Stranger Things season 4

Stranger Things season 4 review by Dominic Rizzi

Created by: Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer

Rating: 🏆 most excellent

Set in March 1986, eight months after the events of the third season, the fourth season is split between different plotlines. The first plotline takes place in Hawkins where several teenagers are killed in mysterious ways. This causes Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Max Mayfield, Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & newcomer Eddie Munson, the leader of the Hellfire Club; a Dungeons & Dragons group, to investigate and discover that the murders were carried out by a powerful being that lives in the Upside Down, an entity who they later dubbed Vecna. 

The second plotline involves Mike Wheeler visiting Eleven, Will and Jonathan Byers at their new home in California. Due to the events in Hawkins and the imminent danger to her friends, Eleven goes with Dr. Martin Brenner and Sam Owens to a secret facility to help her regain her powers. Mike, Will, Jonathan and Jonathan's friend Argyle try to track Eleven down. 

The third plotline follows Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman who learn that Jim Hopper may still be alive and are told to bring money to arrange for his transfer. Meanwhile, in a Russian gulag in Kamchatka, Hopper is held prisoner and is forced alongside other inmates to battle a Demogorgon that the Russians have captured.

God DAMN that finale. Two and a half hours long and worth every minute. I love this show so much. It started out as a cute little homage to some of the classic greats, mixing all the best of the coming of age and horror genres, and has now turned into a pop culture phenomenon that ultimately made Netflix the powerhouse that it is. While the subsequent two seasons following the first were hit or miss for people, depending on their preferences, I really have to hand it to the Duffer bros. for finally delivering on the promise that Season 1 set up. 

All the characters have grown and matured so much, the actors are all right at home playing these characters, and by god did they earn each and every single emotional gut punch that this very, VERY long season threw at us. Not to mention this is probably the most bittersweet ending since the first season. Actually, forget bittersweet, I can’t sugarcoat it, this finale is downright depressing. I think the reason I keep coming back to this show is that the Duffers understand the stakes, and they understand that the key to making said stakes believable is their characters, not the plot mechanics. It’s the characters that drive the story, which I think is also the reason why the villain this season was the best, because it's the first time the villain was an actual character with a backstory and motivation, not just another CG blob for the characters to punch into another dimension. But through all the craziness, continent-hopping, monsters both physical and metaphysical, this show continues to be about real human beings with thoughts, emotions, and unlikely friendships they've forged that help them get through their trials, struggles, and tribulations. We laugh with them, we get mad at them for making dumb decisions, we cry with them, and we do it because above all else, we love these characters.

That's why this show gets the credit it deserves, why it’s the phenomenon that it is, for just having amazing characters. And without spoiling anything, this finale, on top of all the other AWESOME stuff it delivered (and my god there is a lot, I'd need a whole second review just to cover all the spoilers and crazy stuff that happens) sets us up for a gangbusters final season. Now let's just hope that the Duffers come up with a really awesome way to bring this show home, because man, this season is going to be tough to beat.

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