Stranger Things 4: Suzie is not the reason Hopper ended up in Russia

Suzie and Dustin’s duet was one of the best parts of Stranger Things 3, but some fans are still blaming Suzie for Hopper ending up in Russia.

Stranger Things 3 introduced fans to Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo), Dustin’s REAL girlfriend, and The NeverEnding Story theme song (to some fans). During the final episode of the season, Suzie saved the day by providing the Hawkins Heroes with Planck’s constant, which allowed Joyce and Hopper to get the code to destroy the big machine keeping the Upside Down open.

Dustin and Suzie sang a little duet before Suzie revealed the number, which delayed Operation Save Hawkins by a minute or two. Then, as things happen on TV, Hopper was interrupted by the Big Russian. He sacrifices himself while Joyce destroys the machine and saves everyone. We thought he died, but he’s actually alive in Russia being held captive.

I loved Dustin and Suzie’s duet in Stranger Things 3. It was the perfect moment to break up two episodes worth of tension before the show delivered a gut-punch in the last few minutes.

At the time, I was aware that some people didn’t like the duet, and that’s cool. What I didn’t realize is how many Suzie haters are out there!

After seeing the response to an image of Suzie posted on the Stranger Things Fans Facebook page, I was alarmed at how many fans blame Suzie for what happened to Hopper. I can’t believe it needs to be said, but Suzie is not at fault for Hopper ending up in Russia.

Blaming Suzie for Hopper’s “death” is the same for blaming a sports player for making a mistake at the end of the game that cost their team the game. The mistake she made happened near the end of the game and it had an outcome on the game. But so did the other thousand mistakes made throughout the entire game and season. And, there were many, many, many mistakes made by the Hawkins Heroes over the course of Stranger Things 3. 

The time Suzie wasted is minimal compared to all the time wasted over the course of the full season.

For all the people mad at Suzie, I don’t see any of those fans upset with Murray. If he would have asked Alexei what Planck’s constant was before he got down into the Russian base, Suzie would not have been needed at all.

Instead, Murray didn’t know the code, and it almost ruined the whole plan.

In addition, Murray and Alexei could have just stayed in the car instead of going to the Fourth of July event. Alexei would have still been alive to put the code in and save the day.

Clearly, some of the blame for what happened to Hopper also lies with Hopper. Joyce knew something was going on. A mother’s intuition is always right, and Hopper pushed her aside at the beginning of the season when those stranger things started happening again. If Hopper would have listened to Joyce and called Dr. Owens at the beginning, this whole ordeal could have been avoided, prevented even.

Did Suzie share the information as quickly as she could? No, she waited about a minute before revealing Planck’s constant. It did cost the Hawkins Heroes a little bit of time. I’ll give you that. She made a mistake in the final minutes that opened the door for the other team (The Mind Flayer and the Russians) to win. That happened.

But, she also buried a 3 at the buzzer for the win! The team lost a teammate, yes, but they didn’t lose the game! She literally saved all of their lives! Without the code, they were stuck, and she gave it to them, along with a song.

Without Suzie’s contributions, everyone dies. Eleven, Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Will, Lucas, and everyone else. The Russians would have kept the gate open, just a crack, which would have allowed the Mind Flayer to live and wipe out all our favorite characters.

Suzie is the reason everyone is alive. If you don’t see it, I can’t help you.

It might be fun to pretend that Suzie is the reason Hopper is in Russia. Fans need someone to blame, of course, but I think it’s safe to assume that with or without Suzie, Hopper was going to Russian anyway. That’s just what was going to happen!

Hopefully, we get to see more of Suzie in Stranger Things 4, which is now filming in Atlanta after filming in Lithuania earlier this year. Production is moving to New Mexico in the near future.