According to Variety, the release of Stranger Things 4 volume 2 caused a temporary crash to Netflix servers, which only proves that the Duffer Brothers and team delivered their most ambitious season yet. With Eleven reliving her memories to reset her powers and Max Mayfield being a target, this season finally started to put the storylines together about the Upside Down to prepare the fans for the beginning of the end.
One of the biggest plotlines of the season was the creation of the most sinister and complex monster, Vecna, and gave him one of the most compelling villain origins stories sci-fans have ever seen. While season 4 delivered on the promise of being bigger, scarier, and more intense with fan-favorite characters clearly dead or fighting for their life, fans still had some qualms with the direction some of the stories went. Stranger Things fans have long since accepted that they have to suspend their belief in order to truly immerse themselves in the world, but some of the storylines this season required too much suspension of belief and have fans pushing back.
Venca Explaining His Master Plan To Nancy
Stranger Things volume 2 picks up right where volume 1 left off, with Nancy stuck in a trance being chased by Vecna. However, unlike the other victims, Vecna has no desire to kill Nancy but instead wants to show her his master plan so she can report it back to the others, specifically El.
While this was a great way to get exposition out in an interesting way, it really makes no sense since Nancy and El aren't even close. It would have made more sense if Vecna used Max as his spokesperson since Max and El are best friends. Fans also wondered why Vecna wouldn't just use Nancy as his fourth kill since she has trauma just like the rest of his victims.
Eleven's Powers To Heal
The supernatural powers of Eleven and the other Hawkins Lab children have always been a muddled mess. This became abundantly true in season two when fans were introduced to Kali/008 who had an entirely different set of powers than El and the other children at the Lab but was never elaborated on.
Now fans find themselves questioning El's superpowers again thanks to the scene in the final episode where she tries to revive Max's heart, thus putting her into a coma. There are a lot of theories about what this new power could mean heading into the final season, but fans feel like the reveal was rushed and unnecessary since it came at the tail end of an already action-packed finale.
Vecna Choosing To Target Patrick
After Max experiences her first Vecna vision, she and the Hawkins gang figure out why Vecna has been targeting the victims he has. They come to the conclusion that they've all been seeing the school's guidance counselor to deal with various tragedies or hardships that they've experienced. It makes total sense since Vecna feeds off of negative energy.
What doesn't make sense is why Vecna targets Patrick, one of the jocks who helps track down Eddie Munson. His name is never brought up when the Hawkins gang is in the guidance counselor's office, and he's never really shown struggling with some deep issues. This inconsistency has fans wondering why he was Vecna's third victim.
Resurgence Of The Steve-Nancy-Jonathan Love Triangle
During the first two seasons of Stranger Things, the three teenagers found themselves in quite a love triangle. However, when season 3 began it seemed that the dreaded love triangle storyline was finally put to rest. Nancy had chosen Jonathan and Steve had begun to move on and eventually realized that Nancy wasn't the girl he actually wanted.
Most fans were thrilled with the conclusion since they no longer needed to watch the pointless drama However, season 4 dredged the storyline back up by putting distance between Nancy and Jonathan and making her fight side by side next to Steve. While it's not uncommon for love triangles to resurface, it feels unnecessary for this one to have resurfaced since they already had a solid conclusion in the prior season.
The Upside Down Being Frozen In Time
Season 4 saw most characters travel through the Upside Down than ever before. With the newfound villain in the Upside Down, some shocking discoveries were made about the monstrous dimension. The biggest of these discoveries is Nancy's belief that the Upside Down is frozen in time after she discovers her journal in her Upside Down bedroom, which has no entries past the day Will went missing in 1983.
Despite being a big reveal in volume 1, it was completely brushed aside in volume 2 and has many fans wondering if the reveal was actually an important twist. Some fans speculate that the Upside Down isn't stuck in time but that Nancy's journal remained empty because she wasn't there to write in it, while others feel the Upside Down being stuck in time will play into season 5. Whatever the case, fans still have a lot of unanswered questions about the Upside Down.
The Power Stopping Device In Henry/Vecna/One & Why It's There
A major reveal in Stranger Things season 4 is that the orderly, who has been helping Eleven, is actually One. Unlike El and the other children though, One has no powers because of a small device implanted into his neck presumably by Dr. Brenner. Fans know this stops him from using his powers because the minute El takes it out, he gets them back.
However, fans have a lot of questions about what the device is and why it was implemented in the first place. Considering One doesn't go on his killing spree until much later, fans are curious to know what he did for Dr. Brenner to install the device in him in the first place. They're also curious if the device has been used on anyone else -- perhaps serving as a reason for Eight's escape in season 2.
Eddie Munson's Death
Stranger Things has made it a tradition to kill fan-favorite characters in sad ways, and this season was no exception. This season took Eddie Munson after he stops running away from the demobats and chose to fight him to prove that he's not a coward anymore.
While this is a great concept, in theory, many fans believe it was a stupid decision because Eddie had already proven himself not a coward when he decided to stay behind after getting Dustin to safety. Running from the bats when they were chasing him wasn't a cowardly thing to do but a smart one, and yet Eddie threw the bike down and decided to let himself get attacked. This raises the other concern about his fatal injury to Steve's. Steve was also attacked mercilessly by the bats and Steve, Robin, and Nancy spent nearly 30 minutes being strangled by the vines, but Eddie is the only one who died.
What Happened To The Gates?
Stranger Things has always made it clear that the only way to stop the Upside Down from spreading into Hawkins is to close the gates. This season saw four different gates open, which ended up fracturing Hawkins and creating the "earthquake." With four gates open, fans thought the characters would be extremely concerned with closing them, and yet that's not the case at all.
Instead, volume 2 ends with a small-time jump where none of the characters seem concerned with the fact that they didn't close any of the gates. With Vecna presumably still on the lose and the Upside Down bleeding into Hawkins, it would seem like closing the gates would be the gang's number one priority, and yet no one mentions it.
The Secret Lab's Location & Use
After being banished from Hawkins, the team behind the Hawkins Lab decided to take up residence in an abandoned military testing facility in the middle of nowhere Nevada. While fans can totally buy the premise since the Lab was always connected to the government, what they can't wrap their head around is why the secret lab had such an exposed entryway.
Sure, the entryway was located in the middle of the Nevada desert, but it sticks out like a sore thumb, which makes it odd that that is where the team would decide to build the Nina project. Many fans also wondered why they would use a government building at all since the government has taken an anti-Eleven stance.
The Entire Russia Plot
The Russians were introduced into Stranger Things during season 3 and played an even bigger role in season 4 due to the fact that Hopper was being imprisoned there. While fans were willing to buy that if it meant Hopper was alive, many found the rest of the Russia plot to be far-fetched.
For one, it's never explained why Dimitri was willing to put his life on the line to help Hopper escape. Then, there's the added confusion of how the Russians managed to get a Demogorgon to Russia which they must have transported from Hawkins since season 3 established that they can't open a gate. And finally, there's the entire army of demodogs that the Russians somehow were breeding in the prison.