Good afternoon, my fellow strangers! It’s Mrs. Strange back again. On today’s second
episode for Stranger Universe, I will go over Stranger Things 4, and answer if season 4
lived up to the expectations.
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And now, let us begin...
Stranger Things 4 took three years to arrive on Netflix, but was it worth the wait? It's
hard to believe the Duffer brothers originally intended Stranger Things to run for one season
only. Fortunately, Netflix had other ideas and asked the Duffer brothers for ideas for
season 2. The rest is history, with Netflix's flagship sci-fi horror series finally releasing
its fourth season in May 2022. It has been confirmed Stranger Things will end with season
5, although there will apparently be spinoffs off the back of this. Despite these plans
to keep Stranger Things alive in the long-term, the time between seasons is increasing; there
was just one year between seasons 1 and 2, but season 3 didn't come out until 2019. In
part, that's because the Duffer brothers are becoming increasingly ambitious, aiming to
make each season more spectacular than the last. The gap between seasons 3 and 4 has,
of course, increased because of the inevitable disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result, it's been a long wait for Stranger Things season 4. The new Stranger Things season
continues from the dramatic end of season 3, in which the Russians captured Hopper,
Eleven lost her powers, and she left Hawkins with the Byers family. Fortunately, the return
of Stranger Things was certainly worth the wait.
It's long been clear the Duffers brothers wanted to move beyond the narrative confines
of Hawkins. The show’s most controversial episode, "The Lost Sister," saw Eleven head
to Chicago to learn how to control her powers from her "sister," Eight, another escapee
from Hawkins Lab. Viewers weren't ready to leave Hawkins, though, and the bottle episode
felt jarring. Stranger Things season 4 finally delivers on the Duffers' desire to increase
the show's scale, but it does so in a far more organic way, scattering the characters
across the globe and weaving their individual stories through every episode. This approach
had been effectively signposted by the end of Stranger Things season 3, which meant
viewers were far more ready for this. This increased scale meant Stranger Things moved
beyond its traditional home in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming locations for Stranger Things season 4 included
New Mexico and Lithuania, allowing the Duffer brothers to create very different environments
to Hawkins for the first time.
Another brilliant thing that season 4 excels at is character development. Stranger Things'
greatest strength doesn't lie in its spectacle, rather it lies in the character arcs and the
tremendous dynamics between the show's stars. The Duffer brothers have traditionally tended
to pair their stars up, allowing them to focus on just two characters at a time - and while
there are occasions where Stranger Things season 4 follows this approach, for the most
part, it uses larger groups. Mike and Will get some great moments together and then wind
up on a cross-country adventure with Jonathan and his best friend, while Robin and Nancy
bond when they visit the Pennhurst Asylum, but otherwise are part of a larger group. Only
the Russian subplots really follow the typical formula, with Hopper paired with a Russian
guard named Dmitri and Joyce with Murray. Given this major change, then, it's quite
remarkable that Stranger Things season 4 shows such confidence in its character arcs. It
helps that the main villain, Vecna, taps into the hidden and buried emotions of his target;
and there's a particularly powerful arc for Max as she struggles to deal with the guilt
and grief she feels after the death of her step-brother Billy in season 3. Dialogue continues
to hint that Will is gay, an idea that's been present since the series bible, but it's interesting
to note it isn't handled explicitly in favor of a nuanced will-they-won't-they approach.
And the sparks that continue to fly between Nancy and Steve, as they wind up working together
once again, are perfectly done.
Finally, Stranger Things season 4 is also noteworthy because it transforms its own lore. The
new villain, Vecna, is a compelling antagonist who becomes a twisted mirror-image of Eleven,
revealed to be Dr. Brenner's first test subject and the inspiration for all Brenner's experiments.
Jamie Campbell Bower's performance is electrifying in the flashbacks, while he makes the 1986
version of Vecna feel absolutely terrifying. The backstory is presented reasonably effectively,
although there's a little too much of an information overload in episode 7. The retcons aren't
perfect, but then as noted, the Duffer brothers originally intended Stranger Things to be
a limited series. They work because the Duffer brothers understand that changes in lore only
matter if they have an emotional impact on the main characters; Eleven's journey through
her own origin will surely redefine her sense of self-identity. No doubt some viewers
will feel the wait for Stranger Things season 4 has been too long. But, although the season
isn't perfect, it's hard not to conclude it was worth the wait. Stranger Things season
4 operates on a grander scale than ever before, taking viewers far from Hawkins, and yet somehow
doesn't fail its character arcs at all. Even more impressively, it delivers a radical change
in Stranger Things' lore while grounding it in its long-established, well-loved characters
ahead of Stranger Things season 4, volume 2. Here’s hoping that the second half of
season 4 delivers. Overall, super exciting times.
And that is all that we have for today. Did you think that Stranger Things 4 lived up
to the hype?
Today’s special shout-out is for Yahya Bah!
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This episode was brought to you by Mrs. Strange, and this is Stranger Universe.