Stranger Things 4 Star David Harbour Opens Up About the “Pressure” of Hopper and Joyce’s Reunion

The newest season of Stranger Things begins with beloved hero Jim Hopper being held captive over in Russia, far away from the rest of the characters. Joyce soon learns that he’s alive, having believed he died in the explosion at Hawkins Lab at the end of Season 3, and recruits Murray’s help to go rescue him. Most of Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 sees the characters separated, but Joyce and Hopper finally have an emotional reunion at the end of the seventh episode, marking the first time stars David Harbour and Winona Ryder have been on-screen together in years. Given how much fans love those two characters, the actors knew there was a lot of pressure to get their reunion right.

While speaking to IndieWire, Harbour was asked about bringing Hopper and Joyce back together for the first time in Stranger Things 4. He noted that it was an awesome thing to have them in the same room again, but that they definitely felt the pressure of getting that moment exactly right.

“It’s an amazing moment. And the problem with amazing moments are that you read them in the script and you’re just like ‘F—,’” Harbour said. “You just feel the pressure. Here it is: He’s been away, he feels like he’s killed her. He’s in such despair, and then lo and behold, his miracle, his knight in shining armor who saves him is this woman that he cares so much for.”

Harbour went on to say that the reunion went through a few different iterations before they landed on the version that made it into the episode. 

“Initially there were some that we did where she’d run over to me and I just embraced her [right there and then],” he explained. “We did about 10 takes of it, and then I was like, ‘You know what I think it is, man? I just think he’s so in survival mode, I don’t even think he thinks she’s real.’ So when she comes over to him there’s this moment where he kind of stares, pulls her away from him and looks at her, and then embraces her again.”

Hopper and Joyce will presumably remain on-screen together for the final two episodes of Stranger Things 4, which will be released on Netflix on July 1st.