Stranger Things has quite the ensemble of characters, with the Duffer Brothers creating a core cast of differing ages, motives, and abilities who the creators say needed to be split across the overarching narrative of the returning Season 4. The chemistry between the show's various characters has been an instrumental part of the series so far. Debuting earlier this year, Stranger Things Season 4 followed the series' largest scale storylines yet. Spanning multiple locations, all of which offered up some kind of epic set-piece, Season 4 saw viewers rushing back to Netflix for the long-anticipated return after several production delays.
By the end of Stranger Things Season 3, the gang had been split up. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Max all remained in Hawkins following the explosive aftermath of the conflict in StarCourt Mall. Also staying behind with them were Nancy, Steve, and Robin. Meanwhile, with Hopper thought to have been killed, Eleven, Joyce, Will, and Jonathan left the iconic town in hopes of a fresh start in California. With the core group disassembled and separated by a significant distance for the first time, the stage was set for a fresh and exciting new beginning of Season 4.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ross Duffer went into more detail on his and brother/co-creator Matt Duffer's thought process when deciding which character pairings fans would get to see in Season 4. He states that for the first three weeks of writing, decisions were still being made on who would end up where, with the pair exploring the kind of dynamics each character pairing could bring to the table. See exactly what Ross Duffer had to say below:
This season saw your characters separated in different locations. How do you decide which characters work really well together, which characters create tension together and which characters you want to see together?
ROSS DUFFER Sometimes we know going into a season right away: “Well, I really want to see this.” For the first three weeks [in the writers room], we were still shuffling people around — who was going to be in California, does Jonathan go back to Hawkins, does Nancy go to California … It was mixing and matching until [we had] dynamics that Matt and I and the writers were excited about. But you almost don’t want to know exactly what that dynamic is going to bring.
Both creators also stated their wish to take big swings with Stranger Things Season 4, ensuring that the series remained fresh and nuanced as it progressed. They cite the introduction of a more psychologically dangerous villain in Vecna and a balanced pace across the narrative to be key parts of Season 4's success. It was obviously crucial to find the best character pairings to allow for this smooth pace and transition of the main antagonist to be achieved, while also being open to the possibilities of new relationships and dynamics between the core group of characters.
It's pretty safe to say that The Duffers did manage to strike a good balance with Stranger Things Season 4. The familiar comedic beats between Dustin and Steve are always welcomed by fans, with the ongoing triangle of Mike, Will, and Eleven continuing to the heart of the series. Though, new duos like Nancy and Robin may have unexpectedly become some of the most entertaining of Stranger Things so far. The mixture of the familiar and the fresh opened surprising opportunities, reignited old flames, introduced new fan favorites, but above all else stayed true to the core value of friendship that has helped make the series so popular. Interestingly, for a pair of creators who seem to have been building a villain as significant as Vecna since the series' very inception, unpredictability in future dynamics seems to be a cause of excitement for them. How much this affects the final Season of the series will surely be on the minds of fans over the next big wait between Seasons.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter