7 Stranger Things moments that became iconic because of the background score

Netflix has announced the premiere of Stranger Things' final season, which will release in November 2025. The season will depict whether Hawkins and its residents survive Vecna or not. Premiered in 2016, Stranger Things has become one of the most popular sci-fi horror shows on Netflix.

The show began with Will Byers' disappearance and Mike and the gang finding Eleven, who later helps them find Will and also has fought with the forces of the Upside Down, saving her friends and the lives of numerous people in Hawkins. Apart from the compelling narrative, Stranger Things is also popular for its use of music to make scenes more powerful. Furthermore, in season 4, we found out how powerful music is for the series as it helped defeat Vecna and save Max’s life.

Here’s a list of 7 such moments where the background score made the scenes more iconic in Stranger Things.

Disclaimer: This entire article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

7 Stranger Things moments that became iconic because of the background score

7) Mike looks for Eleven while Hopper and Joyce rescue Will (Season 1, Chapter 8)

The end of season 1 of Stranger Things was sad and happy at the same time. The gang, with the help of Eleven, succeeded in locating Will, who was later saved by Hopper and Joyce. While Will is saved by his mother, Eleven, on the other hand, is at a loss when she fights with the monster and says goodbye to Mike before vanishing.

Mike frantically calls out El’s name, but she doesn’t appear. While all these important moments appear on screen, Moby’s When It's Cold I'd Like to Die keeps playing. In between, we see flashbacks of Hopper’s daughter dying, Joyce trying to save Will, and Mike calling out to El, making an impactful scene with a terrific background score.

6) Eleven and Mike’s first dance at the Snow Ball (Season 2, Chapter 9)

Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things | Image via Instagram:strangerthingstv

After spending most of the season trying to contact El, Mike gets a wonderful surprise when she comes back to Hawkins to help them fight the demogorgons and try to close the gate upside down. After closing the gate using Kali’s technique of channeling her anger, they are relieved with the closing of the Hawkins Lab and preparing for the school’s dance.

Eleven is Mike’s date, and when she arrives at the Snow Ball, Every Breath You Take by The Police begins playing. They dance to the tune of the song, making it the perfect song for the couple who have stayed away from each other for almost all of season 2 of Stranger Things.

5) The boys play D&D (Season 1, Chapter 1)

Cast of Stranger Things | Image via Instagram: strangerthingstv

In season 1 of Stranger Things, The Kids by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein plays multiple times. The opening scene, where the boys finish playing D&D, or when they play after Will comes back from the Upside Down, this background score appears.

The score is addictive and synonymous with whenever all of the boys are together, depicting an important moment in the Netflix show.

4) Eleven sees Will’s Picture (Season 1, Chapter 2)

After finding Eleven in the forest while looking for Will in Stranger Things season 1, Mike brings her home. She hides in the basement most of the time, not to be found out by Mike’s family. As she looks at all the pictures, Mike introduces everyone when Eleven gets focused on Will’s face, recognizing him from perhaps seeing him in the Upside Down. That’s when this scary background score titled The Upside Down first appears in the series and adds to the dark atmosphere shown in the scene.

This background score can be heard whenever any of the characters find something related to the Upside Down. For example, when Eleven locates Will in the D&D board or when Nancy compares the demogorgon’s hunting ability to a shark, depicting the ominous details about the Upside Down.

3) Billy recognizes Eleven (season 3, Chapter 3)

As Max and El become suspicious of Billy after Heather does not show up at work, they go to her house, where they find Billy. When Billy asks Max why she was there, he notices El with her.

While Danger Danger by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein plays in the background, we notice that Billy might have recognized El as he had noticed her in the Void earlier in the episode. While El just has suspicions about Billy being the Mindflayer, the menacing look with which Billy looks at El, as the sharp tone of the score is heard in the background, makes the scene a frightening one that signals the impending wrath that will be brought later in the series.

2) El reads Hopper’s Speech (Season 3, Chapter 8)

The Byers' moving out was an emotional moment in Stranger Things. However, it becomes more sentimental when El begins reading Hopper’s letter to her while Peter Sandberg’s Deep plays in the background. The song itself is an emotional one, as it appears nostalgic and also fits into any scenario, whether happy or sad, enhancing the scene.

This is what it does in this particular scene when El reads the letter, and the background score adds to the delicate moment, perfectly fitting the atmosphere.

1) The final fight against Vecna (Season 4, Chapter 4)

Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill plays an important role in Season 4 of Stranger Things, as it's the song that saves Max from Vecna, and we discover that music may help in the fight against Vecna. In the epic finale of season 4, all the characters find themselves barely surviving the effects of the Upside Down after El is captured by Vecna with his tentacles in the Mind Palace.

However, Mike’s confession that he loves El and wants her to keep fighting helps El find her strength again. As Kate Bush’s song begins playing in the background, El frees herself from Vecna’s tentacles. In Russia, Joyce shocks the demogorgon with a shock stick, and Hopper and Murray set the place ablaze after trapping it in.

In the upside-down, Steve, Nancy, and Robin find the vulnerable body of Vecna, and Steve throws a flaming bottle at the body, which instantly catches fire. In the Mind Palace, in the attic in Upside Down, and in Russia, the characters successfully destroy any portion of Vecna as Steve and the gang burn Vecna’s body, making it weak as he withers before Eleven’s eyes. All of this happens while Running Up That Hill plays, making it the perfect hip background score as their fight against Vecna touches the last leg.