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Chapter One: The Hellfire Club

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"Chapter One: The Hellfire Club"
Stranger Things episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 1
Directed byThe Duffer Brothers
Written byThe Duffer Brothers
Original air dateMay 27, 2022
Running time1 hour 16 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt" 		Next →
"Chapter Two: Vecna's Curse"
Stranger Things (season 4)
List of episodes

Chapter One: The Hellfire Club is the premiere episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction horror mystery-thriller streaming television series Stranger Things. It is the twenty-sixth episode of the show overall. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the original release date mainted unknown, but the episode premiered on May 27, 2022. "The Hellfire Club" is set a few months after the events of the previous season and shows the changes and challenges of Mike, Eleven and their friends in their first year of high school, while a new supernatural monster begins attacking the inhabitants of Hawkins. It stars Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke and Priah Ferguson reprising their roles from previous Stranger Things seasons. It received mostly positive reviews, with praise going towards the horror elements and Joseph Quinn's performance.

Plot

In a flashback to 1979, Dr. Martin Brenner is getting ready to work at Hawkins Lab. He is shown to be experimenting on several other children possessing supernatural abilities, and has a boy named Ten preform telekinetic tests. However, Ten senses Dr. Ellis and Six are dead, before a mysterious explosion knocks out Brenner and kills Ten. Brenner awakens and makes his way to the Rainbow Room, during which he encounters most of the children and guards dead. He spots a fuming and bloodied Eleven, which makes Brenner believe her responsible for the massacre. [1][2][3]

Six months after the events at Starcourt Mall, Eleven, Will Byers, Jonathan Byers, and Joyce Byers have moved to California, where Eleven struggles with the loss of her powers while being routinely bullied by the other students. One day, Joyce receives a porcelain doll in the mail. Seemingly from Russia, she contacts Murray Bauman, who warns the doll could be impregnated with an explosive device. Joyce breaks the doll open and discovers a hidden note inside, which reveals that Hopper is alive.

In Hawkins, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, and Max Mayfield now attend Hawkins High School. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas have joined their school's "Hellfire Club", a Dungeons & Dragons themed society led by the eccentric Eddie Munson. Lucas has also joined the basketball team and struggles to make time between the two clubs when he reveals their championship game is the same night as the end of Eddie's campaign. As a result, Mike and Dustin seek the help of Lucas' sister, Erica, who agrees to fill in Lucas' place. As the campaign and the game occur concurrently, both Erica and Lucas score the winning shot for their respective teams. Meanwhile, Max struggles with the loss of her brother Billy and frequently visits the office of the school counselor, Ms. Kelly. Chrissy Cunningham, a student on the cheerleading team, is haunted by visions of her family and a ticking grandfather clock. That night, Max witnesses Eddie and Chrissy arrive together at Eddie's trailer. While buying drugs from Eddie, Chrissy is possessed and killed by a sentient, humanoid creature from her visions.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Stranger Things characters

Main

Recurring

Production

Development

The fourth season was announced by Netflix on September 30th 2019.[10][11][12][13] A minute-long announcement teaser was released on YouTube, revealing the logo of the fourth season. The teaser also showed a ticking grandfather clock, along with the tagline "We're not in Hawkins anymore", leading news outlets to speculate and theorise that the show's new setting would be Russia. The post credit scene of the third season finale (The Battle of Starcourt) was set in a Russian prison, further giving evidence about the show relocating to Russia.[14] It was initially unknown if David Harbour would return for the fourth season, as Hopper was thought to have been killed in an explosion after Joyce closed the Gate to the Upside Down, but in a teaser released in February 2020, Hopper was revealed to be alive, but stranded and working in a Russian prison.[15] It is also not known if Eleven / Jane Hopper will get her powers back in this episode, after losing them in the third season finale (The Battle of Starcourt). It is speculated that the season will take place in 1986, following on from Season 1 (1983), Season 2 (1984) and Season 3 (1985). It has also been speculated that if the season does indeed take place in 1986, then the Chernobyl nuclear disaster could tie into the season.

Writing

On November 6th, 2019 (Stranger Things Day: the day Will Byers went missing in the Upside Down in 1983), the show's writing room social media accounts revealed the title of the fourth season's first episode: "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club", and that it was written by The Duffer Brothers.[16] On June 18, 2020, the show's writing room social media accounts also released a photo of the completed scripts, revealing the fourth season is the first season since Season Two to have nine episodes and showing that "The Hellfire Club" is the first episode in the nine-episode season.[17][18][19]

Casting

By November 1 2019, casting had begun to add four new male characters to the fourth season's line-up, with three of the roles being teenagers and one of them being an adult. The teenaged roles were characterized as ranging "from a metalhead to an entitled jock to a character that sounds an awful lot like the twin of Fast Times at Ridgemont High stoner Jeff Spicoli", while the adult character was tied to the Russian storyline introduced during the third season. On February 14, 2020, Netflix confirmed that Tom Wlaschiha had been cast as a Russian malefactor. It was reported on October 27, 2020 that Maya Hawke's brother, Levon Thurman-Hawke, was cast in an undisclosed role. On November 20, 2020, Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, and Joseph Quinn were cast as series regulars while Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, Nikola Djuricko and Robert Englund joined the cast in recurring roles for the fourth season. It is currently unknown if the new characters will debut in "The Hellfire Club".[20] On January 27, 2021, Jamie Campbell Bower was seen filming scenes in Atlanta, Georgia, whilst Matthew Modine was also seen on the set.

Release

"Chapter One: The Hellfire Club" will be released as the premiere episode of the fourth season of Stranger Things on Netflix. Fans theorised that the streaming service provider would drop the season sometime in mid to late 2021, though due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was unknown when it will really be released. In August 2021, the release date was confirmed as 2022. In February 2022, it was revealed that the first volume (including "The Hellfire Club") will be released on May 27, 2022.[21]

Marketing

A teaser trailer released in mid February 2020 was the first look at the season, which revealed the fate of Jim Hopper. It has since been revealed that the "Hellfire Club" is the name of a Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group in the fourth season. It is not known if the teaser trailer footage is from "The Hellfire Club" or another episode in the fourth season. In late 2020, star Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) posted a selfie on social media, revealing the logo of The Hellfire Club. In early 2021, fans in Russia received mysterious packages, which included several Russian dolls, and a phone number (907-206-770). When this number is called, a voicemail from Yuri (one of the fourth season's new characters) would play, revealing Yuri runs a smuggling business. It has been theorized that Joyce and Murray will be smuggled into the Russian prison where Hopper is being held in an attempt to break Hopper out, but it is unknown if this will happen in The Hellfire Club.[22]

8-minute clip

An 8-minute clip showing the massacre in Hawkins Lab was released on YouTube a week before the premiere of this episode.[23][24] Due to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, a warning was put at the start of the episode because of its focus on helpless children.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode holds an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[25]

Paul Dailly of TV Fantastic gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars staging "I wasn't sold initially on the characters being pulled apart because it felt like a forced development to tell different stories. After watching "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club," the writing is as strong as ever, and the characters are evolving in ways I didn't think possible before. (…) We've witnessed several bonkers twists on this show, so he may be able to escape from this horrifying encounter unscathed."[26]

Members of the press who have seen the first episode in advance wrote that it is "darker, more mature, and scare-heavy vibe". They also appreciate that there is more space for the characters.[27]

Accolades

TVLine named Joseph Quinn the "Performer of the Week" for the week of May 28, 2022, for his performance in the episode. The site wrote: "Quinn took the teenager in short order from curious to concerned, then from panicked to so utterly horrified that he let out the kind of shriek that other shrieks hear and go, “Whoa.” All in all, Quinn’s debut was as auspicious as they come."[28]

References

  1. ^ Stranger Things 4 | The First 8 Minutes | Netflix, retrieved 2022-05-25
  2. ^ "'Stranger Things' Recap: Season 4, Episode 1 "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club"". Nerds & Beyond. 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  3. ^ Torres, Rae (2022-05-27). "'Stranger Things' Season 4 Episode 1 Recap: What Happened to Chrissy?". Collider. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  4. ^ Rose, Sundi (December 3, 2019). "Stranger Things Writers Confirm at Least One Character's Season 4 Return". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  5. ^ Otterson, Joe (February 21, 2020). "'Stranger Things' Ups Priah Ferguson to Series Regular for Season 4". Variety. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  6. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 3, 2020). "'Stranger Things' Season 4: 'Fleabag's Brett Gelman Upped To Series Regular". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  7. ^ Chapman, Tom (February 18, 2020). "The Stranger Things trailer hid a Game of Thrones star in plain sight". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  8. ^ "Nikola Đuričko dobio ulogu u Netfliksovoj hit seriji "Stranger things"". Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  9. ^ He’s back! Dr. Brenner has resumed filming for #StrangerThings4!
  10. ^ Stack, Tim (September 30, 2019). "Stranger Things 4 officially announced with new teaser". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 23, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  11. ^ "Stranger Things Renewed for Season 4 as Netflix Makes Overall Deal With the Duffer Brothers". Netflix Media Center. September 30, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  12. ^ Adalian, Josef (September 30, 2019). "Netflix Orders Stranger Things 4, Teasing a World Beyond Hawkins". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  13. ^ Stranger Things 4 - Official Announcement (Teaser Trailer) (Motion Picture). Netflix. September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  14. ^ Romano, Nick (February 14, 2020). "Hopper lives! Stranger Things season 4 teaser reveals David Harbour's return". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Auty, Dan (February 18, 2020). "Stranger Things Season 4: New Behind-The-Scenes Images Revealed". IGN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  16. ^ @strangerwriters (June 18, 2020). "Stranger Things 4: the complete season. #ST4" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "We're starting a club. Wanna join? #StrangerThings4 #StrangerThingsDay". Instagram. November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  18. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (November 6, 2019). "Stranger Things: Title Revealed for Fourth Season's First Episode". IGN. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  19. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 24, 2019). "Stranger Things Season 4: Here's How Many Episodes We're Getting". TVLine. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  20. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 31, 2019). "Stranger Things Poised to Add Four New Characters in Season 4". TV Line. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  21. ^ "Stranger Things Season 4: Premiere Dates Revealed for Two Volumes". 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  22. ^ Gillibrand, Abigail (January 8, 2020). "Stranger Things 4 to begin production 'in Lithuania on Chernobyl set': The American's identity is incoming". Metro. Archived from the original on January 30, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  23. ^ John, Matthew (2022-05-21). "First 8 Minutes Of Stranger Things Season 4 Premiere Now Available To Watch". Game Rant. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  24. ^ Kain, Erik. "Watch The First 8 Minutes Of 'Stranger Things 4' Before It Comes To Netflix". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  25. ^ "Stranger Things: Season 4, Episode 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  26. ^ Dailly, Paul (2022-05-26). "Stranger Things Creators Tease Spinoff, Promise "Very Different" Concept". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  27. ^ "Stranger Things Season 4 Early Reactions Praise Scary & Mature Episode 1". ScreenRant. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  28. ^ Team TVLine (May 28, 2022). "Performer of the Week: Joseph Quinn". TVLine. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
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