Spoiler Warning: Stranger Things Season 4
All nine episodes of Stranger Things season four have now been released, and countless fans, who undoubtedly binged the popular series after waiting years for its most recent season to come out, couldn't be more anxious for another installment. Season four's storylines were packed with wild action, scintillating backstories, and devastating betrayals.
Fans of Stranger Things were delighted to see all of their favorite characters return for season four. David Harbour's police chief Jim Hopper spent the season struggling to escape a soviet gulag, Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers spent much of her time trying to free him, and Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven spent the season grappling with the repressed memories of her tragic upbringing. The rest of the Hawkins, along with some well-received newcomers, spent the season battling monsters from the Upside Down.
However, there was perhaps no character more effective in combating this season's myriad ills than Brett Gelman's Murray Bauman. In season four, the show's creators elevated Murray from his previous role as a source of comic relief to an (albeit still hilarious) butt-kicking master of espionage. In a season where many of the series' primary heroes were relegated to more toned down roles -- Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven spent much of the season powerless and in captivity, and David Harbour's Chief Hopper found himself similarly incarcerated -- other characters such as Murray had to step up their game.
Here's why Brett Gelman's Murray Bauman was arguably the biggest hero of Stranger Things season four.
Murray Proves His Long Talked About Martial Arts Abilities 
Season four of Stranger Things was the most violent season of the series to date. There were a series of bone-crunching interdimensional murders carried out by Jamie Campbell Bower's Vecna, as well as a brutal mass Soviet slaughter at the hands of an adolescent Demogorgon. However, there was one moment of violence in season four that audiences certainly could not characterize as gratuitous, and it revolved around Murray and the character's martial arts expertise.
Early in the season, Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers and Gelman's Murray hatch a plan to release David Harbour's Chief Hopper from captivity. The convoluted plan, which involves several untrustworthy Russians, ultimately falls apart, to the surprise of nobody. Murray and Joyce are taken captive by a wacky Russian pilot named Yuri (Nikola Djuricko), who ties them up in his plane and flies them from his outpost in Alaska to Russia, where they would be locked up as political prisoners.
Fortunately, Joyce manages to break through Murray's restraints. When Yuri leaves his pilot's station to once again subdue Murray, Gelman's character unleashes a series of sophisticated martial arts moves that, up until this point in the show, viewers had thought were purely a fantastical notion in Murray's conspiracy-addled mind. This martial arts madness allows the plot to save Hopper to continue and cements Murray as a major player in season four.
Murray Puts His Soviet Knowledge to Use
When Brett Gelman's Murray is first introduced in season two, he is referred to as a conspiracy theorist. However, many of his 'radical' notions are rooted firmly in the terrifying reality that many of the series' original characters were already privy to. He is obsessed with Russian spies, to the point where he has learned the language, which has, time and time again, proven incredibly useful for the haplessly American Hawkins crew.
The battles with nefarious Russians that have long been a staple of Stranger Things are a clear reflection of the red scare politics that characterized the '80s. Murray, the only character on the show with any considerable knowledge of the Soviet Union, has always been a valuable addition to the team. However, he is seldom given the respect he deserves. In season four, Gelman's Murray has to continually impersonate Yuri, the pilot who kidnapped him and Joyce.
As such, his knowledge of the Soviet Union and his Russian language skills are finally put to good use. Without Murray's incredible acting, it is safe to say that many of Stranger Things fan-favorite characters would find themselves indefinitely interred in a Soviet prison camp.
Fortunately, Brett Gelman's Murray Bauman survived the incredibly violent season four of Stranger Things, though the same cannot be said about every beloved character. Though it will be quite a while before another season drops, the series' creators, The Duffer Brothers, have announced that they are already plugging away on season 5 of this epic '80s-inspired Netflix series. It is unclear how they will utilize Murray in a future season. Still, his essential role in season four has permanently cemented Gelman's quirky character as a staple of Stranger Things storylines.