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Stranger Things 4X4: Chapter Four: Dear Billy
🕑 Added 2024-10-17 00:20:57 +0000 UTCHoly shit. This episode was so good. I totally get why people liked it. Ugh. This 100% could have been a season finale. Also, Max can totally handle being the main character. I hope I stumble across her as a leading lady in the future. Plus, I can't get Running Up That Hill out of my head. This is gonna be one of those songs that gets associated with an episode for all time. I know it.
Let's start with Max. She spends the episode basically trying to do a goodbye tour. She doesn't think she's going to survive the day based on the timing of Vecna's other victims. She writes letters for her friends and family. Then she makes Steve drive her to drop them off. She has an unpleasant encounter with her mom when she gets sucked into a hallucination with her mom. Eventually, she ends up at the cemetery reading her goodbye letter to Billy. Just after she finishes, she gets sucked into another hallucination with Billy. However, this time, she's not alone. Steve, Dustin, and Lucas are there.
While this is happening, Nancy and Robin go to the insane asylum to talk to Victor Creel to figure out how he survived when the rest of his family died. They discover that music keeps you tied to this world. After they escape the grounds (literally), they radio Dustin the info.
Max, for her part, is stuck in the Upside Down with fake Billy having him blame her for his death. The boys are desperately trying to get her out of the trance she's in, but to no avail. Once they hear from Robin though, they realize that she needs music. Dustin grabs a Walkman and they stick her favorite song on. (The aforementioned Running Up That Hill). When the music starts to play, she is able to vaguely start to hear the others trying to help her. Then she sees a break in the realities and heads for it. She runs dodging a fucking shitstorm, but manages eventually to make it out. I got pretty emotional when this happened. Sorry. Lol.
Elsewhere, Mike, Jonathan and Will are being babysat by a bunch of FBI guys who claim they are there to protect them while El is figuring out how to get her power back. The guys figure out there own means of escape, but when Argyle shows up to leave with them in the van. Just as this happened a bunch of soldiers show up and open fire on everyone, killing one of the agents. However, the other one, while injured, manages to the keep them safe and get them out to the van. No idea what happens with this from here.
And in Russia, Hopper manages to defeat the odds. He escapes and gets to the safe house. However, Yuri double crosses everyone and ends up turning in Hopper, Enzo, and Joyce and Murray for the money. Again, no idea what happens from here. But I'm pissed. We were so close to getting Hopper free. And now we're all captured? WTF.
Comments
Dana Licciardello
It's been a long time since I've heard that song. It was so nice to hear it here. It felt like the perfect way to convey the emotion of the scene. I haven't seen the actress in anything else, but it looks like she's going to have a long and bright future.
Dana Licciardello
Yeah. I'm pretty sure this was my favorite episode to date. That final scene with Max dodging all the rocks and shit that were falling on her to break out into the 'real world' was such powerful imagery. Especially after she was talking about how fucked up shit always happens to her. Hard agree on the music. And I'd be lying if I said this particular song didn't already have deep meaning to me. But even if it didn't, I feel like it's just the perfect song to highlight what is happening in the scene. Ugh. Hopper. I really thought he was going to escape. I'm nervous to see what's going on with him next episode.
Elsa Reinsch
That last scene... I don't even really have the words to describe it. So much has been said by others about the impact it had on them and the meaning it had to their own mental health struggles. For me it's just so impactful because it's the love of Max's friends saving her. It's Max taking her strength back and fighting against Vecna. It's one of those scenes that people take different things from. Some people have said how impactful it is that music in a sense saved Max as well. Even in real life how music can effect your mood or get you through difficult times. The imagery of Lucas, Dustin, and Steve yelling for her to come back to them and her running towards them is an indelible image for me. And that very last shot is one of my favorites in all of television. That beautiful instrumental version of Running Up That Hill playing in the background as Lucas holds/comforts Max and Dustin/Steve put their hands on her to comfort her. And that beautiful sunset in the background. This episode was beautifully directed by Shawn Levy and that last shot was completely real... they didn't use any effects to create the color of the sky or anything like that. They literally just sat around until the sunset was exactly at the point they wanted it and then quickly got that shot. It's such a beautiful shot and the scene is so amazingly acted by Sadie, Caleb, Dustin, and Joe!! Just simply incredible! All in all it's extremely fun and exciting episode. The characters in every plotline is in some sort of real danger or duress. I love Hopper's escape but I even when I first watched it I remember it feeling too good to be true this early on. I wanted it to work but I just had a bad feeling.
heather
still need to catch up on ur s4 reactions, but love this episode!! running up that hill skyrocketed up the charts during this season & max is probably my favorite character- sadie sink is such a good actress
