Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 (2022)

Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1 Review 😈🧇

Since Season 5 is releasing soon in 3 parts, I thought I’d re-tackle the first 4 seasons to ride the hype.

📽️ Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

Also here’s the iconic opening theme.

Since season 5 has officially arrived, I decided to revisit the previous 4 seasons going through each season 5 parts come out, so come with me and take this ride down nostalgia train.

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📺 Marketing & Hype: Or How to Kill Your Own Twists

Season 4 of Stranger Things didn’t just suffer from pacing issues — the marketing team deserves a slap on the wrist too. The teasers started dropping a whopping two years before the season actually came out, and instead of building excitement, they drained it.

The biggest sin? Spoiling Hopper. The very first teaser showed him alive in Russia, mining away with other prisoners. That took any nuance or tension out of the Season 3 cliffhanger. Fans had already theorized he survived, but the show flat-out confirmed it in the marketing. By the time the actual season aired, the “big reveal” was already two years old news.

And it didn’t stop there. The “Eleven in the lab” teaser also gave away another major mystery beat. Instead of leaning into atmosphere and creeping dread, Netflix went full spoiler mode, essentially saying: “Here’s Hopper! Here’s Eleven! Don’t worry, they’re fine!” It killed suspense, turned theories into foregone conclusions, and left the final product feeling deflated.

Honestly, the marketing came off like desperation — Netflix trying to keep the brand alive during long delays, even if it meant undercutting its own story. The end result? A hype cycle that was too long, too revealing, and too messy.

🎬 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Season 4 of Stranger Things picks up six months after the Battle of Starcourt. The crew is now scattered: Eleven is living with the Byers in California, while the rest of the group remains in Hawkins. However, peace doesn’t last long. A horrifying new threat known as Vecna emerges, bringing with him a gruesome pattern of supernatural murders that echo back to the origins of the Upside Down. Max is still reeling from Billy’s death, Hopper’s fate remains unknown, and a dark connection between Hawkins Lab and a mental asylum slowly unravels. With rising body counts and haunting visions, the gang must reunite and face the darkness—again.

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Character Rundown

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown): Powerless, isolated, and bullied, she undergoes the biggest emotional arc this season.

Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink): The emotional centerpiece of Part 1. Her trauma makes her vulnerable to Vecna.

Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn): Newcomer and instant fan favorite. Charismatic, weird, and lovable.

Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke): Still my favorite, funny and sharp as ever.

Steve Harrington (Joe Keery): Still babysitting the gang, still a king.

Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton): Navigating awkward long-distance tension.

Dustin, Mike, Lucas: Continue to be the chaotic heart of the group.

Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha): Russian guard with a soul. (Fun fact: This is the same actor who played Jaqen H’ghar in Game of Thrones!)

Easily one of the standout new faces in Season 4, Enzo is this bizarre cocktail of absurd and likable. On paper, his arc doesn’t make much sense: five days ago he was desperate to escape the gulag, and then suddenly he’s ready to go back because Hopper and Joyce — two nutjob Americans he barely knows — told him there are monsters. Like, dude, you were all about escaping the gulag yesterday. Now five minutes after hearing “Demogorgons are real,” you’re saying, “Why didn’t you just say so? We need to go back and stop them.” It’s completely illogical, but somehow that’s what makes him fun. Enzo doesn’t drag his feet with disbelief; he just accepts the insane and runs with it. He’s brave, decisive, and oddly loyal, and that quick acceptance — even if absurd — keeps the story moving. He might be ridiculous, but he’s the kind of ridiculous that makes him instantly likable.

Argyle is signal-handedly the worst and most annoying TV show character in this franchise, I hated every scene with him in it, plz Netflix don’t bring him back.

⭐ Where My Interest in the Characters Shifted (Season 4 Is Where It Happened) 🙃

Season 4 is officially the moment where my emotional investment completely flipped.
Up until Season 3, I was still attached to the “kids on bikes” energy of Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Eleven.
But Season 4 changed the entire DNA of the show — and honestly, it changed who I cared about.

Because here’s the truth:

I don’t care about the kids anymore.

Not the way I used to.

And before anyone comes for my throat, let me explain — because the writing is the problem, not me.

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🧃 Mike Wheeler (fell off a cliff)

Mike went from the emotional leader of the group to…
someone who just stands there and whines.
He peaked in Season 1, and somehow every season after chipped away more personality.
By Season 4 he was giving speeches like the script was taped to his forehead.

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😭 Will Byers (the human bowl-cut)

Will used to be tragic and compelling.
Now?
He just stares, cries, and says he “feels something” without ever actually saying it.
Will didn’t grow — he stagnated.

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🧢 Dustin Henderson (he’s there… that’s it)

Dustin is still likable, but the magic is gone.
He doesn’t drive anything anymore.
He’s comic relief and exposition.
Solid, but no longer special.

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🏀 Lucas Sinclair (Season 4 did him dirty)

Lucas lost the charm he had earlier.
His whole “I joined basketball now” arc didn’t add anything — it just disconnected him from the group and made him feel like a side character to his own story.

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⭐ So who DO I care about now?

Season 4 made it very clear who the show really cares about.
And those characters happen to be the ones I’m invested in:

Hopper — The emotional backbone of the entire show.

Joyce — The only person who acts like she actually sees the apocalypse happening.

Nancy — One of the only characters who grows every single season.

Steve — The accidental main character and heart of the series.

Robin — Chaotic, anxious, hilarious, and actually written like a human.

Eleven — Still compelling because she IS the mythology.

Vecna — Because I love good villains, and he’s the perfect dark mirror to Eleven.

This is the cast that carries the emotional weight now.
These are the characters with actual arcs.
These are the characters the show bothered to evolve.

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🔥 Why Vecna Works (And Why He Overshadows the Kids)

Vecna is terrifying because he’s not just a monster — he’s a character with trauma, motive, and intelligence.
He’s literally the dark counterpart to Eleven:

same lab

same powers

same upbringing

same trauma

different worldview

He embodies everything the show has been building toward.
He’s compelling in a way the kids simply… aren’t anymore.

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🎭 Season 4 Shifted the Tone Permanently

Stranger Things stopped being a story about childhood adventure and became a story about:

trauma

guilt

manipulation

psychic warfare

the birth of evil

the collapse of innocence

The show grew up —
but the kid characters didn’t.

Season 4 is where it officially clicked for me:

My investment is in Hopper, Joyce, Nancy, Robin, Steve, Vecna, and Eleven.
Not the original kid group.

And that’s not on me —
that’s on the writing.

Pros and cons:

Vecna’s CGI kills looked outdated even in 2022.

Vecna’s design? Eh. I’ve seen scarier things in Goosebumps. He’s creepy, but not nightmare fuel. Henry/001 was more compelling visually and emotionally. Let me give more details on this one

Con – Vecna’s Design Isn’t Scary (And He Talks Too Much):
Here’s the thing: I’ve seen way too many horror films, monsters, games, and practical effects to fall for this. Before Season 4 aired, Vecna was hyped up as this terrifying new villain — a return to practical horror, a nightmarish figure to rival the Demogorgon and Mind Flayer. But when I actually saw him? The guy looked like a barely-toasted burn victim with a hot glue gun’s worth of vines stuck to his body and no nose. Ooooo, spooky? He’s basically Voldermort dipped in Nickelodeon slime. His design isn’t bad per se — just not groundbreaking. It’s hard to fear something that looks like a rejected Silent Hill boss covered in roots from Home Depot.

And while we’re at it — he talks way too much. The most unsettling horror villains are usually the ones who don’t say a word (unless you’re Pennywise — then go off, king). Silence equals unpredictability. Silence equals fear. But Vecna monologues like he’s auditioning for a Shakespeare in the Upside Down festival. “You broke my mind, Eleven!” Cool, now say it with less drama club energy.

Con – Retconning the Mind Flayer Ruins the Scare Factor:
One of the eeriest motifs from the earlier seasons was how unknowable the Upside Down felt. The giant, spidery Mind Flayer hovering over Hawkins Middle? That’s pure nightmare fuel. Demogorgons hunting you in the dark? Terrifying. But then Season 4 strolls in and casually drops: “Yeah, so that whole terrifying world-ending being? Actually, just Vecna’s weird little sand art project. He made it. Oops!”

And suddenly — poof — all that mystique is gone. The mystery behind the Upside Down is what made it scary. Now it’s reduced to one bitter ex-orderly’s villain origin story. It’s like finding out Sauron from Lord of the Rings was just an edgy drama kid who wanted to decorate Mordor in his image. Less horror, more Hot Topic.

Con – Vecna’s Voice Modulation Feels Unnecessary:
One of the biggest missed opportunities in Part 1 and Part 2 is how over-modulated Vecna’s voice is. Yes, it’s meant to sound deep and demonic — but it ends up feeling like generic monster filter #3 rather than something uniquely terrifying. What makes this even more baffling is that Jamie Campbell Bower already has an incredibly chilling natural voice. The man played young Grindelwald in the Harry Potter franchise and left a lasting impression without saying a single word. His real voice, when allowed to shine in interviews or behind-the-scenes footage, already has that eerie, calculated menace. So why bury it under layers of audio distortion? If anything, the modulation undercuts the performance. Sometimes the scariest villains are the ones that sound too human, not like they’re phoning in threats from inside a malfunctioning washing machine.

⭐ Why Will’s Season 4 Behavior Feels Annoying and Out-of-Character

🟥 1. The “sad puppy” arc is forced

Will and Mike have been best friends since kindergarten — years of drawings, D&D, sleepovers, loyalty, shared trauma, literal life-and-death moments.
But suddenly in Season 4 the writers decide:

> “Let’s make Will silently suffer because Mike doesn’t love him romantically.”

Being sad is fine.
But acting resentful and mopey because your friend doesn’t reciprocate your feelings?
That doesn’t align with Will’s established personality.

Will has always been:

empathetic

gentle

selfless

emotionally mature

Season 4 Will is written like a walking Tumblr fanfic trope.

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🟧 2. Mike has NO IDEA what Will is feeling

Yet the show treats Mike like he’s failing some moral test.

Mike doesn’t know Will is in love with him.
He thinks Will is upset about:

the group drifting

moving away

Eleven taking his space

homesickness

Mike isn’t being cold or cruel.
He’s clueless — because Will hides everything and lies constantly.

So Will getting quietly bitter at Mike’s “lack of emotional intensity” feels emotionally unfair.

Okay… but here’s the issue:

Being sad is fine — but acting resentful and mopey because your friend doesn’t reciprocate your feelings? That doesn’t make emotional sense for Will’s established personality.

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🟦 3. The painting scene is heartbreaking… but manipulative

The van scene is sad.

But Will crying because Mike doesn’t love him back romantically — when Mike doesn’t know that’s what Will wants — makes Will look like he’s projecting his pain onto Mike.

It’s not Mike’s fault.
He isn’t doing anything wrong.

Hes just willfully bliss, which leads me to my thought. Will buddy why on earth do u want to have ur life with this bimbo? The guy has all the emotions of a wet noodle.

Will is hurting himself with silence.

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🟩 4. Will suddenly acting like Mike is the center of his universe is weirdly out of nowhere

In Seasons 1–3, Will was defined by:

trauma

supernatural connection

his bond with all the boys

outsider maturity

Season 4 reduces him to:

“Mike’s sad shadow.”

It’s not earned.
It’s not logical.
It’s not Will Byers.

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🟪 5. The biggest problem: It rewrites history

Mike didn’t “abandon” Will.

Will:

moved 2,000 miles away

stopped calling

shut down emotionally

refused to talk

hid important truths

Their friendship faded because the writers needed angst for Mike/Will/El — not because it makes real sense.

🩸 The Billy’s Dad Problem (And Why It Still Bugs Me)

Okay, I need to talk about Billy’s dad for a second, because this has bothered me for years. The show sets this guy up in Season 2 as this abusive, manipulative, genuinely awful human being — and then… nothing. No payoff. No comeuppance. No moment where someone finally stands up to him.

They bring him in for one episode so we can see exactly why Billy is the way he is, and it works — he’s terrifying, controlling, the kind of guy whose mere presence makes everyone hold their breath. And then the show just… shrugs and walks away from it.

Season 3? They basically forget he exists.
Season 4? They toss in one line saying, “Oh yeah, after Billy died he got depressed and moved away.”

Moved away.

That’s it?? That’s the resolution for a dude who traumatized his kid and terrorized everyone around him? He gets to pack up his emotional baggage and just leave? No arrest. No divorce scene. No consequences. No confrontation.

We don’t even see the wife leave him, which—let’s be real—should have happened. We don’t see the town react to him. We don’t get closure.

It’s like the Duffers built this massive, looming storm cloud… and then forgot to make it rain.

I’m not asking for a whole subplot, but something would’ve been nice. A police report. A neighbor talking. A single scene of him facing reality. Instead, we’re left with one of the most quietly dropped story threads in the entire series — and honestly? It deserved better.

Also minor nitpick, I never understood why the gang just assume these creatures are named after D&D monsters? But not just that, but use D&D board games as accurate Wikipedia on how to defeat these creatues, uh huh. But not just that, but the fact this season they assume a new creature and his name is Vecna, instead of idk just assuming the Mind Flayer is back or anything like that.

Oh last thing, the Duffer Brothers have stated that season 4 and 5 are heavily inspired by Infinity War and Endgame, yeah now shite i could tell. They really jusr copied and pasted the story layout from Infinity War and said this will do, can Studios start idk coming up with something creative?

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🧠 Final Thoughts

This season showed maturity in storytelling and tone. The cast has grown, the stakes have escalated, and the horror element has truly become part of the show’s DNA. The twists hit like a brick wall. It’s not a perfect season—some arcs drag or feel unnecessary—but overall? It’s damn impressive.

Look, Season 4 isn’t bad, but it’s easily my least favorite. Sure, it had some solid twists, and Eddie Munson was a breakout legend — no arguments there. But beyond that? The CGI was already looking crusty when it aired. Vecna’s design felt like they tried to make Voldemort and a rotisserie chicken scary — and failed. The town? Full of absolute morons. There were just too many characters, which meant juggling a million subplots and no one really getting proper focus. And don’t even get me started on Argyle — that man was comic relief written by someone who’s never met a funny person. Plus, the soundtrack? “Running Up That Hill” was cool the first five times. By the 87th, I wanted to run off a cliff. Sorry, not sorry. For me, Season 3 still reigns supreme. That was peak Stranger Things. Season 4? Big vibes, but messy execution.

📊 Rating: 8.8/10

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⚠️ Spoiler Warning! Beyond this point, I spill ALL the tea. Major plot twists, deaths, and upside-down reveals ahead. You’ve been warned! 🧃💥

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🌀 Spoilers

Alright, buckle up because the twists came at me like a Demobat swarm in the Upside Down.

Let’s start with Max. Her trauma makes her Vecna’s next target, and she knows it. The grandfather clock starts haunting her, and she begins writing letters to her friends and family. We reach a gut-wrenching point at Billy’s grave. And when she levitates midair with her eyes rolled back? CHILLS. Straight-up goosebumps. But then they save her with her favorite song—“Running Up That Hill”—and now I can’t hear that track without picturing Max sprinting through floating debris in Vecna’s mind-palace house of horrors.

Vecna’s twisted realm looks like if Silent Hill and a Pinterest mood board had a cursed baby. Vines, bodies, jigsaw-puzzle architecture. Disturbing and beautiful.

AND THEN… the reveal of Victor Creel—played by ROBERT ENGLUND, aka Freddy Krueger. Genius casting. We all expected him to be Vecna, which was the red herring. Instead, he’s just the tragic survivor whose son, Henry, turned out to be the true monster. The moment he says “you call this survived?” with gouged-out eyes and oozing pus? Haunting.

Nancy and Robin visit him undercover and learn about the demon that killed his family… except—plot twist—it wasn’t a demon. It was his son.

Meanwhile, Eleven is placed under a memory regression program by Papa (who is somehow still alive 🙄), and she reconnects with her past in Hawkins Lab. There, she meets a mysterious orderly. He’s gentle, helpful, a bit creepy—but in a way that makes you trust him. AND THEN HE TURNS OUT TO BE 001.

AND THEN 001 TURNS OUT TO BE HENRY CREEL.

AND THEN HENRY CREEL TURNS OUT TO BE VECNA.

BRO. MY JAW. WAS. ON. THE. FLOOR. 🫨

The flashback where Eleven rips open a portal and launches him into the Upside Down—that’s how all this started? Genius. That single scene connects everything: Hawkins Lab, the Mind Flayer, the murders—it’s all Henry. And seeing him get hit by lightning, deformed into Vecna while floating through the Upside Down? That was the villain origin story. Also here’s the music that went with this scene.

That whole reveal felt like watching dominos fall in slow motion while also being hit by a train.

Henry vs. Vecna – Two Villains in One Body, But Not in Spirit

Here’s where the character kind of falls apart for me: Henry Creel and Vecna do not feel like the same person. If the show didn’t flat-out tell us they’re one and the same, I honestly don’t think most people would connect the dots.

Henry’s motivation is small-scale but chilling. He’s a textbook budding sociopath — torturing animals, manipulating his family, quietly resenting the world. His evil is intimate, psychological, and rooted in a twisted sense of superiority. He doesn’t want to conquer the planet; he just wants to control, hurt, and “fix” what he thinks is broken.

Vecna’s motivation, on the other hand, comes across like generic supernatural villain boilerplate. Suddenly it’s all about ripping open Hawkins, unleashing demo-monsters, and “bringing hell to Earth.” That’s not Henry anymore — that’s a demon overlord with a Saturday-morning cartoon plan. The sociopath boy who calmly told Eleven his philosophy vanishes under the makeup and the guttural demon voice.

That disconnect is why Jamie Campbell Bower feels wasted. His performance as Henry is scary because it’s human and real. His performance as Vecna is buried under distortion and cliché. One is serial killer horror. The other is “muahaha, destroy the world!” They just don’t collide naturally.

How It Could’ve Worked

The Duffers could have bridged this gap by letting more of Henry bleed through Vecna. Keep Jamie’s natural voice under the prosthetics — that icy, calm cadence is scarier than any demon filter. Let Vecna echo Henry’s exact phrases or micro-habits (the head tilt, the way he sizes people up) so the audience feels the continuity. And instead of giving Vecna a generic “burn it all down” endgame, frame his plan as the logical escalation of Henry’s worldview: not just destroying Hawkins, but “remaking” it into his twisted idea of order. That would make the sociopath and the monster feel like the same person, not two different villains stitched together.

By the end of Episode 7, I was absolutely FLOORED. Shocked. Reeling. Staring at the screen like “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS WHERE YOU’RE STOPPING???”

A whole month wait for Part 2??? Unholy.

🧨 To be continued…

Side note, did any y’all get Nightmare On Elm Street vibes this season? It was 100% intentional.

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Here’s an unaired TV Spot for season 4 part 2 that they released on TV but someone recorded it now its on youtube.