'Stranger Things' Season 3 scene proves Hopper is alive in Season 4

Chief Jim Hopper is alive and is hiding somewhere if a scene from Season 3 is any indication of his fate in "Stranger Things" Season 4.

Hopper (David Harbour) met his presumed death in the explosion at Star Court mall after Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) blew up the Russians' machine that drilled a hole into The Upside Down. However, his body was never found, which led fans to believe that he is still alive and is probably just hiding somewhere.

An eagle-eyed fan fuelled this speculation by pointing out one particular clue from the beginning of Season 3. Reddit user CSEnzley noticed that in the very first episode, the Russians killed those near the device's vicinity after they activated the device. The unfortunate ones disintegrated and turned into meaty mush.

However, this did not happen to Hopper. Instead, Joyce did not find any trace of him or whatever is left of him from the explosion.

"When Joyce is approaching the spot where Hopper was standing we get a shot aimed directly at the floor showing it to be completely spotless. Nothing anywhere," the fan wrote, adding that the "cut to black before the explosion" was made intentionally long.

"We're meant to feel it. It was 6 whole seconds long. Long enough for him to have made the leap into the Upside Down. He is very familiar with Gates as we know and there is a shot of him looking back at it before the explosion only to be found by Brenner and the Russians sometime during the three months that pass," CSEnzley continued.

The fan's theory coincides with what others believe; that Hopper leapt into the crack and into The Upside Down just as Joyce turned to look away when she activated the explosion. The camera focused on Joyce intentionally to avoid revealing Hopper's fate in "Stranger Things" Season 4.

The fan explained that the Russians bought land everywhere, so the detective could have landed anywhere besides Russia. This means that he may not necessarily be the American prisoner that the Russian soldiers mentioned at the end credits scene of Season 3.

Regardless, fans still have a long wait to find out of Hopper is alive or dead in "Stranger Things" Season 4. The Duffer Brothers refuse to share anything about his fate and Harbour admitted that he does not know if his character is in the installment of the Netflix series.