Matthew Modine Shares Thoughts on Major Character's Death in Season 4 of STRANGER THINGS
We’ve gotten through four epic seasons of the mega-hit series Stranger Things on Netflix, and we have gone up against a Demogorgon, Demodogs, the Upside Down Vines, and the Mind Flayer, with this season introducing us to Vecna and Demobats. But some would venture to say that even with the show’s history of such monsters, and this season’s most-hated character Jason (Mason Dye), the show’s biggest villain is arguably Dr. Martin Brenner, aka Papa, played by Matthew Modine.
Dr. Brenner is responsible for the experimentation that plagued Eleven’s youth spent in a hospital, which ultimately led to the demise of her mother. While he claims to love Eleven and the other kids under his custody, he is a hateable guy who isn’t winning over any viewers. Modine spoke recently to Vulture about that Season 4 ending, and his take on the future of the character. But before we dive in, there are spoilers ahead.
Modine was asked if he considers Dr. Brenner dead, after his presumed death, when he was shot in the desert. He responded, saying:
No, I wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t want him to be dead. Three things are curious to me: How did he survive the Demogorgon? How did he survive One? And when Eleven tries to use her power against Dr. Brenner after blowing three guards in the air, he unflinchingly thwarts her and says, “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?” She couldn’t get it to work on him. Is there something more to Brenner than meets the eye?
He went on to add:
Yeah. I don’t want to believe it’s over, because I love the Duffers. I don’t want to believe it’s over, because I can’t wait to work with Millie again. I say Millie, because I don’t really have anything to do with the other cast members — except for Paul Reiser.
When asked if by some miracle Dr. Brenner did actually survive, and returned to Season 5, what Modine would like to see happen with the character, he said:
That’s a good question. Obviously, the only children he tortured who are alive, that we know of, are Eleven and Kali. I guess Vecna, if there’s any saving One. It would be that moment of them forgiving Brenner and giving him their grace. I’m reminded of the film Full Metal Jacket, when my character, Joker, pulls the trigger. At the end of the film, Joker stands over a young Vietnamese girl who’s begging him to end her life, because she’s in so much pain and bleeding to death. She’s just been shot by some of the other Marines. He says, “We can’t leave her here.” And the other guys say, “If you want to kill her, go ahead. Kill her.” Joker is faced with this existential decision. What is he going to do? He makes a decision to end her life. That’s the horror of war.
And the horror of what Brenner did is accepting and understanding his culpability in the death of all those children because of what One did. So if Eleven and Kali, or just Eleven, forgave him and sent him off, he would spend the remaining days of his life knowing he had been forgiven but having to accept responsibility for what he did. Do you think Donald Trump is able to sleep at night with a clear conscience? Or does he have to sedate himself and become a psychopathic liar in order to justify the behavior and the things that he’s done? Well, maybe he is. That’s a bad example. [Laughs.] I think Dr. Brenner is a more moral person than that, and he’d have to spend his final days acknowledging and accepting responsibility for the pain he caused. That’s the real nightmare — not being able to escape your thoughts and the things you’ve seen or done.
He’s a multi-layered character, that’s for sure! I trust in the vision of The Duffer Brothers, and I look forward to seeing what they have in store for the final season of Stranger Things. What about you, would you like to see Modine’s Papa return?