Warning: Spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, episode 2!
Stranger Things season 4 confirms that Hopper is alive and finally answers how he survived his apparent death in Stranger Things season 3. Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Hawkins police chief, seemingly paid the ultimate price to close the Russian Gate under Starcourt Mall, but a different fate was teased in Stranger Things season 3's post-credits scene. Then, the first season 4 teaser officially confirmed that Harbour's character actually survived the event.
During the attempt to close the Gate to the Upside Down under the mall, Hopper and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) were met by Grigori (Andrey Ivchenko), the Russians' Terminator-like comrade. Hopper and Grigori got into another tussle, spilling out of the control room and onto the platform next to the machine attempting to crack open the Gate. After killing Grigori, Hopper's path back to the control room was blocked, so he bravely nodded to Joyce to close the Gate, essentially sacrificing himself. Joyce tearfully did so, destroying the machine and evaporating everyone nearby.
Hopper's survival for Stranger Things season 4 was a major theory stemming from the post-credits sequence, but the first teaser footage was the first concrete proof. He was shown working on a railroad in Russia under armed guard with other prisoners. The details surrounding Hopper's survival remained as one of the biggest questions heading into season 4, and episode 2, "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse," provided the answer.
How Hopper Survived The Gate Room Explosion
Stranger Things season 4, episode 2, "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse," started by replaying the events moments prior to Hopper's apparent death. When Joyce turned the two keys to close the Gate, the machine began to malfunction just like the one seen in Russia in Stranger Things season 3. As the machine started to explode, Hopper decided to run down the platform toward the Gate, flying into the air from the explosion. Rather than evaporate like the Russian technicians, Hopper landed on the ground in the midst of fiery wreckage. The explosion seemingly propelled him away from the disintegrating effects of the machine and away from the real blast radius.
There were many theories suggesting that Hopper found a hidden door or safe place to crawl into during the explosion. However, the blast threw him far enough to evade death. Since he was under what was left of the machine, Joyce and Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) didn't see his body. He remained unconscious and unable to reach out to his friends before they escaped the room. Even though Sam Owen (Paul Reiser) and Army officials infiltrated the underground base shortly after, Hopper was taken by then.
How The Russians Took Jim Hopper
After Hopper regained consciousness, he was quickly met by a group of Russian soldiers who instantly took him into custody. Stranger Things season 4's "Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse" featured several flashbacks to the events following Hopper's survival. The comrades took him into custody in an unknown Russian location and violently interrogated him. They wanted answers on Joyce's identity, which Jim, of course, refused to give up being the protective ally he is. The Russians then tortured Jim by putting an elephant-like mask on him before cutting off his oxygen.
The Russian soldier in charge then decided to spare Hopper's life by sending him to "Hell," aka Kamchatka, Russia, answering how Harbour's character ended up in the prison wasteland. Hopper was then shown getting his head shaved and imprisoned within a maximum security facility. He will seemingly be forced to in a labor camp as a prisoner of the "Motherland," which also holds creatures of the Upside Down like the Demogorgon seen in Stranger Things season 3's post-credits.
What Jim Hopper's Russian Labor Camp Detention Sets Up
Stranger Things season 4 reveals that big things are in store for Jim Hopper during his time at the Russian prison labor camp in Kamchatka. In the trailer, Hopper and others were seen fighting of an unseen an attacker before he lights a makeshift spear on fire and appears to fight a Demogorgon. He then questions why he was put in the facility in the first place, and what purpose he has there. However, Hopper looks to have made a deal with a prison guard named Dmitri (Tom Wlaschiha).
Dmitri sent Joyce a package containing somewhat of a ransom note that held a phone number. Upon calling the number, Joyce and Murray came in contact with the Russian guard, who wanted $40,000 in exchange for getting Hopper "unstuck." The pair put the clues together that Hopper likely bribed Dmitri to break him out of the Kamchatka labor camp. Granted, he set off a chain of events, bringing Joyce and Murray to directly help Hopper. Even with the help of Joyce, Murray, and bribed guards, Hopper will have more to worry about than just Russians in the rest of Stranger Things season 4.