The unexpected cliffhanger from season 3 of Stranger Things left viewers with a lot of questions. What is the future for Hawkins? What will happen to the group with Eleven and Will in California? Is Hopper alive, and if yes, where is he? After three years, those questions have been answered on May 28th in the first part of season 4.

The Story 

Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin are in high school now. Although they have been friends for a long time, their friendships are slowly falling apart. Mike and Dustin have joined a Dungeons and Dragons club, called the Hellfire Club. Lucas, now part of the school’s basketball team, refuses to take part in their final game. He instead chooses to play in the championship basketball game, which he explains is due to his desire to fit in with the more popular kids.

A recent murder makes the whole town uneasy. A Hellfire Club member is called out as guilty, and he is on the run. Lucas, Dustin, and Max all know that it wasn’t his fault, but instead the fault of a new mind-flaying demon from the upside-down called Vecna. 

Dustin, Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Max have to find Vecna and stop more murders from occurring in Hawkins while Eleven, Mike, and Will go through different challenges in California. Meanwhile, Joyce and Murray have to solve another problem coming from Russia.

Pros and Cons

This season doesn’t regurgitate the same characters and storyline. The story takes a completely different turn, as many of the original characters don’t act the same as in the previous seasons. Friendships are ruined, and personalities changed. Some innocent characters are shown with vicious past lives, and some ‘evil” characters are reintroduced with such decency that you would feel empathy for them.

Although the story was told from many perspectives, too many events were happening at once, which created a snowball of confusion. It was hard to follow every character in every scene, especially when they were playing two sides.

Verdict

This season was a mix of suspenseful, surprising, and Stranger Things. It provided a new storyline for each character which also brought great character development. Season 4 Part 1 is definitely a must-watch.