Warning: spoilers for Stranger Things season four, volume one ahead
The latest season of Stranger Things dropped a week ago today, and fans the world over have been extremely impressed.
One scene in particular - which is memorably accompanied by the 1985 Kate Bush classic ‘Running Up that Hill’ - has been described ‘as the best in TV history.’ Watch it below:
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The sequence features Max coming face to face with Vecna in the Upside Down as her friends in the real world desperately try to save her.
They do so by putting on a cassette of Max's favourite song, which dramatically brings her back into the real world.
Reacting to the scene, one fan wrote on Twitter: “Let's talk about how Max escaping from Vecna was the best scene in TV history.”
A second agreed, writing: “Max’s Upside Down scene is one of the best in television history.”
A third gushed: “And THIS SCENE??? BEST ONE. Like actually a masterpiece. The song is perfect, the flashbacks, MAX RUNNING TOWARDS THE GROUP, SADIE’S ACTING?? There’s levels.”
A fourth agreed: “THE single best scene in @netflix history.
“Max escapes Vecna.”
Whereas a fifth didn’t just think it was the best scene in TV history, they dubbed it the best scene in cinematic history.
They wrote: “Best scene in cinematic history goes to ‘Max vs Vecna’ Stranger Things. [sic]”
The popularity of the scene has not just won praise for the show, but Kate Bush herself, and ‘Running Up that Hill’ has been topping the charts worldwide.
Variety reports that it topped the Apple music chart in the US and reached the top 10 in a whopping 34 countries.
The show’s producers, the Duffer brothers, said the powerful song was chosen as it encapsulated the intense emotions Max was feeling as she fought for her life.
Stranger Things’ music supervisor Nora Felder said: “It immediately struck me with its deep chords of the possible connection to Max’s emotional struggles and took on more significance as Bush’s song marinated in my conscious awareness.”
However, even after the song was chosen, there was no guarantee that it could be used because Kate Bush is ‘selective’ about licensing her music.
Felder said: “We made sure to get script pages and footage for her to review so she could see exactly how the song would be used.”
Thankfully, she loved the scene and allowed her song to be used.
Season four of Stranger Things is being released in two volumes and part two is dropping on 1 July.
Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix, TV and Film
Emma Guinness