Judging by the early trailers released so far, Stranger Things season 4 will have two major mysteries to unravel—but only one of them is vital to the future of the Netflix hit. Since the series debuted in 2016, Stranger Things has always reveled in leaving many of its most intriguing questions unanswered. Much of what makes the show so engaging is the fact that Stranger Things has never explained the origins of the Upside-Down, the exact nature of the experiments conducted by the shady operatives of Hawkins Lab, or which of the show's seemingly-dead villains such as Billy and Dr. Brenner may someday return.
Despite this, Stranger Things 4 needs to change the show’s formula and avoid over-explaining one mystery at the expense of another. Judging by Stranger Things season 4 trailers, the upcoming outing will endeavor to offer more insight into the mystery of the Upside-Down and will also bring back season 1's major villains, Dr. Brenner and Hawkins Lab. However, of these two plots, it is the latter storyline that Stranger Things season 4 needs to focus on illustrating for the sake of the show’s future.
Explaining what Dr. Brenner and Hawkins Lab have been up to since Stranger Things season 2—and how the villain survived his apparent death at the close of season 1—is way more important than exploring the origins of the Upside-Down, which never necessarily needs to be explained at all. Even if the creators insist on answering the enigma, Stranger Things spinoffs could explain the mysterious Upside-Down after the series itself wraps up. The story of Dr. Brenner, in contrast, is vital to the over-arching narrative of the nostalgia-driven series and the character development of the show’s heroine Eleven, meaning the story cannot be pushed off until a later season or never properly explained and explored.
Why Stranger Things 4 Shouldn’t Explain The Upside-Down
The mystery of how the Upside-Down came into existence is clearly going to play a role in Stranger Things season 4 if the "Creel House" teaser is any indication. However, season 4 should simply confirm that the dimensional rift has opened before (and will again) instead of explaining its origins in detail. The Shining-referencing "Creel House" trailer does make the Upside-Down look like a menacing antagonist for season 4, but this ignores a major issue that already plagued Stranger Things season 2. The shadow dimension’s existence is more interesting as a mystery and could provide fodder for a Stranger Things spinoff after the series ends, but the threat is too existential and not personal enough to act as the primary villain of an entire season. Stranger Things season 4 also already has too many characters to follow and subplots to pay off for the origins of the Upside-Down to factor in, and the last thing the series needs is an inanimate location backstory taking precedence over the human cast.
Why Stranger Things 4 Needs To Explain Dr. Brenner’s Survival
Assuming Dr. Brenner is back—based on the earliest Stranger Things season 4 trailer and the Duffer Brothers’ confirmation that he survived season 1’s ending— the show needs to explain how the villain made it out alive and who knows about his escape. Has the seemingly reformed Hawkins Lab been hiding him, despite Dr. Owens coming across as a more heroic figure in Stranger Things season 2? Has he gone rogue? How did he survive a Demogorgon attack, and has it made him more of a monster? Stranger Things season 4 needs to give a satisfying conclusion to Eleven’s long and screwed-up history with her surrogate father, something focusing on the Upside-Down would leave little time for.
Why Dr. Brenner Is So Vital To Eleven's Stranger Things Story
With Hopper exiled in Siberia and Eleven unaware he is alive, Stranger Things season 4 has the opportunity to deepen the bond between her and her adopted father by making her abusive fake father into the season’s main villain. Stranger Things season 4’s test subjects can fix Eleven’s character arc by giving her villains to face off against who match her abilities, and Dr. Brenner’s return would give Eleven a chance to go up against the man who made her into the telekinetic heroine she is. Where Eleven didn’t make any meaningful connection with Stranger Things season 3’s human villain Billy until moments before his death, Dr. Brenner is the most central antagonist in her backstory and one who both El’s abilities and worst fears lead back to. Wasting such an effective villain’s return to focus on the Upside-Down would be a mistake, particularly when Stranger Things has made it through 3 seasons without viewers demanding an answer about the location’s origins.
Why Dr. Brenner’s Plot Is More Important Than The Upside-Down
Since Stranger Things season 4 missed its best period setting by not bringing the characters back together for an emotionally charged Christmas reunion, now more than ever the show now needs to ensure that it prioritizes interpersonal drama as much as action set-pieces. Simply put, Dr. Brenner’s story has emotional stakes—he’s the overarching villain of Stranger Things and El’s formative nemesis—whereas the Upside-Down is an existential threat with no personality or humanity. The biggest issue with Stranger Things season 2 was that, despite the Mind Flayer possessing Will, the main villain of the season had no personality or humanity to make them threatening. Stranger Things season 3 failed to remedy this with a human villain, Billy, who despite Dacre Montgomery’s best efforts was not given much depth or believable motivation until his dying moments.
Therefore, for Stranger Things season 4 to undo season 3’s biggest mistakes, the show must bring back Dr. Brenner and explain how he survived and what Hawkins Lab is now up to. Resisting the temptation to offer an in-depth and ultimately superfluous explanation for the Upside-Down’s existence, Stranger Things season 4 can instead revive the show’s best villain and give Eleven a villain to care about in the process. This emotionally-charged storyline is more human and urgent than the question of the Upside-Down’s origins, something that a later season of Stranger Things or one of the show’s spinoffs can address in good time.