How ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Conquers Trauma and Mental Health

For working out complex mental issues, horror is the best soil

Since its 2016 debut, we know that Netflix’s Stranger Things has always been a smart and emotionally intelligent show. The first season proved the creators’ (the Duffer Brothers) passionate love and vast knowledge of horror. They used nostalgia with integrity and paid homage to classic scary movies in a way that also let them create something new. Though the series might have been a remix of familiar genre tropes, it never felt like a pure imitation but a show with a powerful and distinctive voice.

Even so, the latest season was a pleasant surprise in terms of its theme and emotional maturity, which beautifully tackled mental health through an exploration of trauma. Thus this Volume felt more profound than ever before.