by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
After a month of leaving us in suspense, Stranger Things is back with two massive episodes to put a bow on season four.
If you’ve been waiting for the whole season to binge it all at once and have yet to dive into the season, this review is NOT for you. However, you can check out my thoughts on part one here; from here on, we’re talking part two ONLY.
The show drops us right back where they left us — Nancy (Natalia Dyer) under the spell of Vecna/Henry/One (Jamie Campbell Bower) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) reeling from her realization of what really happened in the Hawkins Lab. From there, it’s a sprint — or perhaps more accurately a long-distance race —through the finale.
For the most part, my thoughts on part two largely mirror what I had to say in part one. I still found Russia (largely) a massive waste of time. The writers needed something to do with our (usually) not useless adults, so they get sidetracked in a Hopper (David Harbour) rescue mission all season. Likewise, the interaction between the kids remains top-notch, as does the cinematography and editing. I won’t waste any more time just repeating what I said previously.
When it comes to how the last two episodes specifically have been split, a lot has been made of the massive runtime — 90 minutes for episode eight, and a whopping two-and-a-half hours for episode nine. Episode eight is largely spent setting the table for the finale, with episode nine giving us most of our payoff. In recent movie discourse, that’s viewed as a negative largely, as it’s usually just a cash grab. With not having to delay gratification for the final episode and being allowed to roll right into it, I think that fear is largely taken away — provided the final behemoth doesn’t underwhelm.
And for the most part, it succeeds. For the majority of the 140 minutes, it doesn’t feel its length. There are a couple of parts where it slows down a bit, and one storyline that’s a bit of a slog. Sorry, I said I wasn’t going to keep beating a dead horse. I also think the best emotional moment gets undercut a little bit. Aside from those qualms, I felt that the multi-pronged plan and lengthy tease for the final season helped justify the length and (aside from possibly a bleacher moment) I’m not sure where I could have found to split it.
Choosing to break up the season like this, does have one particular downside. While there’s certainly no lack of emotion or action in the final two episodes, nothing quite hits the heights of the best of part one. Eleven, Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and even Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) do some great work and pull at the heartstrings, but I don’t think anything topped the emotional resonance of what we got in “Dear Billy.” There’s a reason we all can’t get “Running Up That Hill” out of our heads. Are there fantastic action set pieces? You bet. But the best action scene of the season has to be the oner, once again from “Dear Billy.”
Does that mean it’s bad? No. A Star is Born isn’t a bad movie just because nothing can top the first performance of “Shallow.” The season is still a good one, with plenty of highs and some forgettable moments in its final four hours. Despite largely checking out every time I saw snow, there were far more moments where I was nervous and giddy on the edge of my seat. The premiere (which I did not stay up for, thankfully) even crashed Netflix. When’s the last time you’ve heard of that happening?
Bottom line, I’m still where I was at through the first part of the season. Were there some things that didn’t quite work for me? Yep. On the whole, though, I’m still very much invested in where the story is heading, before it concludes in the final season. That is very much a win for Netflix, and they could certainly use a few right now.
Score: 7/10
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