Even knowing that the final two episodes of “Stranger Things 4” would be downright epic in length, there was a sense that the Duffer Brothers had bitten off a bit more than they could chew this year, sending their characters on separate arcs that made this chapter feel more bloated than the previous three. How could they possibly wrap all of this up in two remaining episodes, dropping today on Netflix? And there are times in this pair that the clutter overwhelms the storytelling, with action happening simultaneously around the world (but mostly in the Upside Down) that can be almost haphazardly edited. It’s an interesting dilemma in that the narrative that the Duffers crafted for season four almost feels now like a response to the criticisms of season three. That year now feels quaint compared to this one what with most of its action happening at a suburban mall. And the argument that nothing has repercussions on “Stranger Things” was undeniably foregrounded this year, particularly in how trauma shaped the development of season favorite Max (Sadie Sink). And yet the desire to really blow up the world of this show backfired at times this year, leading to a season that was certainly entertaining but often felt thematically and narratively unfocused by trying to do so much. And where did it get us? One has to wonder how much this season will now be considered transitional given the most cliffhanger ending in the show’s history. And how fans will respond to spending so much time on a chapter that was really just setting the stage for the final season.
‘Stranger Things’ Volume 1 Review: Netflix’s Hit Show Finally Returns With An Entertaining But Scattered Fourth Season
Spoilers will stay very light for the final episodes, even though the show is now available. But you’ve been warned.
The midseason premiere picks up precisely where the last episode concluded, and it would have been smarter for Netflix to stick to the original plan of dividing the season into 6/3 instead of 7/2 because the eighth episode of this season is kind of a drag. It’s remarkably transitional, really just existing to get most of the major players into the position for the final battle against Vecna. Since the episode is named “Papa,” there’s some rich material between Matthew Modine and Millie Bobby Brown, of course, especially after the revelations in episode seven about the identity of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). But it’s an episode that feels kind of like a whimper given the build-up of the month since the midseason finale.
What “Papa” does is get everything ready for the epic “The Piggyback,” the true season finale of “Stranger Things 4,” an episode with an already notorious runtime. Yes, it’s 150 minutes—longer than “Spider-Man: No Way Home” or “Top Gun: Maverick”. And yet the season has set so many plates spinning by this chapter that it almost doesn’t feel like enough, believe it or not—and really isn’t given the cliffhanger ending.
For most of the season finale, the characters of “Stranger Things” are still divided even though they’re cleverly now operating under the same mission. Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett Gelman) close out the arc in Russia in a way that feels even more like “Alien 3” than the first part of the season. The action there, especially in a final showdown sequence, is some of the strongest of the season, and it’s nice to see Harbour get to break out some of the charm that was constrained for most of the season.
Likely knowing what kind of goodwill would be engendered by the excellent fourth episode of the season, the Duffers smartly give Sink an emotionally resonant season finale that sees her putting herself on the line, turning her trauma over Billy into the key to saving the world. Less successful is the conclusion of the misguided Jason (Mason Dye), who became an underdeveloped second-tier villain this season, but the writers never really had time to dig into the Satanic Panic, really just using it as a way to give Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) a conflict in the finale. It’s interesting that the final arc of Lucas and Max this season doesn’t have the emotional thrust of episode four, perhaps because the season had crossed some of that ground so well already.
More effective is the final showdown for Eleven, who finds her way into the action via the Upside Down essentially—the finale does some screenwriting back flips to bring everyone together without physically bringing everyone together. Brown gets her richest material of the season in her inevitable showdown with Vecna, and it’s fun to see Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Steve (Joe Keery) get their hero moments too.
In a sense, that’s really what the season finale of “Stranger Things” is about: giving fan favorite characters hero moments. Eddie (Joseph Quinn) definitely gets one. Eleven gets a few. Joyce, Hopper, and Murray trade them in Russia. At its core, like so many Steven Spielberg and Stephen King projects, this has always been a show about strength in numbers. It’s always been about how the world can’t be saved alone, and there’s something admirable about how the finale is structured in a way that gives so many characters a role to play in the season’s endgame. Almost every character this season comes to the final stage with a part to play.
The actual final, epilogue scenes echo an inspiration on this show, one that was name-dropped by Eddie earlier this season: “The Lord of the Rings.” Not only does the season have about as many endings as “The Return of the King,” but the final scene almost feels like it echoes “The Fellowship of the Ring,” with its characters staring off at their greatest challenge to date and potential death on the horizon with a visual that looks a lot like Mordor. Now that most of them have been reunited with a common goal, it’s promising to believe that the fifth and final season will split the difference between the streamlined third and bloated fourth chapters to find the perfect middle ground. Or will they fall victim to the idea that more is better and keep turning up the volume like they did this year?
In the end, “Stranger Things” has become the Summer Blockbuster that Hollywood seems to be unable to provide this year (outside of Tom Cruise). It’s a massive production with characters that fans truly love finding their moments to be actual heroes instead of just playing ones in Dungeons & Dragons. And, despite its bloated, cluttered failures, it is a show that truly attempts to satisfy its fan base in every way possible. Could it be even stronger if it didn’t play to fan expectations so much and actually surprised them in season five? Stranger things have happened. [B-]