The Fourth of July provides the backdrop for the climax of season 3 of "Stranger Things." The season’s final events take place around July 4, 1985, as Hawkins celebrates with a carnival, fireworks, and the newly opened Starcourt Mall.
That holiday setting gives the finale its distinctive contrast between public celebration and hidden danger. While townspeople enjoy the festivities, Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, and Murray Bauman work to shut down the Soviet machine beneath Starcourt Mall. At the same time, the younger characters confront the Mind Flayer and its enormous physical form outside and inside the mall.
The climactic episode is titled “The Battle of Starcourt.” Billy Hargrove briefly breaks free from the Mind Flayer’s control to protect Eleven, while Joyce closes the gate to the Upside Down. The battle ends with the apparent death of Hopper and the destruction of Starcourt Mall’s secret facility.
Halloween is strongly associated with the show’s earlier seasons, especially season 2, but it is not the holiday framing season 3’s finale. Season 3 premiered on July 4, 2019, reinforcing its deliberate holiday theme.