STRANGER THINGS: SEASON 4 PART 2 REVIEW

The revelation that Part 2 of Stranger Things Season 4 would only have two episodes instead of Part 1's seven episodes may have seemed perplexing at first, but the popular series' grand conclusion is not something to hastily watch.

There won't be a dull moment throughout those four hours of action-packed Upside Down mayhem, so get ready to give as much of yourself to it as you can.

The adjective "ambitious," which I repeatedly used in my review of Part 1, is even more appropriate to describe Stranger Things' final two episodes because they represent the series at its most stressful, thrilling, and emotional points.

It is also Stranger Things at its very best, which will no doubt fully meet the needs of fans.

It's challenging to talk about too much without giving away major story details, but we can say that it's encouraging to have seen the branching-narrative style of narrative that was developed in the first chapter finally converge in a way that feels incredibly satisfying.

It continues to bring our heroes together in a way that rewards the patience that was required for Part 1 as the first seven episodes regularly switched between California, Hawkins, and Russia, even though there is still a considerable amount of it in Part 2.

While these side stories weren't unpleasant, they felt less important than what the main gang was doing in Hawkins or Hopper's attempts to escape from a Russian prison. The subplot involving Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle in California in Part 1 didn't feel nearly as in-tune with the following season.

The good news is that Part 2 largely rectifies this; they even succeed in providing an explanation for Argyle's involvement that goes beyond just comic relief.

A few heartwarming scenes are also given to Will, who was mostly underused in Part 1, including one in Episode 8 that is definitely Noah Schnapp's best performance on the show thus far.

Part 2 offers a lot of that, as actors including Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Millie Bobby Brown, Natalia Dyer, Joseph Quinn, and David Harbour give some of the series' strongest performances.

The two episodes were filled with heartfelt exchanges between numerous individuals and more than a few choke-up moments. There is a ton of action packed with effects and an engaging plot arc.

Although the length of the episodes—1.5 hours for Episode 8 and 2.5 hours for Episode 9—may seem excessive, nothing feels hurried.

The action, romance beats, and various questions about the show's backstories are given enough breathing room without any of the elements undermining one another.

Furthermore, it is crucial to avoid devaluing any specific character given the breadth of the show's cast at this point, and Part 2 does an excellent job of respecting most of the significant players.

The final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 are the most dramatic, thrilling, and stressful of the entire season.

There are all the thrills you might imagine, but there are also a lot of tender, heartfelt conversations between people who have won our undying love.

There are so many outstanding performances throughout the entire series that it is tough to single out just one, but it is very pleasant to see Noah Schnapp's Will receive little more attention than he did in Part 1.

These four hours feature pretty much everything a Stranger Things fan could want, while having many characters and storylines to juggle.