It Starts On The Page: Read The ‘Stranger Things’ S4 Finale Script “The Piggyback” By The Duffer Brothers
25.05.2023 - 19:35
/ deadline.com
Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts On The Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials (the script and writers intro) were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.
In the penultimate fourth season of their Netflix mega hit Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer shook things up. For three years, audiences had became accustomed to seeing their favorite ragtag bunch from Hawkins, Indiana battle evil supernatural forces and ultimately prevail in the finale, including the Season 2 closer, which, along with the series premiere, earned the Duffers both writing and directing Emmy nominations.
However, Season 4, in which the group faced their biggest threat yet and had to once again journey into the Upside Down to save the world, ended with Eleven & Co’s defeat in the finale, “The Piggyback.”
Written and directed by The Duffers, the episode toggles back and forth between Russia and Hawkins (and eventually the Upside Down), as our heroes make one final attempt at defeating Vecna.
Here is “The Piggyback” script with an introduction from the Duffer Brothers, in which they address the ending twist, talk about how their high school experience inspired Season 4’s top villain and how the cast and crew enhanced what the two had put on the page.
Our finales have typically ended with the evil defeated, or at least pushed away, allowing our characters to catch their collective breath and return to their normal lives. But because this is the penultimate season, we wanted an Empire Strikes Back style ending — meaning, it ends on a down note, with our characters experiencing real defeat for the first time. The bad guy