This review contains some spoilers, but still leaves plenty to anticipate.
The new installment of the Duffer brothers’ hit series is fast-paced, funny and genuinely creepy. Stranger Things returns with a formidable fourth season, made up of nine episodes that mark ‘The beginning of the end’ of the adventures in Hawkins, Indiana.
The fourth season of Stranger Things is the biggest to date, and not just because the series moves away from Hawkins, but because of the remarkable investment Netflix has made, with a budget of $30 million per episode. The first volume of the season premiered at the end of May, while the second premiered in early July.
Although Stranger Things retains its initial charm – retro, youthful, with an air of mystery – the fiction has had a remarkable evolution in relation to its previous installments. The fourth season is visually surprising and much more ambitious, dark and disturbing than what had been seen so far.
The cast has become more mature and forceful, the battles have become much more fierce and the terror has reached an unexpected level, in the best style of The Exorcist and Nightmare on Elm Street. Everything is more daring and dangerous. This time military bases, secret experiments, Russian prisons, helicopters, flamethrowers, and creepy supernatural forces in the Upside Down are added to the story.
Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1
The show is set exactly in the year 1986, just half a year after the third installment. For the first time, the main characters are separated and still dealing with the aftermath of the terrible events at the Starcourt Mall. As teenagers, the Hawkins gang has to cope with problems related to high school, young love, and the search for their own identity. At the same time, a new threat is brewing in Hawkins, posing the most challenging danger they have ever faced.
This installment is composed of four intertwining plot lines. As expected, the first plot takes place in Hawkins, where macabre and inexplicable murders begin to take place; the violence is explicit. Almost immediately, this season’s villain, the sinister Vecna, is introduced. This is a supernatural entity that stalks and murders young people with traumatic pasts. There, much of the gang, Nancy, Dustin, Lucas, Robin, Max, and Steve begin to investigate the origin of the new threat and try to figure out how to deal with it.
The second storyline is set in California, and tells of the readjustments the Byers family has had to make after the violent battle at Starcourt. Eleven, Joyce, Jonathan and Will try to adjust to life in California. They all seek to move on and let go of the past but their hearts and interests irretrievably remain in Hawkins.
The third dramatic line focuses on Jim Hopper, who is held in a Russian prison and is the victim of savagery and atrocities. Despite the adversities, the stubborn chief of police of Hawkins never allows himself to be subdued. While appearing submissive, he secretly works for his freedom. Soon, an unlikely cavalry arrives. Murray and Joyce, who manage to get inside the prison, are ready for anything.
Somehow, despite the large number of characters that have been added to the story, most of them have an appreciable moment on screen. Obviously, some plot lines stand out more than others. But, you can sense that the Duffer brothers have made an honest effort to give dimension and weight to their characters, though with so many ramifications there can sometimes be certain omissions.
It is noteworthy that the first volume of the fourth season of Stranger Things set a new record for views on Netflix. So far, it is the best debut in the history of the platform.
Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2
The second batch of the series is made up of two extensive chapters. Episode eight is 1 hour and 25 minutes long and episode nine is over 2 hours long. It should be added that Stranger Things is heading towards its conclusion since its creators do not intend to go beyond a fifth season.
The second volume picks up exactly where the previous one ended and brings a worthy close to the fourth installment of the fiction. Overall, there are knockout performances, great action sequences, epic musical moments, and some of the most remarkable scenes since the show’s launch. Stranger Things 4 has a pretty satisfying resolution.
In the final episodes, everything is woven together at high speed. After the revelation of the true identity of Vecna – as Henry Creel / lab subject Number One – Eleven becomes aware of the enormous risk involved and prepares to put up an unprecedented fight.
Meanwhile, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Erica, Nancy, Robin, Steve and Eddie decide to take justice into their own hands and devise a daring plan to save their loved ones and their town. Divided into strategic groups, they resolve to deceive Vecna and fight him while he is in a trance state, during which time he becomes more vulnerable. The plan is essentially for Lucas, Erica and Max to provoke the monstrous creature to connect with Max and consequently lower its guard. Then, Nancy, Steve and Robin cross the Upside Down to attack and eliminate him. However, although every move has been coldly calculated, and all the members of the gang are armed and ready, unforeseen events are not long in coming.
In the Soviet Union, Hopper, Joyce and Murray, with the help of a smuggler and a soldier, fight a powerful Demogorgon and seek to make their way home. Although there is not much time for romance, Hopper and Joyce indulge in a very brief rapprochement that is both awkward and charming.
For their part, Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle travel to Nevada to reunite with Eleven. There are military components, chases, and explosions that make the task difficult. Eleven, aware of the danger lurking in Hawkins, decides to intervene in the battle, albeit remotely. The teenager, with the support of her friends, enters Max’s mind to meet her and save her. Then, the inevitable and crude confrontation between Eleven and Vecna occurs. Many uncomfortable truths are revealed.
From any geographical point, the danger persists and the darkness takes its toll on the members of the gang. The feeling that all is lost prevails and that uneasiness keeps the viewer bristling. There is barely a second to stop and process everything that happens on the screen.
How does the season end? Almost the entire Hawkins gang makes it out of the final fight alive. However, there are deeply poignant losses, and the most alarming and immediate consequence is that the barrier between reality and the Upside Down is broken for good. In advance, this promises an unrelenting and even more engaging fifth season.
Actresses Millie Bobby Brown and Sadie Sink give two of their best performances in the series so far. Millie Bobby Brown handles herself with aplomb, allowing herself moments of great vulnerability and also great strength. Sadie Sink experiences an enviable emotional range, the way she deals with the grieving process, guilt and isolation is truly impressive. Noah Schnapp projects himself like never before and gives a glimpse of the tough inner struggle Will goes through in the series. After spending much of the season in the background, Schnapp shows how far he has come as an actor.
Also of note is one of the new additions to the cast, Joseph Quinn. The actor who plays Eddie Munson gives one of the most electrifying scenes. It is fair to say that Eddie became the unexpected hero of Hawkins. The performance of Master of Puppets was simply mind-blowing.
It is clear that this fiction continues to be one of the greatest pieces of entertainment on the small screen. The two volumes of the fourth season preserve and exalt all the characteristic elements of the show, among which stand out: an out-of-the-ordinary villain, a gigantic mystery to be solved, a gang of rebels learning to grow up, and a lot of references and tributes to the eighties era.
Although there is still no official date for the release of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, it is possible that it will premiere sometime in 2024. Everything will depend on when the filming process begins.
Image and Gage Skidmore
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