This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4 volume 1.
Stranger Things season 1, but the Duffer brothers enjoyed working with actor Joe Keery, and rewrote his story. But there have been notable deaths all the same.
For all that is the case, though, Stranger Things has a habit of bringing back dead characters - or people who are believed dead - in flashbacks and visions. Usually these have been memories, with Joyce grieving for Bob in season 3; Dr. Brenner has been a recurring presence in the show, even though he was initially thought killed by the Demogorgon in season 1. Stranger Things season 4 pays homage to this tradition in the most effective way.
Max's storyline in Stranger Things season 4 is one of the most moving, as she wrestles with the guilt and grief she feels over the death of her step-brother Billy Hargrove. The relationship between Max and Billy had always been a difficult one, but they loved one another in spite of it all, and she was devastated when he became the Mind-Flayer's pawn in season 3. In Max's view Billy died a hero, rebelling against the Mind-Flayer's control and saving Eleven's life - and she can't tell anybody this, because the truth is concealed beneath a cover story of a mall fire. This guilt has been gnawing at Max's heart, contributing to a clear sense of PTSD, and it becomes Vecna's hook into her heart. This culminates in a horrific, harrowing vision of Billy as Vecna torments Max before he plans to kill her.
Season 4 shows how much the writers have learned since season 1, which viewers complained lacked impact - and which led to a vocal reaction on social media under the hashtag #Justice4Barb. It would have been so easy for the show to simply move on from Billy's death; after all, he was an antagonist from the start, a bully who had beat up Steve in season 2 long before he was possessed by the Mind-Flayer. Instead, though, Stranger Things season 4 took the time to Billy's complex relationship with Max, and wove into the main narrative.
Max's experience in the Upside Down is one of the most powerful and compelling scenes in Stranger Things season 4, and curiously enough it is actually followed by another attempt to respond to #Justice4Barb. The final episode of Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 sees Vecna draw Nancy into his Upside Down realm as well, and her guilt manifests in a vision of Barb's death. Stranger Things season 4 doesn't just use these visions to continue its oldest tradition - it also does a fix as well.