WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4.
Stranger Things season 4 brings back Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie, and proves the backlash against her in season 3 was wrong. The kids in Stranger Things are growing up, and that’s even true of Dustin; season 3 saw him come back from his summer vacation with a girlfriend, Suzie. She became something of a running gag in season 3, with Dustin’s friends believing he’d made her up, but fortunately that wasn’t the case.
The end of Stranger Things season 3 saw Dustin give Suzie a call on his Cerebro unit. He knew she was a mathematical genius, and he needed to know Planck’s Constant to unlock the keys to the Russian Gate. Unfortunately, Suzie didn’t believe Dustin was really saving the world, and she forced Dustin to put on a performance as an apology for not getting in touch sooner. That led to one of the most iconic and hilarious moments in season 3, as Dustin and Suzie carried out a duet to the theme tune of The Never-Ending Story.
As entertaining as that scene may be, it prompted a surprising backlash online. Still, Suzie returned in Stranger Things season 4, with Will and Mike realizing they needed her help to track down the Nina Project. The brief appearance in Stranger Things season 4, episode 6 is the perfect response to this backlash.
Suzie Backlash In Stranger Things Season 3 Explained
Some viewers believed Suzie was to blame for Billy’s death – and Hopper’s capture by the Russians. The argument is a simple one; Suzie wasted valuable time, allowing the Russians to mobilize against Joyce and Hopper’s infiltration of their base. Worse still, her actions also meant the Mind Flayer had more to realize Eleven was back at Hawkins Mall, turn around and get to her. Had Suzie not insisted on an impromptu duet, Hopper and Joyce would have got to the Gate room a little more quickly, they’d have been able to destroy the Russian Gate without being attacked by the Russian hitman Grigori, and the Mind Flayer would have been defeated before it got close to killing Eleven – prompting Billy to step in the way. It’s not a particularly fair argument, of course, because Suzie had no way to know how high the stakes were in Hawkins. In Billy’s case, it’s quite possible he would have simply died anyway when his connection to the Mind Flayer was cut off.
Stranger Things 4 Fights Back Against Suzie Haters
Suzie makes an unexpected appearance in Stranger Things season 4, episode 6, with Will, Mike, Jonathan and Argyle heading to her home in Salt Lake City for her help in tracking down the location of the Nina Project. It’s set up as a direct response to the fan backlash, with both Will and Mike gladly admitting Suzie saved the world. They’re right; without her ability to rattle off Planck’s Constant, they’d never have destroyed the Russian Gate, and the Mind Flayer would have killed Eleven in spite of Billy’s sacrifice.
Suzie’s Return Is Terrific In Stranger Things Season 4
Suzie’s return in Stranger Things season 4 is one of the highlights, with the character once again demonstrating the genius that makes her a perfect match for Dustin. The Hawkins kids are still keeping Suzie from the truth, aware the insanity of their lives doesn’t make any sense to an outsider, so they spin a tale in which they needed Suzie to dial into a computer to find a location that will help Dustin’s friends get him a video game console. Suzie pulls it off, and she does so with tremendous style. Suzie is able to trace the IP address, and she rattles off a quick definition – complete with a prophecy that the internet is going to change the world.
The dialogue is certainly rather on-the-nose, but it works; it establishes Suzie as someone who is seriously ahead of her time, the ancestor of the modern computer hackers. IP protocols had only been standardized in 1983, mostly by the Department of Defense, and jargon modern viewers take for granted – such as “cyberspace” or “domain name” – was coined over the next few years. Suzie is cutting edge, unwittingly using her computer skills to tap into a top-secret government project and figure out where Sam Owens has taken Eleven. The overall sense of comedy in this scene continues to contrast with the rest of the episode, in which the rest of the Hawkins kids attempt to figure out how to get into the Upside Down while Eleven struggles to regain her powers; the humor provides a nice tonal contrast, making the whole of Stranger Things season 4 episode 6 work so well.