Stranger Things

[Lucky Planet]

4 episodes dragged a lot and kinda boring for being the "epic final season".
feels like a retreat of older plots being reused,
there's a couple plot points that feel recycled from earlier seasons,
I just, I hope it's gonna get better. is not that I'm expecting explosions and action In every episode, but it's just dragging.

 

[Clive]

Last season should've been the last. They're spinning their wheels at this point. Everyone on screen is clearly over it.

 

[mccgavin]

I have some criticisms here and there, but I've been enjoying the season so far overall. At a minimum, I do feel it is stronger than the second and third seasons of the show.

 

[Brian G.]

I have some criticisms here and there, but I've been enjoying the season so far overall.

More or less my feelings.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I enjoy, these characters, I really enjoy these actors,
I love their chemistry and their dynamic. I always have and will love watching all of them, I love their bond, their teamwork but :

Last season should've been the last. They're spinning their wheels at this point. Everyone on screen is clearly over it.

yeah maybe the villain should have been defeated right then and there in. season 4. it was the perfect set up and everything.

this new season has enough of the stuff I love with the characters, it's enjoyable to see them, I'm interested in where it goes,
but it needed a new different plot. or a different "problem"

Spoiler

the military being evil again and vecna taking kids feels like season 1 all over.
Eleven training and the group investigating the upside down world just feels like a retreat

the Only interesting stuff this time is Max and Holly being trapped.
and Will getting powers, that's all I'm interested in following for this season, will using powers was amazing

 

[Legacy]

I’m halfway through the third episode and it’s a parody of itself in every way.

Seriously, “Stranger Sings” is more serious than this season.

 

[grlhowl]

It feels to me like they wanted to return to a smaller-scale story (ironic since there's more going on than ever), but couldn't find a way to do so without abandoning the cliffhanger from last season. I would've much preferred a smaller/non-existent time-jump that actually dealt in the apocalyptic ending of S4- they gloss over it with a few lines and the only impact it's had so far is the military presence. I'm hoping it pulls itself together over the following episodes and picks up the pace, because nothing so far has felt as epic or thrilling or conclusive as any final season should be, especially one of the most expensive and highly anticipated ones ever.

 

[Lucky Planet]

It feels to me like they wanted to return to a smaller-scale story (ironic since there's more going on than ever), but couldn't find a way to do so without abandoning the cliffhanger from last season. I would've much preferred a smaller/non-existent time-jump that actually dealt in the apocalyptic ending of S4- they gloss over it with a few lines and the only impact it's had so far is the military presence. I'm hoping it pulls itself together over the following episodes and picks up the pace, because nothing so far has felt as epic or thrilling or conclusive as any final season should be, especially one of the most expensive and highly anticipated ones ever.

I didn't really had any hopes for season 5, I didn't follow any speculation or spoilers, I only heard from them that it was gonna have the "feel and dynamics" of season 1 I think?
you are right about returning to a smaller scale.

but the full group hasn't really been together except episode 4, I really don't like how they wrote Dustin.

and I hate what they did with the military. I thought we were past that.

 

[Legacy]

Finished it. I’ll watch the second part because I’m a completionist but not because I think it’s good. Because it’s not. Nearly every major twist or reveal is easily anticipated (including the final one… which I called an episode in advance). All the group dynamics are now, basically, insufferable instead of charming and the writing is basic, Mike Flanigan-style monologuing. I’ll accept the dictum to divide this season into two halves, but refusing to edit the individual episodes into something other than movie-length montage of screaming, hard stares, and desperate “see, it’s the 80s” references is the worse sin.

 

[TheCodeMan95]

Finished it. I’ll watch the second part because I’m a completionist but not because I think it’s good. Because it’s not. Nearly every major twist or reveal is easily anticipated (including the final one… which I called an episode in advance). All the group dynamics are now, basically, insufferable instead of charming and the writing is basic, Mike Flanigan-style monologuing. I’ll accept the dictum to divide this season into two halves, but refusing to edit the individual episodes into something other than movie-length montage of screaming, hard stares, and desperate “see, it’s the 80s” references is the worse sin.

To be fair, with at least one of the twists,

Spoiler

it doesn't help that Linnea Berthelsen was literally at the red carpet premiere lol

 

[Legacy]

To be fair, with at least one of the twists,

Spoiler

it doesn't help that Linnea Berthelsen was literally at the red carpet premiere lol

Spoiler

I don’t care about the show so much as to know who was doing media for it. I had honestly forgotten about the character until Eleven described whatever was behind the door as “Kryptonite,” at which point I said, “Oh, it’s Eight.” Because that was the only reveal that would make sense.

 

[Cwoolboy]

I honestly think this is the weakest season so far, though it's not without its strong points (particularly the last ten minutes of episode 4). Too many arguments between characters, groups are split into different locations so that it's hard to keep track of who is where, and I personally am not a fan of how angry and emo Dustin has become. It makes sense for the character, but I don't like it.

 

[SeventyOne]

Finished the first four, and like Legacy, will only finish the rest out because I'm a completist. In addition to the 30-year old 15-year-olds,

• Cast is just too damn big. Killing off more major characters in season 4 would've raised the stakes, allowed for a tighter final season. Instead, we get 90 seconds then onto the next group.
• Convoluted plot is a mash-up of repeated storylines and ret-cons. You can lampshade a ret-con in a comedy and make it work, but not in a drama.
  Spoiler

  The military is set up as a major villain in scene 1, yet is barely acknowledged again until episode 4. Despite being under martial law, the party can drive a BMW though fences and lawns late at night without raising an alarm, there's plenty of food apparently, and the hospital is still staffed with candy-stripers who come and go as they please.
• The biggest issue: ST1 felt like a lost relic of 1983. It was organically of that era, right down to its opening credits. ST5 feels like a Netflix show--the cinematography, the dialogue, the direction, all very 2024. Subtle touches from earlier seasons (e.g. the Reagan and Mondale yard signs, the casual unexplained D&D references) are replaced with ham-fisted product placement from GatorAde and Coke.
• Slow pacing just exacerbates all these other issues.

Ultimately, like the HHN houses, what started as an obvious labor of love morphed into a corporate-mandated cash grab.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I've only seen episode one but its more Stranger things

I think the radio was a cool way to recap whats happened but the show for me many times is just slow, I just always feel like they are in no rush to tell the story and for me would rather it just be quicker paced
I will most likley finish the season but in no rush

 

[belloq87]

I thought the first four episodes were fine, but the weakest initial four of any ST season so far. And I agree that the cast needed to be culled last season.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

Finished the first four, and like Legacy, will only finish the rest out because I'm a completist. In addition to the 30-year old 15-year-olds,

• Cast is just too damn big. Killing off more major characters in season 4 would've raised the stakes, allowed for a tighter final season. Instead, we get 90 seconds then onto the next group.
• Convoluted plot is a mash-up of repeated storylines and ret-cons. You can lampshade a ret-con in a comedy and make it work, but not in a drama.
  Spoiler

  The military is set up as a major villain in scene 1, yet is barely acknowledged again until episode 4. Despite being under martial law, the party can drive a BMW though fences and lawns late at night without raising an alarm, there's plenty of food apparently, and the hospital is still staffed with candy-stripers who come and go as they please.
• The biggest issue: ST1 felt like a lost relic of 1983. It was organically of that era, right down to its opening credits. ST5 feels like a Netflix show--the cinematography, the dialogue, the direction, all very 2024. Subtle touches from earlier seasons (e.g. the Reagan and Mondale yard signs, the casual unexplained D&D references) are replaced with ham-fisted product placement from GatorAde and Coke.
• Slow pacing just exacerbates all these other issues.

Ultimately, like the HHN houses, what started as an obvious labor of love morphed into a corporate-mandated cash grab.

I think this echoes my thoughts. The cast is way too big and falling into the same thing as last season (and what happened in Endgame). The cast is soo big that they can't film together, meaning we are jumping between 3-4 different groups of characters and trying to tie storylines together. I always am left feeling we aren't getting enough of X, Y, or Z characters.

I think the death of a main character or two over the last couple seasons would've helped to add some real consequence(s) to the group's actions

 

[Lucky Planet]

everyone always says (including Millie ) that characters should have died last season, remove some of them, but I like everyone so much I don't know who should die,
I just didn't want them gone, Hopper? no! I love watching him , I love Joyce, I really like Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, I Love Steve, I like Nancy,

I guess Max should have gone last season, maybe Robin, but she's funny, I like her. maybe Jonathan, but Jonathan has a good dynamic with Nancy.
they all kind of work ( expect for Max)

Spoiler

episode 4 was when I thought they were gonna kill Lucas and Robin and Joyce at the end, I thought hopper would die for sure, but I was extremely happy that Will saved everyone. I was just so glad.

 

[JohnHammondsCane]

everyone always says (including Millie ) that characters should have died last season, remove some of them, but I like everyone so much I don't know who should die,
I just didn't want them gone, Hopper? no! I love watching him , I love Joyce, I really like Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, I Love Steve, I like Nancy,

I guess Max should have gone last season, maybe Robin, but she's funny, I like her. maybe Jonathan, but Jonathan has a good dynamic with Nancy.
they all kind of work ( expect for Max)

Spoiler

episode 4 was when I thought they were gonna kill Lucas and Robin and Joyce at the end, I thought hopper would die for sure, but I was extremely happy that Will saved everyone. I was just so glad.

Spoiler

Personally, I'd be fine with any of them being killed off, outside of Hopper, Eleven, or Will. I feel like the show would struggle without these three, as they've been built up so much as being the solution(s) to so many problems

 

[Legacy]

everyone always says (including Millie ) that characters should have died last season, remove some of them, but I like everyone so much I don't know who should die,
I just didn't want them gone, Hopper? no! I love watching him , I love Joyce, I really like Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, I Love Steve, I like Nancy,

I guess Max should have gone last season, maybe Robin, but she's funny, I like her. maybe Jonathan, but Jonathan has a good dynamic with Nancy.
they all kind of work ( expect for Max)

Spoiler

episode 4 was when I thought they were gonna kill Lucas and Robin and Joyce at the end, I thought hopper would die for sure, but I was extremely happy that Will saved everyone. I was just so glad.

Max was literally supposed to die, and the Duffers got cold feet at the last minute. Same with Hopper in Season 3. They said they “didn’t want to kill them for shock value,” except those entire seasons were building to the death. It’s not bloodlust (like they argue), it’s just good writing.

The two Stranger Things characters who were almost killed off

‘It would have defeated the purpose,’ Duffer brothers say ahead of final season

www.the-independent.com

They basically wrote themselves into a corner because they’ve plot-armored all of their characters. Taking either of those players off the board would have improved the following seasons drastically.