Stranger Things season 4: Tears, tears and the kids growing up!
*Warning: this post contains spoilers for the movie
Making the world go crazy, taking the trending position on Twitter and causing the Netflix system to crash, the appeal of the last 2 episodes of Stranger Things season 4 is undeniable. Not simply a decisive battle between “man” and “monster” to close another season, the message that these last two episodes want to send to viewers is very clear: the beginning of the end (beginning). of the end).
Season 4 is the beginning of a promising ultimate battle in season 5 and the end of the entire series. This is also the slogan of season 4 that has been teased since the early days of promotion.
End of season developments: the beginning of the end
Vecna’s plot – now revealed as Number One or Henry Creel – is clear: with four lives, he will tear through the membrane separating the two worlds and let The Upside Down swallow Hawkins whole. The fate of the world is in the hands of the characters, especially Eleven after she regains her powers. However, they were divided into 3 groups in 3 geographically distant places.
At the base of the Soviet army, Joy and Murray reunited with Jim Hopper. Will, Mike and Jonathan also meet Eleven again on their interstate trip. The remaining characters in Hawkins begin to plan to defeat Vecna, while avoiding the group of students who are looking for them to hide Eddie – who is accused by the media of being a serial killer on the run.
Although in 3 different places, all the characters set up their own lines to focus on a single goal: protecting each other from the dark forces of The Upside Down.
Despite winning the battle, the war with Vecna also left many losses.
Eddie died heroically while Max fell into a deep coma. Vecna is still lurking somewhere along with the threat: “You’ve lost, this is the beginning of the end.” All the characters were happy in Hawkins the moment The Upside Down’s invasion began. Everything is signaling a final battle in season 5 – the final season of the series.
Stranger Things is one of those rare series with consistent quality through each season. So in this 4th season, what factors have created an irresistible attraction and made the audience immediately look forward to, expect and set out how many “fan theories” for the final season?
All roads lead to Rome
Multi-line storytelling has always been a “specialty” of Stranger Things, which is clearly depicted in the movie’s poster. In other words, in one season, the audience can enjoy 4 different genres (genre) in 4 perfectly balanced story lines: action (action film), comedy road-movie (comedy – action movie). program), sci-fi (sci-fi) and horror (thriller).
If season 3 ended in separation, season 4 is a story of reunion. Not only revolving around different locations in Hawkins, season 4 expands the world of the series to more remote locations like California or the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. Each storyline takes place in a different location to establish expectations of a reunion. The most breaking moment will be when these characters come together to fight together again.
To increase the “difficulty” for this reunion, in each story line, the characters face extremely difficult personal or group challenges that make viewers unable to take their eyes off the screen. These are the unsuccessful escapes of Jim Hopper, who all the other characters think is dead; is Eleven’s journey to awaken her suppressed memories to regain her strength; It’s Will and Mike’s crazy ride to find Eleven.
But in the end all roads lead to Rome. As expected of the audience, the last two episodes of season 4 merged the storylines. Wherever they were, they turned towards each other, looking for ways to protect each other and win the battle with Vecna.
The special thing is that in this season 4 there are many details that are “about Rome”, that is, returning to the right point. All characters return to Hawkins. Eleven and Jim return to the “father and son” days again. Nancy and Jonathan get back together even though she has moments of vibes with Steve all season. Will felt cold again and felt a connection to The Upside Down.
They all serve to tell the story of the characters’ coming of age. However, the price of adulthood is not small.
Farewell to childhood with blood and tears
Inspired by the horror works of the 80s, especially Stephen King’s It, Stranger Things always tries to portray a world where children must learn to cope with the forces of darkness. They grow up on their own blood and tears, as well as those of those they love.
The 6 characters (the quartet Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and the following two friends: Eleven and Max) all have milestone moments in their lives to officially shed their child identity and become human. great.
Eleven, the girl who always has daddy issues, is reunited with Dr. Brenner, her “papa” this season. At Brenner’s last words, thinking that the movie would follow a pattern of forgiveness, Eleven just said goodbye to papa and refused to offer any forgiveness. Keeping someone in your heart does not mean that all of that person’s faults are erased. Eleven is mature enough to understand that she refuses to let anyone control her life again.
Dustin lost Eddie, his new friend, brother, and understanding for boys who were always seen as “eccentric” like him. Lucas almost lost Max, his lover and friend when the two were gradually making emotional progress.
These two scenes go hand-in-hand for an emotional climax, making it clear that loss is inevitable and that children must learn to accept them.
Throughout the season, Will’s unrequited love for Mike is very clear. But in the end, Will chooses to sacrifice his feelings so that Mike has more faith in his relationship with Eleven. As for Mike, the whole season he had to learn to determine his feelings for Eleven, enough to have the courage to say the three key words “I love you”. If Will grew up with a broken heart, Mike grew up with a heart full of love – the same heart that Will drew for him.
And finally, Max – the first child forced into an adult in the series.
The post-loss trauma is as tangible through the villain Vecna, who haunts her for an entire season. It is thanks to these messages that Max’s struggle with Vecna over the background of Kate Bush’s “Running up that hill” becomes a historical scene of Netflix, a metaphor for the journey to cling to the truth. live and inspire all those who want to give up before life.
That is Max’s greatest growth when he dares to face psychological trauma but his heart is still filled with the desire to live.
Ordinary people do extraordinary things
If the series of strange events that occur in Hawkins are called “strange things”, then “stranger things” (more strange things) are five times seven times, the town and the whole world are saved by the aliens. very normal people.
A topic mentioned a lot in season 4 is the concept of “superhero” – superhero. All the characters have memorable moments of shine, something that is really hard to do in a movie with so many characters and has reached the 4th season.
The success of Stranger Things is to have built impressive characters and clear personality. They make me worry about every challenge and don’t want anyone to leave. That invisible bond between the characters and the audience is most evident perhaps through every time we put our hands on our foreheads, our eyes drifting and our mouths constantly saying, “Oh my god!”
If The Duffer Brothers can still make the audience “Oh my God” like that, then season 5, the final season, will definitely be a bomb that brings Stranger Things into the legend of the TV series!
