The new Stranger Things 4 trailer dropped recently and honestly? Our collective heartbeats might permanently echo the frantic drumming of Eleven’s absence throughout Hawkinsey high school. We watch the beloved “Party” scattered, coping with fractured friendships and a shared yearning for Eleven, her light clearly dimmed since season three’s brutal Hawkins lab parting.
But beyond Hopper’s reunion with his coffee mug soulmate (we welcome back Joyce Byers’ ever-optimistic determination), the trailer hints at something darker than a simple physical separation. Season four feels like this: they are battling their demons and their guilt, facing fallout from what they’ve done, seen, and suffered through together but apart. Dustin’s stammering confessions “They had her…” speak volumes on everyone carrying a burden of Eleven’s absence – and perhaps some internal shame. It’s not about how Eleven became this broken girl; it’s about how that breaks every boy who swore protective promises and can not retrieve her. This, unfortunately, isn’t new in teen storytime but Stranger Things elevates it by intertwining it so beautifully with the overarching horror narrative. The party feels haunted because Eleven wasn’t just their source of hope… she was also the vessel fighting off the larger horrors.
Will’s portrayal leans especially tragic. Now ostracized and living an unsettling reality within dreamscapes that reflect his connection to Vecna, his vulnerability is palpable: even worse considering he saw something deeply disturbing, “That… monster didn’t hurt everyone… “. This isn’t typical teenage drama- Will experienced the full scale of the Upside Down’s terror on a level none of them (except Eleven) truly understood. His isolated fears could literally tie into The Other Side getting access to people, making their struggle that MUCH larger than Eleven’s training being disrupted. Will feels like someone trying to hold on to reason, sanity teetering as everything around him breaks apart: This season will likely explore how his experiences are weaponizing the Upside Down with an individual understanding, possibly foreshadowing something more twisted and horrifying than ever seen.
Stranger Things successfully weaved emotional arcs into a grand story. But seeing characters grappling with fallout – rather than simply moving back towards ‘normal,’ suggests season four gets personal in ways unseen before, deepening the exploration of their trauma and friendships in stark light against the terrifying reality unfolding around them. You can’t look away from Will’s pained eyes: he’s drowning, not because ‘he can connect with the monster,’ but he’s carrying us all through deeper currents this season, forcing us viewers to feel it too.
