According to the music supervisor, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was a need for the famous scene in the Stranger Things season 4 finale.
According to the series’ music supervisor, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was a need for the iconic climactic scene in the Stranger Things season 4 finale. Since its 2016 season one premiere, the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things has become a worldwide phenomenon. The Duffer Brothers’ season 4’s two parts ended on July 1st. The 1980s-set program centers on a number of paranormal occurrences in and around the made-up town of Hawkins, Indiana, and how they relate to the “Upside Down” (an other reality). The fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed television series Stranger Things is presently in production.
The main cast of the show returned for the fourth season, including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Millie Bobby Brown, to name a few, while newcomers included Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna, the season’s primary antagonist, and Joseph Quinn, who quickly won over fans after playing Eddie Munson. Eddie and Dustin made an effort to keep the bats in the Upside Down away from Steve, Nancy, and Robin as they tried to enter Vecna’s lair in the Stranger Things season 4 finale. One of the most well-known moments from the episode has Eddie playing Metallica’s classic 1986 song “Master of Puppets” on the roof of his trailer in order to attract the bats to him.
Stranger Things music supervisor Nora Felder explains to Variety in a recent interview why the Metallica song “Master of Puppets” had to be included. She said that the Duffer Brothers had incorporated the song into the scene’s writing in order to increase its “thrilling” and “hair-raising” elements. She said that Eddie’s temperament and his “public demeanor” were “a fantastic match” for the song. See the complete quotation below:
“It was another one of those ‘it has to be this song,’ moments. This part of the story was anticipated to be a pivotal and especially hair-raising scene in which Eddie heroically stood tall for the fight of his life. I believe the Duffer Brothers felt that playing ‘Master of Puppets’ throughout the extended scene was the clear choice. No other song was discussed further, and we jumped in to clear it straight away.
The track was a perfect match for Eddie since it not only amplified the episode’s most thrilling scene, but in some ways, aligns with Eddie’s seemingly arrogant and edgy in-your-face public persona.”
Felder emphasizes the significance of Eddie’s performance in reviving some of his enduring qualities “of love, caring, and courage.” Given Eddie’s hesitation to take on the role of the hero early in the season, her remarks make perfect sense. Finding the perfect song for Eddie doesn’t sound like an easy task, but the Duffer Brothers stuck to their guns and went with their one and only selection, and it appears to have paid off as “Master of Puppets” perfectly captures the character’s flamboyant and heavy metal-inspired personality, which was established from the very first episode of Stranger Things season 4.
The episode of Stranger Things cited above immediately followed another scene from season 4 in which Sadie Sink’s Max escaped Vecna’s mind by listening to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” “Master of Puppets” isn’t the only ’80s song that have gained fresh attention since the season’s finale. However, the Duffer Brothers have demonstrated their constancy in including recognizable songs as a part of their narrative with the Metallica scene. The pair have set a rather high standard, but given their undeniable ability, fans can look forward to lots more musical set-pieces when Stranger Things season 5 ultimately premieres.
