Episode Review: Stranger Things 5x4 - "Chapter Four: Sorcerer"

Welcome back to the blog readers. Stranger Things (2016-25) has been a show that has been in the cultural zeitgeist for just about a decade, and its place in the pantheon will never be denied. The fifth season has been the most raw and honest one yet so far, while also being dark and brutal. Now that we have approached the end of the "first volume" of the final season, how would this thing end, and what would this episode, titled "Chapter Four: Sorcerer," written by Paul Dichter, and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer, be able to conclude this chapter on a satisfactory note and leave our mouths wet for the next three episodes? Stick around to find out.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.

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I have to say, I was sort of nervous going into this episode because I had seen the highly positive reviews the episode had been getting from critics and audiences alike, and I was prepared to be let down a bit. I guess it can be attributed to experiences I have had in the past, but this is not the case with this episode: it is wild in every sense of the word. The performances (especially from Millie Bobby Brown, Maya Hawke, and Noah Schnapp) and all the twists and turns we get this time around are all points of praise that I have for this episode. What a way to end the first volume.

The first performance that I need to praise is that of Millie Bobby Brown. This is basically the series that jettisoned Brown into the superstardom that she enjoys now. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and the Enola Holmes (2020-) films were all possible because of Brown's performance as Eleven / Jane Hopper. In this episode, we get a confidence, a determination, and a passion that could only be pulled off by Brown at this point in her life, and she absolutely gives her all in this episode. I felt myself really becoming emotionally connected with this version of Eleven because of those reasons, and the pure despair that we see from her near the end of this episode is enough to induce a tear into the strongest of souls. I am thoroughly impressed with what she was able to do in this episode, and can only hope the daughter-in-law of one of my favorite people can keep it up.

Speaking of daughters of one of my favorite people, we have to talk about the daughter of Ethan Hawke, Maya. Maya Hawke may be relatively new to the business, being in small films like Do Revenge (2022), Hawke has been trying to get out of the shadow of her very famous parents. But as Robin Buckley aka "Rockin' Robin," Hawke brings such a manic and relatable energy to the character. In no way is that a bad thing, but it is fun as hell to watch. This episode sees Robin at her most passionate and relatable, because Robin is portrayed as a mentor in this episode. Hawke pulls this off perfectly, with each word dipped in compassion and heart. I really hope she gets a great ending in these final four episodes.

And finally, I have to talk about Zombie Boy himself. And no, not the actor Noah Schnapp, but his character Will Byers. And I have to say that while I may very loudly disagree on some of Schnapp's political views, I cannot deny his talent as an actor. Just look at the second season of this show if you don't know what I mean. This episode, we see two very different things out of Schnapp that prove why he was given this task. The first is raw and genuine emotion. We see a more vulnerable Will than we have ever seen before, and it is amazing to be able to see something like that. But something flips by the episode's end and we see more powerful performance that left my jaw on the floor for the duration. I cannot wait to see what happens next with Will Byers.

And now, we have to talk about the wickedly wild story we got in my current longest episode of television I have ever reviewed. We pick up where we left off last time out with Derek Turnbow waking up earlier than expected after him and his family were kidnapped by the party to track the Demogorgon to Vecna's lair. Joyce tries to make her case that they are not child kidnappers. Not Will (who Derek makes fun of), not Robin, and especially not Erica can convince "Dipshit Derek" to listen to them and take them seriously, until they see banging on the barn door that Robin and Erica previously boarded shut to prevent Derek from escaping. The Demogorgon bursts through the door, and Joyce holds it off with an axe. It is no longer needed as Steve, Jonathan, Nancy, and Dustin arrive to run over the creature, forcing it to retreat via a gate in a silo. After mulling their options, Steve decides they should drive through the gate, comparing it to a "Bopper." Nancy gives him the go-ahead, and the four drive through the gate all the way through to the Upside Down. After some cheering, Steve and Dustin begin to argue again, leading the car to crash into the same fleshy wall that Hopper and Eleven stumbled into.

Back in the real world, Will, who had another convulsion when the Demogorgon appeared, awakens to reveal what he saw: one central spire with twelve areas for people, along with Holly and two other kids connected at the mouth with the same tube that Vecna used on Will in 1983. He uses paint to draw what he saw on the barn wall, leading Robin to conclude Vecna did not mean for Will to see this, and that the signal has never been this strong. It seems that the military has caught on to what is going on as well, because they are taking all the kids in Hawkins (minus Derek) to the MAC-Z. The party learns of this and concocts a plan (thanks to Robin's love of the film The Great Escape (1963)) to infiltrate the MAC-Z to extract the children targeted by Vecna. They decide to use Derek as their insider as he will infiltrate the Mac-Z. Meanwhile, back in the Upside Down, Dr. Kay assumes the culprit of this is still Eleven and prioritizes her capture above all. Meanwhile, in Henty's mindscape, an unsure and confused Holly meets Max, who explains she was the author of the note that got Holly out of the Creel house. She takes Holly to a safe area inside a cave made of rocks that she has been using as a safe haven.

Max explains how she got to where she is now: she was one of Vecna's original targets and her death, like with the others, caused gates to open and Hawkins to split in two. She was dead, but only momentarily. She found something calling to her, and she finds herself in Vecna's memories. First is of the Hawkins lab massacre, and then Hawkins High in 1959 (in which we see a younger Joyce trying and failing to promote her musical Oklahoma!). She cannot interact with the memories, concluding she is more of an observer in a sense. As she is comatose in the real world, she, along with Vecna's other victims, are floating through his mind. She could not escape the memories but found a way out after floating through more memories. The final memory is of the night she was killed by Vecna. Approaching the exit, where Lucas has been playing "Running Up That Hill" nonstop, she almost made it out but was caught by Henry and put in this mindscape of the Creel house. She ran into this cave by chance, but noticed that Henry would not follow her into the cave since he is somehow afraid of whatever is in there. She then tells Holly that she chose to accept her fate; now that Holly is here, she has a plan to get them out of there. But it involves Holly returning to the Creel house and playing along with Henry.

In the Upside Down, Eleven and Hopper are scouting Dr. Kay's military base when they get a communication from Steve, revealing to the two that they are there as well. They want Eleven to help them get the car out of the wall so they can continue to look for Holly, but El's current mission will prevent that from happening at the moment. All six come to the realization based on where each group came in contact with the wall that the wall surrounds all of Hawkins. Dustin then comes to the realization (thanks to algebra!) that the center of this circle is actually the Department of Energy (aka Hawkins Lab). The lab could be the key to the entire Upside Down. Back in Hawkins, Derek (whose nickname was changed by Joyce from "Dipshit Derek" to "Delightful Derek") infiltrates the MAC-Z under the pretense that he lost his class at school. His lunchbox (which contains a walkie talkie) is not searched, and he is reunited with his classmates with the objective of gathering up any children who have seen Mr. Whatsit. Murray returns with another shipment, also revealing he has tricked out his truck to allow for the smuggling of people. He assists them in getting their "Great Escape" plan going, as Will and Mike have a conversation.

Mike gets to telling Will his theory that since he is connected to the hive mind, he may be able to tap into it and access some innate power. Will is not quite sure about this since he is only a wizard in Dungeons & Dragons (and not evil like Vecna). Mike compares him to a sorcerer, since his powers are more innate rather than coming from a spellbook. He also tells Will that without El, they need a little magic at this moment. Will gives a playful shove to Mike, not knowing that Robin witnessed this entire conversation before climbing down into the tunnel. In the tunnel, she tells Will about her massive crush on Tammy Thompson and how she felt like Tammy was her person, but became depressed when she fell hard for Steve. She later found a film reel featuring a younger her and concluded that she was looking for answers in other people, but she had all the answers herself. When she learned this, it allowed her to fly and be free: it allowed her to be "Rockin' Robin." They are interrupted by Mike and Lucas, who make some "Dick" jokes, and begin breaking a way into the tunnels from the washroom.

Back in the Upside Down, El uses her training to infiltrate the military base along with Hopper, but Akers has escaped from his captivity and makes his way to the base himself to warn his fellow soldiers of El and Hopper's entry into the base. The two are able to take out the soldiers, with Hopper stealing one of the men's keycards. It does not allow them entry, so El decides to use her powers to force the door open. Suddenly, the psionic rays go off and disable El, forcing her to stop. Kay enters the room and gloats to El, then engages Hopper in a fight, but he finds himself in a cage with a creature that chokes him out. She wants Hopper to start talking, but he does not budge, despite Kay decreasing the temperature in the cage and increasing the creature's grip on Hopper. He still refuses to budge, as El is able to stab Kay and Hopper is able to escape the grip of the creature and knock her out, stealing her keycard. The sonic rays are also disabled, restoring El's powers. Hopper tells El she needs to leave, and that he has a failsafe to take down the base and Vecna (who they believe is being held). He reveals he has strapped explosives to his vest and tells his adoptive daughter he loves her. She refuses to leave as he opens the metal door in shock. He comes back and leads her into the room, which does not contain Vecna, but her "sister" Kali (also known as Eight). Kali wakes up to El touching her hand, tears rolling down her eyes.

That's not even the most shocking part of this episode. Back in the MAC-Z, Mike and Lucas were able to dig a hole from the washroom to the tunnel and Derek had been able to gather anyone being targeted by Vecna. The plan is going over smoothly until one of the kids accidentally bursts a water pipe, leading Will and Mike to have to try to fix it. On top of that, one of the non-targeted kids sees the water spilling into the bunker and alerts the soldiers. Mike, Will, Joyce, Derek, and two other kids are caught while Robin and Murray were able to escape with some kids, and Lucas was on his way to the radio station with some more kids. The captured group is taken to Sullivan, who chastises them for their actions, while Derek argues that the military cannot defend the kids from what is coming (in a more PG-13 way, of course). Suddenly, the lights all over the MAC-Z begin to flicker and Will begins to convulse, but not before getting out two ominous words: "They're here." Three Demogorgons emerge from the metal plates covering the rifts and begin massacring the soldiers. None of them are able to do any damage to the creatures, as Mike leads the group to safety behind a building. Pyrotechnicians are able to burn the Demogorgons, but Will passes out as Mike witnesses someone walking out of the gate: Vecna himself.

Vecna makes short work of the remaining soldiers, using his powers to brutally execute every soldier in his way. He sends one of the pyrotechnicians into a boiler that explodes and knocks out Mike, Derek, and the other kids, and burns Sullivan alive. After killing the last of the soldiers and admiring his work, Vecna flips a Humvee that Joyce had Will behind and stands up to her former classmate. She yells at him to stay away from Will, and he responds by simply flicking her away, knocking her out. He uses his powers to pick up Will and reveals he is targeting children because they are weak in mind and body. He calls the kids perfect vessels and boasts that Will broke easily and showed him what is possible. He plans on using these kids in his world. All this while three Demogorgons chase after Robin and Murray and take down the truck while taking those children, and two Demogorgons corner and injure Lucas and take his two children. Vecna leaves back through the gate as another Demogorgon begins sprinting towards Mike. As the creature begins to swipe, Will closes his eyes.

Will's past flashes before his eyes, as he recalls meeting Mike, spending quality time with his family and new friend, and building Castle Byers with Mike and Jonathan as Robin's words ring through his mind. Back to the present, the Demogorgon is frozen in air mid-swipe as Mike looks confused, as he looks over at Will, left arm extended, pupils behind his head. Mike looks on in amazement while Joyce comes to and looks on in shock. The Demogorgon that injured Lucas is also frozen mid-swipe when Will raises his right arm, and the Demogorgon that is going after Robin is also frozen mid-swipe as Will lifts his head. He then lifts his arms and all three Demogorgons are raised through the air. With a determination never before seen from him, Will lowers his clenched fists and the Demogorgons die like Vecna's victims. Mike looks on satisfied, Joyce looks on in shock, and Will falls to his knees with his pupils returning, and he wipes the blood that has since began dripping down from his nose.

Stranger Things's "mid-season finale" gave me everything I could have hoped for in an episode: great character moments, great laughs, and surprises that shake the very foundation of this show. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.