Happy Friday, my fellow strangers! It’s Mrs. Strange here again. On today’s episode
for Stranger Universe, I will break down the mind blowing season finale for Stranger Things
4!
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And now, let us begin...
The Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 ending is an explosive one, and has a lot of setup
for Stranger Things 5. Even though volume 2 contains only two episodes, they're the
longest yet, with a ton of plot twists and emotional moments. Right off the bat, let’s
start with one of the big reveals: Vecna is the God of the Upside Down, and the creator
of the Mind Flayer. It turns out that Vecna was the show's main villain all along, not
the Mind Flayer. A flashback revealed that he swiftly came to realize the Upside Down
was no purgatory; rather, it was a dimension untouched by human beings. At first he became
an explorer, wandering the Upside Down, reveling in a realm that had been untouched by humanity.
Finally, Vecna stumbled upon a mysterious cloud of particles, from which he formed the
Mind-Flayer. These particles appear to be the basis of the hive mind, because anything
that ingests them becomes caught up in it. Later on in the epilogue, Will Byers confirmed that
this whole time, Vecna was the thing he was feeling when he was possessed in season 2
or sensing it in season 3. This retcon might get mixed reactions from some fans and viewers,
because I know lots of people thought that Vecna was yet again another underling for
the Mind Flayer. With that said, Vecna took a phenomenal amount of damage in volume 2.
Eleven successfully beats him back in yet another psychic duel, while Nancy, Steve,
and Robin attack his body with Molotov cocktails and a sawn-off shotgun. Vecna's badly-injured
body falls through the window to the ground, a fall that should have been fatal - but,
incredibly, his body had disappeared by the time the trio rushed down the stairs. Vecna's
body and mind are clearly resilient, but it's reasonable to assume his escape was assisted
by creatures from the Upside Down he controls. The stage is set up for Stranger Things season
5 with Vecna and the Mind Flayer as the final villains of the series.
Now that we went over the villains, let’s go over our heroes. Just like previous seasons,
Stranger Things season 4 introduced us to Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson, who became a
true hero when he sacrificed himself to continue distracting the hive mind. Eddie had always
imagined himself as a hero in his Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, and he'd been dissatisfied
with his actions over the course of the season - specifically, with his running away from
the supernatural rather than daring to face it. Inspired by Dustin and Steve in particular,
he decided he'd choose to go out a hero. The scene between Dustin and Eddie’s uncle,
Wayne Munson, will forever break my heart and bawl my eyes. But sadly enough, it doesn’t
end there. Unfortunately for our characters in season 4, victory was too late, because
Vecna succeeded in killing Max, or at the very least that was the case at first. The
earthquakes in the Upside Down were clearly a result of dimensional instability, with
the Upside Down drawn every closer to the real world by the creation of successive gates.
An earthquake of over 7 on the Richter scale strikes Hawkins at the moment of Max's death,
signifying the final shift, with fissures opening across the town. The Upside Down invasion
of Hawkins seems to have been postponed by Vecna's injuries, or perhaps by Eleven's interference
in Max's death, but it finally takes place two days later. Plumes of Upside Down ash
rise from the ground, settling across the area around Hawkins. Eleven looks out at an
apocalyptic vision, as Hell really does seem to have come to town. As for Max Mayfield,
the question going around is what’s going to happen with her going forward. Is she truly
dead? Max's heart stopped for a minute, meaning she was clinically dead. Eleven could not
accept this, however, using all her power to try to bring her friend back. She appears
to have been partially successful; Max is alive, but in a coma. When Eleven enters her
mind, she finds Max is brain-dead. It's disturbing to note the Upside Down invasion was triggered
shortly after, perhaps indicating Vecna is somehow tied to Max, and he sensed Eleven's
intrusion in her mind. It would in keeping with his character to wait until Eleven is
physically back in Hawkins. Stranger Things 4 undoubtedly resurrected Max for a reason,
meaning that she will serve an important role in season 5. Given her death brought the dimensions
together, it's possible she will somehow play a role in separating them once again.
Stranger Things season 4 marks a turning-point for the entire Netflix TV series, with events
moving to a scale never seen before. Previous seasons had dealt with limited incursions
that could be driven back, with smaller gates that can be closed. Now, though, the Upside
Down has invaded Hawkins, and Vecna clearly intends to move on from there to wiping out
humanity. Fortunately, the two-day delay in Vecna's invasion served as an opportunity
to give all the characters time to reunite at Hawkins. The show is ending in season 5,
and it's easy to see why; this is the dramatic climax, the culmination of everything the
Duffer brothers have been doing all along, as hinted in the series Bible itself. In thematic
terms, the season 4 ending turns the franchise on its head. Previous seasons had always ended
up in convenient cover-ups, and the government attempt to do the same in season 4, pretending
there's simply been an earthquake. But now the boundary between Hawkins and the Upside
Down has been torn open in spectacular fashion, and all these secrets will come out. This
will likely be theme of Stranger Things 5, as hidden truths are finally revealed, perhaps
explaining why the show is still avoiding explicitly confirming Will is gay to his friends,
simply because that coming-out theme will fit thematically. It's going to be thrilling
to see how the people of Hawkins deal with all these truths. Overall, very exciting times.
And that is all that we have for today. What are your thoughts on the season finale for
Stranger Things 4?
Today’s special shout-out is for April Meyers!
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This episode was brought to you by Mrs. Strange, and this is Stranger Universe.