Falling Apart in the Upside Down
When it was revealed that Season 4 of Stranger Things would have two parts, people speculated about the purpose behind this adjustment. After watching part 1, anyone could see that it was because they had to manage a gazillion subplots in one season. The Duffer brothers brought a host of new characters this season, with the most notable being Eddie, Argyle, Jason (and his minions), Chrissy and Angela. However, with a horde of characters, it’s inevitable that some thrive while others disappoint.
Mike, who used to be the glue of the group, was suddenly reduced to the label of ‘Eleven’s boyfriend’. Between Mike's pining for Eleven and Will’s longing glances at Mike, Argyle was the saving grace that made all their scenes bearable. Mike’s confession of love was theatrical towards the end, where he tries to save Eleven with the ‘power of love’ and succeeds. However, it seemed like a desperate move to add to the screenplay to most viewers.
Eddie was introduced as the leader of the Hellfire Club, which was infamous for being the club of miscreants in Hawkins when in reality, they were just nerds playing Dungeons and Dragons. He was akin to an older brother to Dustin. The eccentric character was spectacularly played by Joseph Quinn, who was portrayed to be an idiosyncratic senior who found his purpose in helping the outcasts fit in. Eddie being killed off in the season was predictable; almost standard for the Duffer brothers to introduce a new character and kill them off in the same season, as shown by Bob’s and Alexei’s deaths in the previous seasons.
Jason, Chrissy’s boyfriend, was a cheap plot device. It was absurd when he convinced a whole town that D&D was a satanic ritual disguised as a board game and the Hellfire Club were cultists. Of course, when people are dying in a gruesome fashion, let’s blame it on a board game that’s been played for years.
Hopper was revealed to be alive in the first episode, and it was relieving for fans who loved his character. However, his escape from Russia contributed little to nothing to the plot, as Eleven and Hopper were only reunited at the very end.
Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship was rocky from the start of the season, mainly due to their lack of communication. They progressively distanced themselves throughout the season. This was disappointing because Nancy and Jonathan were paired together from the start of the series and were incredibly supportive of each other’s goals and had each other’s back through all the horrific events that stained their teenage lives. As a cherry on top of the blunder, nearing the end of the season, we see a simmering tension between Steve and Nancy, which was tolerable had it not been for the fact that Nancy and Jonathan were still dating.
Nonetheless, the series was not entirely a disappointment, with commendable acting for characters like Dustin, Steve, Eddie and Max. It also revealed the true villain behind the scenes i.e. Vecna, who had a satisfactory backstory for his actions and is an adequate opponent for Eleven. It was much better than when the antagonist was not a mindless bloodthirsty monster.
Stranger Things Season 4 was a showdown between a motivated villain and dallying protagonists. For a series that celebrated nerds, freaks and their outrageous shenanigans, this season was arguably a letdown.
