No seriously...what is going on with Stranger Things Season 5? 

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My biggest problem with the writing in season 4, was then randomly bringing back the Steve Nancy and Jonathan love triangle, it felt like they had no idea what to do with Steve’s character, plus I hate that Nancy’s story line has started to revolve around men, Also Eddie’s death was written so terribly, and frustrated me so much

After season 5 airs, there will definitely be a slew of video essays with titles like “Stranger Things fall from grace”

“The fact that these 20 year olds now have to play 15 year olds and we all just have to be okay with that.” When has that ever not been the case on teen dramas?

Finding out that Stranger Things was supposed to be an anthology show makes me so sad because that would've been so much better! One of the show's biggest problems is the disjointedness and retconning, and making something like season 4 a completely separate story would've fixed a lot of problems. We really deserved better as fans

You can really tell that they didn’t intend to carry characters past one season with characters like Eddie, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and Robin. Jonathan and is useless past season 1. Nancy gets more cool, but she keeps getting written into romance plot lines where they make her feel like a homie hopper which makes her insufferable. Steve is just there to be the braun and go along w what the kids want to do. Robin literally went from being a really cool friend to Steve, and having such a good storyline w him, to being a stupid “uuuh, guys?” type of character. If Eddie hadn’t died in season 4, they would have definitely found a way to butcher his character too

Netflix IS the villain of the story. They cancel so much interesting shows but refuse to let Stranger Things go.

As someone who never got into Stranger things it's so interesting watching the evolution of the shows discourse

The first season seemed like a perfect one season story, and the ending felt open ended with thought to be had for the future of El. Like a good book you will think about it after but that doesn't mean you need more story. To think they wanted to do an anthology breaks my heart because it would have awesome to see different groups of humans interact with different spooky creations from the upside down without a solid connection between them.

As much as I have enjoyed Stranger Things over the years, I find it deeply frustrating to see Netflix only put its energy into specific projects and letting others that still do well only get one season, particularly in the teen-led supernatural television area. Stranger Things and Wednesday get multiple seasons, but shows that did well and were critically and audience acclaimed (i.e. Lockwood & Co) are deliberately under-marketed so they can cancel them without giving it chance to find its footing among a mainstream audience.

Stranger Things as an anthology makes so much sense! When I first watched season 2, the new characters such as Billy, Max, and Kali + her gang felt awkwardly written into the story, almost like they belonged in a different one.

Hopper should've stayed dead after season 3. It would've completed El's emotional arc is season 3 and it would've gotten rid of the Russia subplot in season 4.

Wait wait wait...Stranger Things has been running for 8 YEARS...WHAT I FEEL SO OLD-

Stranger Things lost the plot with that whole "Russians built a base under the Star Mall" plot line and then having the gall to continue that with "Hopper in Russsia fighting the Ruskies". I get that anti-Russia paranoia was at one of its heights during the 80s and unironically after 2016 when S3 aired but none of this helped take the story any more seriously than "Billy is now the mindflayer instead of Will because reasons". It was really jarring to see people fall head over heels for this bullshit when it aired and then see the writers still push it through into S4, possibly because they were trying to milk David Harbour's popularity in the Black Widow franchise? It was all such deep cringe and it's amazing that we got two full seasons of it and that the show actually got super popular with it. All of it leading to a really lackluster story of doom and gloom which still hinges on one telekinetic girl screaming her heart out.

something i really liked about season 4 is the break in eleven's and mike's relationship. you'd assume they'd be endgame considering their initial plotlines so I thought the twist on that was nice. mike falling out of love first really helps us grasp their characters in a light where they are finally individualized from each other.

Every time I say this I feel like a criminal, but I'll say it again here: there is no reason for stranger things to exist after season 1, the first season is near perfect TV and the show could have easily ended there (with a proper ending I mean). I think if it was a limited series it would have been a masterpiece, and the more I think about it, the more I think the story doesn't have enough material for 5 seasons. Not to forget the quality decreases season by season, the second one was unnecessary but still a good sequel, but seasons 3 and 4 were straight bad. So even before the Schnapp fiasco I didn't want to watch the 5th season because the show got dumber and messier over the seasons and had many good ideas that weren't exploited enough. Anyway don't kill me guys.

Argyle basically looks like myself, we have the exact same clothing style and I have his exact hair. When I first saw that dude on Stranger Things I finally was so excited to see someone who looked like me on a mainstream show. People compared us all the time when the season aired and thought it was hilarious. For most of my life I have gotten shit for it, the fact that they just dropped Eduardo Franco without any notice baffles me. It's sad.

Ugh, the bringing back Eddie thing really bothers me. He had such a great arc, and while I can conceive of ways for him to return, they all feel like fanfic in my head, and I don't want this show to become fanfic of itself. Eddie should be the kind of boogeyman kids in Hawkins tell each other about: "Don't go out there at night or Eddie Munson will get you."

Sad that being critical of something is interpreted nowadays as not liking it. Because you like something is more reason to be critical of its flaws. Ignoring flaws doesn't make you a fan, it makes you a sycophant. I just hope that whatever happens in season 5, they stick the landing and we can finish it with a satisfying conclusion. It doesn't have to be better than the preceding seasons, just well made.

one infuriating thing about the stranger things creators and even the fanbase is this insistence that every single thing has actually been planned and is all part of this cool in-depth story they've had written since the very beginning, when it's kind of clear that some things are not thought out and the overall story is actually becoming worse and less coherent over time. I thought season 2 was maybe the best one, but the dip of quality from that to season 3 was... so abrupt? like, why are there so many more plot lines, why did we start adding more characters/putting side characters in main character positions, why did we introduce a hamfisted russian enemy plot that no one really liked? It really feels like there are no people telling the duffer bros "no" and just letting them add waaaay more things then needed, not telling them that less is more sometimes. this alongside the fact that they've had two zionists who spread misinformation on their platform has just caused me to become so disillusioned from a show that I actually did love at one point. Just so disappointing, dude.

Why can’t they just skip a couple of years and have them in college to develop the plot and let it breathe. They’re having the same issues with marvel where they refuse to age up Tom Holland when it’s been 10 years!!!

I'm going to be honest - I like S03, its the silliest season and i just like it.

Nowadays, TV platforms seem to have this unfair standard that if a newer show doesn't reach the same ratings as this one show they milk the hell out of but isn't much better, if not even worse, they'll barely advertise it, cancel it, quietly cancel it or all of the above. The crew behind that new show are pressured to make the show perfect ALL THE TIME so it can get some decent ratings. And I don't think that's fair to shows that have potential but need more attention to prove it. And usually, that one popular show is controversially divisive with a long string of bad episodes or bad seasons and has gotten renewed for more seasons than any other show on their channel despite that. And they have some good or even great episodes or seasons but they're ultimately infamous and divide the fanbase. Nickelodeon has SpongeBob, Cartoon Network has Teen Titans Go, Disney Channel has Bunk'd, Fox has The Simpsons and I get the feeling Velma is gonna be this for Max for a while. And in this case, Netflix has Stranger Things. I actually never watched Stranger Things or most series these days unless they have already ended or the twists are so interesting and EVERYONE online is spoiling it that I have to watch it immediately! For instance, I just started Sense8 a few months ago and finished it last weekend. And yeah, I also want some sort of continuation. Maybe a miniseries about another cluster? Who knows?

I like Vecna too, but I wish it was the other way around: Vecna became that way because of the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer was this looming eldritch threat that needed a powerful medium to operate on Earth, while Vecna was his main servant, a figurehead that the characters and the audience could put a face to for the antagonists. Like Maul, Dooku, and Vader were to Sidious, or Saruman to Sauron. So I'm ok with the "direct human antagonist" angle, but not as the final boss in Stranger Thing's case.

I've been feeling more and more like there's the expectation in our current era for everything in media to be explained in depth and have every question answered in detail; like the quality of a story is judged less by internal consistency and more by how many tidbits there are to shove into a fan wiki article. That sucks for a lot of shows but esp for Strangers Things, bc like you said early on in this, the best, scariest, & most interesting parts of the story only work when we're left wondering about stuff. Not everything needs to have Deep Lore, sometimes the question marks are more satisfying bc they force you to actually engage with the story instead of just committing plot beats & trivia to memory.

Honestly, I would bet my money, that when final season of Stranger Things will be out, everyone will forget they where even mad at the first place…

I felt like season 3 should have had a two year time jump. Not only would it have made the kids ages closer to the actors' real ages but it also would have added to the sense of calm and normalcy the characters seem to be experiencing at the beginning of the season. Two years in a row of spooky stuff happening would surely put people on edge but two years of no spookyness would lure the characters into a false sense of safety and perception that all that really is over. Which I think would have made for a better story. I think it could have worked. Nancy and Johnathan having those internships already feels like they have jobs. Steve's overall dissatisfaction with life and loss of "rizz" (sorry) would make more sense for some who has been bouncing around dead end jobs for a year or two. Joyce would have had more time to grieve Bob's death. I know we would have missed important milestones like Nancy and Jonathan graduating and the kids going to highschool but who really cares? Season 3 was silly and tonally very different from season 1 and 2 but I ultimately really enjoyed it. Season 4, on the other hand, was really messy in a way which I found hard to ignore. So much of it felt like filler because they were trying to give all the characters something to do but there are just too many characters at this point. They should have had two or three less episodes. They should have trimmed the fat and focused on telling a concise and compelling story. I've enjoyed stranger things a lot and I will probably watch season 5 any way but it should have been a limited series that ended with season 1.

I used to really like the show, but I personally feel like it should’ve ended after season 3, for several reasons: 1) It would basically result in the show being a trilogy of seasons, which just feels right. 2) The season ends by basically splitting up the main cast and sending them to new pastures and effectively ending this period of the characters’ lives, which feels as close to a definitive ending in this kind of show as it’s possible to get. 3) It’s the last season where the cast felt like they were the right age to play the characters. By the time season 5 comes out, the actors are going to visibly be a full decade older than they were when the show started, and trying to act like it’s only been a few years in total. I can’t see any version of the show where that isn’t super distracting and takes everyone out of it. 4) The same passage of time has resulted in a massive shift in cultural attitudes. The big 80s nostalgia boom that was in play when the show first debuted is no longer a thing (90s and early 00s nostalgia is clearly now the trend), and there’s a clear sense that the show’s warm throwback approach is starting to feel more than a little passé. 5) Season 3 was easily the biggest and most overblown season to date (which, unpopular opinion, is why it’s my personal favourite season). The 80s neon aesthetic is on full display, the action is more elaborate and brutal, the gore is through the roof, the comedy is broader, and the stakes are higher than ever - I mean the season literally climaxes with the fate of the world in the balance, a Soviet invasion to be stopped, a giant kaiju rampaging around a shopping mall, and even a big musical number in the midst of it all. There’s really no way the show could get bigger than that in my eyes, which may contribute to me feeling let down by season 4 and finding it quite anticlimactic. Add to that the various questionable story decisions that have been made in recent years, multiple cast members outing themselves as complete scumbags, and parts of the fanbase generally acting really cringey (the general response to Eddie in season 4 was a prime case of this), and it’s left me in a position where I’m doubtful I’ll even watch the final season. And that makes me really sad, because I used to really like this show, but it’s been really hard for me to muster up any enthusiasm for it at this point, and I’m curious to see how many others will be feeling the same when season 5 finally drops

honestly I wish Vecna and 001 were two separate characters. seeing the Upside Down being framed as this eldritch, primordial dimension for 3 seasons and then finding out it somehow just popped into existence when Eleven defeated some guy was so disappointing. like, all of that build-up to the Mindflayer & Vecna being the biggest, most threatening villains of the show and his whole origin story is that he liked playing with spiders in his attic??

I’ll really never understand how badly mikes character was like abandoned after season 2…like..completely abandoned

This would have been a really cool anthology series. What would this have looked like if there was a story in say, the 1920s, and then the 1950s in the same town with different main characters and various threats that relate to the overall larger threat?

“The fact that these 20 year olds now have to play 15 year olds and we all just have to be okay with that.” why is stranger things the ONLY show where people point this out?? for a TV show a 5 year age gap is COMPLETELY reasonable. yet we have literal 30 year olds on euphoria playing high schoolers and nobody says anything about that. make it make sense. and argyle was not "fired" he is irrelevant to the plot of season 5 and was simply not asked back. its not that deep.

Yeah, I agree. The problem with Netflix is the quality in their TV shows tend to go downhill after the second or third season. We’ve seen it so many times with the umbrella Academy, the orange is the new black, the Witcher, and most recently sex education. It’s like the writers at Netflix don’t know how to write convincing character development for more than just one season. All Netflix shows have this problem. I don’t think there is a Netflix original that is a masterpiec from start to finish. Even older shows like the Fall and the killing. The first seasons were always well done, but when the second seasons come along, they become underwhelming.

I didn't know ST was supposed to be an anthology series, it makes a lot more sense now what I always told people about S3 changing the tone of the series. I know people don't like S2 much, but for me I always felt it was more in tune with S1 than S3 and S4 ever were. The russian's plot always felt like another plot mixed in, it made season 3 more interesting for sure , but it took away the focus, I was more interested in what was going on with the russians which means I was more interested in Hoper and Joyce and Steve and the Scoops troop than I was on the kids that were supposed to be the focus, for me Eleven is a side character in S3. This translated horribly in S4 because the russian plot is super interesting, however, it is pointless to the rest of the story, it could have been a spin-off. I think S5 will be entertaining just like S4, but at the end of it everyone will say it was not actually good.

Why do people keep talking about the ages! Tons of actors play younger roles as adults. These actors still look like teenagers.

one theory i've had about super popular franchises like this is that in the first instalment, when it's still new and the platform is a little more hesitant to go all out on it, the writers had limitations. they had restraint. they couldn't always do everything they wanted, so they focused on what really mattered to the story. to me that's why season 1 of ST felt so freaking good. everything had their place. nothing felt unnecessary. it was tight knit and satisfying, because it HAD to be. but once the franchise grows popular, the creators get more control and leeway, and suddenly, it seems like plotlines that would usually be cut are given the go-ahead. whatever they wanted to add to the story, they could, because the platform knew the show was going to make them a billion dollars regardless. so now we have episodes that are 1+ hour long, each with four or five basically useless plotlines that very easily could have been written out (the russian / jopper stuff, the eddie manhunt led by the basketball team, those are a few storylines that i felt existed just to pad the runtime. it's kind of wild these plotlines exist OVER giving characters like jonathan something interesting to do). also the fact that hopper came back to life is just proof that they're not caring as much about the story as they used to. they don't have to. because they will make a billion dollars regardless. anyway lol in terms what i actually wanted to see from the show, there was a brief but warm interaction between joyce and eleven in season one, and when eleven moved away with the byers, i was like FINALLY! we're about to see some more interactions between eleven and joyce!! eleven never had a mother figure or a normal family dynamic before. we'll get to see her hanging out with will and jonathan! and then the show decided having joyce go to russia to save a man who should have died last season was more interesting.

Great video, and I agree that the creative train has left the station a long time ago. The Eddie problem is the real evidence for that. The writers have been upping the ante with manipulating emotions, rather than telling a good story. Eddie was (for me) the best out of all the "Destined to die, one-season" characters. Instead of letting him be part of season 5 to help the kids save Hawkins, clear his name, and finally discover his true self, they do the opposite. Anyway, despite the quality, I won't be supporting this show through its original platform. I'm gonna watch it "elsewhere" because I will not be supporting Zionists. My completionist self just wants to know how it ends.

Stranger Things season 4 erased so much potential. I'm not a fan of Vecna because the explanation that he was responsible for everything just made no sense. I mean, his whole plan is to kill children just to open the gate and bring the Upside-Down into our world? Really? Because he hates humanity? Really? And he's responsible for everything? REALLY? Okay. If he could send a Demi-Gorgon back and forth, why would he need all the deaths? If he was responsible for Barbara's death, why did the Demi-Gorgon still hunt by blood scent? Why Barbara? Why not attack the doctors at the facility or Papa? If he created the Mind Flayer, doesn't that fly against everything said in season 2 and 3? If Vecna was the mindflayer why didn't it act with intent as soon as it laid eyes on 11? If Vecna was responsible for Billy, why didn't the converted Billy or that weird thing in the mall battle immediately recognize 11? Vecna has to be the 1st villain in villain history to not recognize and attack he arch-enemy. . .several times. In season 2 it was pointed out that the Upside/Down was slowly invading our world. If Vecna could do that what did he need 11's powers for? Why convert all those humans into that thing who's entire purpose was to wound 11 just to steal her powers? (OMG, I'm beginning to see how right you are here.) And Season 4 did the one story trope I'm done with in all Super Hero stories - the hero loses their powers. What a dumb way to bring back Papa. I suspect there was a lot more to why they decided to go all Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker with season 4, but that's a whole can of worms I won't touch in this comment section. As to the two actors coming out for Zionism - yep, that's a deal breaker for me. No excuses in my geek world for genocide. I don't think I'll be watching Season 5. It could have been one hell of an alien invasion story, now it's just Saw meets Nightmare on Elm street, and not in a good way.

I feel like the problem of Vecna is that they wanted him to be this big bad glooming over 11 but then oh he aint the last one so he kinda not really that big bad. Its like he was viewed as the main villain but nah he is a sideman. I agree that lots of chars are 1 dimensional and seem unnecessary for the story. I have a problem with it too. I will most likely not watch s5 coz I got tired of how chars got handled and watching s4 was already exhausting for most of the time.

The Rise of Skywalker frustration is so real.

One thing that annoyed me so much is that it drew away from its origns of a show being set in the 80s, and it became HEY LOOK ITS THE 80s. It is so much harder to watch the show because of it

Its mostly because of Noah Schnapp. For me atleast.

I agree with all of your criticisms about season 4 but for me the biggest reason for my dislike of it was the runtime. The extra time was not even used to develop the characters from the main cast but instead to focus on new characters we have no investment in or plotlines that went nowhere.

Noah and Brett play quite main characters in the show, Noah especially. Argyle was a very one note comedy sidekick character. The way they wrote him seemed very difficult to ever do anything serious or develop him. So I can see why he was ditched for the last season so they can focus on the main cast of original characters and wrapping up the story.

You are my favorite youtuber and I am currently, and randomly, in a stranger things hole right now. Seeing this on my feed just made my day. How do you ALWAYS make videos on exactly what I’m looking for??? Love you Kayla please continue to keep up the amazing content and thank you for your videos. They have a bigger impact on people than you’ll ever know and are some of the best I’ve ever seen on this platform P.s. would love a video on how you got into the industry/ your experiences etc if you’d ever be willing to make one!!

Stranger Things is one of my favorite shows. I genuinely loved season 4 and I’ll admit that even I didn’t expect Argyle to return for season 5, so the whole Eduardo thing took me by surprise when it happened. It’s so funny that people are hating on it now because I guarantee it’s gonna do insane numbers when it comes out, even from people hate watching 😂

I liked the mind Flayer when it seemed like some random entity that just so happened to get mixed up with our world, got into it with Eleven and just had a vendetta against her. It being 001 the whole time was just kind of disappointing tbh

completely agree with the points made in this video. season 1 ( in my opinion) was the only season that felt polished, season 2 was forgettable, season 3 was way to over the top 80s stereotype and every episode of s4 was way too long and split the gang up which I think was the worst decision they could of made for the gang and it annoys me that there isn't any character development for 11 or will. like 11 was THE main character and it felt like she had no personality other than being used by Brenner and the gang. will isn't even a main character in my eyes so if they do decide the write him out I don't think it would that much affect on the story.

To be honest, I feel like one thing that surprinsingly did a disservice to the quality of the show was its increase in budget. I'm not a expert or anything, and ultimately I have no idea of how things are run behind the scene and what working with a smaller budget does to creators and workers on the show, but to me Stranger Things was at its peak when it was emulating the feel of an 80's movie : a thighter cast, lower quality cameras, cheaper costumes, a minimal use of cgi and expensive props, showing less of the monster to save some pennies, resulting in a sort of tension that really felt similar to the one in Alien for example. Idk, maybe the show having such a huge success was really what doomed it in the end.

I didn't know it was originally meant to be an anthology series, and now I'm upset we didn't get to see that

I could just CRY watching this video, you hit the nail on the head with every problem that I’ve had with this show, and yet, going on Twitter and seeing people say the complete opposite this whole time, I felt like I was going nuts. That I wasn’t seeing what they were seeing, but YOU saw what I saw, and the comments I’ve seen here have too :’) so THANK YOU 🙏🏻

This show has fully become another instance of the Heroes problem where they just add more character types, not fully developed and the rest of the homegrown kids/main players are on the bench while wasting time collecting these people.

one thing that really confuses me is how everyone seems to have forgotten about the "stranger things hotel" that netflix was going to make that used to be a lithuanian c(...) camp. and apparently a season was partially filmed there - which i'm guessing was season 4 based off of the article i read that was posted in july of 2022. if anyone is interested, i found the article at the jewish chronicle.

Vecna to me feel like such a writing cop out. ~~oh he was there the whole time pulling strings~~ no he wasn’t! You guys wrote him in because writing a big bad like that is easier than something more ambiguous. Edit: lol I wrote this comment at the same time you were saying the exact same thing. Clearly couldn’t agree more.

Vecna was ORIGINALLY a DnD character before he was on Stranger Things. A might arch lich that looks exactly like he does in the show

I know this is probably an unpopular opinion but s3>=s2. Tho both seasons had there different issues, I still really enjoyed them. I liked s3 slightly more because it just felt very different in comparisons to the other seasons, but like in a good way. Idk it was just a fun watch. S4 was ok.. but nothing in comparisons to the other 3 seasons. I didn’t like how very split the groups were that season. I didn’t really like the Russian and California plot. They should’ve kept everything in Hawkins in my opinion. I also really hate the fact they haven’t killed any of the main characters yet (even tho I love them all), they really should’ve kept some characters dead like Hopper… and now maybe even Max as well. I just feel like they lost a lot of that risk factor because they refuse to kill any main characters, and just kill off the new ones they introduce. I’ll still be tuned into s5 tho. I’ve invested too much time on this story and characters. I wanna see how it all wraps up and ends. Regardless if it’s sh*t or not.. the one thing that I could always count on the Duffer brothers for doing is creating a fun watch in my spare time.

12:57 id initially thought when we heard sex education was ending with season 4 (mostly because it was phrased as if it wasn’t canceled ) that it was the choice of the show runners and writers. When it aired it became abundantly clear that wasn’t the case and it was just another situation where they had a full season planned and had to scramble and do what they could mid production to wrap it up because it was quietly canceled and they were “allowed” a final season rather than Netflix just shutting it down as it was (like GLOW). When on of the writers came out and said thats pretty much what happened, it made so much sense. Imagine what would’ve happened to say a show like bojack horseman if the show runners hadn’t had the foresight to say “hey at least give us a heads up before we start producing a season if you’re going to cancel it anyways so we can give it an ending”. Everyone else who’s had the unfortunate opportunity to make a show at Netflix has been getting fucked over since 2019 consistently and ruthlessly and it’s fucking ridiculous. Anyways, any time I hear a “show is ending” atp over at Netflix it’s a dead giveaway for “we cancelled this but we really don’t want backlash for explicitly saying we’ve tossed this show for the 30th time”

i loved stranger things for YEARS as it was my fav show but I'm a firm believer that it could've been finished with 3 seasons (with some more closure of course).

I keep seeing a lot of critique on s4 and I get it, it’s justified… but I unironically love it and have seen it 8 times. And I’ll probably watch it. Three more times until season five comes out. 😂😂

Some excellent points - and I especially agree that it's mostly the newer characters that get the most story & development, so it can feel so lopsided on the character arcs per season. I don't think cringe should be shorthand for bad though, but that may just be my age talking lol. Cringe is so subjective!

Stranger Things would have been better off as an anthology series.

They lost me after they started in with that goofy red scare shit lol.

I used to be a huge fan of this show but the cracks starting showing around s3 and i think it should've ended after that.

As a person named Chrissy who does not watch Stranger Things, the barrage of 'Chrissy Wake up' memes I was sent almost made me lose my mind. Replying 'I don't like this' made it even worse. This show SHOULD have only been 2 seasons, let it pass away.

7:50 YES YES YES!! this is my main issue with season 4 but i find it so hard to articulate for some reason. it just took away so much of this otherworldly feeling that stranger things had going well

it hit me the other day abt how long it’s been running. i was like “aw they were so little!” and remembered they’re only 1-2 years younger than me, so therefore i was just as little. it’s insane

Guys, 20 something year olds playing teens is NOT a problem. Some ppl look like teenagers.

totally agree about the Vecna/mindflayer plot point, by adding Vecna as the explanation behind everything (who, don't get me wrong, I do rly like as a character) they've made the big, main monster into something more accessible, and therefore less scary. when the monster was otherworldy, completely inhuman and unknowable, that's when it was scariest, in my opinion. the "it was actually this one evil boy who grew up to be an evil man who turned into a monster" explanation feels like it dilutes the terror and satisfaction of the scariest parts of the upside down.

I remember some discontent with where the show was at and the delay leading up to season 4, and it satisfied most fans when it released. Chill, people, and let’s just see what happens when it drops.

i know damn well everyone’s gonna preach the boycott and still watch it. a show that huge is basically untouchable. plus i don’t personally think it’s fair that the hard work of writers, producers, costume designers, other actors etc should be diminished bc of one controversial take

With respect, I actually do like Stranger Things. Even the weaker seasons have enough good parts to make the series enjoyable overall. But we do need to hear dissenting opinions and I can totally see where Kayla is coming from. Great channel btw!

Fascinating. Stranger Things qas never for me. I wasnt into a lot of the media it was referencing. So watching people dislike it has been interesting and im glad you've explained more of it.

I don’t even watch stranger things but I love hearing Kayla talk

Argyle also doesn't fit the tone of the finale at all, which is going to be very serious. And they want to focus on the main cast which is WHAT THEY SHOULD'VE DONE FROM THE START rather than introducing new characters and then focusing on them just to kill them off at the end. So I'm honestly glad argyle wont be present, because while I like him, characters like Will Jonathan and Mike NEED the focus. They have been sidelined and need to go back into the spotlight to really bring back the unity and focus of season 1, because the story feels disjointed ever since those 2 were shoved aside (which was season 3 and 4) for fancy new killable characters.

Yeah, It was disappointing that the mind flayer ended up not being its own entity. That being said season 2 was my least favorite and I despise Mike with a burning passion. I like Vecna, I really do, but I would've liked it if he and the mind flayer worked in tandem with it being his second in command while he is the leader. Your palpation connection hit harder than I thought it would and I thank you for that. As for the character killing, it doesn't work with a show like stranger things. An example would be characters from Buffy (spoilers if you are watching or planning on watching it, so heed your own risk) Buffy will introduce characters in the same season and kill them off, the only difference is that with a longer episode count it allows for more things to linger. Season 4 is prominent with the main baddie killing the leader of the initiative and then frankenstining most the soldiers there by the seasons end. While Tara was introduced in season 4, she was killed off in season 6 to push willow over the edge. Then there is Jonathans death in season 7. These are 3 different kinds of deaths: The initiative leader was killed of to show the severity of the new big bad for the rest of the season, this was also the turning point (and I think it was the midseason finale) Tara as described was there for 3 season before dying, this was shock value because the scene preceding it was so terrifying you'd never think she would be in danger, only Buffy and Xander. Her death was one of the saddest in the series and provided an ample reason for Aunt lily to lose her shit and flay a man. Then there is Jonathan, a side character in early seasons then a villain in later, his death was impactful because you'd never think it'd happen to a fan favorite that wasn't part of the main cast. The duffers fail at this because not only did they make it a formula to kill of the likable character that joins for a season then dies Barb and benny Bob Alexi and technically Billy and Now Eddie It would've been bold for them to kill off Max and really show Vecna is a force to be reckoned with and could've set up that now no character was safe in the final season. As much as I was happy for her to live, the emotions we went through with her death is now meaningless and if she dies for real in season 5, it might not have an impact like the duffers want. Sorry for this essay level comment but its what I think.

On point as always, thanks!! 😍😍😍😍

8:55 my one critique to you is that the show is an obvious homage to HP Lovecraft and the concept of dreaming an entity existence is a direct reference to Azathoth (another Lovecraft diety) who is a center of the universe dreaming the entirety of time and space so that it may exist so i enjoyed the reveal as it shows just how the consistent the writers are about their Lovecraft knowledge

all valid points but the whole “with cable they were able to church out 22 episodes in a year” like. im perfectly ok with waiting several years for a tv show to drop if that means the cast and crew arent overworked?

me thinking Stranger Things had reached it's downfall in S2.

RAID SHADOW LEGENDS AD??? DUDE YOUVE OFFICIALLY MADE IT

So happy to see your channel continue to grow! Btw, if you're taking requests, please do "How The Internet Fell Out of Love with Shane dawson"

No writers should start making a show with no end in mind. It was a mistake to continue it past the 1st season. You can tell when something has been renewed without thought of a narrative.

I wish Vecna’s character design had been more scary looking and not looked so much like the grinch with his lil belly pouch

I realize I am very much in the minority in that S1 is my least favorite. It's good, but it took a long time to hook me, and I enjoyed the story a lot more after Max joined the group in S2. I was never a hard-core fan, but I liked watching 3 and 4 a lot. That said, certain characters have not been well served by the writing, and the death of Eddie Munsen made me actually angry with the pointlessness of it. There was no reason whatsoever for him to die narratively; the in-universe logic of it is so weak it's insulting. And it only served to make Eddie one more addition to the show's worst pattern, introducing a character only to kill them for stakes and tragedy, because the core cast have been gifted the thickest possible plot armor. Even as a casual fan of the series, the prioritization of fan service over good story has stuck out to me, and is my biggest criticism when it comes to Stranger Things.

I’d love to hear your thought on The First Shadow!! More backstory about Henry my fav

i will die on the hill that stranger things should've been a miniseries.

I think the first two seasons were the best, I also feel the later seasons have too much going on and ironically too little plot development, while I appreciate seeing just more of the characters lives, I just think it can get a bit muddled what is relevant and important to the plot, and perhaps it's going a bit too off the original track that the first two seasons have

I'm just glad that there is one season left. I will end up watching it, because unfortunately I'm too caught up and involved in the series now to just drop it. Especially with it being the last season. I will not watch spin offs though.

Stuff like this makes me happy that Lisa Ambjörn wanted Young Royals to be a three-act story and got what she wanted. No filler, a complete story as intended completed in 2 years and 8 months from when s1 aired to when s3 will air in March.

no because i've seen people saying that all seasons from stranger things were written from the jump, right before season 1. bro, it's so clear that they just started to come up with ideas throughout the making of the seasons. they originally wanted to make the show a mini series 😭😭 making a connection with the first season doesn't mean it was written from the start, it means the creators WANTED us to think that but actually came up w it last minute

i don’t think the boycott is gonna work, because there is a lot of people that is going to watch the show anyways

honestly season 3 was a drag to get through, i still haven’t finished season 4, i can’t imagine why the decided to stretch beyond two seasons

@8:40 exactly. It felt very shoehorned in (cause it was) and you said it best. Also, no disrespect to Vecna, but the mind flayer was still 100x scarier than him

i feel like the mall season was the beginning of the end with the series

Declining quality!? Declining quality!? Girl, you are watching something else.

God, I love Stranger Things so much. It really sort of got me back into both reading and writing fanfiction (not that I stopped I just sort of ... lulled it). Like, it really is just great. But man... there are some choices that I just fucking hate. A lot of it is what you've touched on and others in the comments. I know a lot of people dropped out during s2, like my partner for example, but I love s2 it's neat. But there are a lot of things throughout the whole series that I really like, like a lot of the world building is just fantastic, and even the characters we meet are super cool, but there are moments where I just go "hmm". Like Kali was cool as, I loved her little rag tag team, but the fact that you can just say "El met a girl she was in the lab with and then she met her mum and then she came back to Hawkins" and you really didn't miss anything really sucks. That and the Duffers have a real weird issue with BIPOC folks. Like the fact that Lucas in S1 was the only person of colour (aside from his family of course), and then in S2 Billy just happens to be racist??? To the only BIPOC? Like, I do know that it's the 80s, and not everyone is going to have the same politics as 2023/2024. And I'm not saying Billy isn't. But it just feels weird to be like "hey so we need a bad guy, and people hate racists, right?" Like, Dacre felt uncomfortable saying the n-word, which I don't blame him. But the Duffers imho did such a poor job at like.... making him racist w/o being overt about it. And this isn't to say that to be racist you need to say the n-word. It's just that, all Billy sees is this kid who seems to be bothering his step-sister, sure he doesn't like her, but he's going to protect her. Oh and he happens to be black. And let's not start on the token-isation (I mean Erica is "Sassy Black Girl"). Stranger Things has a tonne of issues, diversity is a huge one. And it feels REALLY weird to just... not invite Argyle back. I get that he's not a core member of the show, but... he drove people there? I assume they'll just timeskip I suppose to explain why he's gone. It just... it's really disappointing to be a fan of this show. The fandom doesn't help half the time as well.

honestly even without the controversies I thought it should’ve ended like at season 3 tops? Like at the end of season 4 I was just like damn this should’ve ended a while ago why is it still going

Television moving away from 22 episode seasons is a blessing not a curse. I challenge anyone to binge The Good Wife and not come out the other side never wanting to watch tv again

A show massively affected by Covid and the writer's strike. The characters age doesnt help either

i had no idea about that noah snap thing and now im a little pissed off. to me he seems very intitaled and bratty, like the whole thing with doja cat and him just leeking privet dms for shits and giggle rubed me the wroung way, dont get me wroung doja reacted poorly her self but noah knew he could get away with that with no repercutions and now him posting himself as PRO zionost, is dicusting. he was given such a big platform from being om stranger things and hes just being an intitaled little shit