Emmy Catch-Up: Stranger Things

Stranger Things: Season 4, Episode 4 “Chapter Four: Dear Billy” (B+)

This seems to be one of the standout episodes of the season, submitted along with the seventh installment for Emmy consideration in the directing category, and I can see why. It was quite a grand (extended) hour, with Max nearly getting overtaken in the same way that we’ve seen so many times from others but managing to resist, in part because of the conclusion Robin came to after their undercover academic operation and Lucas helping Dustin find the right music to play for her. This show knows how to go from a tender emotional moment to a terrifying one, showing the dark clouds coming in and how Max appeared possessed while she was interacting directly with Vecna. Writing letters to everyone in her life in case she did die was an intense choice, one that no one wanted to acknowledge but which suggests she’s much more prepared for what’s to come than any of Vecna’s other unsuspecting victims. Creel’s story was unpleasant and full of horrifying moments, and I appreciated the twin casting of Robert Englund, of Freddy Krueger fame, as his older self and Kevin L. Johnson from “Ozark” as his younger self. Things are getting very real on every front, with a clueless Argyle driving past the Byers home at exactly the right moment when they were trying to escape certain death. Yuri did feel like he could be friends with Murray, but opting to turn in Enzo, Hopper, and both of his new American friends for a bigger payout suggests that future is unlikely to come to pass.