There is so much to unpack in the new series of Stranger Things. In this review, I will go into the personality of our new villain, the music, the men, some of my issues with the instalment and finally some predictions and questions for Volume 2.
This is the scariest of the seasons yet. And I’m not complaining. It feels right that the gore and horror mature with the kids as the series goes on. This makes for a more intense and exciting viewing; the producers were not afraid to scare their audience.
I can’t talk about the best parts of the series without talking about that scene, yes, THAT scene. As you are all probably aware, Kate Bush made it to number 1 with ‘Running up that Hill’, 37 years after its release. This is all thanks to the producers and directors' brilliantly effective use of the song alongside a montage of Max’s beautiful memories of her friends, ultimately giving her enough power to overcome the sadistic vulnerable-feeding Vecna. Scenes like this in films and series, when character montages are done right, are some of my FAVOURITE scenes that nearly always bring me to tears. I think ‘Cloudbusting’ from Bush’s same album (Hounds of Love) could have equally had the same emotive effect, so if you enjoyed ‘Running up that Hill’ give ‘Cloudbusting’ a listen.
Vecna is of course the best ‘villain’ of the series yet. We finally have a personality! It worked great in the previous series to have behind-the-scenes monsters that only appear in the final episodes, as Netflix was building up our understanding of the characters and ultimately setting the scene; but it felt right (and needed) that this series had a villain that we could almost relate to, much like Thanos, The Joker and Inspector Javert. Vecna wants some sort of balance and is thus killing off part of the human race. However, this doesn’t add up to his VERY slow killings of emotionally traumatised teens. It seems the two don’t go together. Two different ideas: slowly scare and kill vulnerable teens or kill all of humanity, which is it? Even if he was just going for the young and vulnerable first, you would assume he would be going at a quicker pace. Only picking traumatised and emotionally vulnerable kids is allegorical for teenage suicide. We see signs of bulimia, emotional abuse and PTSD, and showing these mental health issues creates a realistic setting of a high school and makes the series even more emotive.
Considering that each episode was quite long, I enjoyed that there were multiple plotlines to follow. However, some of them did not advance the story very much, it appeared that it was probably so that everybody’s favourite characters got some screen time (I’m looking at you Joyce, Hopper and Murray). Although I love those three, their plotline almost feels pointless apart from being there to break up the other intense storylines. Don’t get me wrong, it was exciting to see a Demogorgon again, but the Russian gulag plotline did feel a bit ridiculous and impossible. It was quite annoying but I did appreciate that it gave us time away from the plot in Hawkins. This is quite a difficult one to conclude. Had they cut out some of the unnecessary scenes, the episodes would be shorter and thus we would not need the other plots to keep it interesting. It is also a shame that the group of kids are separated in these plotlines and do not appear all together once in that series, as they bounce off one another so well; I feel the best bits of the series were when Max, Lucas, Dustin, Nancy, Robin (honorary mention to Eddie) and Steve were adventuring together again. As we know Netflix hasn’t been doing so well recently. With a show that Netflix knows that most viewers will watch in its entirety, the longer the episodes, the more the ‘minutes spent watching’ metric rises, and thus the Netflix algorithm is happy again. This also explains the longer episodes.
My biggest gripe with Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 was the ALMOST unnecessary and ridiculous incessant bullying. Unrealistic and overdone – I thought this style of writing was left in the 90s or 00s. I found the bullying moments with Eleven incredibly jarring. This may only be one vexation but when it happened it was to such an extremity that it could have ruined the series for me. It was too orchestrated, the going round in circles at the roller-skate rink, filming, throwing the milkshake, joking about her dead father (!!! - this is what did it for me, genuinely who does that?). Is this what American high school students are like? I say almost because it is a plotline to annoy and upset Eleven to the point of her powers returning.
One other small thing, and not to be morbid, but I do think the series would be more effective if they could let go of some of the main characters. They did well at this in the earlier series (I’m thinking Bob) but it would have been more effective and heart-wrenching if Hopper had died, and in my opinion, if Max had died.
Let me leave you with some thoughts for Season 4 Vol 2
Does music stop Vecna?
The rules of how to stop Vecna are simple, or so we think. Once the monster has you in its trance, to escape one just needs to listen to your favourite song. This theory is coined by Nancy and Robin after visiting Victor Creel at an asylum. The first experiment involving that theory works out very well. Max can extract herself from Vecna’s tentacles by following the sounds of Kate Bush. Here’s the thing though: the Victor Creel theory is based on incomplete information. Though Victor mentions that he was able to escape his Upside Down hell by following the sounds of his favourite song (‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’), Henry Creel’s recollections of the events at Creel House dispute that. Henry says he couldn’t kill Victor because he didn’t know the full extent of his powers and passed out before he could finish killing off his family. Does this mean “Dream a Little Dream of Me” did not affect Victor Creel making it out? And hence Kate Bush isn’t as formidable as we thought? There is a current theory is that Max was able to survive her Vecna nightmare because through writing letters to all her friends she was able to overcome the trauma necessary for Vecna to kill her. And when she heard her friends yelling for her, she was reminded of this.
Who do we think will die?
My money is unfortunately on Eddie or Steve. Yes, that’s right, the two heartthrobs. If stranger things are following their previous deaths by attractiveness, I’m thinking Billy, it seems likely. Of all the new characters introduced, (Eddie) does seem ready for the taking. There is a moment in episode 7 where Eddie speaks to Steve and laments his lack of courage. What better way to prove one’s bravery than to distract some monsters in the Upside Down and let your friends escape? And as for Steve, he has had the best character ark throughout the whole series and has probably created the most emotional attachments from fans. Who better to kill off? However, exec producer Shawn Levy reassured fans back in 2018 that ‘the day Steve Harrington dies is the day I walk off the show’, so considering Season 5 has been announced, we might be safe for now.
I know this review may come across as more negative than positive, but trust me, I loved this season of Stranger Things. It is the best yet. I love that the relationships between the kids are a bit more complicated now that they have grown up and been through so much together; I love the music; the fashion and of course the long-haired men. Nancy finally came into her own and stopped appearing so sheepish and we (finally) have a gay character. We also finally got a monster with some personality and a crazy interesting back-story. I can’t wait for the final two episodes; I think it would have made more sense for them to make us wait until Halloween! But no complaints here, keep your eyes peeled after Volume 2 is released for my next review.
Images: Digital Spy, Wiki and Insider TV
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