Spoilers Stranger Things - Season 4

[JD]

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure they're going to giving us an ending to this story, I just meant that they're going in knowing this world will still need to exist in a way more stories can be told in it.
Although I guess even if they killed off everyone, and destroyed the whole world, they could always just do a prequel or something set at the same time as this series.

 

[Skywalker]

I don't think I'd ever heard that Kate Bush song before this, but man, those final moments of episode 4 were intense. That might still be my highlight of the season, obviously depending on how things go in the last two episodes.

To be honest, I feel like season 3 was a bit of a step down from the first two, but this season feels like the show's kind of gotten its mojo back. I've been pretty much on the edge of my seat the whole time. It's unfortunate that Netflix are switching up from their usual release model, because it's gonna be a long wait until July 1st!

 

[theenglish]

I think this season is released in two parts precisely to build momentum up to July 1.

I have to say that having seen all seven episodes now, this is by far the best season. It is firing on all cylinders--the actors knock it out of the park in every scene--and that last half hour of episode 7 was fantastic. I put the pieces together before they were revealed on screen, but it was still really cool watching it play out.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure they're going to giving us an ending to this story, I just meant that they're going in knowing this world will still need to exist in a way more stories can be told in it.

...or just create something unrelated to the Upside Down and associated creatures and events. The Stranger Things name could be an umbrella title for...you know...other things that are strange, yet unexplored up to this point.

 

[Skipper]

I'm just at the first half of the first episode, but it gives me the impression that bullying in American schools is a kind of Olympic discipline...

 

[JD]

...or just create something unrelated to the Upside Down and associated creatures and events. The Stranger Things name could be an umbrella title for...you know...other things that are strange, yet unexplored up to this point.

Sure, but chances are that whatever we get is probably still going to take place in this world. I just find it hard to believe they are going to do another Stranger Things series and not have it connected to the original show in some way.
Even a lot anthology series where the episodes or seasons are unconnected, still take place in the same world.

Damn, episode 4, Dear Billy is nuts.
They really have done an incredibly job of find really, really talented young actors for this show. Sadie Sink especially knocked it out of the park with this one.

Spoiler: Episode 4: Dear Billy

Damn, the military attack on the Byers home was a huge shock.
I think this is the first time I've ever seen Robert England not in Freddy Kruger makeup. Pretty much every role I've seen him in other than this and the original A Nightmare on Elm Street have been voice roles.
Man, that ending was intense, and also showed an interesting new part of the Upside Down. I really thought they had killed Max off when the screen went black.
Things are definitely not looking good for Hopper, Joyce and Murray. It's a shame Yuri is a traitorous bastard, he was pretty funny and I kinda liked him, until he we turned on everyone else.

 

[FPAlpha]

I don't think I'd ever heard that Kate Bush song before this, but man, those final moments of episode 4 were intense. That might still be my highlight of the season, obviously depending on how things go in the last two episodes.

To be honest, I feel like season 3 was a bit of a step down from the first two, but this season feels like the show's kind of gotten its mojo back. I've been pretty much on the edge of my seat the whole time. It's unfortunate that Netflix are switching up from their usual release model, because it's gonna be a long wait until July 1st!

Strange ( pun intended) - it is one of her most well known hits but at least you heard it now and it is a unique introduction to the song.

Here's an awesome cover by Placebo:

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Spoiler: Season 4

Once the show concludes Max breaking away from Vecna will surely be amongst the top 10 scenes of Stranger Things as a whole, up there with Eleven going all in in the seasin 2 finale when she closes the Rift or the "death" of Hopper in the season 3 finale. And if we get such an awesome scene in the whole of season 4 what can we expect from season 4.2? If they don't drop the ball it'll have to be the most epic season finale they did. Whatever they do 4.1 is an amazing season so far and i loved all aspects.

One thing i haven't seen mentioned yet that made me really pumped and then terribly sad - raise a glass to the Federal Agent, who gave his life for the kids he protected. He appeared to be just another bored, overweight and annoyed agent but when called upon he went into action like the most seasoned pro ever. Calm under fire, his only objective was to get the kids to safety and he only finally died when they were safe ( and gave them a clue to continue their mission). A hero.

Season 4.1s "Dear Billy" might just be the best episode yet.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Spoiler: Season 4

Once the show concludes Max breaking away from Vecna will surely be amongst the top 10 scenes of Stranger Things as a whole, up there with Eleven going all in in the seasin 2 finale when she closes the Rift or the "death" of Hopper in the season 3 finale. And if we get such an awesome scene in the whole of season 4 what can we expect from season 4.2? If they don't drop the ball it'll have to be the most epic season finale they did. Whatever they do 4.1 is an amazing season so far and i loved all aspects.

Spoiler: Dear Billy

Absolutely. I was completely blown away by that whole sequence. Like I mentioned before, I wasn't sure if the Duffer brothers would actually kill a child in such a gruesome fashion (even if Sadie Sink is actually 20, but she looks much younger), but they managed to ramp up the tension so much, that I thought for a moment that she wouldn't make it. Her escape makes "Running Up the Hill" an even better song choice than it had initially appeared.

Spoiler: Season 4

One thing i haven't seen mentioned yet that made me really pumped and then terribly sad - raise a glass to the Federal Agent, who gave his life for the kids he protected. He appeared to be just another bored, overweight and annoyed agent but when called upon he went into action like the most seasoned pro ever. Calm under fire, his only objective was to get the kids to safety and he only finally died when they were safe ( and gave them a clue to continue their mission). A hero.

Spoiler: Season 4

Absolutely. I, too, was impressed how much he stepped up in that moment. Kudos to him for that blaze of glory. The Duffer brothers, yet again, played on our expectations and I, for one, am happy to be have been fooled.

Also: That's a damn good cover by Placebo!

 

[FPAlpha]

Spoiler: Season 4

Absolutely. I was completely blown away by that whole sequence. Like I mentioned before, I wasn't sure if the Duffer brothers would actually kill a child in such a gruesome fashion (even if Sadie Sink is actually 20, but she looks much younger), but they managed to ramp up the tension so much, that I thought for a moment that she wouldn't make it. Her escape makes "Running Up the Hill" an even better song choice than it had initially appeared.

Spoiler: Season 4 Dear Billy

That was my fear too. I wouldn't have put it past the show to actually kill one of the group as a way to raise the stakes through the roof - it would have turned the show absolutely dark and i would have been ok with it because too many shows pull their punches. However what we got was as good, if not better - a way through trauma and pain with the help of friends who love you, something to live for. And that is a very positive message wrapped in a supernatural horror show.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Spoiler: Season 4 Dear Billy

That was my fear too. I wouldn't have put it past the show to actually kill one of the group as a way to raise the stakes through the roof - it would have turned the show absolutely dark and i would have been ok with it because too many shows pull their punches. However what we got was as good, if not better - a way through trauma and pain with the help of friends who love you, something to live for. And that is a very positive message wrapped in a supernatural horror show.

Spoiler: Season four

Absolutely. I love the underlaying theme of this season is how to handle trauma. Not just Max but also El (more so in the last couple of episodes) as well as Vecna's victims (who he deliberately targeted because of their traumas). It can even be extended to Hopper as well, even if his trauma wasn't explored as much as Max's and El's. Hell, even Jason the jock in the form of how to handle your trauma very, very, very poorly.

 

[theenglish]

Spoiler: Dear Billy

The season seemed to have been foreshadowing her death since the first episode so I was fully expecting her to die. I am actually wondering the this episode was a fake out and Max will not make it past this season.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Spoiler: Dear Billy

The season seemed to have been foreshadowing her death since the first episode so I was fully expecting her to die. I am actually wondering the this episode was a fake out and Max will not make it past this season.

Spoiler: Through episode seven

That would go with my earlier theorizing that Vecna may have let her go, meaning the music isn't actually the key to escaping his grasp. Since Henry/One said he let his father live to take the blame for the murders, which means the radio didn't help Victor escape.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I thought it hasn't quite hit the magic of the earlier seasons though it gets stronger as it goes on with the first couple episodes being the roughest. It is a bit jarring getting used to the aged actors but I don't think that's entirely it. Then again the characters are a bit alienated so that might be part of it.

Spoiler

As to new characters, I like Eddie but not finding Argyle to be as fun as they seem to think we should. I am disappointed that Erica seems to not have progressed at all from the precocious brat we first met, not saying to lose that entirely but I'd like to have seen her grow a bit. Maybe they'll tie it in at the end in the way Stranger Things is known for but the Hopper storyline is really disconnected from the rest of the story so far. Finally, getting my complaints out of the way, the kids gung ho attitude of going to kick the upside down's ass is cute but dampens the thrills.

There's a different approach to the horror element, more personal and psychological, maybe reflecting the later movies of the 80s, even including Robert Englund just as I was thinking the plot reminded me of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Though as the story has gone on even that is revealed to have been connected back to the Hawkins/Lab storyline. Sadie Sink does a good job pulling the weight to carry the Max storyline and make that work. I have always had a soft spot for Steve and his reluctant role as the "adult" of the group. He doesn't always want the role but he's always accepts and does what needs to be done.

I do like how the story ties into the bigger overall arc even Barb. The plotting is solid though I got lost a couple of times juggling timeframes with El. I think I may having binged one too many there lol.

I'm torn on all the crazy Yuri, Murray and Joyce stuff. Some of it seems a bit too slapstick with the rest of the show but some of it is such dumb fun it might be forgivable. Going back to a previous point just what the hell is going on with the Hopper storyline. I understand what's happening but it all just feels adjacent to the rest of the story.

I enjoyed watching but it's not quite that "S-tier" of before. When we had the flashback scenes it just drove that home but we'll see what an eventual second viewing might do to change that. I've never gone back to rewatch any of the series but maybe after season 4 finally concludes I might go back through the whole thing from the beginning.

As someone who has avoided trailers and spoilers the thumbnail images that Netflix selected didn't thrill me. I've been doing that for a handful of shows and it has been an interesting experiment.

Seeing the Family Video product placement made me sad. That chain died during Covid taking my last local brick-and-mortar video store away from me. I'm assuming it was still in business when Season 4 was being initiated and worked on.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Family Video is a real thing?

 

[Anwar]

I enjoyed watching but it's not quite that "S-tier" of before.

Let's be fair, only the first season was S-Tier.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Family Video is a real thing?

Here was my local...

Let's be fair, only the first season was S-Tier.

Possibly, I really need to do a rewatch. C'mon finale...

 

[JD]

I had no idea Family Video was a real company.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Spoiler

... but not finding Argyle to be as fun as they seem to think we should. I am disappointed that Erica seems to not have progressed at all from the precocious brat we first met, not saying to lose that entirely but I'd like to have seen her grow a bit. Maybe they'll tie it in at the end in the way Stranger Things is known for but the Hopper storyline is really disconnected from the rest of the story so far.

Spoiler

I agree that Argyle didn't work out as well as they thought he did but the only thing I found disappointing about Erica is we didn't get nearly as much of her as I thought we would. That said, she's now firmly with the party as shit is about to get very real and could possibly be traveling to the Upside Down to rescue Nancy and/or confront Vecna.

As for Hopper, I don't know if you watched the teaser after episode seven, but it seems pretty clear to me that his storyline may not quite be as disconnected as we thought. There seems to be a fairly strong connection at that prison and/or neighboring area based on what Hopper sees. That said, his storyline thus far has been rather stretched out, unfortunately, but I didn't mind because I really enjoyed his rapport with Dmitri.

I enjoyed watching but it's not quite that "S-tier" of before. When we had the flashback scenes it just drove that home but we'll see what an eventual second viewing might do to change that. I've never gone back to rewatch any of the series but maybe after season 4 finally concludes I might go back through the whole thing from the beginning.

As someone who just rewatched the first three seasons for the first time (aside from clips here and there to help me connect with Suspicious Minds, the tale of Terry Ives), I can say that certain things hit a lot harder and more sense while seeing it all play out in close conjunction. I imagine season four will be even more so, especially in regards to the trauma throughline.

Seeing the Family Video product placement made me sad. That chain died during Covid taking my last local brick-and-mortar video store away from me. I'm assuming it was still in business when Season 4 was being initiated and worked on.

Damn, I hadn't known it finally went out of business. There was one in walking distance from my college (2002-2006).

 

[theenglish]

I would love it if Eugene Levy made an appearance as the owner of the store.

Spoiler: Hopper

I agree that his story was disconnected at the start, but the flashbacks made it obvious that he was a prisoner because of his actions in Hawkins. In episode 7, we finally get to see his connection to the main story--not just because he gets to fight the demogorgon but he even states that he thinks his purpose there is to help El.

Spoiler: Through episode seven

That would go with my earlier theorizing that Vecna may have let her go, meaning the music isn't actually the key to escaping his grasp. Since Henry/One said he let his father live to take the blame for the murders, which means the radio didn't help Victor escape.

Spoiler: Dear Billy

I think it was a bit of both. The music snapped Max out of her trance, so it probably works somewhat--but there is something about her that surprised Vecna. Like how she was able to find him in his realm.

 

[tomalak301]

I finished season 4 tonight and while I liked the season so far, I guess I'm one of those that judges things a bit more harshly when it comes to long episodes and I feel like this season so far has suffered from too many storylines and characters. They needed a reason to keep Hopper in the series but the Russia storyline wasn't really necessary. I also thought the stuff with the Basketball team was not all that great either. The stuff with the Kids in Hawkins and El were excellent though, even though

Spoiler

the revelation that quarterly was patient 1 was a little predictable. I actually though lt him being Victor's son was the biggest twist

.

I thought the MVP of the season might have been either Max or Dustin. Episode 4 was the best episode of the season so far.