After a brief break of just over a month to either build up anticipation to an all time high – or needessly torment anyone used to the binging streaming method – the final section of Stranger Things 4 presents the beginning of the end. Of course, by that I mean it’s the first of the final two episodes of the season and it’s time to line up everyone to get them exactly where they need to be for the grand finale and a final battle against the most imposing villain the show’s had yet.
With Vecna’s origin finally all laid out with the reveal that he’s actually both young Henry Creel would murdered his family and the sinister Number One who got blasted into the Upside-Down by Eleven after murdering the other children in Dr. Brenner’s program, the show now busies itself with lining up the cast against him.
But as a daring plan typically forms from the minds of those that have saved Hawkins multiple times before, is their luck finally about to run out?
The word is out; Vecna’s true identity has been revealed and his big plan to merge our world with the Upside-Down requires one more sacrifice to open a fourth gate and spill all of that multidimensional evil into Hawkins’ back yard. As per usual, the forces of Hawkins are once again plotting to stop this latest insurgence, but for once, the forces of good may be too too thinly stretched to once again be victorious. Not only is the Hawkins group missing their hardest hitter with the telekinetic Eleven still dealing with her own problems in Nevada, but they’re also forced to plot against Vecna while both avoiding the local police and Jason Carver’s lynch mob who still wrongly believe Eddie Munson committed the recent murders. As they tool up for battle, they realise that not only do they have the ability to re-enter the Upside-Down to face Vecna head on, but as Max is the victim that’s so far avoided his psychic clutches, they’ve got a surefire way to divert his attention.
Meanwhile, as Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle race to Project Nina to aid Eleven, the young telekinetic has some daddy issues to work out with the typically untrustworthy Dr. Brenner. While the not-so-good doctor has been curiously helpful up until now, not that Eleven has demanded to leave to help her friends, Brenner’s gone all clingy again, refusing to let the girl leave until he and he alone thinks she is ready – which will probably be never. However, when the rogue forces within the government arrive to kill Eleven under the belief that she’s the danger threatening the world, bullets start flying and Brenner and his best student have one final reckoning that’s been long overdue.
Finally, back in Russia, Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Antonov and a still captive Yuri have finally escaped Kamchatka prison, but not before discovering a bunch of biological samples from the various forms of wildlife from the Upside-Down, but with freedom finally on the horizon, can the shifty Yuri finally be trusted to get them all home?
After spending it’s entire episode count ballooning to form it’s biggest season yet, it’s finally time for Stranger Things 4 to contract and build directly toward its endgame by juggling heartfelt character moments with nearly an hour and a half of prep time. While there’s a huge danger that one may end up swamping the other, the Duffer Brothers once again manage to score yet another extended balancing act that addresses numerous personal character arcs without successfully spelling out whatever tenuous plan is bring cooked up and the latest majority proves to be genuinely powerful. Be it a gleeful Munson finally throwing off his self pity and telling the vibrant, hopeful Dustin to never change, to Robin spying her crush out with what looks like a boyfriend, the episode takes great pains to find the human moments and deliver them in the most heartfelt manner it can. Lucas and Erica have a brother/sister moment that almost doesn’t contain an insult; Hopper and Joyce finally get a chance to reconnect; Max volunteers to put her life on the line in order to distract Vecna; and Steve feels yet another pull towards trying to restart a relationship with Nancy – Jesus, even Max’s Michael Myers mask gets a callback – however, taking point among all these rewarding touchy feely moments is two that have been rather overdue.
The first is the air clearing that needs to happen between Will and Mike and while nothing has been actually been said out loud, if you haven’t actually picked up on the fact that Will is gay and is in love with Mike, then I’m not actually sure which show you’ve actually been watching. However, while watching The bowl-haircutted one remind the object of his affections exactly how much he and Eleven belongs together while his heart breaks is genuinely sad, it’s kind of buried in Stranger Things 4’s most ineffective plotline and the fact that dumb old Mike has no idea what’s actually happening makes it feel like it’s only been written in to give the two, highly sidelined characters some material to actually sink their teeth into. However, the other heart to heart is one that’s been brewing for a while and it’s Eleven chance to finally speak to her abusive “Papa” and finally take her powers back both literally and figuratively. The character has always been torn between her two surrogate fathers, but there was always that feeling that Brenner’s exit way back in season one was a bit weak considering the impact her had on both Eleven and the series in general.
Thankfully, “Papa” manages to rectify that by having Matthew Modine’s secondary villain display a few more colours than just “creepy scientist”, anyone who thought Stranger Things was trying to create empathy for someone who tortures children for the government will be relieved to find that the character reverts to his selfish, torment-in-the-name-of-science mode when Eleven finally stands against him. His reward is to get shot down by an opposing sniper, but the most poignant moment comes when a fading Brenner begs his “daughter” for forgiveness before he dies, but in a final and ultimate act of defence, Eleven denies him the understanding he’s begging for in an act that just as powerful as bringing down a helicopter with her mind (which is akso something she does to prove her point).
Weirdly, despite the final episode clocking in at a hefty runtime of two hours and twenty two (no, really), the penultimate episode of Stranger Things 4 still leaves it’s various groups separated by quite long distances and even with a Lord Of The Rings-esque amount of footage to play with, if feels like when it’s all said and done, the sizable cast won’t actually unite in person by the end of the season. This actually makes things quite scary as a Stranger Things finale being fought over such wide ground feels like watching Neo fight without his shades on, or Indiana Jones brawl without his hat. They feel vulnerable against a foe that feels vastly more prepared and the feeling that someone’s not going to make it to the end is sky high.
What could have been an episode that just mechanically set up the various plots to destroy the villain, the Duffers take time and care to ensure every single character has a moment to shine emotionally to ensure that when the next episode begins, we’ll be utterly terrified for each and every one of them. Your move Vecna…
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