Winona Ryder
Joyce Byers
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Episode Guide
- 9. Chapter Nine: The Piggyback Jul 1, 2022
- With selfless hearts and a clash of metal, heroes fight from every corner of the battlefield.
- 8. Chapter Eight: Papa Jul 1, 2022
- Nancy has sobering visions, and El passes an important test; the gang gathers supplies.
- 7. Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab May 27, 2022
- As Hopper braces to battle a monster, Dustin decodes a message from beyond.
Watch Stranger Things with a subscription on Netflix. Mysteries unravel in a small Midwestern town in the 1980s, involving supernatural forces, secret experiments and one strange girl.
- (535)
- Winona Ryder
- TV-14
- 4
May 26, 2022 · Season 1 of their Netflix series “Stranger Things” was an expertly assembled and precisely calibrated souffle of Gen-X nostalgia, Spielbergian family melodrama and...
May 27, 2022 · Stranger Things Season 4, split into two parts, is a monstrosity of a return and full of faults, but it’s a thoughtful and thrilling penultimate, nevertheless. Full Review | Jul 23, 2023
- A pulsating and revelatory return for Netflix's hit show
- We're not in Hawkins anymore
- Counting down to the endgame
- Playing the part
- Our verdict
Reviews
By Tom Power
published 23 May 2022
Stranger Things season 4 is a triumphant horror-fuelled return for the hit Netflix show.
Set six months after The Battle of Starcourt Mall, i.e. the season 3 finale, Stranger Things 4 finds our heroes truly separated for the first time. The Byers family – with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in tow – have relocated to California. Meanwhile, the rest of the Hawkins gang remains in the fictional Indiana-based town; the youngest members of the group enroll in Hawkins High School. Detective Jim Hopper (David Harbour), presumed dead following the climactic events at Starcourt Mall, finds himself alone and imprisoned somewhere in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Despite being thousands of miles apart, each group struggles to deal with the fallout of their traumatic showdown with The Mind Flayer. Throw in the complexities of trying to fit in at high school, forced labor in freezing Siberian conditions, and the death of their loved ones, and season 4 is laced with hardships for our heroes. It just so happens that, with the group divided and at their most vulnerable, a new and terrifying supernatural threat emerges from the Upside Down with ambitions of conquering the world on the fourth try. As the authorities struggle to get to grips with the terrifying events that unfold, it's up to Eleven and company to reunite, solve another mystery – this time involving the infamous Creel House – and try to destroy the Upside Down once and for all.
With season 3 released in July 2019, and the slightly convoluted nature of the plot synopsis above, there may be some trepidation among viewers about how they'll fully re-immerse themselves in Stranger Things' world.
Pleasingly, the show's fourth season does a stellar job of getting us up to speed on its major players (and what they've been up to) in the gap between seasons 3 and 4. Episode one provides some well-executed exposition that reacquaints audiences with each character, dispensing with any unnecessary plot minutiae to allow season 4 to get to the good stuff – namely, its foreboding and mysterious storylines, character development, and thrilling action – sooner than you think. It's a welcome creative decision on the Duffer brothers' part and one that makes for a seamless transition back into the franchise after its Covid-induced hiatus.
Satisfying as this reintroduction is, it takes some time for the show's multi-narrative format to really hit its stride. The Duffer brothers have regularly described Stranger Things 4 as their Game of Thrones season – an illustration owing to this season's long episodes and multi-story structure. For a show that needs to be more expansive and ambitious with each passing season, such ambition is born out of necessity.
The problem with this format, however, is that longer episodes don't always make for a more engrossing story. There's the potential to meander or contain filler material, and Stranger Things season 4's early entries do occasionally feel slightly padded. The storylines set in California and Kamchatka, for instance, feel sluggish and overstuffed compared to the narrative playing out in Hawkins and don't benefit from the splintering of the main gang following the season 3 finale.
With Stranger Things barrelling towards its conclusion – the series is getting a fifth and final season – it seems high time the Duffer brothers start delivering on their promise of providing answers to the series' biggest secrets.
So fans will be delighted to hear that Stranger Things' latest season makes good on those assurances. Season 4 sheds new light on a number of longstanding fan questions (and theories), rewarding viewers with explanations and answers to queries that date all the way back to season 1 – and, in some cases, moments that pre-date its pilot. Each secret is diligently handled; their yarns spun out effectively to provide context to certain characters' backstories and the history of the Upside Down.
That isn't to say that Stranger Things season 4 relegates its action sequences or horror elements to the background in favor of revelatory content. The show's latest installment is jam-packed with adrenaline-fuelled combat sequences and gruesomely detailed scenarios – moments that are sure to be unforgettable in the short and long term.
Season 4's combat scenes – close-quarters or long-range – are brutal, intense, and frenetic affairs. That's to be expected, what with previous seasons providing similarly frenzied sequences. Stranger Things 4 ups the ante compared to its predecessors, though, bringing a ferocity to events that magnifies the underlying threat facing our heroes.
A lot of that threat is provided by the arrival of a brand-new villain. Vecna is a genuinely terrifying foe for Stranger Things' main cast to face, an antagonist who's menacing and nightmarish in equal measure. Without spoiling too much, it's clear to see why Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Kreuger was a chief inspiration for Vecna. Add in a dash of The Exorcist's Pazuzu and Hellraiser's Pinhead – plus surprising references to abilities or powers seen in The Matrix and X-Men – and Vecna is a formidable enemy who wouldn't look out of place in a classic body horror or slasher-style movie.
That slasher film tone is a thread that's always running just beneath the surface. From tense chase sequences and suspenseful hide-and-seek style moments, to jump scares and other spooky (and spoiler-ific) elements, Stranger Things 4 is the most mature entry in the series yet.
The show's increasingly R-rated material owes a lot to its largely young cast getting older, a facet of Stranger Things' production that gives its creative team the freedom to double down on its shock value.
Stranger Things' maturing cast also allows the series to explore fresh character dynamics and richer themes. Selling those aspects authentically is down to its talented cast. They all bring their A-game to provide greater emotional resonance, witty retorts, and a relatability to the wholly human issues that they face. You know, outside of the Upside Down-specific elements of the show, anyway.
Stranger Things' returning actors are a joy to watch, but It's those joining season 4's cast who shine brightest, adding fun and fresh dynamics to each group and altering their makeup in intriguing and humorous ways.
Joe Quinn's Eddie Munson is arguably the stand-out of the show's new regulars. His slightly unhinged but funny portrayal feels right at home among this vast collection of geeky but likable characters. Eduardo Franco's Argyle pushes Quinn's Munson close as the series progresses – he'll certainly be in the running for the 'best stoner character in a film or TV show' award by season 4's end – while Matthew Modine's highly satisfying return as the sinister Doctor Brenner helps Brown deliver her most emotional and commanding performance in the series so far.
Stranger Thing season 4 is an explosive, mystical, and electrifying entry in Netflix's hugely popular franchise. The show's wonderfully seamless blend of drama, horror, action, and comedy has never felt tighter and more conducive than it does here. And its unveiling of secrets that fans have longed to learn about makes for startling but ultimately satisfying viewing.
It's not without its faults, and those occasional stumbles, particularly from a plot perspective, prevent Stranger Things' latest season from usurping the very first entry as the best installment yet. Still, there's plenty here to enjoy and revel in, and diehard fans will certainly feel that the three-year wait for a new batch of episodes has been worth it.
To paraphrase Vecna himself, Stranger Things' triumphant return ensures that Netflix's suffering has temporarily come to an end. The streaming giant has many obstacles to overcome to win back subscribers and shareholders' support but, for a few weeks at least, Stranger Things season 4 can turn those frowns – ahem – upside down.
Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 arrives on Netflix on Friday, May 27. Part 2 launches on the streamer on Friday, July 1.
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Tom Power
- Senior Entertainment Reporter
- tom.power@futurenet.com
Jul 19, 2016 · Stranger Things, the new mini-series from Netflix and the Duffer brothers (the fraternal duo behind Wayward Pines) wears its love for the films of Steven Spielberg on its proverbial sleeve.
May 23, 2022 · Stranger Things season 4 is a return to form for the horror hit. Volume 1 of Netflix's horror phenom delivers fresh locales, new characters, and some big answers about the Upside Down.
- 2 min
- Kristen Baldwin
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May 23, 2022 · ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Is the Show at Its Biggest, Broadest and Most Emblematic of Netflix’s Evolution: TV Review
