Stephen King reacts to Carrie “riff” in Stranger Things Season 4

Stephen King is among the millions of Netflix viewers who’ve binged Stranger Things Season 4 over the past week. Not only does he think it was “really cool”, but he also caught the show’s “riff” on Carrie.

Stranger Things has become one of the most beloved shows in the world – and easily Netflix’s greatest success story – with millions tuning in to see Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and co. fight interdimensional monsters from the Upside Down. In its first weekend, Season 4 fetched 286.79 million hours viewed.

However, while fans across the world care for the characters and are invested in the story, the show’s main draw in 2016 was the Duffer brothers’ smattering of ’70s and ’80s pop culture references, whether it was Alien, The Goonies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or Poltergeist.

The showrunners have even stated King as one of their greatest influences, alongside Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter. So, it’s nice to see that the King of Horror has clocked their latest nod to one of his works.

Stephen King praises Stranger Things and Carrie “riff” in Season 4

King is particularly vocal on Twitter, whether it’s political matters and gun control, or offering his take on the latest movie or TV show. For example, he described Shining Girls on Apple TV+ as “exactly what streaming was made for” and a “novel for the eyes and the mind.”

In a recent tweet, he wrote: “The new season of STRANGER THINGS is really cool – as good or better than the previous three. There’s even a CARRIE riff.”

However, he did note that he’s not a fan of the season being split into two volumes, not dissimilar to Breaking Bad and The Sopranos. “Is it the whole season or is it another one of those that’s broken into 2 parts? IMHO that’s kind of lame,” he added.

• Read More: Stranger Things slammed by LGBTQ+ fans for “queerbaiting” Will’s sexuality

The Stranger Things Writers’ Room account spotted King’s tweet and replied: “Sorry Uncle Stevie, 8+9 aren’t done yet, but we’re working as fast as we can! Glad you’re enjoying and that you picked up on our super subtle Carrie riff.”

What is the Carrie reference in Stranger Things Season 4?

Carrie is a particularly strong influence on the show as a whole, given it follows a young girl struggling with her superhuman powers amid other coming-of-age woes.

In Season 4, Eleven has to contend with Angela (Elodie Grace Orkin), a high school bully almost as unlikeable as Joffrey in Game of Thrones. In one scene, Eleven strikes her usual superhero pose against Angela, only for nothing to happen and everyone to laugh at her.

Later, when Mike (Finn Wolfhard) comes to visit, she takes him to a roller skate disco, where Angela and her pals drag Eleven out into the middle of the rink, cover her with a milkshake and push her to the floor.

It’s not quite the pig’s blood drenching Carrie at prom, but it does cause Eleven to lose her temper and batter Angela’s head with a roller skate. And let’s be honest, she deserved it.