Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4.
Volume One of Stranger Things season four released in May 2022, and it was as action-packed as usual, breaking new records for Netflix’s most-watched list. Indeed, a lot happened in the seven supersized episodes, with so many standout moments that define the relationships between the characters, or that help solve the larger mystery throughout the season. We’ve made this list of the best and most memorable moments of the season so far.
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8 Chrissy’s death
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Chrissy’s death at the end of episode one is definitely one of the most memorable moments of Volume One, despite it happening at the end of the first episode. Chrissy Cunningham is set up as the sweet girl next door with a secret. We even see her getting along with the school “freak” and new fan favorite Eddie Munson. All of this is what makes her incredibly painful death absolutely heart-wrenching, not to mention that it sets up the rest of the Hawkins plot and throws the audience into the deep end of the supernatural nature of the show once again.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Angela getting a skate to the face
In California, Angela is one of the bullies that make Eleven’s life a living hell. She makes fun of El’s project, which leads El to embarrass herself in front of the whole school. When Mike arrives in California, and they go to Rink-O-Mania, the bullying continues, and El ends up with milkshake down the front of her dress. To make it worse, this was all recorded by one of the other bullies. El decides to take matters into her own hands and smacks Angela in the face with a roller-skate. One of the most satisfying moments of Volume One, it also leads to El being tracked down and taken away to the mysterious Project Nina, and to the breakdown of the Mike/Eleven relationship.
6 Argyle’s Reaction to Unnamed Hero Agent Man
Argyle is one of the new characters introduced this time around, and despite his limited screen time in comparison to other characters, he served as one of the major comic reliefs for all the darkness in the season. His best moment was after the death of one of Owens’ agents (aptly named Unnamed Hero Agent Man) as he begins to freak out. When they have a moment to stop and take it all in, Argyle partakes in some “Purple Palm Delight” and sits, making a tombstone for him while Jonathan, Mike and Will are burying the body. This moment is one of the funniest of the season so far, and proves why Argyle was a necessary addition.
5 Dustin, Lucas and Erica Using Light to Reach the Teens
When the older kids (Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Eddie) end up in the Upside Down towards the end of Volume One, it looks like all hope is lost. Steve is injured during a battle with the new “Demo-Bats” and Nancy’s guns aren’t in the Wheeler house, due to the Upside Down being frozen on the night Will went missing way back in season one. But through youngest Wheeler child Holly’s lightbox, Dustin and Erica are able to set up a line of communication to help them get out. This moment is memorable because it brings back the simple magic of season one, with Joyce’s Christmas lights, but it also shows that Dustin and Erica are a dream team — if the audience didn’t already think that after the Scoops Troop story last season, and that Lucas is still the kid who would do anything for his friends.
4 Robin and Nancy Visiting Creel
Robin and Nancy are one of the most unexpected team-ups of this season so far, one that shouldn’t work as well as it does. Nancy is hard-headed and stuck in her ways, while Robin is a bit looser with the rules and with her beliefs. To help the rest of the Hawkins gang, the two visit Pennhurst Asylum to get some answers from the mysterious Victor Creel, complete with Robin wearing Nancy’s clothes to appear more professional. When they meet with the man in charge, Nancy’s way seems to be failing, and the audience is left to think they’ll never get through to Victor. However, Robin comes to the rescue with a fast monologue and convinces the man in charge to let them through and to allow them to see Creel alone. As Creel recounts the tale of what happened to him, there seem to be more questions than answers. This interaction, however, is the one that gives them the key to saving Max, as well as allowing the audience to begin to put the pieces together to figure out the mystery.
3 The Parallel Between the Basketball Game and the Hellfire Club
In episode one, we are greeted with the lowest stakes issue we face in season 4. Lucas can’t join the final Hellfire club session of the semester due to the championship basketball game happening on the same night. Club leader Eddie is not impressed by this and insists that he won’t move the session and Lucas won’t skip the game. This is all reminiscent of teen films like High School Musical, but what follows is an epic feat of editing as the basketball game and the Hellfire club campaign are cut together, resulting in a thrilling sequence where you don’t really know where to look. This is memorable because not only is it visually impressive, but it shows the differences in the characters from last season. Hero Mike Wheeler wanted nothing to do with Dungeons and Dragons in season 3, but now he begrudges Lucas for prioritizing other things. Lucas is concerned with popularity in the most stereotypical sense, while Erica is happy to join the nerds for the night. Even Max not being involved with either says a lot about her mental state. So much storytelling is packed into this sequence.
2 The Reveal of 001 as Vecna
Vecna was the big-bad of Volume One and both the Hawkins plot and, later, El’s plot are focused on him. As usual, his name was ripped straight from the latest D&D campaign, but this time around he’s much scarier and much more threatening. He entraps victims in a trance-like state, where seemingly nothing can reach them. During El’s time at Project Nina, we learn more about her past in the lab before the events of season one, and we meet an orderly who seems to favor Eleven — this orderly is revealed to be the mysterious 001. For a brief moment, we are led to believe he will be the good guy, who will help Eleven escape and also help her with her powers when they’ve left the lab. Obviously, though, this is not the case. After the two fight, El sends him to the Upside Down, and he becomes Vecna. But that’s not all: he’s also Victor Creel’s son. This sequence is so vital for the backstory of the show and contains one of the biggest plot twists in the show’s history, meaning it had to be on this list.
1 Max Escaping Vecna
This scene is potentially the most beautiful in the show’s history, and it’s definitely the one with the best soundtrack. We learn Max has been targeted by Vecna for a while before she starts to see the visions that spell her death. After an emotional moment at her deceased stepbrother Billy’s grave, she is fully taken in to Vecna’s world, and it seems to be over for her. Thankfully, through Robin and Nancy’s investigating, the gang know that music will save her from the trance, and luckily they know Max’s favorite song which is “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. It works, with a little push. Max also thinks of all the reasons she wants to live, including her relationship with Lucas and her friendship with Eleven. She escapes, and the gang are reunited once more. The scene is memorable due to its power: it goes back to the root message of the show, which is all about friendship, and in this instance friendship can defeat even the biggest evil.
