The first part of the fourth season of Stranger Things was released yesterday (May 27) and overall I rate it pretty well. Of course, you can feel that the series are already dragged on. Or that the creators did not plan so much content and now, due to the enormous popularity, they are coming up with the plot more randomly.

Nevertheless, Stranger Things still remains one of the best series produced by streaming platforms. It is still very high-quality entertainment, and we look forward to seeing Netflix’s second half of the season on Netflix on the first day of July.

It is still difficult to say why July 1 was selected. Despite trying to figure out why this date, I still can not give a clear answer. Of the historical events that took place that day, the most significant to me is the Battle of the Somme, which began on that day in 1916. Is this a deliberate maneuver and whether the series’ final fight will somehow reflect this particular battlefield is pure speculation.

Plot Summary

In a nutshell, the events revolve around the murders that are once again shaking up the town of Hawkings. They are the stone that causes an avalanche, as usual in Stranger Things. We follow a few threads, which – knowing the showrunners – will merge into one at the beginning of July. Interestingly, these threads take place in three different locations: California, Indiana and Russia.

The first thread is The Hellfire Club, a club of nerds from Hawkings High School. One of them, Eddie Munson, witnesses a strange murder. Heroes – including Dustin, Max, Steve and Robin, try to find and protect him. Pretty soon, Nancy joins this group, whose editorial partner dies under similar circumstances.

Another thread is that of Lucas, who is gaining popularity while playing for the school’s basketball team. Ultimately, his story connects with The Hellfire Club. The heroes determine that Vecna, the monster from the Upside Down – Other Side, is responsible for the murders. And unfortunately it looks like Max will be his next victim.

The next thread is that of Mike, Eleven (aka Jane), Will and Johnathan. It turns out that the Hawkings murders mobilize the government to act. One government faction wants to help Eleven regain her power, and the other wants to kill her. The faction that wants to help Eleven restore her powers, led by Dr. Owens and Dr. Brenner (yes, Papa is alive!) makes the one of the most extensive themes in history.

The last storyline concerns Hopper, imprisoned in a Soviet prison, and Joyce and Murray, who undertake a rescue mission to get him out of this prison. So, as always, adults cut themselves off completely from the paranormal problems that the teenagers struggle with.

The Story

The script is very high value as usual. Unfortunately, there were a few glitches in it that had not happened before. However, I had a feeling that all these clashes were created by the dragging of the series. Each of the seven episodes lasted over an hour, and the showrunners certainly developed the story slowly. This, in itself, is not bad, but they could spare us some things nonetheless. For example, a scene in which two groups: Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eddie, and: Dustin, Lucas, Max and Erica admire the portal (gate) for a few minutes, from the perspective of two worlds, instead of just running away.

Nevertheless, there were not many such scenes. However, the impression of prolonging the topic was quite strong. Especially with Eleven and her attempts to regain her power. These attempts consisted of recreating recordings from the Hawkings laboratory to stimulate her memory. Access the memories she has deliberately suppressed, and thereby remove the mental blockage that prevents her from using her powers. These scenes were quite threaded and even repeated between episodes.

However, these are the only two drawbacks that I am able to identify after watching the new season for the first time. Nothing else was obviously irritating me. As for the advantages of the plot, I can basically list everything else. As I mentioned at the beginning, the story keeps its high level. The characters behave meaningfully and consistently. There is a sensible cycle of cause and effect, and the show does not have a strange translation for each scene, in case the stupid viewer does not understand.

The only scene in which the showrunners explain something to the viewer is in the finale of this seasone part, when the threads of Eleven and the Hellfire Club overlap, explaining the identity of the main monster. And this scene was not irritating for me. I think it was realized narratively because of the effect, not on the assumption that people are idiots.

It was definitely fun to see and learn a little more about the Hawkings research and meet the other children of this paranormal project. Especially One, who turned out to be the main villain. Interestingly enough, there were 18 children (or 17 – I am not sure about the frame) in total, including the Eight, whom we already met in season two.

Acting

The acting, as usual, was at a very high level. Certainly, a well-written script played an important role here, including mainly natural dialogues between the characters. However, this does not diminish the actors’ merits. The golden cup however for acting in season four goes to Jamie Campbell Bower for the role of One, inspired by serial killers. Not only did he play fantastically, but also his unusual physiognomy – protruding cheekbones and large eyes, all emphasized by perfect makeup, made a very good impression on me.

Light, Scenography and Soundtrack

As usual, these production elements are at the great. Each frame was selected with care and some of them looked almost like a self-contained image. Especially the frame with the entrance to the bunker in the desert – a single door to the underground in total wasteland. In terms of music, Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill, was the strongest track in the series and very suitable for the plot of Max, who struggled with the trauma after Billy’s death.

For the scenery, the whole Creel house was definitely great. A paraphrase of all the haunted house movies. For me, it was incredibly similar to the Newnan House from the Lovecraft Country series.

References and Easter Eggs

As usual, there as a bunch of references and Easter Eggs and I am not under the illusion that after watching one season I am able to name at least one fifth of all those mentioned. Of the most interesting I could think of, I can mention the following:

• Harry Potter – Fred Benson, Nancy’s partner and unfortunately a victim of Vecna. He had a scar, wore glasses, and his parents died in a car accident. Accident? Certainly not for fans of Harry
  
• Hellfire Club – nothing new for X-Men comic book lovers
  
• Dustin wears a hat that says “Thinking Cup” 😉
  
• A reference to the panic that was once widespread in the USA. A believe that RPGs are a cult of Satan
  
• When Dustin, Steve, Robin and Max search for Eddie, they find an almost mythical character, a dealer named Rick. Robin decides to search the rental database to find his address. Interestingly, it looks like another Rick is also borrowing tapes from Hawkings. In tenth position we have Rick Sanchez jumping between dimensions.

• Eddie Munson is a living monument to early metal
  
• The serial killers in the US were a reference that showed up quite a lot. Max was talking about Ted Bundy, Eddie’s surname alluded to Manson. And Vecny’s modus operandi is reminiscent of how Freddy Kruger murdered his victims. Interestingly, Robert Englund – who plays Kruger, plays the role of Victor Creel in Stranger Things 4
  
• Argyle and an obvious pineapple pizza joke. Do the showrunners like this blasphemous dish?
  
• DnD session during the basketball match – As always, the RPG session paraphrases the events of Stranger Things season. During DnD, the kids fight Vecna ​​and at the beginning of the fight, the Game Master says the following sentence:
  
  – He is not only missing he’s left arm, but his left eye!
  – No! Vecna is dead! It was killed by Kas!
  – So it was thought my friend. So it was thought. But Vecna lives!
  
  This sums up the first fight between One-Vecna and Eleven. It was hinted that people in Lab could assume that One was dead, but he survived on the Other Side. Following this lead, one might assume that Erica would ultimately kill Vecna. Perhaps she will sneak up behind Vecna and stab him in the back with her poisoned kukri? Because during the session, it was she who threw the crit and killed the monster.

These are just a few things that I am able to list quickly. Apart from a TON of references to the Lord of the Rings. And the very fact that the entire series is basically a great paraphrase of RPG systems. You might as well watch the Call of Cthulhu campagin made into Netflix series. Except that the characters during the Cthulhu session play the Dungeons and Dragons session. In short – sessionception!

Summary

There is nothing more to say – I can only recommend watching. Assuming, of course, that everyone who knew Stranger Things didn’t start doing it right after work, yesterday. The series was and remains great. And it is a pleasure to watch such productions at a time when most of the filmmaking activity seems to be the the dumb and dumber of scriptwriters and directors.

I am looking forward to the end of this season. And although I know it’s time to say goodbye to our heroes – I will probably miss them. And one more thing … I am able to bet that in the finale, the heroes of Stranger Things will swear an oath. As in Steven King’s “The Loosers Club,” they swore that if evil ever returned, they would also. It would be a beautiful summary of the whole series.