Sci-Fi Stranger Things (Netflix) - Part 1

[MadVillainy]

I get trying to preserve a bit of secrecy regarding the final episodes of the season, but I do have to roll my eyes a little at the cast and crew playing coy about Will (almost certainly) being gay.

Like, come on, y’all. Come ON.

I agree. And I can't even call what they're doing as "hinting" because It's so obvious. It's starting to feel a bit like queerbaiting. Especially if they don't follow through this season

But my main problem is that they haven't given Will much to do other than stuff involving his sexuality. At least Robin has a pretty good role in the main plot, she has a defined personality (although it did change quite a bit from s3 to s4), and she interacts with a large amount of the cast. And that's on top of her being lesbian. Her sexuality is a character trait not the main definition of the character.

And it's weird because the show usually does a good job of not making race, sexuality, sexual identity, economic status, etc. the only defining trait of the character. Except for Will post season 2 imo

 

[MadVillainy]

No, no. Not Eddie. The stoner with the pizza van. Eddie was a great addition.

Oh well then I disagree.

At least Argyle doesn't take up screentime really. It's not like the how stops to give Argyle his own plot, his own arc, etc. We don't get extended scenes or Argyle by himself or stuff like that.

Is he superfluous in that the plot, at least so far, moves forward with or without him? For sure. But it's not like him being there really takes anything away from the other characters necessarily. If Argyle is removed that doesn't affect the screentime of other characters. Like if you think about it, removing Argyle doesn't give more screentime to Will, Mike, and Jonathan for instance.

Argyle isn't like the whole Cheaper by the Dozen subplot in Utah, the whole Yuri thing, the basketball captain, or even Eddie who I really like. Those scenes, plots, etc. actually take a good chunk of screentime and even potential development from the longer tenured cast members

TL;DR: Argyle really isn't taking away from anyone even if he's not needed. So I don't mind him much. He is very one-note, but it's not like he's taking away from anything.

 

[henzINNIT]

Another solid season so far for me. It's huge, borders on unwieldy at times, but I was never bored no matter how long the episodes ran. Can't blame the showrunners for how Stranger Things has inflated. They clearly love these characters, as do I, and the cast is ever expanding. They basically need to be split up at this point for a chance to do something. One group lost in the shuffle during this run, but I don't really mind as they're pretty much the least interesting characters.

Steve remains the MVP.

 

[MadVillainy]

Someone needs to call CPS on Joyce Byers for those outfits/hairstyles she has Will and El wearing
Even without a lot of money there's some decent finds at a thrift shop or Ross/Marshalls

 

[Brother Jack]

I agree. And I can't even call what they're doing as "hinting" because It's so obvious. It's starting to feel a bit like queerbaiting. Especially if they don't follow through this season

But my main problem is that they haven't given Will much to do other than stuff involving his sexuality. At least Robin has a pretty good role in the main plot, she has a defined personality (although it did change quite a bit from s3 to s4), and she interacts with a large amount of the cast. And that's on top of her being lesbian. Her sexuality is a character trait not the main definition of the character.

And it's weird because the show usually does a good job of not making race, sexuality, sexual identity, economic status, etc. the only defining trait of the character. Except for Will post season 2 imo

I am hoping and kind of expecting them to do something significant with Will either at the end of this season or in the next. Because it is odd that they've barely done anything with him since Season 2 and are now pretty heavily implying he's gay and maybe in love with Mike. It needs to lead somewhere meaningful for Will as a character, especially since he was the centerpiece of so much of the first two seasons.

 

[Holy Slapper]

BAH GAWD, that episode 4. No wonder the Reel Rejects reaction to it has almost 400K views. A 9.6 score at IMDB. Finale, which I watched last night, has a 9.7 score. Sadie Sink deserves an award for her performance in episode 4. Kate Bush topping iTunes and Spotify charts too.

 

[Sawyer]

Tea.

 

[Ninjablade]

Guess we've got our answer on the Will's birthday thing. Poor kid can't catch a break

 

[Brother Jack]

That kind of sucks, but at least they're being upfront about it.

 

[MadVillainy]

Yeah I saw some chatter on Reddit of people saying "No way the Duffer Bros forget" and all I can think of is...yeah that's not the wildest thing for them to forget.

It would've been nice if they did but doesn't really bother me. I even forgot as well.

 

[samsnee]

Rewatching Season 1. Damn those kids look even younger than I remember, especially Finn.

 

[MadVillainy]

I am hoping and kind of expecting them to do something significant with Will either at the end of this season or in the next. Because it is odd that they've barely done anything with him since Season 2 and are now pretty heavily implying he's gay and maybe in love with Mike. It needs to lead somewhere meaningful for Will as a character, especially since he was the centerpiece of so much of the first two seasons.

And the weird thing is: Will has the easiest arc of The Party since Lucas in season 1. It's weird that they're just not following through with that.
Will has always been the smallest, "wimpiest" of the group. A very basic but still interesting arc would be him finding his bravery. Rewatching season 3, there's the attack at Hopper's cabin and Lucas picks up an axe to fight the monster when Eleven is in danger. It would've been cool if that was Will instead.
I guess there's too much going on

 

[Havok83]

I was shocked to learn this was getting a 5th season. This one feels very final like the show is ending. I wonder how they raise the stakes after this bc they have gone big

 

[Arachnerd]

Having Vecna win would be a good cliffhanger. I feel like at this point they're gonna need to have the Upside Down start to fully leak into Hawkins and its secret no longer be contained. There's only so much they can push the "parents and townsfolk never figure out what's going on" narrative until it starts to get tiresome.

 

[Albright]

I am hoping and kind of expecting them to do something significant with Will either at the end of this season or in the next. Because it is odd that they've barely done anything with him since Season 2 and are now pretty heavily implying he's gay and maybe in love with Mike. It needs to lead somewhere meaningful for Will as a character, especially since he was the centerpiece of so much of the first two seasons.

Will was painting something in the first episode, what we havent seen. I think he knows, what the mindflayer will to at the end of the season (invading Hawkins).
I think Vecna will be defeated in the final of this season. But the mindflayer could start his war through his portals

 

[MadVillainy]

Will was painting something in the first episode, what we havent seen. I think he knows, what the mindflayer will to at the end of the season (invading Hawkins).
I think Vecna will be defeated in the final of this season. But the mindflayer could start his war through his portals

I can see that.
Just hope we don't have to wait another 2-3 years haha. But seeing what they're doing with the episodes I'd bank on it

 

[Albright]

Vecna is probably the most scariest thing, I’ve seen for years (even scarier than Pennywise).
I have to check with my son his room for monsters every evening. Since last week I pray every time we won’t find Vecna lol

 

[Kane52630]

Finished it, what a wild ride. The pandemic probably helped the show production-wise because it looks so much more well crafted than in previous seasons and it's got some of the best shots of the series. I'm sure people on here and online will hate it for some reason, so i'm not even gonna go through reading the previous pages.

I didn't mind the longer length at all even if I felt it at times.

That Kate Bush song was perfect, especially in episode 4.

Had goosebumps when Prophecies/Pruit Igoe/Akhnaten started playing.

No wonder they had to break off the season and what a great way to end the first half.

Vecna is pretty much a combination of Pennywise, Hellraiser, Freddy Kruger, and Dr. Powell from The Void.

 

[kguillou]

I just thought of something and i dont know if its been brought up here but..could Mike’s unusual lack of screen time this season be due to Finn filming Ghostbusters? Like maybe they only had Finn for a limited amount of time. Wonder if those two productions clashed with each other.

 

[Drizzle]

I just thought of something and i dont know if its been brought up here but..could Mike’s absence this season be due to Finn filming Ghostbusters? Wonder if those two productions clashed with each other.

According to Wikipedia, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was filmed between July and October 2019, before production began on Stranger Things 4 since it was originally supposed to come out in summer 2020 but then Covid happened. This appears to be just another case of Mike getting the short end of the stick, although the same could be said for Will and Jonathan since theirs is the least important storyline...so far, at least.

 

[Ninjablade]

At this point, those three really just appear to be a taxi service. I'm guessing in Vol. 2

Spoiler

They'll arrive at the NINA base at the same time as the military, so they can get El back to Hawkins to confront Vecna.

 

[Lip]

As I saw in a review: "longer doesn't equal better". I was bored several times here and I believe the season would've been much better with 50-60 minutes episodes.

I did not enjoy the whole plot with the russians. I didn't care for that storyline. Will, Mike and co did almost nothing. Even the chemistry between some characters didn't work for me. Like Steve and Dustin were a stand out last season, with a genuine great chemistry, but in this it felt forced. Same with Maya.

And their attempt for comedy this season was cringey to me.

Overall 6/10

 

[Iceman]

Binging this right now. Enjoying it a lot although the Hopper Russia stuff is the one aspect I feel like skipping through.

 

[Holy Slapper]

Predictably, sesskasays reaction to episode 4 did not disappoint.

 

[BatsAndNights]

I like the Russia stuff but at the same time, its very existence is kinda annoying to me because I very much believe Hopper should've stayed dead. Because for me personally, them just bringing him back for season 4 (especially when the ending of season 3 was so ****ing good) now loses any drama revolving around potential key characters dying.

Spoiler

To the point of where that was honestly at the back of my mind during all of episode 4. If Hopper stayed dead? Good God the tension in that episode would've been cataclysmic. But with that in mind, it definitely gives the feeling of plot armour for the rest of the main cast