The following may contain spoiler of Stranger Things Season 1 to 4.
Stranger things season 4 consists of 2 parts which consist of 9 episodes in total, the first parts contains 7 episodes which released on May 27th and part 2 on July 1st with the final 2 episodes
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After 3 years, we got the 4th season of Stranger Things after so many production conflicts due to what’s happening in the world. And another main reason for the long break is “The season is big” with each episode being at least 1 hour 15 minutes and the 7th episode is close to 2 hours long, and as many of us knew, the part 2 finale will be 2 and half hours long which is a separate full-fledge movie. But did the long duration really make an impact? Let’s see
Matt and Ross Duffer are trying to accomplish this by spreading the story out across various locations and characters and even introducing an effective new villain. It’s incredibly ambitious, but there are some times we can see that the scenes can’t hold the weight of the ambition and it is really used for those slow panning shots and cliche dialogues. But in most of the parts, the duration really paid off and gave a lot of in-depth walkthrough to the different character arcs that are in season 4 which is a lot!
The Byers and a still-powerless Eleven are in California, poor Hopper’s in a Russian prison and the Hawkins crew is still dealing with Upside Down shenanigans in Indiana. In a lot of ways, that tri-pronged structure gives Stranger Things a needed shake-up with the introduction of a new and more “humane looking threat” Vecna which is easily recognized by Dungeons and Dragons Stans. Other than the wonderful storyline Stranger Things delivers, it also gets a point for its wonderful pacing of the character arc of each main character who is self-explanatory at this point. But as I said this season also includes some new yet memorable characters like Eddie and Argyle who play a crucial role from the start.
The Hawkins Arc feels like the classic stranger things with the gang trying to solve the mystery behind the deaths of their towns people but now they are not kids anymore, and we can really see the portrayal of maturity and defiance of these characters as they are used to it which makes the unraveling of mysteries really satisfying. it’s never felt like it’s being coy . There’s a mystery to solve, yes – there always is – but the storytelling is far from lazy in regards to how that mystery unfolds.
On the other hand, we have the California team which includes Jonathan, Argyle, Mike, and Will who is searching for Eleven who is trying to regain her powers in a secret bunker in Nevada to fight once again for Hawkins and the previously mentioned team is searching her, although they didn’t get any jaw-dropping moments, it really shifted the show’s flexibility.
Hopper’s storyline, though, is something else entirely – in fact, there are moments where it feels like a different show altogether, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s no doubt the bleakest portion of the season, but it’s alright as the pacing was good altogether and the part of the ending he get was pretty satisfactory which is the reunion of him with Joyce and Murray (who is a total badass by the way…).
And the final arc obviously is about Eleven, this arc is why I call Season 4 part 1 the beginning of the end as her path down the memory lane helps us, the viewer to unravel the core purpose and cause of the upside-down which also ends in a major cliffhanger at the end of Episode 7 which is a great thing as we will not get tired waiting for Part 2 of S4 anytime soon.
the fourth episodes of Stranger Things seasons are generally regarded as the moment where shit hits the fan, and “Dear Billy” is no exception. There are sequences where it switches from a big-budget action movie to a chilling supernatural horror flick with more than a few homages to some ‘80s classics, but what elevates all of it is Sadie Sink’s portrayal of Max. Her performance would make or break the dramatics in “Dear Billy, and luckily it went the right way.
I could not say anything more about the latest bad guy in the hood as it enters the major spoiler territory. But one thing i can say is…you’re mind will be blown if you just eye ball every season “which most of us do”.
Verdict
The part 4 is Stranger things is it’s most ambitious season yet , and despite a few moments where you can feel it struggling under the weight of that ambition feeling a little undermined but in works great in most of the cases. The performance is arguably the lifting trait of Stranger Things from Season 1 and it still holds the torch. Not every plotline in these extra-long episodes works as well, but none feels unworthy of the time spent. And i can 100% say that the next volume of Season 4 is well worth the wait.
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