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Stranger Things Season 4 recently premiered on Netflix. The newest season of the streaming platform’s biggest show gave fans some of the best moments of the series. However, the show’s creators, Ross and Matt Duffer, can’t take all the credit. Here are three incredible moments from Stranger Things Season 4 that weren’t in the scripts.

David Harbour and Winona Ryder improvised this scene in the Russian prison in this moment from 'Stranger Things' Season 4.
David Harbour as Jim Hopper and Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers in | Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022

Caleb McLaughlin improvised the “Erica, help” line while Max is dying 

The Duffer Brothers warned us that many of the moments from Stranger Things Season 4 involved Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink,) but I don’t think any of us were prepared for her fate. Max became a fan favorite in season 2, and her relationship with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) is one of the highlights of the series.

In Stranger Things Season 4, the new villain, Vecna, targets Max due to her grief over her stepbrother Billy’s death. The group in Hawkins devise a plan to kill Vecna, but it requires Max to use herself as the target. When bully Jason Carver (Mason Dye) shows up, it throws a wrench in their plans, and Vecna attacks Max. As she’s dying in Lucas’ arms, McLaughlin screams for his sister, Erica (Priah Ferguson,) to help. It’s heartbreaking, and we can’t imagine not crying at this moment. Thankfully, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) manages to revive Max, but she ends the season in a coma.

Winona Ryder improvised the Jopper kiss scene in the Russian base 

Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) have played the “will they or won’t they” game since Stranger Things Season 1. However, this particular moment from Stranger Things Season 4 finally delivered. 

As Hopper, Joyce, and Murray (Brett Gelman) get in position to draw the Demogorgons into an area of the Russian prison, Joyce worries about Hopper dying. She has a flashback of what happened to Bob Newby in Stranger Things Season 2. Joyce then tells Hopper she refuses to have another funeral before he tenderly touches her face, and they lean in for a kiss. It’s sweet, it’s emotional, and it was all Ryder. We cannot wait for more Jopper in Stranger Things Season 5.

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The Duffer Brothers Explain Why ‘Stranger Things’ Will Never Kill Characters Like ‘Game of Thrones’

Joseph Quinn improvised Eddie’s “I love you, man” line to Dustin as he died

While we didn’t lose any of the original cast members, this moment from Stranger Things Season 4 broke our hearts just the same. The series introduced fans to Eddie Munson, played by Joseph Quinn, in the first few minutes of episode 1. Eddie witnesses Vecna murder Chrissy Cunningham (Grace Van Dien), and things go downhill from there. 

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Eddie attempt to distract the Demobats from Vecna’s lair, but Eddie takes one for the team when things go awry. He slashes the rope after getting Dustin out of the Upside Down and runs back out to give the group in Vecna’s lair more time. Unfortunately, the Demobats prove too much for Eddie to handle, and Dustin races back out to help. Dustin holds Eddie, but just before he dies, Eddie says, “I love you, man.” The Duffers didn’t write the line in the script, and Quinn improvised at the last minute, giving us yet another incredibly sad moment from Stranger Things Season 4.

All episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.

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