A few days ago, Netflix unleashed the first half of season 4 of its hit supernatural series “Stranger Things.” So let’s dive right in. The season begins with Eleven living in a new town under the name Jane. Things aren’t going well for her. She is being bullied terribly by the popular kids. Things come to a head when Mike comes to visit, and she loses it and hits the lead girl in the face, triggering a fight between different government factions to find her. After a man from her past convinces her to go with him, she finds herself back in the clutches of Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine), aka Papa, the man who made her what she is.
The rest of the kids aren’t doing any better. Half are on a mission to find Eleven, while the rest are in Hawkins facing a new menace from the Upside Down while trying to save their new friend who is being blamed for a string of gruesome murders by the series’ new bad guy, linked to the story surrounding accused killer Victor Creel, played by horror icon Robert Englund.
On the other side of the world, Joyce and a friend are on a mission to rescue him after learning the Hoper is still alive and locked up in a Russian gulag, one of the worst prisons on earth.
This season, fans can expect disturbing sights as kids are broken mid-air and police are shot. There’s a ton of blood and gore and a lot of emotion-fueled plot about friendship, being bullied, being yourself, and love.
As always, “Stranger Things” packs as much action into every episode as they can, hopping between groups on different missions throughout the episodes. We don’t learn how everything is connected until the final episode of the first half, setting up the second half to be big!! Don’t worry. I’m not going to spoil it for you.
This season feels bigger. It is bigger, with the episodes being longer, and this time around, the big bad is intelligent and more powerful than anything the kids have ever faced before. Without El and her powers, there’s no chance they can win, but they are trying anyway.
The special effects are impressive this season, with a lot of time spent in the Upside Down, where the kids encounter the big bad, flying creatures, and more. And it looks fantastic. But I will say this, some of the portals look like giant buttholes. I don’t know if that’s what they were going for, but breaking out in laughter during moments of seriousness and horror kind of ruins it.
I know waiting for the second half sucks, but at least it isn’t too long of a wait, part II premieres on July 1st, exclusively on Netflix.
