Stranger Things 3 Credits Scene Explained

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the finale of Stranger Things 3. Read at your own risk!]

Everyone's doing it nowadays, and Stranger Things is no exception. Why just end your season when you can tag on an end credit scene before the screen goes black? If you keep watching after the final frame of Season 3, you'll be treated to a quick mid-credit scene that expands the world of Stranger Things and also teases what's possibly coming next for the Netflix series.

To quickly recap the end of the season, after Hopper's (David Harbour) possible death, Joyce (Winona Ryder) decides it's time to move and she, Will (Noah Schnapp), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) pack up and go, taking Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) with them. Eleven has also apparently lost her powers as she's "recharging" so they can come back, and she's once again dating Mike (Finn Wolfhard), though now they're going to be long-distance. As for the rest of the kids, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) has a girlfriend (!!), Max (Sadie Sink) is grappling with the death of her older brother, Billy (Dacre Montgomery), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) is really just along for the ride and shocked that his younger sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) is too, and Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) have high hopes of working at the town's video store now that the mall isn't an option.

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It's a lot to process. And then there's more. Hopefully, you packed your snowsuit, because the Stranger Things end credit scene takes us to Russia.

Where does the Stranger Things end credit scene take place?
Kamchatka, Russia. Obviously. The year is unknown, though, as it's conspicuously missing -- the scenes at the beginning of the season were both dated.

Why are we in Russia?
The Soviets have secret bases were there are keys and gates to the Upside Down. We can assume that there's one in Kamchatka.

What are the Soviets doing at the base?
That's unclear. Whatever they're doing, it involves keeping prisoners locked up, including one that is suspiciously referred to as "the American."

Who is "the American" in the Soviet prison?
Let your theories run wild! The obvious guess is that it's Hopper, but that seems too obvious to be correct.

What are the Soviets doing with the prisoners?
Apparently they're torturing them -- with demogorgons! The Soviet prisoner the guards grabbed is dragged into a cage and then a door is opened to reveal a mid-size demogorgon. The season ends as soon as the demogorgon goes in to take a bite of the prisoner.

Will the Soviets be a part of Season 4?
Probably! Season 3 sets up the fact that whatever is happening in Hawkins is much bigger than anyone first realized. Are the kids going to have to learn how to read, write, and translate Russian? Honestly, they probably should before Season 4 picks up.

Stranger Things Season 3 is now streaming.