Stranger Things is back with its fourth season and, according to Netflix, received the largest opening weekend for an English-language show on their platform, gaining 286.7 million hours of viewership. It’s no secret that the show is loved by many and now there are plenty of new characters to enjoy in Volume one. 

According to creators Matt and Ross Duffer, the show deals with “darker themes, and issues that come along with being a teenager, because for at least Ross and I, and I think for most people, high school is a challenging time.” With a focus on difficult times, there are only some new characters that relate to these struggles and get to be a part of the large main storyline. 

First, Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn, is a Hawkins High School metalhead with a rambunctious personality, but also a soft side. According to Quinn, “He’s a pretty imposing force, and I felt like we had to see that in the beginning, but we also had to like him as well- because of what happens to him.”

He plays in the band Corroded Coffin and leads the school’s official Dungeons and Dragons club, The Hellfire Club. He decides to let Mike Wheeler and Dustin Henderson into the club because, just like him, they don’t fit in. This ties him into the main storyline when he is framed for the supernatural death of a popular cheerleader and they are the only ones who trust his innocence and believe something else is responsible. 

Second, Jason Carver, played by Mason Dye, is a basketball star of Hawkins High School and is beloved by his school and community. Lucas Sinclair admires his popularity and is seen as the perfect kid, but his life quickly takes a turn after the mysterious death of his girlfriend, Chrissy Cunningham. This reveals his true colors and he goes on a mission for revenge on Eddie Munson, the person believed to be responsible for her death. 

Third, Argyle, played by Eduardo Franco, is a fun loving stoner with a kooky personality. He can oftentimes get too high for his own good, but it doesn’t stop him from helping his friend, Jonathan Byers, and working at Surfer Boy Pizza. He inevitably gets dragged into the main storyline when he goes to deliver Jonathan a pizza, but instead is forced to save Jonathan, Will, and Mike from armed government soldiers attempting to gain information from them about Eleven. 

Fourth, Dmitri Antonov, played by Tom Wlaschiha, is a charming Russian prison guard that is willing to help prisoners escape for his own financial gain. This ties him into the main storyline when it is revealed that Jim Hopper was captured and taken to a Russian prison, conveniently the one Dmitri works at. Dmitri helps Hopper escape but it doesn’t go exactly according to plan. 

Fifth, Peter Ballard, otherwise known as Henry Creel, is played by Jamie Campbell Bower. He is a worker at Dr. Brenner’s laboratory where he helps study and experiment on children with psychic abilities. Eleven is a part of this program and he becomes her only ally. He sees Eleven’s true power and takes an interest in helping her escape. It becomes clear that he isn’t who he seemed to be and that he has a much deeper history with Hawkins, even the upside down. 

Last but not least, Vecna is the latest force to be reckoned with from the upside down. He is an entity with psychic abilities that has been targeting and killing teenagers in Hawkins. Oddly enough, he even leaves portals to the upside down at the site of each of his murders. What exactly is his motive and plan? 

According to Matt and Ross Duffer, “Volume 2 is not going to answer every question, but it’s going to answer a lot of the big questions like that.”