Stranger Things (2016–2025) Part 2

Stranger Things Season 3 (2019) and Season 4 (2022) Review

We previously shared our reviews of the first and second seasons of the series in an article published on December 12, 2025. In this piece, we will once again take a joint look at Seasons 3 and 4 of the show.

Before diving into this article, you can revisit our review of the first two seasons via the link here.

Stranger Things Season 3: A Strawberry Ice Cream–Flavored “Strange Things”

This season marked the point at which our main characters officially entered adolescence, experiencing their first loves and first kisses. The child heroes of the first two seasons were now taking their first steps into young adulthood.

Season three was also the first season of the series to be released in the summer (July). Accordingly, the visual tone aligned with the season we were watching it in: swimming pools, swimsuits, and bikinis became frequent sights on screen.

The most notable new addition to the cast was Maya Hawke, daughter of former spouses Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, who faced heavy criticism for being labeled a “nepo baby.” Playing the character Robin, Hawke divided audiences due to her overly talkative nature. Personally, I believe she significantly “brightened up” the series. Robin’s presence added a meaningful layer to the show, and her chatty personality felt more charming than exhausting to me.

Another important character this season was Billy, Max’s older brother, who had joined the series with his sister in Season 2. Billy fully embodied the ’80s archetype of the handsome, mature womanizer—the quintessential “bad boy.” His importance, however, went beyond his relationships with women. Much like Will Byers, Billy’s body was taken over by the Mind Flayer, turning him into a dangerous puppet. Yet the tension and horror elements that emerged from this arc failed to deliver the expected impact, serving more to evoke pity for the character than genuine fear.

On another front, the secret Soviet gate beneath Starcourt Mall pushed the story further into Cold War territory between the U.S. and the USSR. This political undertone had existed since the first season, but Season 3 amplified it significantly. Our fatherly police chief Hopper was presumed dead and captured by the Russians. While this expansion introduced multiple narrative threads, which some viewers perceived as enrichment, I personally found it unnecessary. My expectation from the series was not to follow a full-throttle political Cold War narrative set in the 1980s.

The weakest point of the Duffer Brothers’ performance this season was the direction they took with their actors. This needs to be evaluated in two stages. A lazily written script inevitably led to inconsistencies in character behavior. This resulted in some viewers describing the show itself as going through “adolescence,” much like its characters. Needless to say, this was neither planned nor desirable.

Season 3 consisted of eight episodes. The first three were filled with filler content, moving at a sluggish pace—very much in line with a typical Netflix series, resembling a strawberry-and-Oreo summer ice cream. Midway through the season, the now-iconic sauna episode, reminiscent of classic ’80s horror films, emerged as a strong attempt to save the season. The three episodes leading up to the finale aimed to prepare the audience for the final battle but failed to generate sufficient excitement. The constant emphasis on the Soviet threat, overshadowing the core horror narrative, was one of the main reasons the season fell short. That said, the decision to release all episodes on July 4, 2019, was clearly a deliberate move by Netflix to coincide with U.S. Independence Day—an unspoken admission that the season functioned as a patriotic gesture.

Forever etched in my mind as the “Happy Birthday, July 4 — Long Live Great America!” season, Season 3 continued and deepened the narrative constriction and screenplay stagnation that had begun in Season 2. While the finale was satisfying, the journey toward it was filled with episodes that failed to elicit a strong “this is it” reaction from me. The fact that it felt like a weaker copy of the second season only added to its shortcomings. For these reasons, Season 3 stands as the weakest season of Stranger Things in my view. My rating for the season is a 6.

Stranger Things Season 4: Seven Quality Contributions to the Horror Canon

The impact of the pandemic that began in 2020 delayed the release of Season 4 by nearly three years. The Duffer Brothers initially wrote Seasons 4 and 5 as a single continuous story. However, commercial considerations eventually led them to place a comma at the end of Season 4 and postpone the final season by another three and a half years. The show’s ballooning budget and its status as Netflix’s flagship production played a significant role in this decision.

To amplify engagement, the season was structured in an unprecedented format: seven episodes released as two volumes (5 + 2). Episode runtimes were extended, and each installment felt like a full-fledged horror film. Let me state this upfront: Season 4 is unequivocally my favorite. Every episode is crafted with high-quality editing and designed like those classic 80-minute horror films from your archive. If you are an unapologetic horror aficionado like me, this season will likely be the most satisfying.

Having completed their adolescence in the previous season, our characters now fully embraced young adulthood. Drawing strong inspiration from the teen slasher genre, the show featured genuinely 18+ scenes. The episodes heavily echoed Wes Craven’s 1984 masterpiece A Nightmare on Elm Street. Not only that, but the series also featured Robert Englund—Freddy Krueger himself—as a guest star. Seeing him again was an absolute delight. We missed him <3

The season’s new character, Eddie, left an enormous mark on the series. He was so beloved that fans still cling to the hope of his return in Season 5. Portrayed by British actor Joseph Quinn, Eddie’s brief heavy metal concert before his death—featuring Metallica’s Master of Puppets—sparked a massive resurgence of the song, turning it into an icon for Gen Z as well. This is exactly what I expect from a show rooted in ’80s nostalgia. Even the lyrics of the song directly referenced the season’s villain, Vecna. Master of Puppets—puppets of the master.

Sadie Sink’s portrayal of Max positioned her as one of the season’s most important characters—perhaps the most important for many viewers, myself included. Around the same time, Sink also appeared as a supporting actress in the two-time Oscar-winning film The Whale. She is one of the two child actors from Stranger Things whose careers have flourished most successfully, the other being Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike.

Speaking of Max, we must address the episode ending at Billy’s grave, where Max reads a letter to her deceased brother. Episode four, “Dear Billy,” is, in my opinion, the best episode of the series to date. One of the elements that cemented its classic status was Kate Bush’s iconic pop ballad Running Up That Hill. The scenes in which the song becomes Max’s lifeline, enabling her to survive, left millions of viewers—including myself—utterly spellbound.

As mentioned earlier, the season’s editing is superb. This includes how seamlessly the Soviet storyline is woven into the narrative. Hopper’s imprisonment in the USSR and his Mission: Impossible–style escape from a brutally anti-American environment delivered some exceptional sequences. Murray Bauman—introduced in Season 2 and increasingly prominent for both his comedic and narrative weight—paired with Joyce Byers for a delightful “Russian rescue” arc. The U.S.–USSR tension, which had bothered me in Season 3, was presented here with elegance and balance. Adding to this was German actor Tom Wlaschiha, known for his role as Jaqen H’ghar in Game of Thrones, who delivered a standout performance as a corrupted Soviet officer—truly the cherry on top.

Another standout aspect of my favorite season was the introduction of the series’ antagonist. Jamie Campbell Bower’s portrayal of Vecna—transforming from human form into a symbol of pure evil—was exceptional. Leveraging his androgynous features, Bower delivered a chilling villain performance. His voice alone elevated the tension, and Vecna’s human past, combined with the advantages of a speaking antagonist, added immense depth to the season. Vecna’s transformation inevitably recalls Anakin Skywalker’s descent into Darth Vader in Star Wars, a reference beautifully realized through visual effects.

Finally, a brief mention of Stephen King’s 1986 horror classic IT. Vecna’s residence, the way he spreads evil through fear, and his infiltration of traumatized children’s nightmares strongly echo Pennywise’s narrative. These parallels were clearly embedded throughout the season.

In short, this is why Season 4 stands as my favorite. I see no reason to deduct points, so my rating for the season is a perfect 10. Whenever I decide to rewatch Stranger Things from scratch with someone new to the series, I always choose Season 4. It is the only season that fully satisfies me.

The next and final article in this series will arrive after the completion of Season 5, the grand finale scheduled for release around New Year’s. Until then, we wait for the “Big Finale.” See you in Part 3, and I wish all readers the very best.

Author: Volkan Çağlayan