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[Dural]

So yeah, that was without a doubt the worst season of the show. Been rewatching 1-3 and it's astonishing how much better they were.

That scene with Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, and Steve on top of the radio station cemented that Steve and Robin should have ended up together. Really pisses me off how bad the writing is for this show that they couldn't see that the two of them were meant to be together.

 

[Ishma3L]

Dude, I'm embarrassed how long it took me to figure out what was going on. I thought she was pulling the charging handle!

I kept rewatching it like, clearly there is something wrong or it wouldn't have been called out. Then on the fifth or sixth attempt I saw her hand wasn't actually back far enough and that she was racking the carrying handle. Love it!

 

[DragoonKain]

I thought the season was fine, but maybe that's because my expectations dramatically dropped a long time ago and stopped taking the show seriously. It was basically mindless entertainment for me since like season 3.

 

[Ulysses 31]

 

[Neff]

I'm juuuust missing this one. Is it a reference to Will becoming (or being the victim of) some sort of serial killer or something?

Let's just say Milwaukee isn't a great place to be for young gay men in 1989, but for some reason that's exactly where the Duffers sent him

 

[jason10mm]

Dude, I'm embarrassed how long it took me to figure out what was going on. I thought she was pulling the charging handle!

I kept rewatching it like, clearly there is something wrong or it wouldn't have been called out. Then on the fifth or sixth attempt I saw her hand wasn't actually back far enough and that she was racking the carrying handle. Love it!

In the old days when this would have been a blank firing prop she probably would have had to work it correctly to get the new magazine to load and fire and this would have been a major scene for her since it involved live weapons and blanks with an armorer on hand to coach her.

Today I'm sure she was handed a totally inert prop, there was no armsmaster present, and she was left with her own devices on what to do. Since the weapon probably had no moving parts other than maybe a trigger and magazine catch, doesn't surprise me she couldn't really work out how it was supposed to operate. My son's nerf guns require more skill

 

[Lambogenie]

So they dont explain the Mond Flayer piece. I forgot S4 but does Vecna seek it out when his backstory is revealed? Does the vine like appendages and stuff come from the Mind Flayer or they're telekinetically attached by his own (weird) choosing?

Just feels like there should be more to the Mind Flayer control/relationship.

 

[kunonabi]

So they dont explain the Mond Flayer piece. I forgot S4 but does Vecna seek it out when his backstory is revealed? Does the vine like appendages and stuff come from the Mind Flayer or they're telekinetically attached by his own (weird) choosing?

Just feels like there should be more to the Mind Flayer control/relationship.

From what I hear the mind flayer piece was from the Philadelphia Experiment and the guy in the cave was a Russian spy. This was all from the stage show apparently. The actual show doesn't explain it at all.

 

[spookyfish]

hopper planning moving to Montauk could be a tease for the spin-off.

Montauk Project - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Montauk experiments were in the 1970s though. I think this is just a nod that yes, we were influenced by those stories.

 

[sono]

I thought they made some great music choices in ST. The scene towards the end of the last episode where Robin is back as DJ on her own .. Fleetwood Mac Landslide for its lyrics about change and growing older, mirroring the characters finally moving on was perfect..

Otherwise

Series 4 remains my fav. (Max.Kate Bush etc legendary) Series 5 was a mixed up and timing issues

 

[bitbydeath]

As a kid of the 80's, the aids thing would have 1000000% been brought up. Wills mom at least (out of concern), if not half those others as an almost knee-jerk response. So many damned shows had to have their AIDS awareness episode just to try to counter the almost visceral societal response to it. It's just another of the things that makes that storyline and it's resolution feel so out of place. Plus it COMES TO NOTHING. At no point do we see Vecna try to turn one of the others or Will by using his sexuality such that the "coming out scene" has any purpose to the plot. Trying to do it to Mike and he goes "Come on man, we've talked about this already" and Vecna screaming in rage wouldn't been great. Hell, if everyone had just come clean and Hopper said "losing Eleven is my weakness", maybe he could have been better equipped to handle his moment. Just utter writing tosh, really.

Vecna says to Hop later that he doesn't lie, after showing the suicide pact scene to him, so it's not even his MO to lie about their futures, if we take him at his word.

 

[Revolutionary]

"They're there somewhere"

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

So yeah, that was without a doubt the worst season of the show. Been rewatching 1-3 and it's astonishing how much better they were.

That scene with Jonathan, Nancy, Robin, and Steve on top of the radio station cemented that Steve and Robin should have ended up together. Really pisses me off how bad the writing is for this show that they couldn't see that the two of them were meant to be together.

Well they made Robin gay just to market the show to a niche group. And yeah I found it ridiculous too due to the chemistry between the two actors. And it's ridiculous how they made Will gay due to pressure from a certain group. Yes it's been hinted at before but at this point I just roll my eyes now due to it feeling kind forced in nowadays

 

[DeepEnigma]

"They're there somewhere"

"Shit writing is shit writing. We will plug the plot holes with ambiguous plot armor, and stuff."

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

thought it was fine, though I didn't buy eleven's self-sacrifice at the end there (even if it might not have really happened); you just beat god with the most ride-or-die team out there and then decide to just throw in the towel against humans.

another thing I didn't like was how throughout the season they would be in many urgent situations, but then they would just stop for several minutes to have some heartfelt moment, suddenly no more urgency?

 

[jason10mm]

Vecna says to Hop later that he doesn't lie, after showing the suicide pact scene to him, so it's not even his MO to lie about their futures, if we take him at his word.

Well Will said Vecna showed him a future where he was essentially abandoned due to his sexual orientation, so I think it's maybe a bit of "'I don't lie,' said the liar".

Vecna will certainly try to manipulate you in any way he can, whether he knew for a fact eleven was gonna suicide it or just suspected it, he knew it would rile up Hopper.

 

[Dacvak]

It was fine.

 

[EviLore]

 

[JORMBO]

It ended like I expected. It was just poorly executed all around.

Spoiler

I didn't like that the mindflayer went from some supernatural seeming deity to a giant spider with a weird room inside him. Nancy firing a gun at him should have been equal to an ant running at my foot. And the kids got on top of the mountain almost instantly. Then they made him not seem menacing at all by bullying him with small bits of fire. Just really dumb overall. By the time it got to this point it didn't feel like the stakes were high at all. Nancy became Rambo. None of the characters died outside of the one they introduced 2 episodes ago that no one cared about.

 

[DrFigs]

I feel like the ending is about the quality of the show after season 1. I don't think this show was ever art, just a fun action show w/ some good emotional beats. And I feel like they did that fine here.

 

[jason10mm]

Now if that actress puts up a vid of her doing a little rifle drill on the range against some steel, maybe some rifle to pistol transitions, and then explains the prop wasn't functioning so she just did the best she could, my opinion of her would go up 100000%.

 

[Arsic]

I thought the season was fine, but maybe that's because my expectations dramatically dropped a long time ago and stopped taking the show seriously. It was basically mindless entertainment for me since like season 3.

Similar for me in that I thought it was fine and ended good. The show had tons of plot holes and requires you to turn your brain off and not question it to enjoy it.

I think people forget how bad so many long running shows final seasons and episodes have been in the past. House was miserable, Dexter original run was holy shit awful, and even Lost ended similar to stranger things with issues.

In the grand scheme of things this ended a lot better than many shows.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Similar for me in that I thought it was fine and ended good. The show had tons of plot holes and requires you to turn your brain off and not question it to enjoy it.

I think people forget how bad so many long running shows final seasons and episodes have been in the past. House was miserable, Dexter original run was holy shit awful, and even Lost ended similar to stranger things with issues.

In the grand scheme of things this ended a lot better than many shows.

Don't you dare ditch Dexter, that was some good shit especially Debra

 

[Arsic]

Don't you dare ditch Dexter, that was some good shit especially Debra

I've watched all of Dexter but that show peaked on trinity killer and has been circling the drain since. I'll say the latest season this year was the best the shows been since then.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I've watched all of Dexter but that show peaked on trinity killer and has been circling the drain since. I'll say the latest season this year was the best the shows been since then.

I haven't watched it yet but I agree there, it peaked with Trinity Killer. I was just joking. I'm having a hard time getting through that Dexter Prequel show

 

[Arsic]

I haven't watched it yet but I agree there, it peaked with Trinity Killer. I was just joking. I'm having a hard time getting through that Dexter Prequel show

Oh I didn't watch that lmao. I have some limits…

The New York cabin season starts off good then falls off a cliff. This past season was good start to finish.

I'll also mention if you want daily hilarious memes the best subreddit on earth is the Dexter one. Best BJ in Miami certified:

https://www.reddit.com/r/okbuddymotherfucker/s/sEy3eSR7j7

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Oh I didn't watch that lmao. I have some limits…

The New York cabin season starts off good then falls off a cliff. This past season was good start to finish.

I'll also mention if you want daily hilarious memes the best subreddit on earth is the Dexter one. Best BJ in Miami certified:

https://www.reddit.com/r/okbuddymotherfucker/s/sEy3eSR7j7

Dude the Debra ones are great

 

[Arsic]

Dude the Debra ones are great

Mommy dumbra!

Back on topic err I think my biggest issue this season is that Hopper

Spoiler

killed a lab full of pregnant women and the government let him walk no questions asked…

 

[YCoCg]

Kojima verdict

 

[Revolutionary]

Kojima verdict

Kojima did a promotional video for Netflix Japan with the Duffers so he was never going to criticize it


He also scanned them so they'll probably show up in OD

 

[Lambogenie]

Kojima verdict

A lot of nothing, just memories. Kojima verdict on movies or TV is dumb. Not as dumb as Critical Drinker though.

 

[EviLore]

 

[DetectiveBananas]

I guess Nancy didn't go to the Keanu Reeves school of Weapons Training..
Nancy Actress: What do I do with this thing?
Duffer Bros. :

 

[Bojji]

Story was complete nonsense but I enjoyed second part of the season overall. I think it's the worst season of the show.

It may be stupid to look for any logic in idiotic story like that but... Hopper killer many American soldiers and then was caught by the army. Zero responsibility? They basically let him free after multiple murder ("kids" also killed people).

 

[cormack12]

 

[jason10mm]

See, had the ending actually paid off any of that background shit i would be into this, but so far, ZERO of any of that wardrobe or set stuff went anywhere. It's like the set crew were playing 4d chess while the writers and directors were struggling with tic tac toe.

 

[Mengy]

Man, S5 is a super mixed bag for me.

I honestly loved the first four eps of S5, I genuinely thought they were good and fun and done rather well. And I thought the S5E4 cliffhanger was awesome.

But eps 5-7 of S5 felt very uneven for me. Far too much exposition and emotional dumps and hugging and crying mixed in between very serious moments. Nancy turning into Rambo was just silly. And then that "scene" in E7, you know the one with Will, that's the cringiest thing I've seen in a long time. especially given the context and timing of what they were about to do just minutes later. Felt far too forced and out of place and extremely unrealistic for a show set in the 80's, which I lived through. Just very out of character for the show overall for me.

And then the finale. Again a big mixed bag for me. Some very cool moments surrounded by terrible moments and poor writing. Except for the last half hour of the finale, the epilogue, which I loved immensely.


Overall I'd rate S5 kinda low, maybe a 5 out of 10? Its not the worst thing ever and I'm glad I saw this through, but a huge let down as well while also having some really great moments. Might be my least favorite season of the show though, in fact it probably is.

 

[MrAlwaysRight]

100% getting another volume drop on January 7th

 

[Pejo]

Small parts and details of the finale annoyed me, but I think it was a good episode overall and a nice ending. I really like Mike's interpretation of what happened, and how they left it intentionally ambiguous. I also love kaiju stuff, so even though it was asspull city, it was fun to watch.

Overall, I think it was the 3rd best season after 1 and 2.

 

[Toons]

The show finishes strong if you're concerned about the actual appeal the show was built around.

I dont gaf about how accurate the gun handling is in stranger things lmao. This show is a love letter to 80s childhood, it features a bunch fo teenagers outsmarting the government and defeating an interdimensional supervillain monster. Its hokey and it always has been

Theres moments in this season as well as others where the pattern of rhe show becomes clear. Threat presents itself, kids form theories based very loosely on scientific theory to figure out how to beat the thing, and it either works or it doesn't work and they have to make a new theory and use that. The seasons are the kids each figuring out a raid boss and winning it mixed with friendship and character drama.

So how I Guage the show is if the character drama is compelling and if the theorizing is entertaining to watch. And thankfully for most of this season it was. The way they figure out how to beat Vecna is very much entertaining as the puzzle unfolds in front of you, and its written in a way often come to the same collisions they do. The character moments in this season are all really strong and I knew they weren't gonna kill any kids off because that isnt what the show is. It's not that kind of show. It's a celebration of friendship on a setting that had maybe the best opportunities for friendship.

This finale keeps to that theme, and sends strong messages of keeping your loved ones close, branching out, meeting new people andos very much against the misanthropic isolation we see so much today. Vecna is defeated because he ultimately rejects the goodness of humanity sndoushes away those who could've been closest to him. And the heroes win ONLY because everyone works together and mends their broken friendships using each other as a healing crutch.

It lands. It wasn't perfect, S4 is easly the strongest season of the show, but this was a strong send off. My main critiques are the secondary military guy was kinda lame, the Doctor K stuff was mostly setup for a spinoff and some of the tertiary characters didn't need to really be there, leasing to overly long episodes(which has beena problem with this shoe for a while). But I can't say didn't have a blast watching this end

 

[Krathoon]

The whole high school in Henry's mind seems to be a hook for the Broadway play.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Finished the finale, my thoughts:

- The mindflayer's final form finally reveals himself, 10 minutes later he is dead.
- How did they reach those cliffs at the end in 20 seconds? They were far away from them with no way up.
- Nobody is acting normally, nobody is getting scared by the monsters, even the kids just brush it off.
- The military guarding the most important sites in the world with 5-6 guys.
- Nobody dies ever, eternal plot armor. Not keeping Eleven dead is super cheap.
- So Nancy and Jonathan actually broke up with the un-proposal? I thought they were gonna get married, weird scene.
- And what was that grey melting go and why did it stop melting?
- Did they really just put Henry's story in a fucking play and not in the actual tv show?
- Robin is unbearable, she is like alike bad and unfunny sitcom character, she was not like this when she first showed up
- All the scenes with Max, the kids and Henry running around in memories were boring and dragged out
- Why so much focus on Holly and Robin? we wanna see the original crew

 

[Lambogenie]

Finished the finale, my thoughts:

- The mindflayer's final form finally reveals himself, 10 minutes later he is dead.
- How did they reach those cliffs at the end in 20 seconds? They were far away from them with no way up.
- Nobody is acting normally, nobody is getting scared by the monsters, even the kids just brush it off.
- The military guarding the most important sites in the world with 5-6 guys.
- Nobody dies ever, eternal plot armor. Not keeping Eleven dead is super cheap.
- So Nancy and Jonathan actually broke up with the un-proposal? I thought they were gonna get married, weird scene.
- And what was that grey melting go and why did it stop melting?
- Did they really just put Henry's story in a fucking play and not in the actual tv show?
- Robin is unbearable, she is like alike bad and unfunny sitcom character, she was not like this when she first showed up
- All the scenes with Max, the kids and Henry running around in memories were boring and dragged out
- Why so much focus on Holly and Robin? we wanna see the original crew

I feel like Robin crazy screen time is a lot to do with nepotism. I dunno, I couldn't give a crap about her, and it really took away from the core cast+Steve. She has a comment at every turn, an annoying person hiding behind ADHD. It felt like they kept wanting to give her scenes and dialogue. I didnt even like that she got to do a whole end scene radio thing. That should be anyone but her. Nancy makes more sense, and would've still tackled the Hawkins-update angle a radio show does if they tied it to journalism.

But definitely Robin went from tolerable to bloody annoying, all at Steve's expense and nerfing.

 

[Toons]

The whole high school in Henry's mind seems to be a hook for the Broadway play.

It is. It's expanded upon in the play.

The play that i somehow did not know existed until this season was out. But it expands upon henrys origin and directly ties into the flashback stuff we got this season.

Apparently Jamie bowers the actual TV actor for creel actually showed up in the stage performance for one night only(there's a scene where we see "One" being welcomed to the lab as his young adult self from S4) Thats kinda need.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Vecna is defeated because he ultimately rejects the goodness of humanity sndoushes away those who could've been closest to him. And the heroes win ONLY because everyone works together and mends their broken friendships using each other as a healing crutch.

No, Vecna is defeated because the kids stops a contracting wormhole, climb up a massive electricity tower, and jumps into a different world and square up against a giant monster. They then teleport unto a bunch of cliffs that don't break when the monster crashes into them, while Rambo Nancy outruns the skyscraper sized beast on foot.

Eleven force jumps into the beast and lands in a cavern inside it, where she and Will mindfucks Vecna with the power of gay acceptance and impales him on a giant bone that instantly kills the beast, because they are a hivemind.

The kids then gather in the beast's insides and Joyce chops off Vecna's head while they all have flashbacks.

Then they jump down into the normal world again, all fine, no big injuries, and they cheer and laugh, as they drive right into the military base they completely forgot they had to go through.

 

[Toons]

No, Vecna is defeated because the kids stops a contracting wormhole, climb up a massive electricity tower, and jumps into a different world and square up against a giant monster.

You answered the how he was defeated.

Not the why.

They knew it was a contracting wormhole because of dustin. They had the tower plan because of Steve. Theh executed the plan because of jane. They had all their gear they used because of Murray. They were able to locate him in the monster because of will.

Teamwork.. friendship. They won becayse they worked together as was the case every season.

Eleven force jumps into the beast and lands in a cavern inside it, where she and Will mindfucks Vecna with the power of gay acceptance

Im sorry but when I read stuff like this its hard to take anything you say after seriously. Im really not trying to be rude here so I'm gonna pretend I didnt read that and move on.

The kids then gather in the beast's insides and Joyce chops off Vecna's head while they all have flashbacks.

Then they jump down into the normal world again, all fine, no big injuries, and they cheer and laugh, as they drive right into the military base they completely forgot they had to go through.

They were planning on barreling through the military base, and making a clean getaway, they were not planning for the military to have become privy to their plans(which happened when Dr K and her men raided WSQK and captured Vicki and Max) which is the only reason K was present to ambush them

 

[Revolutionary]

Yikes

 

[John Marston]

 

[Darkmakaimura]

This will probably be a power of friendship ending containing ambiguous deaths and/or other world lockouts for possible spinoffs

Spinoff been off has already been announced.

They said it won't have any thing to do with this story.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

You answered the how he was defeated.

Not the why.

They knew it was a contracting wormhole because of dustin. They had the tower plan because of Steve. Theh executed the plan because of jane. They had all their gear they used because of Murray. They were able to locate him in the monster because of will.

Teamwork.. friendship. They won becayse they worked together as was the case every season.

Im sorry but when I read stuff like this its hard to take anything you say after seriously. Im really not trying to be rude here so I'm gonna pretend I didnt read that and move on.

They were planning on barreling through the military base, and making a clean getaway, they were not planning for the military to have become privy to their plans(which happened when Dr K and her men raided WSQK and captured Vicki and Max) which is the only reason K was present to ambush them

The why does not negate the weird boss fight.

Even so, the why is still weak. Dustin just stumbled into the room with the plans, Steve's plan of threading the other world by aligning a tower to a rift needs a whole book of excuses to make sense. They helped each other yes, but based on actions that make little sense.

Will literally had to accept he was a homo to use magical powers. He had to have a whole AA meeting with all of the characters, while the world was about to end, to be able to use them. He did use magic by accepting his internal homosexuality.

Nancy gunned down a bunch of soldiers and they busted through the gate. The military would obviously be ready for them to return. They were high-fiving and making jokes as they crossed through the gate.

And then, Nancy, after killing all these people, gets a free pass. In fact, Sarah Conner and the evil military lets everything slide.

Hopper, who spent the season killing military personel, gets reinstated as a police officer.

Now, I didn't hate this, it's not some horrible show, but it's incredibly stupid and poorly thought out.