Stranger Things

[krazyhorrorkid]

There needs to be some high level stakes in the finale because as may of you said there feels like there aren’t any after Hopper’s fake out, and we need some characters to actually die (damn that came out wrong, lol)

I honestly had fun so far though, I think it’s great to see our characters outside of Hawkins. There are some issues with pacing but that’s kinda it.
Hoping the finale levels up the game.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Spoiler

Read ahead and sigh, none of the main (good) characters die. Aside from that it sounds pretty good, but I’ll be very disappointed if no big deaths in the final season.

 

[Cwoolboy]

Stranger Things Season 4 is right now tied with Season 3 for my favorite season of the show. Hard to say which one I prefer. This is easily the most emotional season, and the stakes are the highest they have ever been. Also really digging the way it ends, and the set-up for Season 5. Some things disappointed me (like some of the avenues they could have gone with our characters, but chose not to. The way they teased some things, but didn't fully follow-though), but overall this was an incredibly satisfying season with some of the richest, most poignant themes the show has ever had (Still adore how a large part of this season is about dealing with trauma and grief). Can't wait for Season 5.

 

[Legacy]

Oh my god. That was an ordeal.

So many choices that seemed focused on dragging out scenes. So much dialogue that verbally explained scenes we JUST SAW. So many moments that seemed about having a “moment” instead of making any sort of narrative sense.

Episode 8 could have easily been 45 minutes. And episode 9 could have trimmed at least an hour off without losing any narrative stakes.

 

[SeventyOne]

Episode 8 could've been a lot tighter, but overall one of my favorites of the series.

Then episode 9. Needed to be so much shorter.

Spoiler

And the stakes feel incredibly low for "half the town got blowed up." Another major death or two would have helped here -- probably Steve's, which was telegraphed heavily in 8. Instead we get the reignition of a boring love triangle, even as monsters are spilling into our world. Lucas dying instead of Max in the haunted house might have worked as well But instead we get 15 minutes of feel-good reunion that ruins the dark Empire Strikes Back cliffhanger they're going for.

Also the Russia subplot had strained all credulity yet somehow got even stupider.

 

[Brian G.]

While I liked the last 2 episodes of StrangerThings , it didn’t need to be that long. At times, it felt very stretched out. I also don’t think it needed to be a separate volumes. With the stakes raised, it didn’t seem the show met the moment.

 

[HereWeGo]

While I liked the last 2 episodes of StrangerThings , it didn’t need to be that long. At times, it felt very stretched out. I also don’t think it needed to be a separate volumes. With the stakes raised, it didn’t seem the show met the moment.

The only reason it was split into 2 volumes was because the VFX wasn't finished for the last 2 episodes and Netflix was too impatient to just wait until this month to release it as a whole season. And I'm pretty sure they also wanted the show to be eligible for this year's Emmys (which it wouldn't have been if the full season had waited to release until this weekend).

Totally agree with you that it shouldn't have been split but those are definitely the reasons why it was.

 

[Clive]

The only reason it was split into 2 volumes was because the VFX wasn't finished for the last 2 episodes and Netflix was too impatient to just wait until this month to release it as a whole season. And I'm pretty sure they also wanted the show to be eligible for this year's Emmys (which it wouldn't have been if the full season had waited to release until this weekend).

Totally agree with you that it shouldn't have been split but those are definitely the reasons why it was.

Both reasons are true. They also want to minimize churn, which is easier when you’re premiere show is spread across two months.

 

[TheGentTrent]

The only reason it was split into 2 volumes was because the VFX wasn't finished for the last 2 episodes and Netflix was too impatient to just wait until this month to release it as a whole season. And I'm pretty sure they also wanted the show to be eligible for this year's Emmys (which it wouldn't have been if the full season had waited to release until this weekend).

Totally agree with you that it shouldn't have been split but those are definitely the reasons why it was.

I wonder if these last two episodes will have made the now-eliminated Grandfather rule for this year's Emmys ceremony, or if they'll just be submitted for next year.

Both reasons are true. They also want to minimize churn, which is easier when you’re premiere show is spread across two months.

Yeah, I'm fully expecting the final season to also get a split for this reason alone.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Episode 8 could've been a lot tighter, but overall one of my favorites of the series.

Then episode 9. Needed to be so much shorter.

Spoiler

And the stakes feel incredibly low for "half the town got blowed up." Another major death or two would have helped here -- probably Steve's, which was telegraphed heavily in 8. Instead we get the reignition of a boring love triangle, even as monsters are spilling into our world. Lucas dying instead of Max in the haunted house might have worked as well But instead we get 15 minutes of feel-good reunion that ruins the dark Empire Strikes Back cliffhanger they're going for.

Also the Russia subplot had strained all credulity yet somehow got even stupider.

Spoiler

I greatly enjoyed this season; it definitely got me back on board and am eagerly looking forward to the final season. However, I really needed a major death.

 

[ultimateforce]

That last episode made the checkout completely from the series. The final 30 minutes of the final episode had more bored and checking my phone during the dialog. Not a good look.

 

[Captain Tragedy]

Wow y’all are cynical. I thought the last two episodes were wonderful.


Addendum after watching all the way to the end: it’s because it’s the “Empire strikes back” season and some people just don’t know how to react to that type of cliffhanger.

 

[belloq87]

Although I definitely agree with the general criticisms about the split and these two episodes feeling too unnecessarily long, the very last scene of the last episode made me want to see the next episode immediately. So the show's still got me.

 

[Legacy]

Wow y’all are cynical. I thought the last two episodes were wonderful.

View attachment 16671
Addendum after watching all the way to the end: it’s because it’s the “Empire strikes back” season and some people just don’t know how to react to that type of cliffhanger.

It’s basically the same cliffhanger we got in seasons 1 and 2–the characters looking at the sky while Will acts weird. Season 3 had a different cliffhanger because the story was obviously written in a way where they didn’t know it was getting a 4th season.

 

[MikePat]

Oh my god. That was an ordeal.

So many choices that seemed focused on dragging out scenes. So much dialogue that verbally explained scenes we JUST SAW. So many moments that seemed about having a “moment” instead of making any sort of narrative sense.

Episode 8 could have easily been 45 minutes. And episode 9 could have trimmed at least an hour off without losing any narrative stakes.

So many “flashbacks/clip shows” of previous moments from different scenes and seasons too.

 

[Nick]

While I liked the last 2 episodes of StrangerThings, it didn’t need to be that long. At times, it felt very stretched out. I also don’t think it needed to be a separate volumes. With the stakes raised, it didn’t seem the show met the moment.

The only reason it was split into 2 volumes was because the VFX wasn't finished for the last 2 episodes and Netflix was too impatient to just wait until this month to release it as a whole season. And I'm pretty sure they also wanted the show to be eligible for this year's Emmys (which it wouldn't have been if the full season had waited to release until this weekend).

Totally agree with you that it shouldn't have been split but those are definitely the reasons why it was.

Say what you want, but Stranger things is probably Netflix's biggest IP that they have. For that alone, it deserves the split because they wanted people to pay for two months instead of just one if you wanted the full season. Notice that Part 1 came out on May 27th, which means by July 1, you would need to pay for another month in order to watch it.

Both reasons are true. They also want to minimize churn, which is easier when you’re premiere show is spread across two months.

This.

 

[Nick]

So giving my thoughts for the first time here. I know it's a double post, but this is a long post with a lot of thoughts. Basically just letting my mind run loose.

I waited to watch Season 4 until just this past week so I could watch one episode per day and basically run right into episodes 8 & 9. I agree with some of your criticisms, but disagree with quite a few as well. I'm someone that just loves living in the world with these characters, so getting 13 hours of content with them to me was heaven.

The Hawkins stuff worked great as always. California crew was fine, however it's because I care about the characters that kept me interested. Stoner dude was a fun addition to a fairly dull crew. Even Suzie added some energy. I'm not sure if Noah is just not a good actor or if they aren't giving him good material, but his character has not progressed since season one really so i'm gonna blame it at least partly on the writing. Russia stuff I certainly didn't care as much about as much.

Sadie Sink gave an absolutely great performance as Max. This is someone who wasn't part of the original season and I have really grown to love as a part of the crew. Some of her scenes in the finale episode were insanely emotional for some reason to me as i'm not usually someone to get like that over a TV show

Jamie Campbell Bower was also great as One, a really great addition and that was actually a very nice side story that I certainly did not mind as, yes there was a lot of exposition, but we were also saved from even the possibility of an Upside Down origin story show as we got it in this season. Joseph Quinn as Eddie was also another good new addition that I enjoyed, but I felt that his death wasn't earned. I liked him and didn't want him to die, but I think the way he died was incredibly stupid and he would've been fun to have around for another season.. Joe Kerry, Maya Hawke, and Natalia Dyer as Steve, Robin and Nancy were a really fun group to watch as well.

Spoiler-y stuff:

Spoiler

I do want to talk about her dying real quick. I imagine she's going to play some role in next seasons story, whether she's a human mouthpiece for Vecna or whatever it may be. She'll be back, she's not even technically dead currently. If she is really dead though, that's unfortunate because she's the best actor on the whole damn show.

It seems like they're going in a Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2 with Season 4 & 5 and we're likely going to get a big rematch between Eleven and One next season. The last 30 or so minutes of the finale could've been chopped off if they really wanted to. They did another classic Strange Things staple and do the "after the dust settles" scenes where everyone reunites and then they hint to what's going to happen next season.

I agree with @Legacy on the issue of how they did the Will thing again teasing towards next season. I wish they had gone a different direction. I don't think they needed to do that at all, it almost felt like a reason to give him a line. And if you are going to hint something, why do it the exact way you have before? It would've at least been different to do it when El reached out to Max and hint that she still feels his presence in her.

I will say, the cast in season one was much smaller. Tighter. Everything tighter. If you compare that season one cast to this cast you can see how much it has almost grown like a mindflayer. It's gotten too big in many ways. The first season had 10 main cast members and pretty much one core story although there were a few different groups (a Stranger Things staple). This season, the main cast is 21 large. TWENTY-ONE. I believe it gets close to 50 in the cast when you add recurring. There's just a lot to juggle.

To tie it all up, yes, i'm critical of certain things, but that's just me looking back on the season and some things didn't work. However, I will say that this was my favorite season since Season 1. Maybe that's because I did a complete rewatch going into this, idk. Maybe it's because I went to Chrissy's funeral among other things as an extra. But I do know I enjoyed it quite a bit and am looking forward to the final season whenever we get that.

I just think we need to be appreciative when we get a genre show of this quality. With so many mediocre/bad genre shows around, a show that has this kind of budget and the budget is extremely noticeable in the VFX shots and even the location shoots is rare. The VFX shots in this season looked straight out of a really good movie. Genre shows have generally let me down of late. Obi-Wan, The Book Of Boba Fett, Halo, Raised By Wolves, Locke & Key, etc. (Yes there's some quality shows like The Umbrella Academy and The Boys). The next major genre shows on the horizon that are really competing in the big budget genre fare are House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power later this year. It's annoying that we can get this kind of quality at $30M an episode over 9 episodes from Netflix but Disney+ routinely drops $25M per episode on MCU shows and they don't come close to the same quality shows or VFX.

 

[Nick]

Notice how this conversation stopped after everyone watched it almost right away this weekend? With how long the episodes were and with Netflix wanting to keep people on their service more consistently, I feel like it was a BIG missed opportunity to not do a week to week release with this season (or at the very least maybe drop the first 2-3 and then week to week). The speculation talk for what's going to happen and who's going to die would've been insane in between episodes and all you have to do is look at what happened once it got to the end of Volume 1 and theories were flying. It would've been fun to have that for a full season.

Also, as i've really slept with it, I can't stop thinking about this season and I honestly may be willing to put this above Season 1 as my favorite of any Stranger Things season. I just really love almost the whole season and the highs for me are really high and there are far more highs than I can think of in terms of lows.

 

[TheGentTrent]

Notice how this conversation stopped after everyone watched it almost right away this weekend? With how long the episodes were and with Netflix wanting to keep people on their service more consistently, I feel like it was a BIG missed opportunity to not do a week to week release with this season (or at the very least maybe drop the first 2-3 and then week to week). The speculation talk for what's going to happen and who's going to die would've been insane in between episodes and all you have to do is look at what happened once it got to the end of Volume 1 and theories were flying. It would've been fun to have that for a full season.

Also, as i've really slept with it, I can't stop thinking about this season and I honestly may be willing to put this above Season 1 as my favorite of any Stranger Things season. I just really love almost the whole season and the highs for me are really high and there are far more highs than I can think of in terms of lows.

I’m sure Netflix would have loved to move towards a week-to-week model for episode releases ever since the second season aired. The problem is that they’ve locked themselves into being known as the “binge streamer” that any attempt to move away from this format would be met with a huge backlash and being accused of “corporate greed”. And at a time where they’re basically in panic mode, now’s not to the time to start experimenting.

 

[Nick]

I’m sure Netflix would have loved to move towards a week-to-week model for episode releases ever since the second season aired. The problem is that they’ve locked themselves into being known as the “binge streamer” that any attempt to move away from this format would be met with a huge backlash and being accused of “corporate greed”. And at a time where they’re basically in panic mode, now’s not to the time to start experimenting.

I’m honestly not sure it would’ve received an overwhelming amount of backlash. People are used to weekly releases on every other streamer now. People also love speculating. I’m sure there would've been some people upset, but they would've gotten over it quickly as soon as they started watching.

I also doubt it would've been entirely weekly. I think they could've done a really cool 6-week event. Basically, drop two episodes per week for the first three weeks and then drop Epsiode 7 in week four, Episode 8 in week five and the finale episode in the sixth week. That still would've taken you from a May 27th premiere to a July 1 finale, but the show would've been far more in the pop culture zeitgeist throughout the entirety of that time frame and fans could've played along more in a WandaVision way guessing what's going to happen next.

Oh, and it's very unlikely that they wished they were doing weekly in season 2 tho. Remember, when Stranger Things 3 released, none of these other steaming services existed yet except Hulu and Prime. Neither were doing weekly releases. Disney+ started it, Prime Video followed, and so on with other services that followed like Paramount+, Apple TV+ and HBO Max. The only thing you could sort of count as weekly was GoT, but that was was HBO, which really wasn't a streaming show.