--- written for The Crimson White Culture Desk ---
Stranger Things 4: The Flagship Returns
Devin Baron, Contributing Writer
Netflix released “Stranger Things 4” Volume 1 on Friday, May 27. The hit show has again proven to be the crown jewel of the world’s largest streaming service, which recently lost more than 200,000 subscribers who believe the platform is too expensive and with too little content. For many, “Stranger Things” is the only thing keeping them with Netflix.
“Stranger Things” is a horror-drama television show set in the 1980s, following a group of teenagers and their battles against the evil underworld that plagues their hometown of Hawkins, Indiana.
Season one was released in 2016, achieving over 14 million average viewers in its first 35 days according to an article by Variety.
Since then, there have been three additional seasons of Hawkins’ creepiness, with the latest setting multiple records. Production was delayed due to COVID-19 for nearly three years, with strict safety protocols that needed to be followed across numerous filming locations slowing production even further. With a nearly three-year waiting period in between seasons three and four, it’s no wonder that fans were eager to watch the new season as soon as it aired.
According to CNN, the show accumulated almost 287 million hours of viewing time in its debut weekend, making it the biggest debut ever for an English-language television show on Netflix. It was the No. 1 Netflix show in 83 of the 93 countries that Netflix is available in.
The popularity of the Upside-Down is also oozing into other forms of media such as music and social media platforms.
According to Collider, Kate Bush’s record “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” from her 1985 album “Hounds of Love,” went viral because of its use in season four. The song has reached the top of the charts on both iTunes and Spotify.
The track is introduced in the first episode before reappearing in the fourth episode, where it serves as a final effort to save Max, played by Sadie Sink, from the monster Vecna’s grasp.
Here’s What to Expect from Stranger Things Four:
Dr. Owens, played by Paul Reiser, reminds Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown that she has fought such evil before and won, however, the new evil facing the friend group is like a virus and comes back stronger and stronger each time.
Matt Duffer, one of the co-creators of “Stranger Things,” spoke to Deadline's Contenders Television Panel about the uniqueness of this season, as well as the implications of fracturing the main group of main characters.
“We kind of jokingly call it our ‘Game of Thrones’ season because it’s so spread out,” Duffer said. “Joyce and Byers family are in California; then we have Hopper in Russia; then of course we have a group remaining in Hawkins.”
Chapter One sucks the audience in. The vibrant production design and groovy soundtrack quickly remind fans why the show is so much fun to watch. After learning how the lives of fan-favorite characters are going, as well as meeting some new characters, the opening episode comes to a horrific end.
Chapters Two, Three, and Four are an array of excitement. The gang goes into investigation mode, and Eleven accepts that she must face her biggest challenge yet. The squelching spookiness of the monster intensifies. Each individual character shows love for each other as they face various challenges.
Chapters Five and Six seem to drag more than the first few episodes due to the highly emotional conclusion of Chapter 4. However, these two episodes are still necessary steps on the journey, setting up the masterpiece that caps off Volume 1.
Chapter Seven goes beyond excellent finale status. The episode completes storylines and fleshes out character arcs, using 98 minutes to fulfill four seasons of mystery while raising the stakes higher than they have ever been before.
The Duffer Brothers told Variety that season four’s Volume 2 would dovetail directly into the fifth and final season. Volume 2 will consist of two episodes and will be available for streaming on Friday, July 1 on Netflix.