Stranger Things Returns After Three-Year Hiatus
Stranger Things released its fourth season following a three-year wait on May 27.
The hit series has been a success in 83 countries with 268.79 million hours viewed and counting since its 2016 release.
This season’s plot is set in March of 1986, nine months after the events of the third season. Season four follows the main group handling their first year of high school with different struggles.
In the fictional town of Hawkins, Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) is having a hard time coping with her step-brother’s death. Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) is working on becoming “cool” because he is tired of being a “nerd” and tries to persuade his friends, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), who are now members of the Hellfire Club, to do the same.
In California, Jane “Eleven” Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown), now part of the Byers family, is being severely bullied while Will (Noah Shnapp) is trying to support her.
The characters throughout the season are all split into different groups because the season consists of four different plot lines.
The maturity of the characters matches that of the show. This season is much darker and gruesome than the previous ones as you see limbs being snapped and eyes being gouged.
Unlike previous monsters, who would go unnoticed for the majority of the season, this season’s beast, Vecna, is seen with no nose and claws for hands.
Vecna is the monster of the Upside Down that brutally murders teenagers who experienced trauma. It is the biggest threat to the characters throughout the season.
The monster is also one of the biggest villains in the original game of Dungeons & Dragons (1974).
However, Vecna is not the only new character in the series.
Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), the leader of the Hellfire Club, and Argyle (Eduardo Franco), Jonathan’s (Charlie Heaton) best friend, are the other two new significant entries in the show.
Fans are also introduced to Victor Creel, who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital. He is described as a disturbed, intimidating and murderous man, who allegedly killed his family.
Creel is played by actor Robert Englund, known for the classic character Freddie Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
The episodes in this season are more than an hour long, with the finale being as long as a movie with a one hour and 38 minute run time.
Because of its complexity, the season has been divided into two parts. Volume one has seven episodes and volume two, which will be released on July 1, has two episodes.
As each of the characters goes through their journey, the audience gets closer to knowing the answers to all the questions they have been asking since season one.
After watching season four, it’s clear why it took three years to make.
The quality of each episode is high and feels like a movie. Each episode features superb cinematography and detail despite being filmed in only three locations due to COVID.
The series is expected to end after season five. Therefore, this year’s production was described as “the beginning of the end” by the creators of the show, the Duffer Brothers.
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