Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 has arrived on Netflix after a three-year long wait as part of the 2022 TV schedule, and finally, we get to see a return to form for all of our favorite characters. While plenty of these amazing actors have been off doing their own thing in the world of movies and TV, they all came back to this show that we love so dearly - along with some new faces.
With this new season, there have been plenty of characters that have truly won me over in Season 4, Volume 1, from some familiar faces that have been around for ages, to new Stranger Things actors and their characters that I think we’ve all fallen in love with. Here are some Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 all-stars, and why I think they deserve praise.
Max Mayfield
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Sadie Sink poured her whole entire acting ability into playing Max Mayfield during Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 4. Seriously. Out of every character that this season could have focused on, I never would have expected Max, as she always just felt like one of the gang from Season 2 onwards, but Season 4 really shined a light on her.
Her story arc, about her depression over Billy, to the moment she’s taken under by Vecna’s curse in Episode 4, to the way she breaks out of it using her favorite song, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, and being reminded of all the happy memories that she has with her friends - everything was just so beautifully done.
And, watching her run through Vecna’s world, all so she could reunite with the people that she cares about the most in this world - it made my heart lurch, and Sadie Sink did an absolutely phenomenal job.
Eddie Munson
You know, I didn’t think there could be someone else that I loved more than the awesome Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) in Stranger Things, but in Season 4, Volume 1, a new character entered the fold in the form of Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn. From the moment he stepped on the screen, I knew fans were going to eat this character up.
Munson is such a classic dude character - he has a heart of gold but likes to portray himself as a badass game master, and his chemistry with the rest of the iconic squad makes him even more likable. Like for example, in Episode 7, he and Steve have this real deep conversation about how he’s jealous of the fact that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) basically worships the group that Steve walks on and thinks he’s so cool, even though Dustin would never say that.
That little conversation that he has with Steve speaks volumes about how cool of a guy he is, where he willingly shares his feelings with someone he truly thought was a jerk, after realizing Steve’s actually pretty cool. All I’m saying is that he better not get killed off in Volume 2, or I will riot.
Jim Hopper
Look, I’ve always had a thing for David Harbour as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things. I think he’s just so dang cool in so many ways, but in Season 4, Volume 1 he really won me over as an all-star, because holy crap he was so badass in this.
Jim Hopper in Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 reminded me of why I love the character so much, because he truly will do anything to protect his family. Just that last scene, of him and Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha) taking on the Demogorgon together, after everything they had been through, was just perfect.
It further showed how amazing he is, along with the way he escaped earlier and literally took out soldiers by exploding a whole cabin and taking off on a snowmobile - it had me cheering on my couch. I can see why Season 4 is David Harbour’s favorite season so far.
One
Hear me out - One is freaking terrifying, but Jamie Campbell Bower is just phenomenal as him.
I really didn’t think that Stranger Things could scare me or shock me. I’ve seen so many big deaths in this show that I felt as if I would be immune to this sort of surprise, but leave it to One to do that. This man is truly scary because he’s so calm, yet he’s a literal psychopath.
Just in Episode 7, where he quite literally kills every single person in Hawkins Laboratory with his powers, snapping their bones and necks and leaving a trail of horror in his wake, was so scary I truly felt as if I was in one of the best horror movies ever. He is the perfect villain because he doesn’t need to be a literal monster - though he does later become one, but that’s due to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) sending him into the Upside Down.
What really makes him an all-star is how he doesn’t need to act like an ass. All he needs to do is show how powerful he is - and boy, oh boy, does he and more.
Murray
Murray (Brett Gelman) has been around for some time in Stranger Things, ever since Season 2, but Season 4, Volume 1 is really where he won me over as a hilarious character. His dynamic with Joyce (Winona Ryder) was one of the main things that made me laugh, and their storyline of them traveling off to Russia in order to save Hopper was truly entertaining.
Just Murray putting his new black-belt skills to use to take out Russian soldiers, acting as Yuri (Nikola Djuricko) in order to get into the Russian base, and everything he did in Season 4 was just stellar and I could re-watch this volume again just for his funny moments. I can’t wait to see the hilarious moments between him, Hopper and Joyce when Volume 2 releases. Thank God he was upgraded to a series regular.
Nancy Wheeler
Nancy (Natalia Dyer) has been around since the first season of Stranger Things, and while she’s grown up steadily over the last few seasons, Season 4 is really where I started to have some serious respect for her, all because of the lines she is willing to cross as a reporter for her school’s newspaper.
It’s not her job to investigate her classmates' murders as someone who is working with the school, but she takes it upon herself to step further into the mind of Victor Creel than any reporter before. She even enlists the help of Robin (Maya Hawke) in order to pretend to be psychology students in order to get an interview with Creel in Episode 4.
The lengths she goes to in order to get the answers, in order to save her friends, is just astounding, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Eleven/Jane Hopper
I mean, I have to add her. She’s always an all-star. Eleven has had some awesome moments on Stranger Things, but Season 4 is where she’s really gotten to shine, because now, we really know a lot more about her origin story at Hawkin’s lab.
Even though she doesn’t have her powers for a good portion of Volume 1, we start to see flashbacks of her life from before she was friends with the group, and how she ended up being the person that sent One into the Upside Down in Episode 7, leading to him being turned into Vecna. We see how she grew in her power, what she'd done in order to survive, and so much more.
We see how she became the iconic Eleven, and I’m sure soon, we’re going to get more amazing moments from her that show just how strong her connection is to One.
While the Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 ending was truly astounding and had me on the edge of my seat for the whole hour and a half I was watching, I’m eager to see what the next two episodes will bring - and if any more all-stars will be added to this list. Only time will tell.
