Stranger Things star David Harbour reveals how they filmed the emotional Joyce/Hopper reunion in season 4. Created by the Duffer Brothers, the Netflix sci-fi horror series became a global pop culture phenomenon after its season 1 premiere in 2016. The series follows a group of friends in Hawkins, Indiana, as they fight against a supernatural threat and uncover secret government experiments. Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 finally premiered on May 27 after an almost 3-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The series sas already been renewed for Stranger Things season 5.
Although much of Stranger Things' primary cast consists of teenage characters, Harbour and Winona Ryder star as the responsible adults, Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. While Hopper and Joyce struggled throughout the series to protect the kids from the Upside Down, they grew closer together. Then, in Stranger Things season 3, Joyce and Hopper finally admitted their feelings for each other and set a date. Unfortunately, the couple was separated in "The Battle at Starcourt," and Joyce assumed Hopper died. However, Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 quickly revealed to Joyce that Hopper had survived, but the two would not reunite until the final episode in an emotional moment.
David Harbour explained how the emotional Joyce/Hopper reunion in Stranger Things season 4 was filmed in a recent interview with IndieWire. During the interview, Harbour revealed that they shot the moment multiple times trying to get the scene just right. Finally, after "about 10 takes," Harbour suggested the version that made it into the show. Check out Harbour's explanation of the reunion below:
"Initially there were some that we did where she'd run over to me and I just embraced her [right there and then]. We did about 10 takes of it, and then I was like, 'You know what I think it is, man? I just think he's so in survival mode, I don't even think he thinks she's real.' So when she comes over to him there's this moment where he kind of stares, pulls her away from him and looks at her, and then embraces her again."
"I was really appreciative of the Duffers allowing me to find the reality of this moment. I had a lot of takes that were big and emotional and all that stuff and then I was like, 'No, it's got to be simple, it's gotta be weirder than that.' And I was very happy we all came to that and that they let us use that take because I think it is the most sophisticated."
Stranger Things fans had waited a long time to see Joyce and Hopper reunite after their tragic separation in season 3, so it's understandable that the cast and crew would want to get the emotionally-charged moment perfect. Harbour's suggestion for the scene fit Joyce and Hopper's reunion so well because the two were shown finally taking a moment to let down their guards after surviving independently for months. While it could be interesting to see how the other takes played out the reunion, it would have seemed out of character if Hopper instantly dropped his gruff front in the Russian prison, even with Joyce there. After all, the former Hawkins police chief never quite mastered emotional vulnerability in Stranger Things season 3.
Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 may have given Joyce and Hopper the perfect reunion, but there are still more emotional reunions to come. Hopper, Joyce, and Murray still need to race back to America where the teens face Vecna in Hawkins, and Mike, Will, and Jonathan race to find Eleven. Hopefully, Hopper and Eleven will reunite in Stranger Things season 4 volume 2. And considering the work that went into Joyce and Hopper's reunion, the adopted father and daughter's moment will hopefully be just as perfect. Season 4 volume 2 will be released on Netflix on July 1.
Source: IndieWire