by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
After nearly three years, the Hawkins gang is back for another adventure in Netflix flagship property, Stranger Things. There’re new threats from the Upside Down, bigger and badder than ever. But how does at least the first part of season four stack up?
Some time has passed since we last rejoined the Hawkins crew, and (as always) if you’re reading this, we’re assuming you’re at least caught up through season three. El (Millie Bobby Brown), Will (Noah Schnapp), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Joyce (Winona Ryder) are in California, with the latter having made the decision they can’t stay in Hawkins anymore. Now in high school, our cast is adjusting with varying degrees of success to their new surroundings, but spring break approaches — offering El and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) a chance to reconnect out west.
However, we can’t have nice things and a new threat — this time based off Vecna — once again disrupts life in Hawkins.
In large part, the show is at its best (as per usual) when our young crew is interacting. Though the west coast crew gets the short end of the stick narratively speaking with how part one is structured (more on El specifically a little later), those remaining in Hawkins work as well together as ever. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) continues to be MVP for me with snarky dialogue that really snaps. It doesn’t matter who you pair him up with for a given scene, he just makes everyone better. And each season, there seems to be a new pairing that really gets to shine. Last time, it was Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin (who are still amazing in this season). This season, that falls to Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Robin (Maya Hawke). As with most of the pairings when initially set together, it seems like a bit of an odd couple at first, before they inevitably sync up. A pairing I wouldn’t have picked myself as a new one that would stand out for the season, but that makes it all the more enjoyable. The only slight qualms I would have with this aspect of the season would be that after her standout supporting role last season, Erica (Priah Ferguson) is largely relegated to our bookend episodes. Our newcomers for season four, though not bad, don’t necessarily jump off the screen like Robin did in the last season, or Max (Sadie Sink) the season before.
Speaking of Max, like Will in season two, she’s really thrust into the spotlight, as she finds herself in particular in the crosshairs of this season’s particular threat. A character who usually hides her emotion behind a defensive wall of snark, she’s forced to comes to terms with the trauma of the last year. Her brother may have been a… [scanning rolodex for SiftPop-friendly way to put this]… massive jerk, but it’s also clear that she cared for him. Whether or not she can truly come to terms with her loss plays a big part in our opening episodes, and I was engaged in how it progressed.
As it comes to what most would call the main character out of this ensemble, Brown’s Eleven, left without her powers at the end of the previous season and without Mike, is having a rough go of it when we first find her. Her storyline also gets off to a bit of a slow start, but, from a narrative sense, there was always going to have to be a move by the show to try to rectify a power-less El. As the characters themselves point out, without El, humanity is pretty much screwed. Seeing if she can reclaim that power becomes her drive as the episodes progress. Despite the deliberate start — and her disappearing for an episode — I found myself willing to accept those stops and starts for the way in which everything coalesces around the finale. That satisfaction outweighed any qualms I had early on.
The same, sadly, could not be said for our adult adventurers. As teased in the credits of last season’s finale, Hopper (David Harbour) finds himself in Soviet custody, and Joyce and Murray (Brett Gelman) embark on a quest to save him. I could not have been less invested in this particular storyline and I don’t remember a thread from the show in the past that I’ve been less invested in before. Are there bright spots? Sure. I enjoy Murray’s whole… [vague hand gestures]… thing he has going on. He adds some good comic relief. I also enjoyed seeing everyone’s favorite faceless assassin trainer (Tom Wlaschiha) as a prison guard. But, it was largely a storyline I found as barren and fruitless as the frozen Russian tundra and as useless as the kids’ parents. And I don’t think you can chalk that up to the season being split up. Even if we’re talking about the full nine episodes, I’d feel the same way.
As the show continues to evolve and our main characters continue to age, the show, which has always had its share of darkness, feels like it’s even darker than any season before. As mentioned, our big bad is a bigger, darker threat than ever — I mean, outside of our stock ‘80s high school villains. Perhaps it’s the gap between the seasons that’s dulled my memory, but the show seems to be pushing its TV-14 rating further than ever. The deaths are downright brutal. The show also comes with a warning for the opening scene that was dropped online ahead of the premiere (which I avoided until it officially dropped), given the recent school shooting in Uvalde. So, take that into consideration as well.
With longer episode run times, nothing clocks in under an hour and most are at least 70 minutes, I found myself breaking the show up a little more than I had in the past. But it remains a technical marvel. The camerawork and the color palette are spectacular. They even get in on the one-shot craze with a great sequence. Though, there are dark scenes in every episode. So, if you don’t have a closed-off room you can lock yourself in, nighttime viewing to limit glare would be best to allow you to get the most out of the show. Despite some narrative issues, the feel from season to season remains top-notch. The score and use of music (particularly “Running Up That Hill”), are spectacular. In its lengthy absence, I’d forgotten as well how masterful the show is edited. The premiere and the part one finale stand out particularly. The first for a conversation intercutting between Nancy and Jonathan and the final for the way the editors and writers worked in tandem to bring the first seven episodes to a climax.
And that, despite some of the unevenness that is more pronounced than previous seasons, is what stands out most to me. With every episode, no matter what’s happened in the intervening minutes, the show knows how best to use their particular platform to its greatest potential. Every episode leaves you with something that makes you want to click “next episode” immediately, even if the clock makes such a move impossible.
We’ve got a month until the penultimate season concludes for good, and I cannot wait to have my world turned upside down once again.
Score: 7/10
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