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Stranger Things Season 4 Vol 2 Review: The Best & Worst Of The Netflix Show

Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 are equally as overstuffed as volume 1. It creates a few problems, while offering a mostly satisfying ending.

A little more than a month after the first seven episodes dropped on Netflix, Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 has released and concluded the Duffer Brothers’ mega-sized season. Not one of season 4’s nine episodes clocked in under an hour, with the final two episodes being some of the longest of the bunch, at 87 and 142 minutes, respectively. The Duffers have pushed the limit of what can be considered an episode of a TV show, with many entries in season 4 having runtimes rivaling theatrical movies. But that boundary pushing is not without its disadvantages, which become exacerbated in the final episodes, though they’re saved by some outstanding performances. The episodes of Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 are equally as overstuffed as volume 1. It creates a few problems, while offering a mostly satisfying ending.

Following the cliffhanger at the end of season 4’s episode 7, which revealed Vecna to be One and Henry Creel, the Hawkins group are determined to vanquish the monster in order to save Max (Sadie Sink), who he’s marked for death. Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), Eddie (Joseph Quinn) and Erica (Priah Ferguson) gear up for battle, while the rest of Stranger Things‘ massive cast are still spread to the ends of the Earth. Though Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett Gelman) have reunited with Hopper (David Harbour), they still need to escape Soviet Russia. Out west, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) are tracking down Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). However, El is still being hunted by the U.S. government and contending with the differing opinions of Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) and Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser). With everyone split up as Vecna enters the final phase of his plan, it remains to be seen if the group that’s strongest when they’re together will be able to vanquish this Upside Down monster.

As in the first half of the season, volume 2 struggles to bounce between its various characters in a way that doesn’t hinder the overall pacing of the episodes. The Duffers work to balance the action and adventure of the finale episodes with sweet or heartbreaking character moments, which would normally make for excellent television. However, the sheer size of the Stranger Things cast works against it. It’s difficult to worry about one of the character groups being in mortal peril when the episode doesn’t return to them in a meaningful way for 30 minutes. It’s difficult for a character’s death to be impactful when it feels drawn out over a long period of time because the episode keeps skipping around to other locations. The size of the cast and the runtime of the episodes in Stranger Things season 4 are proof that the Duffer Brothers have let their worst instincts rule the creative direction of the show. The result is an incredibly messy 13 hours of content that only barely resembles a coherent TV show anymore.

Thankfully, the Stranger Things cast — with certain exceptions — were able to bring so much heart to their performances, able to keep viewers engaged in each of the disparate storylines happening concurrently. Though Brown and Wolfhard are set up to be the central figures, the real anchor in season 4 (and past seasons as well) is Matarazzo, who can be both playful and heartbreakingly sad in the same episode. He gives a performance in one particular scene of the finale that’s so devastating, it’s unlikely to leave any dry eyes. Similarly, McLaughlin and Sink are powerhouses in their turns as Caleb and Max. Though El and Mike have been set up as the central couple of the younger characters, Max and Caleb end up being a far more compelling duo,  primarily due to the writing of all the characters and to the performances of Sink and McLaughlin. There are other solid performances from the core cast: Hawke and Keery are still absolutely charming, with Quinn joining their ranks as Eddie Munson, and Brown gives El’s storyline of self-discovery her all, which all help to give viewers a thrilling and emotional conclusion to season 4.

At just 11 minutes shy of four hours, Stranger Things season 4, volume 2 offers enough action, adventure and Upside Down horror to be worthy of its separate release, giving viewers the kind of satisfying ending they’ve come to expect from the end of a season. While the Duffer Brothers certainly delivered a more supersized season than ever before, it was plagued by pacing problems, weak storytelling and unfulfilling subplots. The Satanic Panic storyline, led by Jason (Mason Dye), was never fully developed and its conclusion was more of an afterthought than it was satisfying. It’s the best example of the Duffers seemingly trying to throw every single one of their ideas into season 4 instead of taking a step back and removing what didn’t work. There’s much they could learn from this season and apply to Stranger Things season 5, which is set up to be the show’s last.

But in terms of whether or not volume 2 delivers on the promises from the first half, it certainly does. As such, longtime viewers of the show are sure to enjoy the concluding episodes. Ultimately, Stranger Things season 4 is bigger in every way from past seasons: It has a larger cast, a more spread out story, more detailed sets and the stakes are higher. That all doesn’t necessarily make for a better season, but it certainly makes for a more exciting event-style TV release. How exactly the Duffer Brothers follow that up with Stranger Things season 5 remains to be seen, but hopefully they’ll be able to deliver an even more satisfying conclusion to the show when it returns.

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