TV Season Review - Stranger Things (Season 4)

 

Yep, it's back. Feels like it's been a while since we last went to Hawkins and the Upside Down. But here we are with longer episodes, three plotlines and more all while our young cast continue to grow and mature. Some of them have even starred in other things like the MonsterVerse films and both It films too. Plus some other stuff too. It's still widely regarded as Netflix's most successful franchise second only to Squid Game at least in my opinion. So despite the trouble with price hikes and subscribers and all that, they are at the very least doing some things right. Anyway we have two volumes to look at that make up this fourth season so let's take a look:

Eight months following the events of the last season in 1986, several teenagers are killed in mysterious ways in Hawkins with the murders being tied to a supposed cult group known as Hellfire when in reality its just a Dungeons & Dragons group whose members just end up being at the place of the murders, but apparently not actually do them. Meanwhile, in California, Eleven (reprised by Millie Bobby Brown) reconnects with her boyfriend Mike (reprised by Finn Wolfhard) who remains unaware of her being bullied at her new school, but eventually she goes to a facility to regain her powers. While that's happening, Joyce (reprised by Winona Ryder) and Murray (reprised by Brett Gelman) team up to find and rescue Jim Hopper (reprised by David Harbour) who is revealed to possibly still be alive. All eventually tying into a mysterious being known as Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower) who has plans for all the heroes.

While the majority of the episodes are longer than the usual hour allowed for shows like this, its kind of good in a way. More stuff to unpack and a few instances where we get some great performances and even a few guest stars like Robert Englund. Sure, a few do feel quite overstuffed with way too much, but sometimes it works and other times not so much. The three-way plotlines are each good and unique that each tie to one another, but not in an over-the-top kind of way. The visuals are great and so is the soundtrack too. A great season that may be too busy for some, but will get others very much invested for sure. 8/10