Plot Summary – Set in March 1986, eight months after the events of the third season, the fourth season is split between different plotlines.

★★★★ 

Considering it’s been more than a month since the season came out and most people looking at this review have probably already watched it –

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD!

I didn’t join the weekend binge hype train of this show because I didn’t have the time or interest. Season 3 had left a really bad taste in my mouth, and I couldn’t say that I was particularly looking forward to this season. But as Volume 1 came out, and the reviews started rolling in, I saw that a lot of critics and media commentators that I respected were complimenting the season. So I decided that I’ll check back in. As I started Season 4 somewhat lethargic, Volume 2 came out as well. Not wanting to binge the whole thing, I gave sufficient gaps between chunks of episodes to see if the show worked that way or had any staying power.

I’m really glad to say that I was quite impressed with Season 4. Overall, it seemed to find the magic that Season 1 had. In my opinion, the first season is one of the few perfect seasons of television, and the next 2 seasons strayed away from what made that so special. Here, they’ve brought it back, and it works. Perhaps not as effectively but it still managed to recapture that charm. Let me elaborate; according to me, the two key aspects that made Season 1 so brilliant were the mystery and the horror aspects. Both are amped up and given a key role this season. I was absolutely engrossed by the mystery and I loved the breadcrumb trail that it left throughout the season. The revelation at the end of Volume 1 about Henry being Vecna made so much sense and yet I hadn’t predicted. It was the perfect ‘twist’. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Volume 1 alone was as good if not better than Season 1.

The horror was genuinely really good this season. I felt scared and horrified by some of the kills and gore this season. The body horror made me feel completely yucky on the inside. I thought that Vecna was a very effective villain since he had a face and communicated with the characters. This made him more intimidating than the faceless and ambiguous villains of the past. The writers did really well to also make him compelling and believable, you understand why he is the way he is.

My favourite storylines this season were the ones in Hawkins. All of them very exectued perfectly. I loved Robin and Steve’s friendship, the rekindling of Steve and Nancy’s romance, the Hellfire club and Eddie Munson storyline. The standout character and plotline for me was Max’s. The Duffer Brothers have identified accurately that Sadie Sink is the best actor among the kids and gave her the most compelling and nuanced storyline. Seeing her deal with the grief of losing Billy while also not feeling THAT remorseful about her inaction was very interesting and gave her a really three-dimensional appeal. The basketball team jocks were probably my only gripe with the Hawkins stuff but even they provided thrill and entertainment cause you could genuinely never predict what they would do next and the lengths they would go to. I really loved the character of Eddie and was genuinely gutted to see him go.

Another storyline that I really appreciated was Eleven’s. Whatever my thoughts are about Millie Bobby Brown outside the show, here she is still a standout. Everything just works and seeing her work through her grief and recap her days in the facility were gut-wrenching. It made the Volume 1 revelation and the subsequent regaining of her powers all the more satisfying. Her arc felt earned and she feels like the character who grew the most this season. So when she does have her badass moment it feels less ‘Deus Ex-Machina’.

It’s the other two storylines that are the weakness of the show. The California boys and the Russia storyline were both forced and ham-fisted. Hopper could have stayed dead and nothing would have changed in the A-plot. It felt like they just wanted to give those actors something to do due to their popularity. While I loved where Will’s storyline was heading, I felt that not enough emphasis was given to that and plenty of time was wasted. Argyle, while being a fun presence, felt out of place in the other serious moments of the show. Mike felt like the most inconsequential character of the season and I felt bad that the character who I thought was the male lead was given so little to do.

While the finale was a bit dragged out, I was ultimately happy with how it ended. This season felt a lot like Infinity War where we are hopping around and seeing all these sub-teams doing their own missions towards a common end goal and with the news that next season will be the last one I feel like that will be much more like Endgame. Now, I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not but that’s just how I see it panning out.

Overall, I’d say I had fun with this season. It could have definitely been shorter and cut some weight but overall it feels like the show found its footing again and it leaves me overall very excited for the final season!