Stranger Things 4

This now becomes one of my top favourite shows of all time.

I think I've mentioned how Stranger Things blew my mind in season 1. Then season 2 was better. Then, blowing my mind again, season 3 was also awesome. This appears to be an outlier - a show where the subsequent seasons are better than the previous ones. I was worried season 4 might not follow this trend especially since season 3 did not end with a major cliffhanger except a dermagogue, and the kids have grown up. 

But no, season 4 continues to blow my mind.

We're now introduced to the main villain, the main player behind the evils of the first three seasons - Vecna/001, the one whom Eleven is experimented basing on in hope to replicate his success. This is one mind-blowing season that has got to be a history - each episode is minimally 50 episodes long and the season finale is literally 2 hours and 10 minutes long, easily surpassing the duration of many movies out there. There are 9 episodes in this season, so season 4 is actually crazily long by Netflix standard.

Still, it did not disappoint.

Okay, there are a few things I dislike. The three groups barely interact with one another, and it seems that Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Robin, Nancy, and the delightfully cheerful Eddie were the one busy trying to defeat Vecna. Eleven's role had been reduced to mostly regaining her power, so her role in defeating or confronting Vecna only arises in the season finale - before that, the both of them do not cross path, and Eleven isn't aware of Vecna at all. Because Eleven is taken away without leaving a message and without informing where she's taken to, the show spent most of the time having Jonathan, Mike and Will searching for and rescuing her, so this is the first season that isn't Mike- and Will-centric, which is fair, considering the two of them and Eleven had played the central role in the previous seasons and it's opportune the spotlight is passed on to the rest. Joyce, as delightful as always, goes to Russia with Murray in hope to free Hopper. Their storyline feels a little forced - like, the coincidence Joyce receives the letter just in time when Vecna strikes feels too, hmm, fake and forced, but I absolutely love watching Joyce and Murray so I'll let it slide.

The three groups reunite only in the season finale. As explained earlier, this is the season where the focus is shifted to the characters who weren't the focus in the previous three - Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Max, Robin and Nancy. 

I love Robin. And I love Joyce. And I love Steve and Dustin as a group. So I'm happy.

But seriously, one of mind-blowingly good season. The horror is up several notches, the stories are well-paced and solidly built, and the acting are as flawless as expected. Stranger Things 4 did not disappoint, and now I seriously just can't wait for season 5.

Please bring season 5 as soon as possible - and before the kids become young adults. This show should be about kids and adolescents, it saddens me to say this, but I believe the show would lose a lot of its original charm if the actors are still playing that role in their mid- and late-20s. 

Highly recommended. Watch season 1 onwards if you haven't given it a try, you'll definitely not regret it! There's a reason why the release of the show crashed Netflix - that's because it's awesome on an international scale. In fact, I prefer it over MCU movies. Sorry.