To say that the start of Season 4, Episode 1 of Stranger Things was shocking would be an understatement. Stranger Things Season 4 Chapter 1, Suzie, Do You Copy?, kicked off with just as much action and suspense as the previous seasons have had and left fans with many unanswered questions about what's to come in the future for the show and its characters.
Chapter 1 - All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy
Fresh out of jail, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is not interested in making friends. When Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) invite him to play Dungeons & Dragons they are forced to leave without him when he chases them out of his house with a chain saw.
This encounter sends Will into a whirlwind as he navigates his way back home - only to find things have changed. Mike's sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer) was supposed to pick him up but she's nowhere to be found.
Chapter 2 - There Are...No Strings on Me
In Stranger Things S4E1, we see that things have changed for Mike Wheeler. He’s been recovering from his experiences in Season 3 and is ready to move on...except he can’t quite do it. He was hoping to put his traumatic past behind him but it’s still lurking nearby, threatening his chances of recovery.
While he still lives in Hawkins with Joyce Byers and Will Byers—who survived another season fighting off monsters from another dimension called the upside down—he has to face a hard truth when something devastating happens at work. That sets him on a path of self-discovery that takes him back to where it all began in Hawkins: Hopper Labs.
Chapter 3 - Best Friends Forever
Shermie and Dustin have survived it all together. They were best friends during grade school and they always will be. Always. In Stranger Things season 4 volume 2, episode 1, Suzie Come Home, the pals are reunited with their lady loves;
Lucy and Maxine-May. To celebrate, Bob is making a special milkshake for Dustin - but when Bob disappears with his son's lady love under mysterious circumstances it's up to Shermie to save her best friend from becoming duck f*ck meat.
Luckily for Jim Hopper's only boy, Shermie had just started watching animal planet's Duck Dynasty for inspiration - so he knows exactly what to do... he calls his imaginary 'uncle,' Lucky Phil Robertson!
Chapter 4 - Will the Wise
In a surprise twist of events in Season 3's finale, we saw Will Byers travel through an inter-dimensional tear that connected him to another dimension — one called The Upside Down. It is in The Upside Down where Will was infected with a Demogorgon and his memories were possessed by an unnamed entity.
In Stranger Things' fourth season premiere, it was revealed that Hopper had rescued Will from The Upside Down at some point in between Seasons 2 and 3. Although Will seemed to have recovered from his injuries sustained during his encounter with The Mind Flayer, he also became rather quiet and reclusive.
Chapter 5 - Dig Dug
Stranger Things Goes Suburban. On its surface, Chapter 5 of Stranger Things season four—aptly titled The Spy—seems like business as usual for our favorite kids from Hawkins, Indiana. It starts off with a quick bit of expository conversation about how Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is getting a divorce and it’s really bumming him out.
We also quickly learn that Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) is going on a date with Bob Newby (Sean Astin). Both scenes are short and are clearly meant to set up bigger things to come later in the episode—Steve’s marriage falling apart being one of them.
Overall Analysis of Upside Down
While Stranger Things season 3 was an interesting surprise and I’m very excited to see where they go with their conclusion, I am personally hoping that they don’t drag it out much longer. It feels like they’re just milking it at a point.
While overall I liked season 3 and how it seems like something is about to go down in season 4 based on what we saw in that short teaser trailer with Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser),
I also feel like there has been too much time passing already between seasons and if they drag it out even more then things could get old fast. Still, stranger things have happened so perhaps we will be pleasantly surprised? We'll find out later today!