told you. zoomer.

overall — this season answered a lot of questions and explored the shows lore in a way that season 3 failed to. it was emotional, well acted and ambitious. however like many people said, it was bloated.

the new characters — chrissy and eddie were great. i was quickly able to connect with both of them, even with chrissy’s short time on screen. patrick and fred also. argyle was a mixed bag; he was funny and enjoyable, but i feel they could’ve done more with him. jason, on the other hand, would’ve been better in smaller doses.

overall pros:

- max’s story. it was absolutely perfect. sadie is a gem to watch, and i’ve always connected to max, but this season blew it out of the water.

- both byler and ronance were so great to watch, and there were some really touching moments for byler. ronance bounced off each other in a way i found really fun.

- lucas sinclair. giving lucas more emotional depth, taking his bond with max more seriously, giving him time with dustin, and allowing us to watch him grapple with high school was great. it took me back to season 1, when we actually followed him on a journey.

- el. i have a few issues with her storyline, but overall it was definitely a hit. millie proved that she can literally do anything when it comes to acting. to me, el is a hero with or without her powers, and sometimes i wish someone else would save her this time.

- vecna was a solid villain, a big improvement from previous seasons.

- there are quite a lot more pros, such as erica and lucas’s amazing chemistry as siblings, and the way they got creative with the upside down, but you get the idea.

now for the cons:

- as much as i love hopper and joyce, the russia plot was a huge mistake. i really don’t think it should have ever been made a thing. at least in season 3 it was more visually and narratively interesting.

- nancy was brilliant and then she wasn’t. i didn’t like the whole stancy thing, and that’s not just because i’ve never never shipped them. 1: it was out of character for both of them. 2: i wanted more nancy and robin, or more Platonic nancy and steve.

- the jock plot was too prevalent, although i appreciated the satanic panic stuff they were incorporating.

also el’s story was incredible, but the stuff with peter did get confusing at times.