Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 On Netflix, Where The Action Is Spread Far From Hawkins

Season 3 of Stranger Things — which came out three long years ago — ended with a tense and exciting finale as everyone battled a massive mind flayer, and the Soviets, at the Starcourt Mall. Even so, we were still concerned that the Duffer Brothers were taking this intimate group of friends — as well as Joyce and Hopper — and spreading them to the winds. It’s a concern we always have about ensemble shows as they go along and seem to make the story so big that the previously tight-knit group splinters and different groups go on different adventures. So with a fourth season that the Duffers have promised will be bigger than ever, will we ever get back to what attracted us to the show in the first place? And does it matter?

STRANGER THINGS SEASON 4: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A suburban street strewn with leaves. A kid on a bike rides down the street, delivering papers.

The Gist: We see Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) getting ready for his day on September 8, 1979. He goes to the Hawkins National Laboratories, where a group of telekinetic children live; he’s in a room with Ten (Christian Ganiere) doing tests, when chaos ensues. Everyone in the lab has been violently killed, except for him and who he thinks caused the disaster, a girl named Eleven (Martie Blair).

We then go to Lenora Hills, California on March 21, 1986. It’s been about six months since Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) moved out of Hawkins, Indiana, with her sons Will (Noah Schnapp) and Jon (Charlie Heaton). Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has moved with them; she moved in with the Byers family after Hopper (David Harbour) died during the Battle of Starcourt. Will and Eleven have started high school; Will has shot up in height and is actually somewhat popular. Eleven, who calls herself Jane at school, is basically bullied and ridiculed. And whenever she tries to use her powers, she fails.

But she’s looking forward to spring break, when Mike (Finn Wolfhard) is going to come visit. Back in Hawkins, Mike and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) are in the “Hellfire Club”, a D&D-playing group led by a sixth-year senior named Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). The end of their campaign coincides with the championship basketball game; Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), who rides the bench on the team, wants Mike and Dustin to move the game so he can be in it, but that’s a rough ask of the antiestablishment dungeon master. While Finn hits the winning shot in the game, Mike and Dustin recruit Lucas’ smart-ass sister Erica (Priah Ferguson) to take his place.

Max (Sadie Sink) has broken up with Lucas, her grades are in free fall, and she’s been generally depressed since her brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) died at Starcourt. Steve (Joe Keery) helps Robin (Maya Hawke) get in good with the girl who stands next to her in the marching band. Popular cheerleader Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) goes to Eddie for some pharmaceutical help when she can’t seem to get visions out of her head.

Meanwhile, Joyce gets assistance from Murray (Brett Gelman) when a mysterious package shows up at her house, covered in stamps from the Soviet Union.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Seasons 1-3 of Stranger Things, but much bigger and more spread out.

Our Take: At least Season 3 stayed (mainly) in and around Hawkins. With Season 4, we’re now in Hawkins, in Lenora Hills, and lord knows where else (well, we know where else, but we don’t want to spoil anything). Our group of teens has now grown up; they’re all three years older IRL, even though only six months have gone by, making their changes exceedingly distracting. They’ve incorporated Robin, Murray and a more-involved Erica into the group. Now we get to see even more people. It’s just gotten to the point where Stranger Things is starting to feel more like a sprawling big-budget MCU movie than a relatively small-scale ’80s thriller/horror film, like the Duffers initially intended.

But is that a bad thing? After watching the first couple of extended-length episodes (which, as the Duffers have said, will pale in comparison to the length of episodes 8 and 9 are released on July 1) the jury is still out. Stranger Things has always been a slow-burn, setting up the relationships for the first few episodes and only teasing the particular monster that needs to be defeated, but then rolling to a rollicking, set-destroying conclusion. So we’re hoping that the disparate threads that are being set up come together at some point.

We’re really concerned that the Duffers are setting viewers up for disappointment with their extra-long episodes this season. There’s so much story, so many people to follow, and so many locations to keep track of, that what Season 4 is no longer resembles the story of the plucky group of middle schoolers and their telekinetic friends saving the world like it did during the first two seasons.

However, if anyone can keep these episodes moving, and keep viewers engaged, it’s the Duffers. We’re pretty sure that we’ll be at the edge of our seats at the end of the season. But it’s definitely not the same show that snuck up on viewing audiences six years ago.

Sex and Skin: None. ST‘s TV-14 rating comes from lots of gore and people saying “shit” a lot.

Parting Shot: The last scene is a spoiler, but let’s just say that Chrissy visits Eddie’s trailer to buy some Special K (not the cereal), and things don’t go well.

Sleeper Star: Joseph Quinn brings a new dynamic as Eddie, who seems to be too old to be doing anything with high school freshman and middle schoolers, including playing D&D. But in vulnerable moments, he shows that Eddie is more than just a weird, creepy manchild who questions authority.

Most Pilot-y Line: Murray takes an ice bath while on the phone with Joyce, and lets out a big “ahhhhhhh!” as he gets in. We couldn’t have been more skeeved if we tried.

Our Call: STREAM IT. It’s Stranger Things, of course, and fans will still like the show. The chemistry among the cast and the Duffers’ sense of humor is intact. But anyone who was wavering after the sprawling third season is going to be really disappointed with the fourth.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.