It doesn’t help that the show’s central characters are all spread out across America and Russia, so that we are constantly jumping between the clusters of Vecna-fighters, each engaged in their own existential battle. The kids of Hawkins are pretty wiped out themselves from trying to annihilate Vecna ( Jamie Campbell Bower ), the slime-covered villain with an army of evil bats and a penchant for levitating his victims. This overarching darkness, combined with the endlessly frenetic pace of the season, can make the long episodes exhausting to watch.
HEAVY QUIP MOVIE
On a visual level, the season’s second volume delivers a blockbuster experience, full of epic special effects, though it’s moved much closer to a gory horror movie than to the ET and Goonies-style adventures of its early years. By making each of the two final episodes of season 4 as long as a feature film, the Duffer Brothers are definitively claiming their place in the whole “it’s not a TV show, it’s a very long movie” conversation. Stranger Things has always worn its love for the movies on its sleeve, with its blizzard of 80s cinematic references. Turn back now if you want to avoid spoilers. This post contains plot details from Stranger Things season 4, volume 2.