After over two long years, we finally have new episodes of the Duffer Brothers’ Emmy award-winning Netflix hit series Stranger Things with the arrival of the first volume of Stranger Things 4. After 3 days of constant and unhealthy binging, I have watched all 7 episodes of Volume 1 released on May 27 as I eagerly await the last two episodes releasing on July 1. But for now let’s review the first 7 episodes of Stranger Things 4. SPOILERS if you haven’t watched episodes 1-7.
Stranger Things 4 continues 1 year after the third season left off, set in 1986. While Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), and Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke) still live in Hawkins, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Jonathan Byers (-), and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) are in Lenora Hills, California as they moved in season 3’s finale. At the end of season 4’s first episode, new character Eddie Munson sees the famous high school cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham get her bones snapped and fall from floating in the air. The season splits up into showing different characters in each episode: Steve, Nancy, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Robin trying to help Eddie who is hiding from the police who think he’s the killer; Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Jonathan’s friend Argyle who are in California before going to Dustin’s girlfriend, Suzie in Salt Lake City, Utah; Eleven ends up with Dr. Martin Brenner; Joyce and Murray are in Russia trying to get Hopper back from the evil after they captured Hopper when he escaped the electric blasts of the device opening the portal to the Upside Down in season 3’s finale. An evil lifeform from the Upside Down called Vecna is capturing people from Hawkins and using them to make more gates and take over the world.
Season 4 of Stranger Things is definitely more scary, bloody, and gorey than seasons 1-3. Lots of more action causes more bloodshed. The gore isn’t too bad, but seeing people elevate into the air only to have all of their bones snap one by one before falling to the ground is a very disturbing scene. I really liked the added blood and gore as it made the show feel more creepy as you can closer feel what the characters are feeling.
Stranger Things 4 volume 1 was pretty great. The spectacular storyline and interesting new characters and villains make for an enjoyable season. It also is really good at making you feel for the characters, such as when Max was scared that she would be Vecna’s next victim or Eleven being heavily bullied by Angela at the Rink-O-Mania. Overall, I don’t think it was better than season 1, but it was better than seasons 2 and 3. What I mainly liked (SPOILERS) was the seventh episode’s plot twists. In her dreams, Eleven remembers a man at the Hawkins National Laboratory who helped her with enhancing her telekinetic powers. In one scene, he explains that Eleven was similar to One, but didn’t say what happened to One – until episode 7. Not only is he One, but he is also the boy who lived at the Creel House and Vecna. So many plot twists in one scene, and I didn’t see any of them coming.
Stranger Things 4 was a very enjoyable season. It makes me very intrigued for Volume 2 in July to see what these characters will discover next and what will happen to Vecna.