STRANGER THINGS (Season 4, Volume 1)

 

Stranger Things Season 4 Review

Before we get started--as was the case when I reviewed the second and third seasons of Stranger Things, I'm going to slap a Spoiler Alert on here--this review will reveal some stuff about Season 4, as well as dip into the previous seasons...proceed with caution. 

Extreme caution

At the end of Season 3, we saw Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and her kids, Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), along with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), packing up and leaving Hawkins--they landed in California, and the start of Season 4 catches up with them there. Joyce sells encyclopedias (Google it, youngsters), Will misses his friends, Jonathan is a stoner, and Eleven, going by the name Jane Hopper, is picked on by classmates and, as seen near the end of Season 3, no longer has her powers. 

"Why did we leave Hawkins again?"

Meanwhile, back in Hawkins, Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke) are still BFFs, working at the video store and trying to pick up chicks. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) is on the basketball team, trying to fit in with the cool kids and distance himself from his nerdy friends. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is struggling with being so far from Jonathan. Max (Sadie Sink) has been trying to come to grips with the loss of her brother and is battling headaches and PTSD. Finally, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) have joined a new group of older D&D players known as the Hellfire Club, headed up by bad boy (but not really) Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn).

I'm pretty sure I went to high school with this guy

Last but not least (or maybe so), and this should come as no surprise at all if you have followed Stranger Things at least a little bit the past few years, Jim Hopper (David Harbour) survived Season 3--he's been captured by the Russians and is now in the deadliest of all Russian prisons. 

I'd rather fight the Mind Flayer

The first thing you will likely notice with Season 4 is how the kids have aged--it's been 3 years since Season 3 was released, but in the show, only about half a year has passed. This, of course, has a lot to do with COVID, but it can be jarring seeing the characters who are supposed to be 15 looking more like they're 20, and those who are supposed to be 18 looking like they're pushing 30. It's a challenge to get past this, but you'll get there. The first couple episodes take off slowly--there is a certain feel to Stranger Things, and the first episodes of this season don't quite capture that. As the season moves on, however, there is this wonderful combination of capturing the general feel of the first season while also going in a whole new direction--specifically, season four is less sci-fi and more direct horror. The death scenes are more graphic than anything else we've seen in the series, and there is an overwhelming sense of dread throughout.

The stuff of nightmares?

Hawkins is seeing a series of mysterious deaths, and while the adults (and a group of particularly irritating high school students) blame Eddie (this being in the midst of the infamous Satanic panic of the 1980's, after all), our heroes know better, and go into the Upside Down to find the true culprit--Vecna, a creature who preys on the minds of those with emotional issues as a result of traumatic events. This hellish world is lit up red, with vicious bat-like creatures attacking from all directions. With it's not-so subtle nod to A Nightmare on Elm Street, the visuals of the Upside Down this season are stunning. The colors changing from location to location are effective, and the overall feel is genuinely creepy.

And getting back is fun

Mike, who has travelled out to California for spring break, joins his friends in helping out those back in Hawkins. Eleven is brought into custody for assaulting a bully, but is rescued from the police by Sam Owens (Paul Reiser), who takes her to an abandoned missile silo to work on getting her powers back. The California group split also has Joyce, with the assistance of Murray (Brett Gelman), heading off to Alaska (and Russia) to attempt to rescue Hopper. 

"See him anywhere?"

Believe it or not, this is kind of scratching the surface of everything going on in the fourth season of Stranger Things--honestly, I could go on and on, but I don't want to give away absolutely everything. The acting from the people we're familiar with is on par with what you expect, though some of the characters are written in ways you may not expect--this comes with mixed results, with Max and Lucas both heading in interesting directions. On the flip side, Steve is seemingly dumbed down more (and this is pointed out by other characters) and Robin's character changes so much it's almost as if she's an entirely different person--this may be explained in part by the character coming out near the end of season three and being more comfortable in her own skin, but I don't believe this completely explains the changes in the character. She's gone from witty and sharp to much more air-headed, almost as if she never recovered from the drugging the Russians laid on her the previous season. The old relationship between Steve and Nancy is revisited, and the teasing of them getting back together is heavy. 

"Can't you see us together forever?"

As is tradition, we also meet some new characters--we have Eddie, who will annoy you before you get to see he may actually have some decent qualities (on a side note, when I first saw the character, I thought he was a teacher--a quick Google search reveals Joseph Quinn is 29 years old). Quinn does have the acting chops needed to make the character believable--less believable is Eduardo Franco as Argyle, Jonathan's stoner sidekick who is as cliché as any pot-smoking character in any form of entertainment--he's not interesting, not funny, and is quite possibly the worst character we've seen in the series. The basketball players are a bore, we get an almost carbon copy, Russian version of Murray, and some special agents that do nothing to stand out. On the brighter side, Tom Wlaschiha does a good job as Enzo, and Jamie Campbell Bower is fantastic as a friendly orderly who houses some secrets.

One, specifically

Music plays a huge role in this season, of course, but in more ways than one, as it is the main key to a major plot point. The original music is cool, but the 80's tunes don't shine as much as they did in years prior; there are, however, some gems here and there, and I suspect Kate Bush is about to see her popularity soar to heights not reached in 30 years. 

Maybe she made a deal with God

The episodes have a longer running time than in previous seasons--the first two episodes are slow coming out of the gate, but the five that follow more than make up for that. All the action will keep you glued right up until the cliffhanger...wait, cliffhanger? Indeed, what was released this weekend was not the entire season--instead, what we have seen to this point is Volume 1, with Volume 2 set for release July 1. Hey, we waited this long for a new season, what's another month for the last part of it? Volume 2 will consist of two episodes--my excitement level is cautiously high, and I really, really hope the horror theme is continued. I'm sure I'll be watching that first weekend, so check back for the conclusion of this review soon after!

My Vol. 2 Review can be found here