“Stranger Things” defied all expectations with its fourth season. Just when it seemed like the Duffer Brothers show was starting to crash, with a fun but not memorable third season, suddenly the show is back darker, more adult, and more emotional than ever. Matt and Ross Duffer have been able to take advantage of the forced break from the pandemic and the growth spurt of most of their protagonists to grow the series with them. The first seven episodes put them on the ropes, faced their biggest fears and divided them. And this was just the beginning.
Volume 2 of the Netflix Bastion series consists of two film chapters (one of which, also a long film) in which they have to deal primarily with the consequences of the memories unlocked by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown): Vecna is actually One (Jamie Campbell Bower), Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) first test subject, banished to another dimension by Eleven in a gigantic display of potential. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) has also seen those memories because Vecna wants her to know that nothing will stop her in her plan to conquer our dimension, so she starts a full plan, accompanied by Steve (Joe Keery), Max (Sadie Sink) and the others to finish it before Hawkins runs out. Eleven, back with her powers, will also find a way to return to help them, while Hopper (David Harbor) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) must escape from the Russian prison where they found the sheriff.
Although we received it in installments, the entire season maintains a cohesion in tone and pace, no matter how much a season finale is. Obviously the climax is as intense as could be expected, and this makes it very clear that the big result with the fifth season is approaching, but the Duffers have not wanted to break the momentum they have built over the course of the previous chapters. They take the opportunity to fix something the season has suffered so far: to fix the imbalances between the characters. Season 4 says goodbye by writing a love letter to virtually all the protagonists of the series, giving them their moment to shine, and giving us new reasons to love them a little more..
The eighth chapter, ‘Dad’, seeks that calm that precedes the storm, letting all the characters breathe and, above all, allowing them to reflect. It is an episode of conversations and feelings, of developing plots that have been bubbling for a long time. It is very clear that Matt and Ross Duffer are very fond of each of the boys and girls who make up this large cast. And that although the season has had its clear protagonists, they have not forgotten Mike (Finn Wolfhard), with whom they continue to break the stereotypes of the male protagonist and to look for the compass that he believed he did not have, nor Will (Noah Schnapp), for whom they had saved some of the best scenes of the season, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), who finally has moments to show off in these two chapters, or Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), who proves to be more than just funny relief. Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) also has a scene that is sure to earn him a lot of points among fans, and that crowns one of the more complicated storylines to pursue due to the circumstances of the series, making it a true reference that others should pay attention to. . Fully compensates for the entire portion of California (over eleven).
Eleven, Nancy, Max
But the season was absolutely dedicated to them. ‘Stranger Things’ has given us plenty of answers about Eleven, Dr. Brenner and the Upside Down, and while Millie Bobby Brown’s character may not have had the biggest evolution of the season this time around, the actress took advantage of every moment she did. knew how to remind us because in the first season it was clear that a star was born. Natalia Dyer totally exploded with this Nancy as the protagonist, so Ripley I’m sure her hairstyle in the last few chapters isn’t random at all. Her evolution in the series has been entirely satisfying, although Steve has wanted to outshine her on more than one occasion. But Massimo Simply max. Everything Sadie Sink has done this season should mean she’s been showered with awards and her manager’s phone is on fire.. Although from the script this passage from angry, defeatist and grief-stricken teenager to a heroine capable of resisting her greatest fears is written in a fantastic way, without Sink’s power to connect with the viewer and tear him apart it wouldn’t have worked that way. well. The actress leaves her mouth open again with scenes worthy of the level of the fantastic fourth episode, the climax of the season. She gave herself body and soul to Max, the series reciprocated with one of the best storylines of the entire journey.
It is a pity that the Russian side never managed … to take off, no matter how much Katinka may be worth. It’s kind of curious how the Duffers managed to get the best out of younger characters and didn’t know what to do with talents like Winona Ryder or David Harbor. Nor are many answers that have come from that part to justify its existence. It’s particularly frustrating to see Joyce, who was a mainstay in Season 1, simply become a shadow with little to do other than save Hopper.. Not even the screenplay accompanied it, with dandy jokes and quite burdensome characters that weighed down the duration of many chapters a lot. Thanks for the couple of scenes where they can at least get a little sentimental.
The grand finale of this season of “Stranger Things” knows how to influence that “big” without losing sight of the scope of the series, being aware that it is “The Goonies” and not “The Lord of the Rings”. In addition to that adventurous component that is still the key to the success of the series, and a climax with a rhythm measured as the clock of Creel’s villa, everything is still wrapped in that aura of terror that makes it more tense and claustrophobic. . , which leaves all the time to think that, really, anything can happen. Maybe the Duffers ended up sinning a bit of cowardice after what they triggered these last two chapters, but the ninth episode is not missing anything. There is pressure, there are surprises, there are more answers, there is camaraderie, there is love, there is a lot of attitude, there is suffering and there is loss.. The series has the time (logically, it has two and a half hours) to continue developing the characters and to give us some really delicious dynamics, like that big brother and little brother thing that Dustin and Eddie (Joseph Quinn) have. They also find another moment when Kate Bush can shine again on the soundtrack. Netflix’s money, once again, is shown in every scene, although obviously Sottosopra has its pretty cheeky green screen moments.
The fourth season also concludes by putting the first pieces for a fifth season that will be, from what we see, very different from everything that has been so far, especially in scale. There are still many questions about the Upside Down. And if in this series of chapters the initial protagonists have had a minor role, everything indicates that what started with them will end with them. The Duffers have set a very high standard to finish the series, which is still one of the best Netflix has given us. These nine chapters were able to renew interest in Hawkins and the world upside down, to evolve the characters like never before and to become a horror adventure for which there are no limits. Neither duration, nor ambition, nor anything else. And all without ever losing sight of the main objective: to capture us and have fun.
All episodes of the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’ are now available on Netflix.
Note (episodes 8 and 9): 8
The best: Future Emmy Winner Sadie Sink. The boss that Nancy has become. Love for each character. Will and Jonathan made me cry. The intense and soulful climax.
Worse: The plot of Russia. The humor of the plot of Russia. The waste of Winona Ryder. A slight cowardice in the last moments.
Source: E Cartelera
