Review: Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2

The final two episodes of Stranger Things season 4 are here! Read our reviews below.

Chapter Eight: “Papa”

After a month-long break, Stranger Things kicks off Volume 2 of its fourth season in epic fashion. At an hour and twenty-five minutes, “Papa” covers plenty of ground. For all that though, the name of the game in this episode is setting the scene for the finale showdown with Vecna/One/Henry Creel.

Volume 1 ended with some serious cliffhangers, and “Papa” wastes no time in getting right into them. We start off with a brief return to the aftermath of Eleven and One’s battle in the Rainbow Room, before things quickly shift back to the peril facing the Hawkins crew. Nancy is caught in Vecna’s trap, and unfortunately her music tastes don’t align well enough with Eddie’s for any of the tapes in his trailer to free her from the villain’s clutches.

Instead, we get our first encouraging sign that this is going to be a less predictable ride than expected. Vecna catches Nancy, and shows her the destruction he plans to sow across Hawkins. “Tell Eleven,” he taunts her, before releasing her back to her friends.

I always expected Nancy to survive this encounter, but I never expected Vecna to just let her go. It’s a great move, and it makes sense; really, what does One have to fear from the kids in Hawkins? Nothing…or so he thinks.

From there, the episode spends a good amount of time catching us up with all the rest of our scattered heroes. Let’s break it down by location.

The great Russian escape

First up, we have Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Dmitri, and Yuri, who are still hanging out in Kamchatka prison after the daring escape from the Demogorgon pit. The Demogorgon is still raging through the Russian base. We get a few nice bonding scenes for some of our main characters, like Joyce and Hopper, before the guards outside start shooting the Demogorgon, which leads the group to discover that there’s another Demogorgon in the next room. All the creatures of the Upside Down are linked, a “hive mind” as Nancy put it in Episode 7, so when the guards shoot the rampaging Demogorgon it causes the other one to start shrieking as well.

It’s strapped down to a table; the Russians have been experimenting on these creatures. Hopper and co. walk through a spooky lab filled with Demo-corpses in tanks. The lab reminded me of the clone lab scene in Alien Resurrection, with its malformed younger Demogorgons and creepy ambiance. After seeing what appears to be a part of the Mind Flayer in a tank, the group escapes through a tunnel that leads outside the prison.

From there, they’re all but home free, crashing through the gate in a van and speeding off to the town where Yuri’s safehouse is located. I was a little surprised at how fast we moved away from the prison; I was hoping for more secrets about the purpose of all these Russian experiments on Upside Down creatures. But really, it’s hard to be too mad about it because it finally feels like Hopper and Joyce are heading toward a reunion with the rest of the show’s cast.

Yuri gets a great scene where he reminds us what an outrageous scamp he is, as he tries to convince everyone he can fly them back to America in a helicopter that he’s never even test-flown. They decide to call Owens before trying that. The call is put through, but Dmitri warns that when it gets returned the KGB will be listening, so they’ll have to speak in code.

Overall, the Russian stuff in this episode was solid. It’s nice to see Joyce and Hopper together again.

The Hawkins gang prepares for war

Back in Hawkins, we finally discover Vecna’s motives. It turns out he needs to kill four victims to create four gates, which will then spread and cause the Upside Down to collapse into the real world. These might be the highest stakes that the show has yet attempted, and the feeling of impending doom is really well done. We’ve been following these characters for years, and despite the fact that Stranger Things does all sorts of narrative acrobatics to avoid killing off its leads, I’m genuinely worried for the Hawkins crew heading into the finale.

Ultimately, a plan is hatched to go after Vecna in the Upside Down. Now that everyone knows that Vecna / Henry Creel is actually one of Doctor Brenner’s psychic children, they reason that it gives them a leg up because they are more familiar with his powers since they’re the same as Eleven’s. It’s decided that Max, who is still linked to Vecna as the fourth victim he needs, will serve as bait. When Vecna goes to kill her, his physical body will be vulnerable in the Upside Down, where the Hawkins group hopes to sneak up on him and chop him to bloody bits. Despite the fact that it is a dangerous plan where it sounds like a lot could go wrong, it feels like it’s also the only option they have since Vecna is only one kill away from completing his goal.

The group steals an RV in a pretty fun scene and heads out to a weapon store called the War Zone to stock up on supplies. Along the way, we get some more great bonding scenes, such as when Steve tells Nancy how he hoped he’d one day start a family, or when Max tells Lucas she’ll focus on a happy memory with him to try and fight off Vecna’s curse. There’s an interesting thing here where Max points out that Vecna preys only on people’s darkness; focusing on the light and good memories seems to stave off his psychic assault. But just in case that doesn’t work, Lucas tells her he’ll be ready to call in Kate Bush for back-up.

Of course, Vecna’s not the only thing the group has to worry about. They have a close encounter with Jason and his basketball cronies at the War Zone. Jason really looks like he’s gone off the deep end, basically threatening Nancy. But they’ve got bigger fish to fry, and quickly jet off in their RV. No doubt Jason and his cronies will follow.

Some of our final scenes with the Hawkins group are of them preparing for the mission, and again, the ominous feeling that this is the calm before a very bad storm is everywhere. This episode is all about the set-up, and reminding us why we care about all these characters and why they care about each other.

In the end, Max, Lucas, and Erica head into the Creel House while the rest of the gang drives the RV off to get in position for the Upside Down ambush.

The Cali crew to the rescue

Across the map, the California crew is speeding toward the Nina Project bunker with coordinates they got from Suzie. One of the first hard-hitting emotional scenes comes from this group, when Will shows Mike the painting that he made in order to console him about how much Eleven and everyone else needs him. Mike is the heart of the group, and the painting is pretty damn cool. It also feels like many of the things Will is saying about Mike and Eleven are what he actually feels about Will. When Will turns to the window and holds in his tears, it’s heartbreaking. Jonathan notices, because he’s a good older brother. Very curious to see how this resolves in the finale!

Despite their hijinks, they do eventually find their way to the Nina Project bunker, thanks to Argyle picking out some military vehicle tracks heading off into the desert. Which is fortunate, because things get real at the Nina Project this episode.

Eleven strikes back

Given that this one is called “Papa,” it should be no surprise that a lot of it revolves around Eleven. After witnessing memories of her 1979 showdown with One, Eleven has finally regained her powers. She tests them out by effortlessly lifting the Nina tank; guess she doesn’t need that thing any more!

Brenner explains that after Eleven defeated One, she fell into a coma because she pushed herself too far. When she woke, she no longer had memories of the event or access to the stronger powers she’d used in the battle. But since Brenner saw what she did to One and the gate to the Upside Down, he was inspired to explore further in that direction, which brings us to the start of the series.

Finally, finally, Brenner and Owens fill in Eleven on the events in Hawkins, and give her all the details they have about Vecna’s reign of terror. Brenner has already figured out Vecna’s plan to destroy Hawkins, and uses a great metaphor that each of his murders makes “cracks in the dam” between the two worlds. When it bursts, the Upside Down will flood into the real world and chaos will ensue.

Predictably, Eleven wants to run straight to Hawkins to help her friends. Brenner tells her she’s not ready, evoking some serious Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back vibes. But Owens backs her, saying it’s not a prison and that if she wants to go, they should be helping her. The way Owens shut down Brenner made me laugh out loud; it’s nice to hear someone put that guy in his place.

However the disobedience goes about as well as you’d expect. Brenner has his goons detain Owens and traps Eleven in the Nina Project room. He tells her that she has to stay. In return, Eleven finally tells him off, pounding home that he’s caused so much pain and death over the years. God, is it cathartic to watch her call out Brenner. She even floats the idea out there that this whole mess started because Brenner was using her to search the Upside Down for One, since he always thought One was lost in the darkness somewhere and still loved him in his own demented way.

Eleven tries to leave, and Brenner stabs her in the neck with a syringe. In return, she starts trying to kill him with her powers, but passes out before she can finish the job. As much as I absolutely loath Brenner, it’s nice to see him returning to his old villainy one last time here. He’s always been a character prone to doing horrible things, and despite the show giving him a slight redemption this season, we needed to remember that before the end.

Eleven wakes up with one of those shock collars on, but hardly has time to panic about it before the military arrives to destroy the Nina bunker. Lt. Colonel Sullivan is convinced Eleven is responsible for the murders in Hawkins, which is still just a little frustrating. Now that we know that One is Vecna, I can’t help but wonder why no one ever thought to explain the whole situation to Sullivan. Sure, he has a hard time believing in monsters, but if he’s already convinced that one of Brenner’s psychic children was committing these acts, would it really have been so hard for him to believe it was a different child?

I digress. The Nina Project sequence is exciting, because this late in the show it feels like every character is in danger. True to that, we get our first death of Volume 2 when Brenner carries Eleven up to the surface only to get shot by soldiers in a helicopter. But when those soldiers try to take out Eleven, she uses her powers to bring the chopper crashing to the ground. The display of power is pretty wild; this is a stronger Eleven than we’ve ever seen, and it is exciting.

As the dust settles, the California crew speeds up in Argyle’s pizza van. El’s reunion with Mike and Will was an emotional cherry on top of this episode. She gets one final scene with Doctor Brenner, saying goodbye to him as he bleeds out in the desert. Despite all the horrible things Brenner has done, he insists that Eleven is the closest thing he has to family. His dying act is to open the shock collar, freeing her to go help her friends. And unlike season 1, this time we see the body. Brenner is well and truly dead. Here’s hoping we never have to hear anyone call him “Papa” again.

Stranger Bullet Points

• Vecna stalking Nancy is one of the creepier scenes we’ve gotten with the villain.
• Eddie wore a Michael Myers mask when he was stealing the RV! A fun nod.
• Volume 1 may have been all about that Kate Bush, but “Papa” did a great job of bringing in more ’80s songs to liven things up, including tunes by Creedence Clearwater Revival, James Taylor, and Journey. The soundtrack is in top form here.
• My heart broke for Robin when she saw her crush kissing a boy in the War Zone. Steve pointed out that something smelled fishy about it, and I’m going to hope he’s right. Robin deserves some happiness!
• Eleven using her powers to find her friends was so nice to see in this episode. I missed those scenes, and the way she eavesdropped on the whole plan to go after Vecna was a great way to make her aware of the situation in Hawkins.
• Brenner noted that One grows stronger each time he kills a victim, consuming their memories, strengths, and power. This makes me even more nervous for Vecna and Eleven’s looming showdown in the finale, but is a cool touch.
• Speaking of Brenner, man did that guy have an episode. In his final minutes, we got to see Brenner be both reprehensible and caring toward Eleven, reminding us why he’s always been such a complex character. His death scene is surprisingly emotional, pretty much entirely because Millie Bobbie Brown and Matthew Modine kill it.
• Eleven and the Cali crew are 2,000 miles away from Hawkins. How will they get there in time to help their friends?
• I love the Hawkins gang making all their weaponry and preparing for war in the field. I have a feeling we’re going to look back with melancholy on that scene as the last good moments for that group before everything goes to hell.

Verdict

“Papa” was an all around solid episode and a great way to kick off Volume 2. It wrapped up just enough to put all of our major players in position to cross paths in the season finale, and had plenty of great emotional moments. Hopper and Joyce are seemingly on their way out of Russia, the Nina Project is no more, El got her powers back and was reunited with Mike and the Cali crew, and Vecna stands on the brink of victory. To top it all off, Brenner finally bit the bullet, preparing us for the bloodbath ahead. This was exactly the type of set-up episode the season needed before its big finish.

Episode Grade: A

– Daniel Roman