Following the disaster at Starcourt Mall, Chief Hopper winds up cold and alone in Russia. Here's how David Harbour met the challenge.
Spoiler Warning: Stranger Things Season 4
Stranger Things season four was highly anticipated, and following its recent release, that intense anticipation directly translated to an equally high viewership. At one point, the newest installment in the Stranger Things saga held the top four places in Netflix's coveted top ten most-watched list. Furthermore, while the season could have simply capitalized upon its obviously massive viewership, perhaps the most intense collection of superfans in the history of Netflix original programming, and put out a subpar product, the total opposite happened. Series creators, the Duffer Brothers, were not going to let their epic show go in the direction of many others before it. Season four was very possibly the best season in the series' history.
Passionate Stranger Things fans were more than pleased to see that, despite the cataclysmic season three finale, all of their favorite characters were able to make a return for season four. The plot to liberate Chief Hopper from the Russian prison camp, a storyline that took place apart from the Hawkins crew, was carried out by an unlikely duo comprised of one character that had been in the purview of Stranger Things fans since the beginning and another who stole their hearts in more recent seasons: Winona Ryer's Joyce Byers and Brett Gelman's (The Disaster Artist, Fleabag) Murray Bauman. Somehow, despite several roadblocks, their liberation plan succeeded... at least for now... bringing David Harbour's Hopper back into the fold.
Here's how Harbour's Chief Hopper excelled in Stranger Things season four.
David Harbour is a fantastic actor, though he spent much of his early acting career toiling away in relative obscurity. Fortunately, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves, which is largely thanks to his breakout role as Chief Hopper in Stranger Things. From the very beginning of the series, audiences were privy to the gut-wrenching story of Chief Hopper and his late daughter. It became obvious that his stone-faced facade served as a barrier to further heartbreak.
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Chief Hopper has seen all the extremes of love and loss throughout the run of Stranger Things. David Harbour portrays this complex police officer. He deserves all the notoriety that role has garnered him, as he has proven time and time again that there is no acting challenge too difficult for him.
David Harbour's Chief Hopper, though presumed dead by many fans, as well as the series' other characters, survived the explosion underneath Hawkins' Starcourt Mall. Given the fact that he wound up at a Russian prison camp, he might have preferred a quick and painless fate.
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David Harbour underwent a rather unpleasant process to prepare himself for his character's extended stay in the Gulag. His preparation for the season was akin to that which Leonardo DiCaprio had to undergo for his role as a fur trader in 2015's The Revenant: bitter cold and a meager diet. Though David Harbour might have preferred for Hopper's imprisonment to take place on some kind of tropical island, his hard work unquestionably paid off, as audiences could viscerally feel the character's pain and discomfort.
In Stranger Things season four, audiences are greeted by a terrifying and familiar face, that of a demonic, toothy Upside Down dwelling bogeyman, the Demogorgon. In reality, there is not just one Demogorgon, as previous seasons saw a whole host of quadrupedal Demogorgon younglings.
At some point, the previously discussed Russian prison camp acquired one of these demonic entities and fed it on a diet of unlucky prisoners. At the climax of Stranger Things season four, volume one, Chief Hopper and a few of his fellow inmates are forced to fight the hungry, growing beast. Though most of the other inmates die, Hopper can use his experience with other Demogorgons to fend off the monster with fire.
Fortunately, the end of season four saw Hopper reunited with his close friend (and possibly romantic interest) Joyce Byers. However, given the fact that he is still stranded in a Russian prison camp and the Demogorgon is still very much alive and kicking, it's fair to say that a whole lot of chaos and terror is yet to come for Chief Hopper. Audiences had best prepare themselves, as all signs point to the fact that at least one major character will meet their end before Stranger Things season four concludes. If that happens to be Hopper, the show will lose perhaps its most explosive talent, and Hawkins will be worse off.
Stranger Things season 4, volumes 1 and 2, are now streaming on Netflix. The Duffer Brothers have announced they will begin writing season 5 next month.
Nicholas Johnson is full time cool guy and part time freelance article writer. He has four rescue animals, two dogs, two cats, and no, he doesn't think that makes him better than you.