Stranger Things Season 4 Has Fear Street’s Darker Edge But Needs More

WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Stranger Things season 4, part 1.

Fear Street and up the edginess of the series. When Stranger Things debuted in 2016, the show was an instant word-of-mouth hit for streaming service Netflix and its creators the Duffer Brothers. Despite some seriously dark moments in the show’s first season, it is easy to see why Stranger Things had massive mainstream appeal. In addition, the Stranger Things Fear Street connections have only grown with each progressive season.

Stranger Things combined sci-fi horror with nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy in its story of a group of misfit kids from a small town accidentally uncovering a government conspiracy and attempting to escape an inter-dimensional monster. Add in an adorable but surprisingly powerful telekinetic kid heroine, and Stranger Things was all but guaranteed to be a success. However, despite all its flashier elements, Stranger Things season 1 took inspiration from the dark kidnapping drama Prisoners, and the show’s early episodes were often brutal and bleak. After all, Stranger Things takes place in small-town America during the ‘80s, and its location of Hawkins, Indiana is home to many shuttered shopfronts, closed-down factories, and other signifiers of Reagan-era economic hardship. Stranger Things season 1 did not shy away from the darker side of the decade and the show’s tone reflected this, with innocent characters often being butchered in early episodes.

However, with Stranger Things season 3, the show’s tone took a swift shift into broad comedy territory. And, despite a rising body count, the series started taking itself much less seriously. A plethora of goofy subplots soon became the weak point of Stranger Things season 3, but the show has learned from the critical success of Netflix’s recent Fear Street trilogy and absorbed some important inspiration. With this said, the Stranger Things Fear Street connections continue to pile up in season 4, but despite the latest season being genuinely scary, there still have been no major character deaths – and this should be the next step. Here's why Stranger Things needs Fear Street's darker edge.

Stranger Things Seasons 1 & 2 Took No Prisoners

The death of Bob Newby (Sean Astin) in Stranger Things season 2

Stranger Things season 4 has been pumping up the scare factor, especially during its Hawkins Lab massacre and Vecna kills. It seems that the show is going back to its roots, taking on a tone that's as dark as seasons 1 and 2 – perhaps even darker. Early on in proceedings, Stranger Things was a pretty unsparing series, with the season 1 finale seeing Eleven fell slews of government agents to save her friends. Meanwhile, earlier episodes saw said agents killing off civilians with little pause, including a diner proprietor whose only crime was housing the lost, hungry Eleven. Fan-favorite Stranger Things ing star Barb was infamously and unceremoniously offed despite being well-behaved Final Girl material. Even Stranger Things season 2 mercilessly killed off poor family man and all-around good guy Bob Newby. Stranger Things season 2 did feature more comic relief than its predecessor and a faster pace, but the show’s mean streak was still in full effect and no character was too nice to be offed out of nowhere – a quality that the series lost in Stranger Things season 3 and needs again in season 4, part 2.

Fear Street’s Edge Serves A Thematic Purpose

The Grifter standing in the lake in Fear Street: 1994

the town of Shadyside and its citizens are constantly mistreated and under-resourced. The trilogy’s setting is home to a lot of dreamers who want to escape their dead-end town and know how unlikely this is, and the tragedy of both Fear Street and Stranger Things is that many of its cast don’t survive to see a brighter future. Fear Street’s recurring theme of communities being disenfranchised is touched on throughout Stranger Things, too, with a corrupt mayor, downright evil government, and amoral corporations leaving the town penniless and without prospects.

It is easy, with all of the subplots going on, to forget that even in Stranger Things season 4, the series is assuredly taking a darker tone, which may soon lead to a major character's death.

Hawkins and Shadyside Are Similar Settings

Maya Hawke's heather being dragged away by the Shadyside Killer in Fear Street Part One: 1994

Both Hawkins and Shadyside are towns where job opportunities are non-existent, business is dwindling, families are falling apart, and life is surprisingly cheap despite the town's Amblin-esque outward appearance. They are bleak depictions of small-town 80s Americana and the frequent, brutal violence of their horror stories reflects that. Stealing a page from Fear Street’s darkest moments, Stranger Things season 4, part 2, should return to killing off fan-favorite characters to establish stakes in the show and remind viewers of how grim life in Hawkins is. One of the major Stranger Things Fear Street connections is the setting.

While season 3's Mind Flayer to shame. But it's the less fantastical locations that ground both Stranger Things and Fear Street.

Stranger Things Needs To Give Death Gravitas

One way that the Stranger Things Fear Street connections don't add up is how death affects both series. Death needs to mean something in Stranger Things season 4, part 2. Although Stranger Things season 3 did boast a high body count, with shopping montages set to Madonna’s "Material Girl," and a goofy subplot about a Soviet spy learning the joys of Independence Day carnivals, it’s fair to say the series also featured a far lighter tone than earlier seasons. The dead characters were either nameless henchmen like the Soviet soldiers Hopper kills, or cartoonish bad guys like the Hawkins Post staff, resulting in a lack of impact in the show’s deaths. Despite the series killing off plenty of characters (like the loathsome local newspaper staff) Stranger Things season 3 reduced the gravitas of death on the series, with only minor, hate-worthy, or background characters being killed off. The only death of apparent plot significance (Hopper’s) turned out to be an obvious fake-out. That being said, Stranger Things season 4 has already taken on a darker edge with the deaths of three Hawkins students at the hands of Vecna. Not only that, but the town decided to turn on a teenage boy (Eddie Munson), as they believe he is responsible. So, while no main characters have bit the dust yet, the deaths of the Hawkins students are a promising start.

How Stranger Things Season 4 Is The Darkest Yet

So far, the Stranger Things Fear Street connections are starting to come to light – Stranger Things season 4 is definitely the darkest season yet. For starters, the Hawkins Lab massacre, in which he tries to kill every man, woman, and child that resides in the lab.

Related: Stranger Things Theory Reveals Eddie Is A Hawkins Lab Massacre Survivor

While California may seem like a sunny and happy location for the Byers, their experience is anything but – even being in whimsical Lenora Hills leads to Eleven breaking a bully's nose with a roller-skate. Eleven's storyline also brings Stranger Things season 4's darker tone to the surface. To get back her lost powers, Eleven must go into the NINA Project's machine to relive her memories. There, she witnesses her abysmal time at the lab, the bullies, Dr. Brenner's "treatment," and Henry Creel's killing spree. Finally, Hopper's time in the Russian prison is anything but happy. The dark and dreary setting only amplifies Stranger Things season 4's heightened tension, and the Demogorgon fights ratchet up the brutality.

Stranger Things And Fear Street Share Some Weird Connections

It may or may not be worth noting that Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer and Fear Street director Leigh Janiak are married. One of the biggest Stranger Things Fear Street connections is the setting. Both series are set in small towns with major problems. Not only that, but both of them feature young protagonists, who are tasked with saving their communities at large from unforeseen evils, that are often covered up by the town itself. The Sadie Sink connection aside (she's prominent in both), the two series don't share canon, though, they have a very similar look and feel due to the different time settings. There are enough similarities between the two that Fear Street are logical thematic bedfellows who can learn from each other (and will become even more so once Stranger Things starts dishing out key character deaths).

Next: Fear Street Proves Sadie Sink's Future Beyond Stranger Things

Stranger Things season 4, part 2, airs on Netflix on July 1st, 2022 at 3AM EST.

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