Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for “Stranger Things” season 4, volume 1.

After nearly three years, Netflixed released the first volume of the fourth season of “Stranger Things” featuring new characters, new villains and lots of ‘80s vibes. The first volume contained seven episodes, each one over an hour in length on May 27, with the second volume of season four, containing the season’s final two episodes, set to be released on July 1. 

The soundtrack of this new season featured many ‘80s hits, including Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” which has skyrocketed into No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since its release in 1985. 

Bush herself has expressed gratitude for the recognition on her website. 

“You might’ve heard that the first part of the fantastic, gripping new series of  'Stranger Things’  has recently been released on Netflix. It features the song, ‘Running Up That Hill’  which is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show - I love it too! … It’s all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July,” she wrote. 

The episode in which the song is featured, “Dear Billy,” is one of the most emotional thus far, and exhibits Sadie Sink’s acting capabilities in a much more mature, enriched way. This season is the first to even mention mental health as it delves into the turmoil Max has been experiencing since witnessing her own brother’s death in the previous season. Introduced as a primarily sarcastic and light-hearted character on the show, Max becomes much more three-dimensional this season. 

Aside from Max, many of the other regular characters were enriched this season, including Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke), Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), and even Jane “Eleven” Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown). 

Robin’s character is a lesbian (a fact introduced in the third season), and she is head over heels for Vicki (Amybeth McNulty), a fellow band member at Hawkins High. This crush situation gives light into the lives of lesbians in the ‘80s; Robin doesn’t feel comfortable acting on it because of the cultural norms of the time, yet Steve expresses utter support and acceptance for her as his best friend, even making a reference to “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” saying that anyone who pauses the film at “53 minutes and 5 seconds” has assuredly got to have interest in “boobies.” 

Meanwhile, Murray teams up with Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) to find and rescue Jim Hopper (David Harbour), adding a bit of levity to the show as well as a surprisingly strong helping hand. Though Hopper was thought to have died at the end of season three in a massive Hawkins Lab explosion to close the gate to the other side, it’s revealed he was transported to Russia and captured. Murray’s skills in the Russian language, newly acquired black belt in karate, and deception of Russian intelligence are the primary reasons Jim ends up alive later on, rather than in the belly of a Demogorgon. 

Jane’s character is being bullied in the beginning of season four as she struggles to adapt to a high school environment with limited social skills, language capabilities and no powers. She begins lying to Mike about how much fun she is having at her new school in California, separating them both socially and distance-wise. 

While some characters were allowed new freedoms with intriguing plot arcs, many veteran characters were almost completely discarded, like Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) and Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). 

Mike’s character is hardly given any screen time this season as he is separated from Jane and acting as a sub-par boyfriend. It is unclear if his storyline will become more interesting in the second volume of the season, but as of now, he has added very little, a massive difference from his crucial roles in the previous seasons. 

Jonathan and Will are almost entirely forgotten characters this season as well. Jonathan spends all of his time smoking weed with his new friend Argyle (Eduardo Franco) and ignoring his long-distance girlfriend Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer). It is plausible that, with the potential re-budding romance of Steve and Nancy in his absence, Jonathan may come back into the picture in a meaningful way. Will’s previous important role in the series could also tie together the ending of the fourth season in the second volume, but so far his role has been whiny and unhelpful with a heavily critiqued bowl cut. 

The new characters of this season are beloved across all social media platforms, gaining quick fanbases as audience members prophesize the safety of their new favorites. Argyle becomes a source of good humor and pizza topping advice in this season, unmistakable by his long, luscious hair. Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), who had accumulated a large crowd of supporters as a cynical dungeons and dragons enthusiast and local drug dealer, witnesses this season’s villain, Vecna’s, first kill. 

Vecna is the most sculpted “Stranger Things” villain to date. Each of his killings are targeted as he picks his victims based on qualities that weaken the subject like guilt, regret or trauma. His kills are slow, creeping up with headaches, nosebleeds, hallucinations, and eventually breaking his victims’ bones and gouging out their eyes. The goriest villain in “Stranger Things” history, Vecna also marks the beginning of the Upside Down, the alternate Hawkins reality of the universe. As Jane’s backstory unfolds through experiments done by Hawkins Lab, audience members at the same time unknowingly witness Vecna’s origin story. 

Ending on a cliff-hanger, a lot is left to be desired for volume two of this season, as characters are driven back together and storylines begin to clash and spiral into one overarching storyline. The Upside Down began with Jane, and it looks like it will end with her too as season four slowly uncovers her true power and importance in the fabric of the universe. 

Lillian Dunn is an Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at lbdunn@uci.edu.