It’s truly gratifying to know that even though the Stranger Things gang have been doing their thing since 2016, it’s obvious that the care and love they have for the 80s dependent universe they’ve created is still very much alive as six years and four seasons later, the show remains as snapper as ever. However, you can tell that the Duffer Brothers are constantly learning from their experiences, because so far, season 4 has managed to find almost the perfect pace. While season 1 laid the ground rules with three seperate generations of Hawkins residents all stumbling on different areas of a sci-fi conspiracy, their was an argument to be made that Stranger Things 2 started off a bit too slow and Stranger Things 3 struggled to find it’s tone after kicking off a bit too jokey.
However, with Stranger Things 4, it seems that the Duffers have managed to merge the best aspects of all three that thus far has been able to move the swolen cast along as nimbly as a ballet dancer. Quite the feat when you’re bringing characters back from the dead and naming a brand new uber villain.
So let’s just get straight to it. As per the hint found in the Russian doll mailed to Joyce, Hopper not only survived the explosion in the underground Soviet base, but was scraped of the floor by soldier and whisked off to the Motherland for multiple go-rounds of interrogation and torture. Not willing to let this slide, Joyce and Murray surmise that if they follow the instructions of the mysterious Enzo, they just might get Hop back.
Meanwhile, things look pretty bad for Eddie Munson after the pretzel-like remains of Chrissy Cunningham are found in his trailer park home and while he’s on the run, two separate parties are hunting him down for very different reasons. Chrissy’s boyfriend and captain of the basketball team, Jason Carver, has whipped together a mob under the pretence that Dungeons & Dragons has turned Munson into a Satan worshiping murderer; but elsewhere, Dustin and Max (who witnessed Munson fleeing the scene) rally together Steve and Robin to figure out where Eddie might be hiding only to find from Munson himself that the Upside-Down might once again be fucking with the town.
Back in California, Mike has arrived to spend spring break with Eleven utterly unaware that her letters have been lying to him about how truly wretched her life has become due to the constant bullying she receives. But when she’s publicly humiliated in front of Mike, she takes a form of revenge that shocks everyone – even her. However, back in Hawkins, human bloodhound Nancy enters the fray when her investigation of Chrissy’s murder for her school uncovers a sinister name from the town’s past – Victor Creel. However, she pays dearly for her information when fellow school reporter Fred suffers the same gruesome death as the hapless cheerleader after experiencing terrifying visions of his past due to the terrifying figure Dustin and Eddie have since named Vecna.
If the fact that we’re only two episodes in and the central mystery are already going great guns isn’t enough to clue you in that Stranger Things 4 is going to attempt to be the most epic season yet, the fact that not a single episode of the entire season manages to clock in at under an hour speaks volumes. However, while the episode mostly concerns itself with the hunt for Eddie Munson and Eleven and Mike’s humiliating reunion, the most important aspects of the episode belong to the series’ most staunch hero and the introduction of its latest, and possibly most malevolent, villain yet. So let’s check in with Hopper first whom we catch up with through a series of flashbacks that detail his unlikely escape and eventually capture as he’s carted off to face a lifetime of beatings in order to answer questions that ultimately have no real answers. It’s deftly interwoven with Joyce and Murray’s detective work and a phone call with a mysterious whistle blower who turns out to be one of the guards at the Kamchatka prison camp. I have to say, it’s great to see David Harbor’s put upon bruiser once more, even if the prosthetics used to hide that the actor has lost weight make him look like he’s got the mumps; however, if this means that Joyce and Murray are going to take a trip to Russian on some ridiculous rescue mission, I’m all for it.
On the other end on the good/evil spectrum, we find the newly christened Vecna going on about its ghastly work and even though the actor responsible is buried under a ton of digitally altered prosthetics, it’s actually about time that Stranger Things finally got itself a humanoid villain that isn’t a split-headed monster or a swirling cloud-beast. The Freddy Krueger comparisons continue unabated as he pressures another victim with nightmarish hallucinations from their past before triggering their bone-snapping demise with his oversized claw – but even though detail as still sparce on Hawkins’ newest antagonist, he still looks utterly fantastic as we see him in the Upside-Down, hooked up to his gooey surroundings with tendrils that grow from his back.
Another cool detail from this episode finally touches upon a legitimate moment in pop culture history when parents were genuinely worried that a child’s obsession with Dungeons & Dragons would mean they would suddenly turn into a Satan worshiping maniac. As ludicrous as that might sound today, the Duffer Brothers have smartly woven it into the plot when it comes to the demonising of the notoriously anti-establishment Munson and the hunt for him to clear his name is what powers the latest adventure of Stranger Things’ best group by far. That’s right, the Steve, Robin and Dustin show is back and now it even comes free of charge with the added sarcasm of Max to spice it up even more – but I can’t help but feel that once Eddie joins the gang that’s trying to help him, they’ll surely be the most powerful force of entertainment the show has ever seen. Of course, while this quintet is doing their thing, Nancy is diligently working her way through her very own Wes Craven film as she Sherlocks her way through piecing together the history behind Vecna’s attacks that could be unlocked by a look into Hawkins’ past. Sure, pure Fred is sacrificed, but she manages to conjure up an appropriately sinister name out of Eddie’s uncle – Victor Creel.
In comparison to manhunts, international intrigue, and supernatural journalism – the sections that deal with Mike and Eleven in California seem almost out of place. However, while their plot thread is lagging behind when compared to the forward momentum of the others, we’re getting important insight into Eleven’s mental state – which doesn’t seem to be particularly healthy right now. After the shit that the spiteful Angela pulls, we should be elated when Eleven defends herself, but while we’ve cheered when she’s used her powers on bullies before, watching her bust her tormentor in the face with a rollerskate proves to be a different kettle of fish entirely and continues to show that maybe El isn’t the victim we once thought.
The Stranger Things machine continues to move at a pace that exudes confidence that is promptly earned. Fast, funny and thrilling, it also – like every good episode should – teases for bigger things to come and it does it so well, you don’t even complain for a second that Hopper’s magical resurrection seems a little too much like selling out.
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