Stranger Things: Season 4 Review

Stranger Things, in my mind, has always been a perfect example of TV done right. It manages to hit every nail on the head. From its ensemble of characters, thematic influences, and writing to the acting performances on part of its cast, it has justified its mainstay in popular culture over and over again. I remember the first time I opened Netflix to come across its first season. The images looked interesting and the trailer definitely had me curious. Mind you, nobody was talking about it then as the show had just come out. A few episodes in and I was blown out of my mind, I had no idea a show about some kids could be this engaging. It had me empathizing with every one of their problems. From the generic smaller-sized dismissible ones to the Demogorgon-sized world-threatening ones. The fact that the show was set in the 1980s and had an overarching Dungeons and Dragons motif was what set it apart. It was nothing like anything on TV at that time. Everything about it felt inspired and implied profound lore that was yet to be explored. I wanted to talk to everyone about it. Of course, by the time I would finish it everyone would already be talking about it.

From then on Stranger Things would keep doing the thing it does best. Deliver a one of a kind horror and adventure experience. Each one of its newer seasons would feature an entirely new threat while expanding on what happened in Hawkins that started it all. Characters would come into their own as they dealt with love and loss and knots about the origin of Eleven would come undone. The last time we saw the gang they went up against the Mind Flayer, an otherworldly entity that could control minds and wreaked all sorts of havoc in Hawkins. The threat of the Mind Flayer was successfully contained, but not before dealing some pretty tragic losses to our heroes as well.

Season 4 finds the cast recuperating from the loss of Hopper and Billy. The kids now find themselves growing into adults and monsters from the upside-down are the least of their problems. On the one hand, there’s Eleven who’s having trouble fitting in and dealing with her version of the mean girls, while on the other there’s Lucas who’s dealing with a different kind of alienation as he becomes more popular due to being on the basketball team. And if you didn’t recall, the gang’s all separated now, with Eleven moving to California with Joyce, Will, and Jonathan. Of course, how could we forget Maya and Jonathan, who still continue to be friends and find common ground in bonding over their romantic misadventures. While all of this happens in the foreground, something eerie brews in the shadows. What would Stranger Things be without that, right?

I was surprised by how this season took a no-holds-barred approach to the gore and violence. Given how the previous seasons have been a bit slow, season 4 gives us no time to prepare for the shock that awaits us. As familiar faces turn into victims one after another, that too in increasingly gruesome ways, there’s a sense of hurry in catching the one responsible. The creature targets people harboring pain and trauma, something that makes them vulnerable to his attacks from beyond the tear in reality. That makes Max a prime victim, who’s shouldering the weight of Billy’s death and becoming increasingly alone while dealing with it. Certainly, her arc in this season makes for the most emotionally compelling one with episode “Dear Billy” being the strongest in the season. For her to eventually let her walls down and let her friends save her makes for a great message. More than anything Stranger Things is about the power of human bonds and the joys of kinship and camaraderie.

While we’re talking about the baddie, a villain more sinister than anything before, it’s worth mentioning that they are someone who has a connection to Eleven’s past at the Hawkins Lab. So far, the villains have been mindless puppets of chaos so I can appreciate Stranger Things changing it up this time around with someone who has a method to his madness. As cool a name Vecna is, I have to talk about how absolutely menacing he looks. Credits to the creature designers where it’s due, they’ve continued to deliver throughout. Not only does this add depth to the upside-down but it also makes an impressive argument for practical effects in Hollywood, a practice that’s dwindling due to tighter budgets and deadlines.

The season does go on a downward decline a little after Episode Four, but it’s in no way bad or uninteresting. There are a whole bunch of things happening, and while it does get a little exhausting to keep track of it all, we have the characters to keep us company. Season 4 manages to introduce a couple of new ones with Eddie Munson being my favorite of them all. He’s brimming with personality and the Stranger Things directors obviously saw the potential in him as he quickly becomes part of the OG gang.

Everything considered, Stranger Things Season 4 is arguably the strongest season after the first one. With the final pieces of Eleven’s origin coming into place and fresh characters joining the main cast, along with a villain that’s nothing like anything the gang’s faced before, it sets the stage for the show’s final season in spectacular fashion.