WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
So, I’ve just finished Season 4 of Stranger Things, and I have…questions. Since I don’t want this to just be too negative, I’m going to start by saying the mid-season crisis point was one of the best I’ve seen, the visual direction of the season was amazing, and I absolutely loved all the 80s and 90s film references that were added in as a bit of fun. The performances by the cast were terrific, and it’s a credit to them for being able to communicate their characters in such a whirlwind plot.
This is also part of the problem though. Why did they try and cram every single character into this season? There were a lot of plot threads, and when we reached the final crisis most of them amounted to – not much. We could have gotten rid of the Hopper in a Russian prison plotline entirely and it wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference. We could have gotten rid of the entire road trip group and it similarly wouldn’t have made much difference. The plot point of El believing in herself enough to (seemingly) defeat Vecna would have meant more rising from interactions with her Papa, particularly if it had occurred while the base was being stormed by the military. The leader of the vigilante group didn’t really seem to serve a purpose, outside of not saving Max when that was literally his stated goal upon entering the haunted house. Again, they could have cut the entire plotline and simply raised the stakes by having Lucas play her favourite music – then become terrified when it doesn’t work.
Eddie’s death also didn’t make a lot of sense for me. There didn’t feel like there was any urgency for him to go back and risk his life. The writers could have turned the tables on the situation and have him sacrifice his left to ensure Dustin got back through the portal safely, rather than wandering out into a ravenous pack of demon bats because of… reasons?
Honestly, I’m little disappointed they didn’t give Max and Hopper the deaths they deserved (season 3 and 4 respectively). They both had great character arcs. Sadie Sink (Max) gave the stand out performance of the season, and I was genuinely gutted when she died. Except then she didn’t. Sorta. So out of the character deaths this season, none of them were core characters, who are all still encased in plot armour.
Kill your darlings, as the old saying goes. When the audience knows that any of their beloved characters can die, really die, the emotional stakes are all the higher.
The other big question I have here is why did we see so much fallout after Max’s ultimate conflict? The next half an hour was just letting the energy slowly drain out of the story, to the point where I wasn’t even that impressed by literal hellmouths opening across Hawkins. The entire sequence felt like it should have been more of the opening episode of the next series.
Let’s not end on a negative note. The setup that has been created for the final season is fun and intriguing, and I can’t wait to see how the townspeople of Hawkins react when the creatures of the Upside Down start to make their presence felt.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below!
Leave a Reply