Stranger Things Season 4 (Netflix Show, so spoilers for everything released!)

[ChaoticUnreal]

Finally all caught up on this. Loved this season.

I really wanted to see a scene of the Surfer Pizza crew coming in the next day and finding the freezer filled with salt water with no one around to explain what happened.

I wanted Will to finally be honest with Mike about his feelings. We almost got that with the talk between Will and Jonathan.

While I loved the imagery and I'm 100% sure that is why they did it. Why didn't they just play the guitar from inside the RV with the Amp on top. It isn't like they needed to be standing there to make the noise which attracted all the Bats.

Thoughts on Season 5 below.

I think they will be picking up season 5 right after with no time skip, if they do a time skip it better be coming back into the middle of some action and not oh the town returned to normal after showing the upside down in the real world at the end of season 4.

I think Max is brain dead. You can't save everyone and I think this will be used to show Eleven her limits. She was able to bring the body back but Max's mind had already moved on. If not that I could see Vecna using Max as a puppet but I think the first one will be the case where she is just dead.

Hopper seems to have some contacts with the .mil at least hopefully they will be able to call in some help to contain the (I'm sure what will be numerous) creatures while the main crew deals with Vecna.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

I think Max is brain dead. You can't save everyone and I think this will be used to show Eleven her limits. She was able to bring the body back but Max's mind had already moved on. If not that I could see Vecna using Max as a puppet but I think the first one will be the case where she is just dead.

Did you miss the part where she was talking to Lucas about how she couldn't see or feel anything?

You mean before she died for over a minute (which they were clear to note) before Eleven brought her back? No I didn't miss that point that takes places (In my head cannon) before she became brain dead, I'm just not sure how it would effect the theory of her mind having moved on.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

There were MPs on security detail in the lab facility and NINA, but they're all gone now. Who can they call without having the evil Colonel hooked in? (Rhetorical)

They were in contact with that woman who Owens had also been in contact with, it is most likely her who got Hopper and Joyce back from Russia. They were clearly setting up multiple factions of the .mil in this season and still have some contact with the "good" faction.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

So this just came up in my feed.

https://www.cbr.com/stranger-things-max ... tflix/amp/

Tldr spoliered

Spoiler

Max is brain dead as of the end of the episode

Now this doesn't mean something can't happen with the her given Elevens powers and growth in the last season.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

So this just came up in my feed.

https://www.cbr.com/stranger-things-max ... tflix/amp/

Tldr spoliered

Spoiler

Max is brain dead as of the end of the episode

Now this doesn't mean something can't happen with the her given Elevens powers and growth in the last season.

Alternatively they could have to learn that sometimes they have to cut their losses and sometimes they can't win everything? Ok, maybe that's a little callous as they've had a few losses. But maybe Max being brain dead but still alive does something weird with the 4th portal that allows it to open, but not be complete in some way, which they then have to accept unplugging Max before being able to deal with the giant rift at the end? That'd be heart wrenching for sure.

Yeah that was my first take on it as well. Eleven brought Max's body back but her mind had already moved on. Not everyone can be saved.

I can see it going two ways. The first like you said they need to unplug Max and fully "kill" her to get to Vecna or the second option that I can see is that Eleven needs to go into her mind and pull her back from some dark hidden corner of it (where she is still be tortured by Vecna), there is also the third option where something happens and just completely destroys the hospital she is in while she is offscreen.

Either way I can't wait to see where they take the series. I'm avoiding looking to see if Max is in the next season because I can see a few ways to take this and knowing the actress is in the series would limit some of those. (IIRC when she joined she got a great deal making her on par with the other child actors so she had to get equal screen time)

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

adding to the pile of people who seemingly can't die.

Yeah, that's a credibility problem. At least the letter jacket went to the cloud.

This isn't just a writing issue, though. Which one of the main cast will volunteer to depart the show for the sake of the story?

I'm not sure what the contracts look like and if Netflix would be willing but the creators have said that Season 5 will be the last one. Could they make a deal to pay them the same even if they are killed off in the first episode of season 5 that they would have had for the whole season (I know a company spend money they don't actually need to spend wouldn't happen but)

I think the big reason for Hopper still being alive is for El to have her true father figure connection when she got back. El and Joyce never demonstrate quite the same on-screen chemistry of adoptive family. Hell, S3 never really clarified why the Byers and El needed to leave for California.

Hawkins had too much history of lose for Joyce and the rest. Jonathon could probably have stayed (through I think he is supposed to still be a minor (at least at the end of season 3)) but the rest had to go with Joyce who couldn't bear to stay in the town after losing Will, Bob and Hopper in just under 3 years.

IMHO, Murray should be gone from the adult cast, Jonathon from the YA cast, and it should probably be Mike from the kids. Murray is a great character but is only used to fit exactly everything Hopper and Joyce can't do themselves. Jonathon had nothing in S3 and was merely the connection point for Argyle in S4 (plus the actor let his habits get him into criminal trouble). Mike...well, at this point he is purely a nexus around which El and Will act around. He seemingly has little character and purpose of his own anymore.

I agree with everything besides writing out Mike. I fully agree he is mostly just a Nexus for the others to act around but as it was pointed out in this season he is the heart of the kids. Losing him would just be a massive blow to all of them even if the actual character doesn't really do much. If they kill off Mike it would only make sense to do it so Eleven can go (I'm sorry for the pun) to Eleven with her powers fueled by the anger of losing him.