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The show seems to expect its casual mainstream audience to have done a lot of homework before pressing play, assuming we've kept every minute detail of the goings-on at Hawkins' top of mind during the show's three-year hiatus. Were the extremely convenient plot shortcuts and contrived storylines always this obvious, or am I simply too jaded in 2022 to afford Stranger Things the same suspension of belief I could give it in The Before Times?Ĭan Stranger Things' plucky 1980s nostalgia survive the vibe shift of the world we live in now?īut the rough start of Season 4's first several hours (each episode clocks in at a near feature film length, at approximately an hour and fifteen minutes) is more than just mismatched vibes.
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I spent a good chunk of the first four episodes wondering whether the writing was always this absurdly corny, or if I'm just too broken inside now to swallow it. Much like a gangly teen revisiting some cherished piece of childhood sentimentality, there's an inherent sense of loss that comes with going back to a thing that's stayed the same even while you've been irrevocably changed. But similar to our beloved cast of kid characters now very much on the other side of puberty, there's initially an unavoidable awkwardness to it all.Įverything you need to know before watching 'Stranger Things 4' After watching six of the seven episodes releasing on May 27 (with the final two only coming out July 1), Season 4 eventually gets you back into that all-consuming escapism the show is best known for.
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In most ways, the answer is a resounding yes. Certainly, Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 rewards that patience by welcoming you back with an over-abundance of what we've always loved about this cult hit since 2016.īut a question haunts the show’s return in 2022, after audiences spent the past three years of its absence surviving our own Upside Down reality: Can Stranger Things' plucky 1980s nostalgia survive the vibe shift, or offer any resonance or escapism from the world we live in right now? While it threatens the poor people of Hawkins yet again, Billy, our favorite mullet-sporting bully, does what he does best: Terrorize while looking cool.You’ve waited a long time to go back to Hawkins - three years to be exact (or a whole pandemic, a few collapsing democracies, a Capitol insurrection, an ongoing war, etc, etc, etc). Meanwhile, those who remember the lasting shot of the second season will know that the gigantic spider-like Mind Flayer remains trapped but intact in the Upside Down. Men in white coats have ill-advised designs on the small town of Hawkins. It's a smart return to form for creators the Duffer Brothers, despite a creeping yet evident strain on upping the terrors for the kids of Hawkins, Indiana.Īs with the two previous seasons, a threat looms from the murky and generic science-lab world. With a refreshing helping of humor and summer sunshine, this time round Stranger Things focuses on what the show does best. With a tighter, slightly shorter run of eight episodes that manages to tap every emotional vein of childhood (even for those who didn't grow up in the '80s) while leaking more monsters from the Upside Down, season 3 is a roller coaster that never lets up. The good news: Season 3 is potentially the best one yet. Season 1 was an overwhelming commercial success, season 2 didn't quite hit the same heights, but Stranger Things is back.