Does ‘Stranger Things 4’ succeed or stumble under its highest ambitions yet?

The latest season 3 years in the making returns to the series’ greatest strengths while creating some new weaknesses (FULL SPOILERS AHEAD)

Synopsis: It's been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.

Where to Watch: Streaming on, and continuing to be one of the few reasons to keep paying for, Netflix

In the first two seasons of ‘Stranger Things’, Sheriff Jim Hopper (David Harbour) immediately stood out as an immediate fan favorite, an initially world-weary man who was forced to live up to the potential he abandoned after the loss of his daughter. It was a classic cop persona with echoes of inspiration taken from iconic figures like John McClane. In season 3, something went wrong. The smart, gruff hero with a heart of gold turned into a dumber, more over-the-top shell of his former self whose newfound jerkiness and buffoonery tanked any of his development. Now, with a fake death behind him and separated from the group in Russia, his arc encompasses everything you need to know about season 4 in a nutshell. Hopper goes back to much of what we loved about him, a tough but sympathetic figure who gets to use Harbour’s somberness and emotional writing to develop even more about his backstory and psyche. Though the tortured badass plotline may be fairly common, its execution is an effective change of pace. It's darker, tense, and has a thrilling set-piece with a Demogorgon more gory than ever before. However, it also contains slow patches of writing and serious logic gaps that both feel out of place for this show. As said before, it has most of the same pros and cons as the rest of the nearly 500 minutes that makes up this volume.

Extensive, overwhelming praise has been lauded at this season from critics and the Twittersphere, and it’s safe to say that this may be the most thrilling installment since the first. The plot is bigger and busier than ever, each episode densely packed with story thread and reveals while cleverly avoiding the possibility of falling into monotony by having a diverse set of settings and characters. The mystery with the core cast at Hawkins delivers the horror and intrigue to reel viewers in, the adventure at California adds some sunnier aspects while shaking up some old dynamics, and Eleven’s exploration into her past provides the emotional weight and shocking twists, including the welcome return of Matthew Modine’s perfectly sinister Martin Brenner. The Duffer Brothers have balanced the tone perfectly, going farther with the horror than ever before while keeping the fun camaraderie and quippy tone, so that it’s just as funny as always while being scarier than any of the other stories. The production is top-notch (aside from some occasionally spotty CGI), and the colossal budget shines through the massive action, the dynamic color palette, and the immaculate recreation of 80s settings, without quite recapturing the vibrant aesthetic of last season.

This season also does a better job at having an expansive ensemble without feeling like key players are sidelined or each frame is filled to the point of bursting, though problems do arise with some of the originals. New additions Eddie and Argyle both have their own hilarious moments while giving appropriately weirder perspectives to counter our group of lovable nerds, and even our new Freddy Krueger-esque creature is the needed diversion from typical Demogorgons to reignite the original intrigue. Max (Sadie Sink) is sure to be the fan-favorite of this season with more intimate character moments and a study of the real trauma throughout her life, such as the confused blend of grief and relief that she felt at the death of her abusive older brother Billy, peaking in the stirring final moments of this volume’s best episode “Dear Billy”. Starting as an initially bittersweet journey, it ends with her emotional and triumphant escape from Vecna that’s a proper continuation of her character arc (helped by one of the show’s best needle-drops with “Running Up That Hill”, but the throwback synth score and seamless blending of other catchy tunes like “Pass the Dutchie” into scenes should not go without mention). Though the entire cast is charming, continuing the impressive feat of not having a single weak link out of these many characters, but the other standouts remain the coolest babysitter ever Steve Harrington, the now-redeemed Hopper, always charming originals Dustin and Lucas, and our star superhero Eleven elevated by powerhouse Millie Bobby Brown giving her best performance to date.

Though everyone does get their fair share of screen time, many are noticeably left in the dust. Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are the two major players who consistently continue to be underutilized, both reduced to walking frowns with all of their previous acting skill seemingly forgotten. Mike and Joyce have also been hitting largely the same notes for about three seasons now, and it’s odd to see once lead characters relegated to desperately trying to stay relevant. Another unfortunate trend that originated last season was the descent into cartoonish and ridiculous elements that contrast with the grounded tone of other scenes. Now, characters are surviving plane crashes, the high school melodrama is dialed up to the max, and the suspense is drained out of some of the action when every lead has an incredulous amount of plot armor. Not only is it the lack of danger, but a problem that becomes increasingly prevalent when the stakes and action is raised so high is that it doesn’t have the same sincerity of the earlier small scale, only capturing that sentimentality when focused on the quieter character moments.

What has to be mentioned are the extended running times for every single installment, episode 7 spanning 100 minutes while the next two episodes will have combined lengths of 4 hours (4 hours!). Some fans have relished at these extra minutes, delighted that after a long wait, they can get more and more content to feast on. For me, this worked to flesh out the plot and mythology of some episodes, but others felt like they packed in too much filler and unnecessary side quests. Did we really need 7 episodes of Joyce and Murray flying to Russia? A subplot of Mike, Will, and Jonathan visiting Dustin’s girlfriend to do a half-baked Cheaper by the Dozen homage? It’s never boring, but it’s overstuffed, as if the writers threw all of their ideas in the kitchen sink after seeing how much fans drooled over wanting more. Overall, it feels like eating a gigantic bowl of ice cream for hours on end. It’s always sweet, consumable, and enjoyable while you’re eating it, and the sugary flavor makes you feel like you’ll never get tired of it. By the end, you do feel like it was just too much of a good thing, and you definitely feel bloated by the end of the experience.

Without getting the finality of the last few episodes, it’s tough to properly judge this season’s complete narrative. The most satisfying moments of the finale were the reveals that 001 was Vecna as well as the expansion of the Upside Down and Eleven’s mythology, as they delivered on the promise of the season’s grand scale while adding some genuine shockers. However, the California crew were strangely absent during such a long episode, and other subplots like the basketball jocks hunting Eddie for revenge always felt useless. Nancy will surely come out unscathed from her meeting with Vecna, while a sympathetic B-list character may be killed for sentimental value without many consequences. Stranger Things has a lot to deliver on with these final two episodes, and I hope they can pull it off without stretching themselves thin. Although I don’t think these seven episodes quite reached the best of the show, it came pretty close at times and was consistently entertaining and cohesive. The story and characters are the most successful at delivering what we loved since season 1, and rebounds by infusing more heart and horror to make it truly unique. Character and logic issues can be frustrating and the lengthy pacing never quite feels meandering, but can frequently come off as meandering and frustrating. Still, Stranger Things has the perfect blend of fun enough to never feel tedious, but mature and well-written enough to take it seriously. It’s why this has such broad appeal, and why the lore and characters will continue to live on until Netflix milks it completely dry. In the iconic words of the Joker, what doesn’t kill (or cancel) you only makes you…stranger.

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