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Stranger Things Season 4 Review For Part 1: More Horror, Drama & Emotions Go Long Way For The Best Season Yet
Stranger Things 4 was worth the wait of the almost three years. It is also the best season yet.
Available
On:
Netflix
Language:
English
Duration:
7
Episodes
/
85
Minutes
Plot: Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 follows the new terror in Hawkins trying to take over the world all while Eleven struggles to live a normal life without her powers. On the other hand, Jim Hopper is stuck in Russia trying to find his way back to Joyce and Eleven.
Spoiler-Free Review
Review: Instead of experimenting, Stranger Things Season 4 plays on its strengths. The makers brought back every aspect of the show that has worked before from sci-fi to horror which was most loved in season one. As for storytelling, the Duffer Brothers have mastered the presenting subplots that come together at the end of the show, season 4 continues the tradition.
The show begins six months after the incident at Starcourt mall. Jane Hopper aka Eleven has moved to California with Will Byers' family. The show begins with a narration by Jane as she is writing a letter to Mike Wheeler about how well she is doing in her new life. However, soon it becomes evident that it is all a lie and she has been suffering in school.
On the other hand in Hawkins, things are supposed to be better, with the gate closed for the second time and everyone in high school, the group has great expectations for the next four years. Mike and Dustin have found a nerdy D&D club called Hellfire led by Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn). While still part of the Hellfire, Lucas is more interested in expanding his social circle to the popular group and has been playing for the basketball team. The only member left of the group is Max, she ends up as the brooding neglected one after the death of her brother Billy.
The older group is settling into more adult life, Jonathan is still waiting for his college acceptance letter, and Nancy is working hard on the school newspaper. Steve and Robin go from their mall jobs to work at a video store. While season one incorporated the adults into the mess, season four once again leaves them for a subplot with a run-of-the-mill adventure to Russia. Some subplots are slower than the others, but the ones keeping it all together are two groups in Hawkins. Hoping it will lead to a better conclusion in the feature-length episodes set to release on July 1, 2022.
Hawkins this time, is more influenced by the age of serial killers and the witch hunts, dangerously close to 2021 Netflix releases like Fear Street. Still, it manages to stand on its own thanks to the amazing cast and the prior relationship fans have developed with the characters. The screenplay does lack character development for most of the leads as they get left on the bench while others including Lucas and Max get more screen time. On the other hand, the writers do get credit for the authenticity with clever dialogues and the reckless behaviour without parents' supervision, which is expected from them.
Each episode runs between 60 to 90 minutes, thankfully since the number of characters grow every season and the geographical coverage has also increased since Hopper is in Russia, half of the group is in Hawkins and the other half is in California. The first three episodes take their own sweet time to get the audience excited while the last four pace faster as it switches between timelines and places dividing information. The suspense is bound to pay off at the end of episode seven and raise the stakes even more for episodes 8 and 9, which will release two months later.
It has become evident that the makers are getting ready for the big finale with season 5, given how the series has returned to its original roots with the Hawkins lab, research facility and government officials trying to track down the supposed assassin Eleven was created to be. We also get to spend a lot of time in the upside-down giving a glimpse of what the place actually is, the evils it has nurtured for years and what more it can become.
Overall, Stranger Things is yet to reach its peak and hopefully Stranger Things Season 4 Part 2 will be it. The cast is not the only thing fans have their eyes on anymore and with Netflix finally giving a better VFX budget to the show, Stranger Things 4 was worth the wait of almost three years. It is also the best season yet!
