Stranger Things 4 review: levels up in horror, not in character

A balanced Dungeons & Dragons party is a fundamental part of creating an enjoyable gaming experience. It is important to have fighters with the ability to provide melee or ranged attack, magic, and at least one healer. A range of stats is important for non-battle areas so conversations with the innkeepers are smooth and possible dangers and traps easily can be seen from just a glance. You want your group to be inclusive. Have funOne that unexpectedly works together in order to achieve their ultimate goal, no matter what it may be.

The premiere season Stranger Things — which leaned on the Dungeons & Dragons of it all more so than the following two — exemplified a good, balanced party. This core group of children played nicely off each other (and their in-game character sheets definitely highlighted an appropriately calibrated party). There was great chemistry between the children, and some wonderful moments. Each season was a new adventure. Stranger Things has moved away from the D&D aspect — and also away from that ideal party.

While the Duffer brothers bring back Dungeons & Dragons in Stranger Things 4Group dynamics are now weaker than ever. Even if the terror comes in full swing, the charm of the characters is completely sucked away, replaced by connections that just don’t work well together but are being forced to somehow.

[Ed. note: This review contains some slight spoilers for the first half of the fourth season of Stranger Things.]

Image courtesy of Netflix

Season 4 Stranger Things Our usual party splits across the world, with their relations fraught at best. Joyce Byers (Winona Rider), her sons Will and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), moved to California with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Hopper (David Harbour), is in Russian prison. Hawkins holds the fort, but different interests have caused a separation of the core group. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are still just as committed to D&D, but Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) joins the basketball team in addition to his tabletop interests.

Meanwhile, Max (Sadie Sink) is still processing her stepbrother’s death and has isolated herself from her friends, moodily listening to Kate Bush on her walkman. All the Hawkins teens are hard at work. Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Nancy (Natalia Dyer), have been working together at the local video shop, while Nancy is away as a #girlboss newspaper editor. And just to add some fun into the mix, there are two new characters: stoner Argyle (Eduardo Franco), who is Jonathan’s new (and perhaps first?) BFF, and metalhead Eddie (Joseph Quinn), head of the high school’s Hellfire Club (aka the Dungeons & Dragons club).

The monster scene seems peaceful until a teenage victim is brutally killed. Our brave gang of heroes suspects there might be something going on in the Upside Down, despite the fact that the police will point fingers quickly. A monster is now haunting victims with terrifying hallucinations, preying upon their most traumatic memories and fears. The Dungeons & Dragons kids call it Vecna, a nod to one of the game’s most fearsome villains. If last season’s gobs of flesh melting didn’t get you, then perhaps the gruesome deaths in this season will tickle your fancy.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Every season Stranger ThingsThe brutality has been increased, making the characters a more frightening threat. But the show doesn’t seem to be leveling up the personal connections to the same extent. Each season that followed the success of the original season has been a struggle. However, there have been some characters who were able to spark unexpected connections. For example, Steve’s role as babysitter for the team in season 2 and his trip to the mall with Dustin, Robin and Erica during season 3 were highlights. But Steve’s infectious charisma seems to be the exception and not the norm and this time around. While his friendship with Robin is a small light in a dark tunnel, it’s not enough to pull everyone else out of the slump.

The season is built around physical distance and the characters seem to be haphazardly woven together out of the need for people to meet in one place. Characters don’t have to LikeTo make an impactful story, they should complement one another. At the minimum, they should share some on-screen chemistry. Instead, everyone feels like they’re begrudgingly getting along, obligated to band together even though their stats make them possibly the least ideal mix of characters to be taking on a grand mission together.

The charm of seeing these familiar characters again is infectious. We have seen them grow up, after all, and even if nothing quite matches the novelty of the first season, it is fun to see them all again and see where they’ve ended up — though admittedly, that washes off very quickly when they start behaving in ways that just seem counterintuitive to everything we know about them. Max is now happy that her stepbrother made Max miserable. Lucas has become a great basketball player. But Mike and Dustin are being so mean to him about it, even asking him to skip the big championship game so he can play Dungeons & Dragons with them. These kids are going through some rough times. Friendships do change, however. You’d hope they were a little more sympathetic.

Image courtesy of Netflix

The Duffers seem to be taking the principle of “show, don’t tell” to the utmost max. It isn’t enough that Eleven is having a hard time at a new school and doesn’t have her powers; we have to see multiple scenes of her being viciously bullied by the popular kids and trying (and failing) to use her psychic powers against them. We not only see Jonathan and Nancy having long-distance issues, we have to listen to multiple painful and awkward conversations about how things aren’t working out even though they still love each other, really, deep down. The episodes are packed with information, even though they last over an hour. However, it feels like the episodes never get boring.

The horror builds up to terrifying scenes and brutal kills, but it is at the most amusing. Although the mechanics of this new monster are quite eerie, as it causes nightmares in its victims, they also have a tendency to repeat themselves. That’s the downside of having a humanoid monster — what scary things can it say that have not been said a million times before? The new characters bring a lot of flavour. Jonathan gets some much-needed humor from Argyle, despite his family obligations and strained romantic relationships. Eddie is also a compellingly chaotic mess of contradictions, a bad boy who really just takes a bunch of misfit kids under his wing, even if he’s still kind of a dick to them. But they’re just two small working parts and unfortunately cannot save the rest of their respective groups.

This season’s adventurer bands have been placed in a random fashion that may make some sense but don’t work when they are actually put together. There is a lot of work to do despite all the excitement and fun. There are a few glimmers of hope amidst the mush — a few good dice rolls that help a party with horrible stats at least squeak on by. These moments are rare due to poor party planning. With a season promising movie-length episodes and a run time “almost twice as long” as the third season, that’s a major liability. While it is possible that the team will be able defeat the monster in Part 2, will they also tell an engaging and fun story? Jury’s still out on that.

This is the first section of Stranger Things Season 4 with seven episodes will be available on Netflix starting May 27, 2017.