finale of Stranger Things season 3 saw some major character exits, namely Hopper's "death" (which Stranger Things season 4 then reversed) and the Byers family's departure from Hawkins, heading out West with Eleven in tow. Hopper isn't actually dead, but Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and his adopted daughter Eleven are very much out of Hawkins at the start of Stranger Things season 4, having left behind a crestfallen Mike – and a pretty upset Dustin, Lucas, and Max, too, presumably. The Byers' emigration from Hawkins at the end of Stranger Things season 3 was bittersweet, but it’s also the only decision that makes sense in practical, character, and narrative terms. In Stranger Things season 4, it becomes clear that why the Byers left Hawkins was to start a new life in California. Joyce, Will, Jonathan, and Eleven don't find the happiness they were seeking, however. While they're clear of Hawkins, the Upside Down weirdness they were fleeing wasn't yet done with them. Why Joyce Was Wrong To Leave Hawkins While leaving Hawkins may have been the right call for the Byers clan, there’s a reasonable case to be made against the decision that Joyce made for her family. After all, the choice to leave Hawkins broke up Eleven, Mike, Jonathan, and Nancy ahead of Stranger Things season 4, a difficult decision the Byers boys should've had a say in. Jonathan, Will, and Eleven experienced a lot of trauma, and these relationships were sources of stability in their chaotic lives, so severing those ties wasn’t something to be decided lightly. While Joyce believed a new start was the best thing for the Byers, "normal" life in California doesn't pan out. Not only does the weirdness inevitably follow them from Hawkins, but Eleven is targeted by bullies in her new school. So why did the Byers family leave Hawkins? The Upside Down might be the easy answer, but underlying psychological factors could underpin the justification for Joyce Byers's decision. For Demogorgon victim Will Byers, Hawkins is home to many traumas for him and his family. But it’s also home to all of his friends, too. It also had a familiar school he was just getting reintegrated into after not one, but two long absences due to extra-dimensional shenanigans. With that in mind, it’s fair to suggest that uprooting Jonathan and Will Byers, not to mention Eleven, caused even more problems for kids who have already been through plenty over the course of Stranger Things seasons 1-3. Why Joyce Was Right To Leave HawkinsThat said, traumatic memories weren’t the only thing that lead the Byers clan to flee Hawkins before Stranger Things season 4. In practical terms, the town is still home to Hawkins lab, the villainous facility that experimented on El and Will and caused most of their traumatic memories in the first place. While the Starcourt Mall may be gone – along with its secret Soviet base and Billy’s Mind Flaying monster form – Hawkins Lab is operational to some extent. Joyce's logic was that while physical distance could keep the Byers out of reach of Hawkins Lab, Stranger Things season 4 showed they were easily able to track down Joyce, Will, and Eleven in California too. All this is without even mentioning the Gate contained in Hawkins, an Eldritch location between dimensions that (so far as Joyce knew at the end of Stranger Things season 3) led directly to Hopper and Bob Newby’s deaths. Joyce’s survival instinct is more than justified in booking it out of Hawkins ASAP – something her kids may struggle to accept but which is easy to understand. Jonathan and Eleven can’t have their respective teen romances from beyond the grave, after all. And on the subject of Stranger Things romances, it’s worth remembering that outside of safety, Joyce may also want to leave behind the site of her last two love interests’ (apparent) gruesome deaths for the sake of her own emotional stability. The Real Reason That The Byers Left Hawkins
A movie away for the Byers was inevitable. With the entire staff of the local newspaper reduced to part of Billy’s blob monster, Jonathan no longer had any income, and a small American town in the middle of the 1980s isn’t a location brimming with high-income opportunities for a high school graduate. Meanwhile, working-class single mother Joyce can’t hope to support her offspring – especially with a new mouth to feed in the form of Eleven, and particularly when the General Store employing her is now shuttered. It was impractical and even impossible for the Byers to afford life in Hawkins, giving them a concrete reason to get out of dodge even without taking the Stephen King-inspired monsters of Stranger Things into account. Even though the move to California ultimately doesn't keep the Byers safe from the titular stranger things in Stranger Things, it does at least opportune Joyce with a more viable means of income – selling encyclopedias over the phone. The Byers Are Everywhere But Hawkins In Stranger Things Season 4
Hawkins has been the main location for Stranger Things, and the Byers were central characters, so their departure changed the direction of the show. There was concern they'd been written out, even though it would have been next to impossible to continue the show's main story arcs without them. Despite the Byers' and Eleven's heartstring-tugging departure from Hawkins at the end of season 3 (a difficult choice even with Hawkins' monsters), Stranger Things season 4 saw all of them return to the story. Season 4 started with the Byers in California, but they don't remain long. By the end of the first episode wheels are already in motion that will see the Byers travel both across the globe and between dimensions. The Byers are back in Stranger Things season 4 – just not in Hawkins. Stranger Things season 4 offered Joyce another opportunity for puzzle-solving, as she received a package that confirmed Hopper was still alive in Kamchatka, Russia. She travels there, reuniting with Hopper after an ill-fated detour to deliver a $40,000 bribe in Alaska first. The rest of the Byers are equally well-traveled by the time season 4 concludes. Eleven has been to an abandoned ICBM facility in Nevada, and Will and Jonathan both travel with Mike to Salt Lake City, Utah, to get help from Dustin's girlfriend Suzie. And, of course, all of the Byers clan find themselves back in the Upside Down at various points in Stranger Things season 4. Life in Lenora, CA Has Changed The Byers - Which Was The Whole PointAfter leaving Hawkins, the Byers family moved to a California setting in Stranger Things season 4, specifically to the fictional town of Lenora Hills. This was a shocking change of direction for the series, which had been pretty much exclusively set in Hawkins until that point. However, it was a natural direction for Stranger Things to take; one that allowed the Byers to grow as characters and become the protagonists that Stranger Things season 4 needed. Time in Cali has proved to Joyce that she can make it on her own, without the constant watchful eyes of the Hawkins community judging her every move. This no doubt gave her the confidence to head all the way to Russia and rescue Hopper (even though it didn't exactly go according to plan). Jonathan, too, has evolved, becoming lost in marijuana smoke with his pizza-slinging buddy Argyle. He's not the considered, sensitive Jonathan of old – he's scatty, tired, distant, and constantly high. Coming of age isn't just learning the important lessons about teamwork and riding off into the sunset, and the show explores how getting lost can be just as central to adulthood, portraying the flipside of his brother Will's growth and relative maturity. Stranger Things' Jonathan and Nancy storyline, which sees them growing distant, supports this. Eleven and Will's difficult reintegration into the normal world has also had an impact. Stranger Things season 4's California setting also underpins the coming-of-age themes of the Stranger Things story. Eleven and Will are 15 in season 4, on the cusp of adulthood. The mirroring of the uncertainty around adulthood is reflected perfectly in having to tackle the Upside Down and NINA project without the rest of The Party or the familiarity of Hawkins itself close by. They aren't dealing with Stranger Things anymore, but stranger surroundings too, and the toll this takes on their psyche is all-too-apparent in Season 4. More: Stranger Things Season 4 Is Repeating A Major Season 2 & 3 Mistake Want more Stranger Things season 4 articles? Check out our essential content below...
Where did Will Byers and Eleven move to?Following the events of July 4, 1985, Eleven began residing with the Byers. In October, 1985, Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and Eleven moved away from Hawkins. They settled in another house in Lenora Hills, California. Dr.
Why did the Byers move to California?With his presumed death putting an end to that promise, Joyce finally decided to move out of the cursed town that had tormented her family so relentlessly. She and her boys moved to California, joined by El, who had lost both her adoptive father and her powers while fighting the Mind Flayer.
Where did the Byers move after season 3?After leaving Hawkins, the Byers family moved to a California setting in Stranger Things season 4, specifically to the fictional town of Lenora Hills. This was a shocking change of direction for the series, which had been pretty much exclusively set in Hawkins until that point.
Where are the Byers living now?ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – In the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, the Byers family moved to a new home in California in Season 4. In real life, the Asher family owns the home, which is actually in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “The house is really fun.
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Where did the Byers move to?
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