Top 10 Best Things About Stranger Things Season 4

Now that nearly all of the actors are nearly adults, Stranger Things has shifted its tone in an even more noticeable way than the past seasons, the end result being a darker and more mature season than we've seen before, and it truly suited the show. With a disturbing interdimensional serial killer as the main villain, targeting teens with trauma in their past, the season was surprisingly dark, and it did an excellent job of reflecting the aging of the characters.

Although many actually didn't like the new, longer runtimes for Stranger Things episodes, all of them being over an hour long, with the finale even reaching two and a half hours, I personally think that the longer runtime was excellent for many reasons. Having longer episodes provides more time for the characters to develop naturally and for the impressive plot to not feel rushed, and also allows the creators of the show to balance all the different storylines without neglecting one too much. And, of course, every extra minute of Stranger Things is very much appreciated.

One of the things that can make a movie or show truly great is an unexpected and game-changing twist that shocks the viewers, something that Stranger Things had never had too much of before. However, in this season, the show went from plot twist to plot twist, executing them all masterfully. The crown jewel of these plot twists was the infamous moment when three different scenes from different years blended together to reveal the villain's origin story, showing us that Vecna was not only 001, but also Henry Creel. And this wasn't the only great twist. From the shocking realization of Max being Vecna's next victim, to the Upside Down being stuck in 1983.

One of the biggest worries when we first heard of the new casting choices for the fourth season was that there would simply be too many characters to manage, and that as a result the new ones would end up seeming shallow. This was certainly not the case. With the introduction of the best villain the show had seen, plus the beloved and fan-favourite Eddie, and not to mention the refreshing comic relief that came with Argyle, every new character introduced this season was just as good as the ones who had been around since season 1.

What is perhaps the biggest reason for Stranger Things' initial success was the blast of nostalgia for the 1980s that came with every song, car, and building seen throughout the show, and Stranger Things 4 continued to provide us with countless excellent pop culture references, and more great 80s songs. Even if you weren't around in the 1980s, the show still manages to make you nostalgic for then, and that's when you know it's done excellently.

One way that the previous seasons of Stranger Things found success was by pairing different characters in unexpected ways, a risky move that ended up paying off enormously, and Stranger Things 4 follows this formula excellently. Some of the traditional pairings were shaken up, which allowed new character dynamics and development. For example, Nancy finally got the chance to be paired with a friend (Robin) instead of a love interest and this paid off for the character excellently.

In the previous seasons of the show, we barely ventured outside of Hawkins, other than on a couple occasions. The only episode where the majority took place in another city was also regarded as the worst of the entire show. However, Stranger Things 4 managed to have only 1 of the 3 major storylines taking place in Hawkins, with one throughout California and Utah and another entirely in Russia, and yet this worked very well, which shows that the bigger scope of the season as a whole helped the huge amount of different locations work perfectly.

Amazing acting, such a surprise!

Beautiful score, perhaps the best one yet by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.

I hope neither of them die in season 5. I love them both so much! They both are my second favorite characters after Billy Hargrove and I already had to watch him die. Rip Billy, I love you 💔 I would have a huge talk with the Duffer Brothers about this and I would sue them even though I'm only 15 years old. I mean if Nancy was dead, people like most of her family like her mother, her sister Holly, and even her brother Mike would not be happy. I don't think her dad would have cared much in anyway shape or form. Also Steve and Jonathan would be devastated. Robin would not be happy, seeing how they both just became close friends. Joyce would not be happy either. Maybe Tommy, Carol, and Nicole would come back and change their ways. Also Nancy apparently has two friends that were either barely or not seen named Cathy and Ally that were mentioned in seasons one and two. I'm sure they would not be happy either. If Robin was dead, people like Nancy and Steve, who both became close friends with her, would be devastated. Wouldn't Erica and Dustin also be affected by it? Anyways I believe that they both will be safe. I think their newfound close friendship foreshadows that something awesome is going to happen to them. There could be a spin-off where they both work together to solve mysteries around Hawkins. Robin and Nancy are both very good detectives. So I believe that they will be alive and well at the end of the final season.

I disagree, she's not a very likable character at all.

The budget was much higher this season, and it shows when you look at the fantastic visual effects.

Probably the fan favourite character of the year.