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Audiences were introduced to the horrifying creature known as the Demogorgon in Stranger Things Season 1. Since then, we’ve seen different forms of the monster in various stages of its life cycle but is the creature we see walking on two legs the final stage? Is there something even worse that comes next? Here’s what we know.

A screengrab of the Demogorgon from the official FoundFlix Youtube channel.
A full-grown Demogorgon | Official Found Flix YouTube Channel

‘Stranger Things’ Season 1 shows us the slug and a Demogorgon

Throughout most Stranger Things Season 1, audiences aren’t concerned with whether or not the Demogorgon is full-grown. We just knew it was terrifying, and it was eating the residents of Hawkins. The monster has a humanoid shape and walks on two legs with two gangly arms to help rip apart its victims.

After being captured and held captive in the Upside Down, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is finally rescued and seemingly fine. Maybe traumatized for life, but overall, the kid seems to be doing OK. It isn’t until in the very last scene of the first season when we see him cough up a slug-like creature into the sink as the world around him flashed, for a brief second, to the Upside Down. Little did anyone know that was a baby Demogorgon.

‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 showed us a few different stages of the Demogorgon

When Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) discovers a creature thrashing around in his trashcan at the end of the second season’s premiere episode, audiences don’t get a look at what it is until the next episode. When it’s finally revealed, it’s almost, dare we say, cute? Like a tadpole, Dustin names him Dart (short for D’Artagnan from The Three Musketeers) and promptly makes him a tiny home in his pet turtle’s terrarium. 

Dustin is convinced he’s discovered a new species and is hesitant to let Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), the boy’s favorite teacher, in on his secret. However, the pollywog, which Stranger Things Season 2, Chapter 2, calls the creature, quickly sprouts legs and begins to resemble more of a lizard than a tadpole.

After Dart gets loose and scampers around Hawkins Middle School, Dustin eventually finds him and doesn’t tell his friends who believe the creature is from the Upside Down. He takes him back home, but the next day discovers Dart snacking on his pet cat, Mews. (RIP Mews.) At this point, the monster has grown to be bigger than an average-sized housecat. It now has a taste for blood. Dustin traps him in his cellar and recruits Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) for help.

Audiences thought Dart might be the only creature like that wandering around Hawkins, but we were wrong. Later in the season, we see numerous monsters we now refer to as Demodogs. A group of them is responsible for taking out Bob Newby, Superhero, played by Sean Astin.

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As of now, it’s presumed the creature has 6 stages in its lifecycle, ending with the Demogorgon

According to the Stranger Things Wiki, most believe the Demogorgon is the final stage in the life cycle of the monster. There are six stages total and are as follows:

  1. Slug
  2. Pollywog
  3. Frogogorgon
  4. Catogorgon
  5. Demodog
  6. Demogorgon

The Duffer Brothers, the creators behind Stranger Things have not confirmed any of this. It’s only what’s been observed by fans in episodes. There’s a chance there are more stages to the Demogorgon’s life cycle, but it seems like it would be hard to get scarier than the creature we saw take Will Byers in Stranger Things Season 1.

If you’d like to do your own investigating regarding the life cycle of the monster, the first three seasons of Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix. Stranger Things Season 4 will premiere sometime in 2022.

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