On February 14th, Netflix debuted a teaser for Stranger Things season 4, which revealed the return of Hopper! Now sit back, because The Illuminerdi is here to catch you up on the character and series.
The new teaser trailer is titled, “From Russia With Love…” It begins with a fade into a heavy winter in Russia. Here we find a prison camp filled with men hard at work, building a railroad track. Among those men is Hopper. Yes, the fan theory of his survival from last season is in fact true. Check out the trailer for yourself:
Hopper’s Long Road
Fans worldwide celebrated the return reveal of Hopper, played once again by Black Widow’s David Harbour. Hopper is one of the most beloved characters on the show, mostly because of his soft spot for Eleven, played by Godzilla: King of Monsters’ Millie Bobby Brown. He has been a father figure to the central figure for some time and has shown much growth in each season. He started off as a sheriff with little interest in anything or anyone. He kept to himself and performed his job in a minimal effort until Joyce Byers, played by Winona Ryder, pushes him to help find her missing son, Will. By the end of the first season he is more emotionally invested with Joyce, the kids, and the safety of the town.
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In season 2, we see him embrace his father figure role in Eleven’s life. Showing her how to adapt to her new surroundings and teaching her how to live a protected, quiet life. He does his best to keep her hidden, so that she wouldn’t be taken away from the secret government agents who continue to search for her. His patience is heavily tested by Ell’s constant desire to reconnect with Mike, played by Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s Finn Wolfhard. They have an emotional tug of war throughout the season, but it concludes with Hopper realizing that Ell is perfectly capable of being strong enough to handle the world. He finally sees her as a pre-teen girl who needs her friends.
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Season 3 is where we see Hopper continue to struggle with fatherhood, but things are more normal this time around. He and Eleven, aka Ell, have formed a stronger bond and we get to see them go through the highs and lows of a father trying to raise a teenage daughter. Hopper allows her to develop her relationship with Mike. However, still fails to allow her to have more freedom in public, so that she can explore who she is as a person. By the end of the season, he has come to know the kind of young woman she is becoming and accepts it. Tragically though, fans were led to believe that Hopper had not survived his heroic attempt at the end of the season.
Season 4 Questions After the Stranger Things Teaser
As for season 4, there are many questions that are zooming around in my brain. For starters, How will Hopper and the gang be reunited? What obstacles will he be facing in the Russian prison camp? How advanced is the research that the Russian scientists are working on? How much have they discovered in the Upside Down? What do they plan on doing with all that they learned from Hopper? How will all the storylines tie together this season? What new creatures are we going to see? Will Eleven’s powers return and will she improve her abilities? Let’s just say that it’s going to be a wild ride of a season.
The world is eagerly anticipating the next full trailer release and we’ll all surely be binging the fourth season when it’s released on Netflix later this year. Are you ready for the return of Hopper? How do you think his return will play out? We want to hear your theories in the comment section and on our social media!
