Stranger Things 4 brought new characters together for the first time. Team-ups have been part of the Netflix series since its first season. Different groups split off to handle the many dangers and issues looming over Hawkins. While no group will top the Scoops Troop in season three, Stranger Things 4 did introduce some five-star team-ups. The kids have to investigate unusual (even for Hawkins) teen deaths and navigate new schools, while the adults must grapple with Russian woes. These are the best new team-ups in Stranger Things 4.
Nancy and Robin
Get-it-done Nancy with no-nonsense and chronically long-winded Robin? An actual dream team. Nancy and Robin find themselves working together repeatedly. They visit Victor Creel together and later explore his house. The duo traipses through the woods together—in our world and in the Upside Down. While it’s clear that Nancy sometimes wishes Robin would get to the point, they both have the kind of take-charge attitudes necessary to keep the other teens focused. It feels like Nancy’s bravery and curiosity only plays up Robin’s similar traits, while Robin’s more flexible approach to everything helps Nancy put down her playbook.
Plus spending more time with Nancy gives Robin a fresh perspective on the popular high school girl. So much so that Robin really wants to get Nancy and Steve back together.
Argyle and Jonathan
Moving to California has been an adjustment for the Byers family. Will seems withdrawn, Eleven has bullies making her life miserable, and Jonathan misses Nancy and questions his future. But at least Jonathan has made a new friend in Argyle. Argyle delivers pizza for Surfer Boy Pizza and always, always has weed. His chill personality plays against Jonathan’s shy, often nervous vibes and has a positive effect on Jonathan. They’re as likely to talk about deep, philosophical possibilities as they are to collapse into stoned giggles. When Jonathan sweeps Argyle into a life on the run from the authorities searching for Eleven, he doesn’t let his friend down. All of the weirdness throws Argyle, but nothing can shake his loyalty to his BFF.
Eddie and Dustin
Is Eddie the coolest Dungeons & Dragons DM ever? Yes. You think Eddie is going to be too cool for school, and therefore too cool to interact with the younger members of Hellfire Club. But when Dustin shows faith in Eddie and explains that the combination of wild happenings and Hawkins isn’t anything new, it cements their friendship. Dustin looks up to Eddie, but Eddie has respect for the younger teen too. Eddie has a kind of awe for Dustin and everything the youth has seen and done. As they have conversations and try to prove Eddie’s innocence, Dustin has a calming effect on Eddie—as calming of an effect as is possible in a world where a Dungeons & Dragons villain is killing people.
Enzo and “American”
We meet Enzo because he’s a prison guard who will get Hopper, or as he calls him, American, out of Russia for money. Enzo’s not offering a helping hand out of kindness and he doesn’t pretend otherwise. But then Yuri betrays Enzo, and Enzo’s superiors put the former guard in prison alongside his American. Being stuck together on the same side changes Enzo and Hopper’s dynamic. They share their traumas and details about their families. They bond, all the while knowing they face almost certain death.
Enzo knows the American has courage. After all, he watched Hopper’s successful escape, which involved Hopper dealing with no small amount of physical pain and hardships. Perhaps it’s this that leads Enzo to put some trust in his unlikely ally. By the time they fight the Demogorgon, Enzo and Hopper have each other’s backs.
Joyce and Murray
We’ve seen Hopper, Joyce, and Murray go to the mattresses as a formidable trio. But with Hopper’s imprisonment in Russia, Joyce and Murray have to strike out on their own. When Joyce receives a message from Russia, she immediately picks up the phone to call Murray. He wastes no time hopping on a plane to California. It takes a lot to distract Joyce from worrying about her kids but attempting to bust Hopper out of prison does the trick.
Joyce and Murray both have anxious personalities, and though they do frazzle each other occasionally, they somehow make each other stronger. Despite a total lack of chill, they go with the flow as a blackmail payment situation turns into a kidnapping and plane crashing situation. Neither would have made it to Hopper on their own, but together? I believe Joyce and Murray can do anything.
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
