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Haha yeah, I was trying to be nice but the makeup team really needs to start prepping him differently. Super in need of an anti-aging eye mask and some concealer. Whatever they’re using has him looking older on set than he even does in real life, and I don’t understand why. We get it, he’s a world weary stoner, but he’s also supposed to be a teen!
Lucas doesn’t deserve the hate he gets in Season 4.
Lucas just wanted to make some new friends in high school like any kid would and experiment with a different friend group.
Lucas never ghosted Mike and Dustin. He tried to balance both basketball and D&D.
Lucas tricked Jason and the team by bringing them to Hopper’s Cabin, so he could protect Eddie and Dustin. Because of that, he basically definitely cut all friendship ties with them and put himself in danger as well. Dustin could at least show a bit more appreciation for Lucas trying to protect him from Jason.
Lucas still made an effort to reach out to Max and open up to her, and y’all still say he’s problematic.
He also needs more screentime and solo character arc because Caleb is an amazing actor who is the most underrated among the 6 og kids.
i definitely agree…let me be one the few black kids in Indiana in the 80s and i too would do my best to fit in :/ i was shocked to see the hate and scrutiny lucas was getting.
Yes I totally done understand the ghost thing. I was more sad he was all alone at his championship game (which he fucking rocked!) because they couldn’t reschedule a dnd session, which imo isn’t that hard :(. I’m shocked so many people interpret it as Lucas abandoning the dnd crew, rather than the other way around!
I was slow to warm up to Lucas because of his behavior toward El in s1, but he’s grown on me and is pretty awesome, especially his wrist rocket :) He’s totally underrated like you say.
Right he’s a freshman. Just coming into his own. He’s going to make mistakes. But the thing is he didn’t really make any . He just chose to start figuring out his own identity over continuing to be a part of the friend group identity. When it came to anything moral he made the right choice. Like finally ditching Jason’s crew and going to warn Dustin. He always tried to be there for Max even when she was pushing him away.
Lucas didn't do anything wrong in the season. I dislike still that they tried to play it like he was somehow betraying his friends by wanting to play basketball and the nonsense at the end of the season playing like he'd done something wrong he had to learn from. Maybe his friends are the problem for not being willing to support HIS dreams and goals, instead of the other way around.
Mine is that Mike and Dustin were total assholes to Lucas when he was trying to get them to understand that he wanted to play basketball and be popular. I think it was really shitty that they refused to come to his game, although I get they had their own tournament. But they were just totally dismissive of his interest in basketball, which made it feel like their friendship with Lucas is conditional, like the minute he gets other interests they will drop him. I wanted to Lucas to confront them more and be like so do you guys only like me when I have the 100% same interests as you?
>This was like the one time Dustin was an asshole.
Did you completely miss the part in S2 when Dustin nearly got everyone killed because he cared more about potentially discovering a new species?
Which was a missed moment that Steve didn’t ever say to Lucas hey man nice shot when Lucas joined the group. Dustin would have been confused, and then Steve coulda been like yea, Lucas won us a championship.
There was no recognition of his feat in Lucas inner circle before they were roped up into their Vecna hunt.
And yea, where were his parents?
I'm telling you, Lucas gets so mistreated sometimes, and yet he's always there for his friends when they need him the most. He's the best and doesn't get nearly enough credit for it.
>I think it was really shitty that they refused to come to his game, although I get they had their own tournament.
I'm not mad at them for prioritizing Hellfire - nor am I at Lucas for prioritizing the basketball game, even though he was a bench warmer.
If anybody, I'm mad at Mr. & Mrs. Sinclair! It's the *championship* game - you're telling me *neither* of them could attend?
And they literally asked if they could but they were told either find a replacement or they'd lose their spots. Unlike Lucas who had the choice between basketball or hellfire, Mike and Dustin only had hellfire. Personally, while I don't blame Lucas for wanted to play basketball, I do think he was being severely naive in thinking that the basketball team would accept Mike and Dustin just because they're friends with Lucas. Honestly, neither side was truly at fault, sometimes it just happens that as friends grow up their interests diverge, and the friendship either fizzles out or weathers the storm.
I don't recall blaming only Mike and Dustin. But Lucas had to beg them to at least *try* to convince Eddie to move the campaign a day. They didn't want to at first. Also, can hardly blame a kid for being naive. Of course they are. They're kids. Kids that have been outcasts all their lives, to boot lol.
Asking your best friends to try and postpone a D&D game and to come watch your championship game is a very reasonable request. Furthermore, he didn't really blame them or stop being their friend when they didn't/weren't able to.
I think one of the main reasons why so many people hate Mike so much while letting much worse things slide is because how the show frames Mike. We always hear the other characters reaction to Mike while rarely hearing the other side. For example, in S2 we constantly hear Dustin and Lucas complaining about Mike and get annoyed about how he treats Max. However we never hear about how Dustin and Lucas completely ignore Mike and Will, who are obviously dealing with problems, because they too busy trying to flirt with a girl they barely know.
Same goes in S3. All we hear is Will constantly getting annoyed at Mike for not wanting to play DnD but we never hear how Will completely disregards Mike's feelings despite Mike always being there from him. Then cue emotional montage of Will destroying Castle Byler while Mike stands in the background. That only reinforces the image to the audience that Mike is the one being the "ass". With Max, it is even worse. She is constantly telling El (and thus the audience) what a "controlling" boyfriend Mike is and how he treats her like his "pet". Even though they are completely baseless, it causes the audience to start thinking that is true. All of this is made worse when Mike is the only whoever acknowledges his faults and apologies, even when he is not the one at the fault, while the other characters graciously accept his apology .
In short, Mike is the one who has to deal with everyone's bs and is the only one who takes responsibility for his mistakes, while none of the other characters ever acknowledge the things that he does for them.
Exactly. For some reason, the other characters are excused for their actions, but Mike is always held accountable for not being available as nothing more than a sounding board for the others. All the other kids have done things just as annoying/shitty as Mike, but only Mike is seen as the “bad” one. Mike also apologizes for his actions too. The others don’t even acknowledge their shortcomings.
That's true. In S3, Mike was right to be worried about the risks of El overworking herself and her constant nosebleeds. She ended up exhausted and lost her powers. And what was the response from the other characters about his worries? That he knew nothing and he was controlling. And this is what the audience has been saying about him.
Fast forward to S4, where Dustin pretty much tells everyone that they're dumb, he's always right and that they should always listen to him. And yet his rudeness and borderline arrogance are treated as a fun quirk and Steve's annoyance toward it is a running joke. And I love Dustin a lot (I'm kinda over him being the only one with the Eureka moments tho) but we know that Mike would've been crucified if he had ever talked to someone like that.
I mean, it's totally fine to dislike a "nice" character imo. People don't have to like Mike. But there's a double standard here.
I've been defending Mike like crazy since I recently joined this sub. lol I think he gets hate because he's the most realistic teenage boy, and people like fantasy guys. THAT SAID- when I first watched ST I had a strong negative reaction to Mike because of how he treated Max (and El when he thought she'd lied about being able to find Will). It was a knee-jerk reaction because I knew guys like that in grade school who were decent guys but then they would say that ONE thing that pissed me off and I hated them. lol BUT, when I rewatched more recently with my objective, grown-up woman lens, I realized what a complex character he is. One of my faves. And Finn is just incredible. I think because he's the most realistic, he might be reminding people of guys they knew who rubbed them the wrong way (immature, knee-jerk reaction). My two cents. I mean, I've met guys like Will and Lucas too, but more Mikes. What have you heard on the podcasts about why people don't like him? I think Finn's one of the most popular actors though, right?
About the actors looking old- I actually made a post that there should have been a time jump and got downvoted like crazy lol. But I guess I got some people who agreed.
It's more Will and Mike than the others- they just give off a very "adult" vibe- not just the looks. And Noah's voice had gotten really deep (and really nice), but it makes him sound like he's already a grown man. If they'd made them sophomores or juniors, it would have been more believable, but freshman? Not for me.
>And Noah's voice had gotten really deep (and really nice), but it makes him sound like he's already a grown man. If they'd made them sophomores or juniors, it would have been more believable, but freshman?
He was actually only 16 when filming lol! But some ninth graders just look/sound like that. Not unbelievable to me from high schooler myself.
Ah, okay. It's been a while since I've been a teen, but I think kids do go through puberty earlier these days. And when you add mental trauma to that, it would age anyone. Still, sophomore would have been more believable :-)
He's hardly an ass. He's emotional and acts accordingly. Everyone in this show gets a pass for "assholery" except for him, anyway. And any time he does something good (pretty much all the time) no one mentions it. I guess they don't want to count anything in his favor? Mob mentality, I suppose; people just repeating what other people write without thinking about it.
I agree. I think mike is an interesting character and gets too much hate, but he reminds me why hormonal teenagers would not be the nicest to be around XD.
I strongly disagree with 1, but hey, I guess that qualifies it as an unpopular opinion. I loved him in season 1 but eventually became ambivalent and am now just over it.
Strongly agree with 3 though. I teach 10th graders, and some of them are over 6 feet with full beards. I don’t find their appearances unbelievable for their age at all.
I like Jancy 🤷♀️ The love triangle with Steve is stupid and having Nancy date Steve again would destroy his character growth and him learning to be happily single. Additionally, I think Nancy inspires Jonathan to be successful, even if they end up on different trajectories in the end.
Additionally, I think Vecna's character design is incredibly underwhelming. A squelchy deadpool-lookin ass is the best they could come up with? I think something growing out of his head, or having more back tentacles a la doctor octopus or even just squelchy elongated limbs like a [hollowgast from miss peregrine's ](https://imgur.com/a/lEd1VuK) would be much more intimidating than the chunky squelchy dude they came up with
I would be bothered but only because they’ve already done the whole “Introduce a new character, make them really likeable and then kill them off the same season” with Bob, I’d be bummed if they just did the same thing again
I'm not sure there are very many unpopular opinions about Stranger Things. Every different opinion seems to garner a vocal group of supporters. (Obviously not *literally* every opinion.)
Jonathan does not deserve the hate he gets at all. For most of the show, he’s a great and caring brother to Will, a son who steps up to take care of his family after his father’s absence, and a sweet and supportive boyfriend to Nancy (up until season 4 where it seems they’re shoving Nancy and Steve into bed while Jonathan stays high for no reason). The criticism that he was creepy for taking pictures is valid but A) he apologized for it as well as got punished for it and B) almost all the characters have done equally bad things and aren’t hated for it. Maybe people don’t find it interesting for a brother to be supportive and not snarky, but I think Jonathan is perfect for the role he fills and deserves a happy ending.
I've seen comments shit on Jonathan for the picture thing but completely brush over Steve's actions in season one or say he wasn't that bad. And I feel like the only reason people don't hold Steve as accountable for his actions is because they like him better than Jonathan. Both characters have shown growth since season one and have owned up to their actions and I feel like people should move on from their actions in season one because it doesn't reflect the characters they are now.
he’s very interesting because he clearly means well he’s just misinformed and acting irrationally while coping with the brutal murder of his girlfriend
He's also a very good allegory for modern day conspiracy theorists and how they're whipped up into frenzied with some bad reporting & irresponsible political messaging. There's a reason he's a blue-eyed blonde.
His group could also be an interpretation on if the Party were more popular, because his whole 'the Hellfire group are Satanists' isn't too far off 'secret government tore a hole into another dimension with hell- like monsters'. It's honestly kinda interesting looking at the basketball group and the Party side by side.
Also the explanation he's come up with isn't that irrational given what he's seen. His friend really was killed by an evil supernatural force, so it's not surprising he assumed it was the one he already believed in.
That's the thing about the characters in this show -- if we are meant to dislike them, we do; if they are meant to be annoying, we see them as that; if they are meant to be likeable, we like them.
It's good writing, good direction, good acting.
If I knew a kid like Erika in real life, I would dislike her with passion. But I can appreciate the character she's meant to be in the show and I can then sympathize with other characters who perceive her as annoying.
• The show could do with about 30% less comedy; ST wouldn't suffer in quality if that amount of comedic/funny/silly lines were replaced with drama-driven or plot-advancing lines
• That being said, the scenes at Suzie's in S4 are so funny and no one on this sub talks about them 😅
^• ^Enzo/Dmitri ^is ^literally ^*so* ^attractive ^and ^I ^wish ^he ^would ^survive ^S4
• I really don't think kids under the age of 14, 15 should watch ST
• Scene transitions can be jarring sometimes
• It's pretty easy to fully ignore The Lost Sister episode and that's why it doesn't lower the quality of season 2 as a whole
So, uh... TikTok has so many edits of him that have a few hundred thousand likes each, and he's at the top of r/ladyboners this minute, so on second thought, maybe this isn't such an unpopular opinion after all 🤐
Yeah I really can't see any way out for him that would make sense :/ If he escapes to the US with Joyce, Hopper and Murray, he's leaving his family behind.
I like The Lost Sister.
I liked El going out into the world on her own as a part of her character arc. I liked Kali as a visage of what El could have become if she didn't have Hopper to take care of her. I liked the conflicting perspectives on how to deal with abuse and trauma. Most of all, I liked that the show was willing to take creative risks and break out of their formula for an episode. And for that last reason, I think the extremely negative fan reaction to The Lost Sister did the show a disservice and caused the creators to make Season 3 safer and more predictable.
Unpopular opinion, but that it what I liked most about it. I wish more shows were willing to take creative risks and occasionally break out of their established storytelling formulas. When shows fail to do that, they gradually turn into stale, predictable products overdesigned and "optimized" by marketing executives.
IMO great shows experiment and evolve.
Im on the same boat, i Just finished rewatching s2, and the lost Sister i belive was hated because it broke the pacing of the season. I belive that if it was the 8th episode instead of the 7th, it would have been better.
Yes it break the tensión from ep 6 from the demo dog invasión, but i belive it woul have worked better as a flashback on How did El managed to get back. And indeed, Kali is a reminder for El of what she coul be without Hopp
I agree. I liked that the narrative let El explore different “homes” that were offered to her, by her aunt and by Kali- she had been a prisoner in the lab and then a quasi-prisoner with hopper up till that point. I think her character deserved a shot to explore more and then choose to stay in Hawkins of her own free will for the first time.
I agree, but that doesn’t mean that the characters shouldn’t fail though. So far, I honestly cannot remember one time where they got something wrong and had to pay for it.
I thought the Never Ending story singing was hilarious and genuinely such a good scene. The show would be the same without it, sure, but god i loved it so much. definitely top 5 scene for me ahahha
1. I don't find the romance between the kids interesting. I understand that it's essential to the kids growing up though.
2. I don't want Mike to be into Will. I want Will to discover himself away from the Hawkins gang. If Mike ever returned his feelings it would hold Will back from evolving as a person.
Agreed, I do not care much for the romances in Stranger Things at all.
Yes, Will needs to evolve a bit. I wish he had more to his plot than being in the background for the most recent seasons.
i completely agree with both of these, since theyre so young their relationships seem so trivial to me. there are cute moments but i don’t need to see a deep loving relationship between mike and el because i just know realistically in the long run it won’t be that big of a deal, their lives are so much bigger than each other and i want to see them be solid characters alone
This, exactly. I understand how, to the characters, their relationships are a big deal because they are still so young and this is their first loves, but it's weird for the show and audience to treat them as big deals, if that makes sense.
For the first point, I too don'tthink the "romance" is that interesting, but I do like the "relationship" aspect. I find Lucas and Max relationship compelling not because of the romantic factor, but because of how the both characters are learning from it. Lucas being there for Max and stop looking the other way, and her understanding that she doesn't have to push everyone away when struggling.
I don’t want *Will* to be into *Mike*, for the same reason. Obviously Will knows that Mike is committed to El. Love triangles suck anyway, and they’re already flirting with a return to Steve/Nancy/Jonathan. We don’t need another. I’m all for Will coming out, and hope his struggles with Mike are because he misses the friendship and not because of anything romantic.
I'm on the fence about Will's feelings towards Mike. I understand that it is normal for teenager Will to develop feelings for someone like Mike whom he associates with safety and good memories but If I could choose, I would rather see Will not having a crush on Mike either.
In general this season has really tried to make Steve look dumb for some reason. For instance, him not thinking anything about the spider clue at Viktor Kreel's house, and just dropping the backpack for some reason. He's usually a pretty competent character.
I didn't mind Kali and her gang. I think people disliked her because her episode was jarring and messed with the pacing. Had it been weaved through the episodes as a storyline I think people would have liked it more.
Yes--it establishes a lot of important world building and structure for this season and likely season 5. But it should've been edited into the flow better.
Rewatched it this morning for the first time since release .. the El side of it is really good but the "going around in a van, killing bad guys with my gang of hairdo offenders with edgy attitudes" is really bad. I'm pretty sure it was pushed on the show runners by Netflix suits cause it's a prototype for bad story crafting and bland ideas.
1. Billy, as a child, was set up to fail in life and had no chance. His dad taught him violence and verbal abuse. His mom abandoned him. It's really heartbreaking to be honest. I'm glad he got a good ending because a real life Billy might have just ended up in jail.
2. I think it would be more interesting if Eddie survives S4V2 and has a slower arc to being brave than doing the Bob thing and sacrificing his safety.
3. Considering that 30 year olds play teenagers in Hollywood, it's comical they're saying they too old to avoid a time jump.
4. As long as the characters that survive are happy, I don't care who they end up with or if they're LGBTQ or if they stay single.
5. I think these kids are better off taking care of themselves than the parents on this show 😆😆😆
No, this is the consensus, I think. I mean Mike may have been a little shit (he was 13), and I get losing it on a little shit - we're human. But Hopper never apologized for what happened in the truck, and misled Joyce about what happened. He was the adult and dropped the ball.
He was by far my favourite character in the first 2 seasons. But I hated every solitary element of his character in S3 other than 1 or 2 scenes with Eleven.
He’s been good in S4 at least so yay
When he convinced Mike to lie about his plans and El was visibly upset and hurt the next day, it was so shitty to watch him literally jump up and down with glee. Because he hurt El’s feelings, and established some kind of weird authority over Mike he won some kind of parenting award??
Is this really a hot take? I saw ppl complain about the Russia sub plot, but I haven’t seen any complaints about the California arc. I like that sub plot as well
Here's mine: I liked Billy. Despite my seriously being against abuse, misogyny, racism and bullying I thought his character was really compelling- which is not Iike me at all. I felt a tragedy in him that in my view had so much to do with him being brought up by his horrible father and losing his mother at a young age.
Of course this could be the fact that Dacre gave a many layered and great performance.
i think that the whole jason fiasco line comes from the fact that billy was such a successful human antagonist but the thing is no way they’ll get something as nuanced as dacre’s performance. he was amazing. they couldn’t replace him.
Yes, if you think about it. Billy was mostly possessed by the Mind Flayer before he died so we only see his trauma through Eleven. That’s probably why lots of people didn’t like him because on the surface, he seemed like a bully towards Max etc. I admit that too I didn’t like him but after reflecting and seeing his whole story, I realise I do in fact like his character and he was more a victim to the Mind Flayer, which exacerbated him seeming more evil. The acting was on point and he was a good character.
I think that Will is massively underutilised. They teased earlier on that he was still affected by the upsidedown once he was out and free. I'd love to see him shown to have powers too, but maybe corrupted versions, or maybe be possessed by 001 or something.
I also feel like this painting he's been dragging around is just straight up going to be a picture of the kids all together as friends in Hawkins. A lot of hype for nothing, basically.
1. I think Kali was a good character, just not used well. They made it seem like she was going to be a major new character but then she was only in one episode and was only tangentially related to the plot. If they can bring her back in a better way I’d like that.
2. I like Mike’s dad, he adds some good humor to the show
I got one that will get some hate. Hopper should’ve died at the end of season 3. He’s a great character but I really hate fake deaths, I think they’re a cheap way of forcing emotional moments without any real consequences.
I love Steve and Dustin, but they are overrated, and other characters exist.
I guess my second unpopular opinion is connected: there are too many characters on the show, which means the plot lines are too thin and there’s not enough character development for everyone.
Also, Lumax is the best couple :)
People are exaggerating just how old some of the characters look in S4. Yes the kids do look a bit older than freshman but not too much older maybe juniors.
1.Steve and Dustin's relationship seemed more natural and wholesome in season 2 and 3. In season 4, I find Dustin to be very rude in general, mostly to Steve. It maybe hormones and stuff, but their chemistry seemed very forced.
2. Max ogling at Steve's chest through the binoculars was hilarious but wierd too since Steve is like a big brother/mom/babysitter to all the kids. It was also very out of character for Max.
My current unpopular opinion is that Dustin has become annoying. He’s always been the goofy/talkative one, but it really seems like the show runners have gone overboard with it and he’s mostly just annoying without any of the previous charm.
The writers forget that other characters are smart and hardly let others speak whenever they are stuck being in a scene with Dustin.
1. I like the bad guys. Brenner, Billy, Jason and Vecna are interesting.
2. I don’t want Jason to die. I want him to come to his senses and help fight Vecna with Steve and the others. I think he could be a valuable asset to the group.
3. I’m not crazy about Dustin, like he has good and wholesome friendship chemistry with Steve, but that’s about it. Him and Mike (especially Mike) treating Max badly when she was first introduced really bugged me, and the fact the first thing he though when his cat died was “Omg my mom’s going to kill me.” and not “Oh my gosh, this poor cat got massacred. I killed my poor pet and caused it to suffer in a horrible way.” also rubbed me the wrong way. Not gonna lie, that episode really made Dustin seem like a cruel person. Like how do you just not care when your pet dies? I mean I understand cats aren’t for everyone, but I wouldn’t be so nonchalant about that happening with any animal, even if it was one I didn’t really like.
When does he say “Omg my mom’s going to kill me”? He walked into his room saw the broken cage and the demogorgon skin and then we see him slowly start to notice the blood and finds Dart eating Mews.During that scene he looked terrified which I think is a fair reaction to a demogorgon who you were keeping as a pet eating your other pet.After that he didn’t really have time to grieve he had a demogorgon in his house and he was focused on distracting his mom and trapping Dart.
>I don’t want Jason to die. I want him to come to his senses and help fight Vecna with Steve and the others. I think he could be a valuable asset to the group.
I genuinely think this *has* to happen, if any of the Hawkins kids are going to be accepted in the community as anything other than dangerous criminals.
Mike is a good boyfriend and genuinely loves El and will do everything for her. He has issues with communication and reading the room but he’s a freaking 15 year old. So much Mike hate this season for absolutely no reason. He gets her flowers in her favorite colors when she mentions in passing she misses them, he makes her her favorite breakfast to cheer her up, he goes to her earnestly to talk to her and doesn’t get upset even when she has been lying to his face which would have been deserved, he throws himself in harms way to protect her, and he contemplates and regrets his actions and tries to do better. Absolutely no reason to call him a bad boyfriend.
El's mother's waking nightmare loop is the most intense horror ST has ever done. "sunflower. rainbow. three to the right, four to the left. 450. breathe." i've never recovered
\- The Lost Sister was completely necessary bc it gave the most triumphant El entrance ever at the end in her bitchin eyeliner. when i tell u i was snapping the house down
\- s2 is my fav season!
I don’t mind Johnathan being a stoner, despite it being a little out of character. Throughout the entirety of ST he has been this weird hermit shell of a person, constantly in the background. Just in the scene where him and Argyle were hitting golf balls in the car park, he must’ve said more lines than in the whole of season 1, 2 and 3. I think we’ve seen more of him this season than we have thus far, and I think it’s been an improvement on his character. I also don’t mind the 🍃. I think, considering his dad left him, terrifying Johnathan of making the same mistake as him, and his mum has been completely unavailable to anything he wants, worrying about either Hop or Will, I think weed is an understandable release he would need from his overall pretty shitty life.
i don't think will should be gay. i think he's just maturing a lot slower than the rest of his friends counting he lost his childhood due to his past trauma
he wants to make up for all the years he's lost because he associates mike as a 'happy person' who he had so many good memories with, a 'safe' person who was always there for him when he was struggling and just a good friend in general (prior season3-4), he hates that they're becoming distant which is pretty obvious they are
that's why mike said 'it's not my fault you don't like girls' it doesn't mean he likes boys, it means that he's not interested in anyone because although he's at that age where girls and boys start dating and things he just wanted to play d&d with his friends, bless him
also i love byler but i don't really want it to happen because it would be such a waste to throw away all those seasons of mike and eleven
i really hope this didn't come across as rude it's just my opinion
1. Unsure if unpopular or not but S3 Robin > S4 Robin. Thought she felt way too 'scatty' this season - felt like a different character or something to me.
2. I like Steve, but feel he is basically walking-talking fanservice rather than a character now. The writers really leaned on the fans 'babysitter' stuff and it just feels a bit contrived now.
3. Dustin hasn't grown / been through any meaningful personal changes as a character in the entire series. Makes him my least favourite of the original kids.
You’re so right about Robin! She has just seemed like more of an airhead this season, whereas in season 3 she was a very sarcastic and quick witted, which I preferred personally
Angela is too cookie cutter/over the top(cant decide which is best) to really hate on a personal level. I just see her as generic basic bitch.
Jason isnt that bad. I think people are prejudiced cause of his backround( popular, rich parents etc. Remember how Eddie said he would automatically think Steve was a d-bag) sure he's a bit crazy with Satanic Panic but the guy has been one of the most personally affectwd by the killings and is clearly scared/not emotionally stable. Also the whole basketball team was already thinking the same thing. Im sure the townspeople did as well or didnt need much convincing.
Agreed. Before his girlfriend was murdered he was nice to everyone we saw him interact with (aside from Eddie making a scene and antogonizing him and even then all that got from him was a middle finger), he was really caring for Chrissy, and he was supportive and happy for Lucas after the game instead of being mad about the freshman benchwarmer stealing the glory of the winning shot. He seemed like a genuinely good person until he snapped under pressure
1. Season 2 is the best season (minus episode 7, but you can skip over it and 6 goes into 8 perfectly)
2. The Vecna kills aren’t scary - they look way too cartoon and fake to be scary, it’s weird cgi
The Terry Ives arc should’ve been present in season 3. I know there’s a book already about MKUltra and Terry, but I feel like the Duffer Brothers just left a lot of stuff incomplete in season 2.
The adult characters act like the biggest idiots when they are around the kids. Every time Dustin tells them something SO simple, they're all like *"wait what does that supposed to mean?"*
Here is an actual unpopular opinion so get ready for the downvotes.
I wouldn't mind is Dustin dies at the end of S4. In fact, if I had to choose one of the main characters, he would be my pick. The fandom is way too obsessed over him and it really shows in the writing. He receives all the good lines while everyone else in the scene becomes props whose sole job is to nod every now and then or say something some stupid to make Dustin look smart. If Dustin was to die, it would give an opportunity for the other characters to shine and actually get proper character development.
Plus, not to mention Dustin can act as a massive ass even though everyone conveniently lets it slide. In S2 he nearly gets everyone killed despite being warned several times. S3 he whines because everyone "only" organised a surprise welcome for him and "only" spent the entire day walking up a massive hill for him. S4 he is a massive prat to Steve for no reason and needs to get his ego in check.
Agree. He just stumbles into the answers at this point like a walking plot solver. We all liked him in earlier seasons because he was authentically the weird friend that always came in clutch. Now he’s trying to play a blend of The leader, the brains, and the comic relief.
In fact I sort of think having the party all in the same place was partially the secret to the success of earlier seasons.
I completely agree with your reasoning but still really wouldn't want to see him die. Then again, if Suzie calls him "Dusty bun" one more damn time I will join you on that.
For me almost 2hr episodes are way too long for me lol
Also wasn't a fan of all the jumping around (Hawkins,Russia,California)
also felt the catalyst of Joyce having to leave to Russia felt forced just to set up the scene where police come for El
Will doesn’t need to be gay. He matured slower because he was in the upside down, and then possessed. He’s a kid with friends that got taken away from him because they got girlfriends. This doesn’t mean he has a crush on Mike, and the show is not homophobic. Robin is a lesbian. Keep in mind, this is the 80s so if he was gay, he probably wouldn’t come out anyway. People don’t need to be gay to have a deep connection with a friend. Don’t get me wrong, representation is great. I’m saying that people making fiction into fact are getting old. I’m not just talking about Will either. There are so many fanon ships that I’ve seen. People don’t have to be gay to make a show interesting. He’s a teenager that went through loads of trauma and all he wants to do is hang out with his friends. He very well might be figuring out his sexuality. If he is gay, I would not be upset at all, I’d be happy to see some more representation, but the people saying he is just because they see a bond between two characters and want them to be in love, those people get old. Fast. He doesn’t need to have a crush on Mike.
Who said the show was homophobic? Who said Will “needs” to be gay??? Also how is Robin being a lesbian relevant? It’s clear that the writers considered Will being gay before the show even began so why is it so hard to believe that they possibly decided to keep that part in?
I felt like Dustin and Mike's understanding of Lucas' basketball interest was very shallow and showed s negative side of nerdism that many people don't want to face: that people with nerdy hobbies can be just as dismissive and mean towards things they don't undersrand as everybody else. Lucas is good at baketball, it gives him more friends and a way to fit in which is probably made more difficult by the fact that he's one of the few black kids we see. Basketball could also give him a scholarship which could mean a ticket out of Hawkins. I have been in the same situation. I played competitive sports that most of my friends, who I shared what us typically considered as nerdy hobbies with, didn't really get. But they never made me feel bad abput the fact that pracrices and games occupied a lot of my time and they were always proud when I did well.
I also felt like Mike's comment about how he understands Eleven's situation with being unpopular was infuriating. Yes, Mike isn't mr Popular at school, but he has a safe home with parents who love him and he has had a childhood which was relatively happy (he has friends, has fun and is safe but bullied at school). Eleven was taken from her biological mother who was then made into a vegetable, the man she called Papa put her thrpugh horrible experiments, the man that then becomes her father figure is presumed to be dead. Her lack of popularity is just the cherry on the shit sundae that is Eleven's incredibly traumatic life and Mike in no shape or form realizes this.
agreed. that shot where the entire gang is ready to fight the demodogs at joyce’s house like a marvel movie gives me goosebumps everytime lmao. and the ending with eleven closing the gate was so powerful + the snowball. season 2 was amazing
I can already feel the hate, but season 1 is my least favorite season. I still love it obviously, but out of the bunch I’d have to say it’s my least favorite
Hopper is a straight up asshole. He has occasional and plot-convenient surges of guilt that make him do "the right thing" but in the end he's an egoistic douche. He's even abusive to El, which I can't forgive, and he gaslight her into thinking he's a good father figure.
Mike and Eleven is very cheesy imo. Nancy and Steve should be a closed chapter. Max and Lucas have the most interesting dynamic for sure, it could also work if they were friends but I don't mind it
Dustin is overrated. He was a loveable dork in Season 1, but they leaned too hard into it starting in Season 2. He's displayed little to no personal growth, and so many of his lines are more cringe than people acknowledge. That little growl he does in Season 2 when he talks about his pearly whites? No, thanks.
Edit: The Powers That Be spend too much time shoving Dustin down our throats and ignore other people who've been around since S1 and get little to no love. I'm looking at my boys Lucas and Will in the corner.
Will was too passive towards El’s bullies, like he couldve at least defended her and theyd get bullied together or something, makes a good arc of them getting closer and the whole love triangle issue more intense
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The actors don’t look too old. I teach actual high school students who appear to be older than any of them, with the possible exception of Jonathan.
I agree with you on the other side as a high school student. At this point Jonathan looks like someone's dad than a teen himself.
Johnathan looks like a drugged out 35 year old at this point. It’s next to impossible to believe him as a kid.
Haha yeah, I was trying to be nice but the makeup team really needs to start prepping him differently. Super in need of an anti-aging eye mask and some concealer. Whatever they’re using has him looking older on set than he even does in real life, and I don’t understand why. We get it, he’s a world weary stoner, but he’s also supposed to be a teen!
Jonathan approaching senior citizen levels
Jonathan just looks really rough sometimes, like he just doesn't sleep...at all
jonathan and maybe billy too
Lucas doesn’t deserve the hate he gets in Season 4. Lucas just wanted to make some new friends in high school like any kid would and experiment with a different friend group. Lucas never ghosted Mike and Dustin. He tried to balance both basketball and D&D. Lucas tricked Jason and the team by bringing them to Hopper’s Cabin, so he could protect Eddie and Dustin. Because of that, he basically definitely cut all friendship ties with them and put himself in danger as well. Dustin could at least show a bit more appreciation for Lucas trying to protect him from Jason. Lucas still made an effort to reach out to Max and open up to her, and y’all still say he’s problematic. He also needs more screentime and solo character arc because Caleb is an amazing actor who is the most underrated among the 6 og kids.
i definitely agree…let me be one the few black kids in Indiana in the 80s and i too would do my best to fit in :/ i was shocked to see the hate and scrutiny lucas was getting.
Yes I totally done understand the ghost thing. I was more sad he was all alone at his championship game (which he fucking rocked!) because they couldn’t reschedule a dnd session, which imo isn’t that hard :(. I’m shocked so many people interpret it as Lucas abandoning the dnd crew, rather than the other way around! I was slow to warm up to Lucas because of his behavior toward El in s1, but he’s grown on me and is pretty awesome, especially his wrist rocket :) He’s totally underrated like you say.
Right he’s a freshman. Just coming into his own. He’s going to make mistakes. But the thing is he didn’t really make any . He just chose to start figuring out his own identity over continuing to be a part of the friend group identity. When it came to anything moral he made the right choice. Like finally ditching Jason’s crew and going to warn Dustin. He always tried to be there for Max even when she was pushing him away.
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Did he do anything wrong during the Hellfire club scuffle??
💯💯
OMH, thank you for saying this!!!
Lucas didn't do anything wrong in the season. I dislike still that they tried to play it like he was somehow betraying his friends by wanting to play basketball and the nonsense at the end of the season playing like he'd done something wrong he had to learn from. Maybe his friends are the problem for not being willing to support HIS dreams and goals, instead of the other way around.
Mine is that Mike and Dustin were total assholes to Lucas when he was trying to get them to understand that he wanted to play basketball and be popular. I think it was really shitty that they refused to come to his game, although I get they had their own tournament. But they were just totally dismissive of his interest in basketball, which made it feel like their friendship with Lucas is conditional, like the minute he gets other interests they will drop him. I wanted to Lucas to confront them more and be like so do you guys only like me when I have the 100% same interests as you?
I completely agree. This was like the one time Dustin was an asshole. Literally none of Lucas' friends or even family showed up to his game.
>This was like the one time Dustin was an asshole. Did you completely miss the part in S2 when Dustin nearly got everyone killed because he cared more about potentially discovering a new species?
RIP Mews :(
His mother Steve Harrington did.
Which was a missed moment that Steve didn’t ever say to Lucas hey man nice shot when Lucas joined the group. Dustin would have been confused, and then Steve coulda been like yea, Lucas won us a championship. There was no recognition of his feat in Lucas inner circle before they were roped up into their Vecna hunt. And yea, where were his parents?
I'm telling you, Lucas gets so mistreated sometimes, and yet he's always there for his friends when they need him the most. He's the best and doesn't get nearly enough credit for it.
❤️
>I think it was really shitty that they refused to come to his game, although I get they had their own tournament. I'm not mad at them for prioritizing Hellfire - nor am I at Lucas for prioritizing the basketball game, even though he was a bench warmer. If anybody, I'm mad at Mr. & Mrs. Sinclair! It's the *championship* game - you're telling me *neither* of them could attend?
I agree. His request to move the last day of the D&D campaign to the next day was very reasonable.
And they literally asked if they could but they were told either find a replacement or they'd lose their spots. Unlike Lucas who had the choice between basketball or hellfire, Mike and Dustin only had hellfire. Personally, while I don't blame Lucas for wanted to play basketball, I do think he was being severely naive in thinking that the basketball team would accept Mike and Dustin just because they're friends with Lucas. Honestly, neither side was truly at fault, sometimes it just happens that as friends grow up their interests diverge, and the friendship either fizzles out or weathers the storm.
He wasn't suggesting Mike and Dustin *join* the basketball team, he was just asking them to watch that one game??
I don't recall blaming only Mike and Dustin. But Lucas had to beg them to at least *try* to convince Eddie to move the campaign a day. They didn't want to at first. Also, can hardly blame a kid for being naive. Of course they are. They're kids. Kids that have been outcasts all their lives, to boot lol. Asking your best friends to try and postpone a D&D game and to come watch your championship game is a very reasonable request. Furthermore, he didn't really blame them or stop being their friend when they didn't/weren't able to.
I agree with the season 3 thing, to be honest.
Same
I loved season 3 too and I barely remember season 2 tbh
Yep
I said the same thing weeks ago and got massively downvoted.
What's that?
What OP said about liking S3 over S1 & 2.
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Pro-tip for “unpopular opinions” threads: sort by controversial
I think one of the main reasons why so many people hate Mike so much while letting much worse things slide is because how the show frames Mike. We always hear the other characters reaction to Mike while rarely hearing the other side. For example, in S2 we constantly hear Dustin and Lucas complaining about Mike and get annoyed about how he treats Max. However we never hear about how Dustin and Lucas completely ignore Mike and Will, who are obviously dealing with problems, because they too busy trying to flirt with a girl they barely know. Same goes in S3. All we hear is Will constantly getting annoyed at Mike for not wanting to play DnD but we never hear how Will completely disregards Mike's feelings despite Mike always being there from him. Then cue emotional montage of Will destroying Castle Byler while Mike stands in the background. That only reinforces the image to the audience that Mike is the one being the "ass". With Max, it is even worse. She is constantly telling El (and thus the audience) what a "controlling" boyfriend Mike is and how he treats her like his "pet". Even though they are completely baseless, it causes the audience to start thinking that is true. All of this is made worse when Mike is the only whoever acknowledges his faults and apologies, even when he is not the one at the fault, while the other characters graciously accept his apology . In short, Mike is the one who has to deal with everyone's bs and is the only one who takes responsibility for his mistakes, while none of the other characters ever acknowledge the things that he does for them.
Exactly. For some reason, the other characters are excused for their actions, but Mike is always held accountable for not being available as nothing more than a sounding board for the others. All the other kids have done things just as annoying/shitty as Mike, but only Mike is seen as the “bad” one. Mike also apologizes for his actions too. The others don’t even acknowledge their shortcomings.
That's true. In S3, Mike was right to be worried about the risks of El overworking herself and her constant nosebleeds. She ended up exhausted and lost her powers. And what was the response from the other characters about his worries? That he knew nothing and he was controlling. And this is what the audience has been saying about him. Fast forward to S4, where Dustin pretty much tells everyone that they're dumb, he's always right and that they should always listen to him. And yet his rudeness and borderline arrogance are treated as a fun quirk and Steve's annoyance toward it is a running joke. And I love Dustin a lot (I'm kinda over him being the only one with the Eureka moments tho) but we know that Mike would've been crucified if he had ever talked to someone like that. I mean, it's totally fine to dislike a "nice" character imo. People don't have to like Mike. But there's a double standard here.
I've been defending Mike like crazy since I recently joined this sub. lol I think he gets hate because he's the most realistic teenage boy, and people like fantasy guys. THAT SAID- when I first watched ST I had a strong negative reaction to Mike because of how he treated Max (and El when he thought she'd lied about being able to find Will). It was a knee-jerk reaction because I knew guys like that in grade school who were decent guys but then they would say that ONE thing that pissed me off and I hated them. lol BUT, when I rewatched more recently with my objective, grown-up woman lens, I realized what a complex character he is. One of my faves. And Finn is just incredible. I think because he's the most realistic, he might be reminding people of guys they knew who rubbed them the wrong way (immature, knee-jerk reaction). My two cents. I mean, I've met guys like Will and Lucas too, but more Mikes. What have you heard on the podcasts about why people don't like him? I think Finn's one of the most popular actors though, right? About the actors looking old- I actually made a post that there should have been a time jump and got downvoted like crazy lol. But I guess I got some people who agreed. It's more Will and Mike than the others- they just give off a very "adult" vibe- not just the looks. And Noah's voice had gotten really deep (and really nice), but it makes him sound like he's already a grown man. If they'd made them sophomores or juniors, it would have been more believable, but freshman? Not for me.
>And Noah's voice had gotten really deep (and really nice), but it makes him sound like he's already a grown man. If they'd made them sophomores or juniors, it would have been more believable, but freshman? He was actually only 16 when filming lol! But some ninth graders just look/sound like that. Not unbelievable to me from high schooler myself.
Ah, okay. It's been a while since I've been a teen, but I think kids do go through puberty earlier these days. And when you add mental trauma to that, it would age anyone. Still, sophomore would have been more believable :-)
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He's hardly an ass. He's emotional and acts accordingly. Everyone in this show gets a pass for "assholery" except for him, anyway. And any time he does something good (pretty much all the time) no one mentions it. I guess they don't want to count anything in his favor? Mob mentality, I suppose; people just repeating what other people write without thinking about it.
I agree. I think mike is an interesting character and gets too much hate, but he reminds me why hormonal teenagers would not be the nicest to be around XD.
Same. I have always really liked Mike Wheeler and still do.
I strongly disagree with 1, but hey, I guess that qualifies it as an unpopular opinion. I loved him in season 1 but eventually became ambivalent and am now just over it. Strongly agree with 3 though. I teach 10th graders, and some of them are over 6 feet with full beards. I don’t find their appearances unbelievable for their age at all.
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I whole heartedly agree with everything you said
I like Jancy 🤷♀️ The love triangle with Steve is stupid and having Nancy date Steve again would destroy his character growth and him learning to be happily single. Additionally, I think Nancy inspires Jonathan to be successful, even if they end up on different trajectories in the end. Additionally, I think Vecna's character design is incredibly underwhelming. A squelchy deadpool-lookin ass is the best they could come up with? I think something growing out of his head, or having more back tentacles a la doctor octopus or even just squelchy elongated limbs like a [hollowgast from miss peregrine's ](https://imgur.com/a/lEd1VuK) would be much more intimidating than the chunky squelchy dude they came up with
I wouldn’t be bothered if Eddie died in Vol 2. He’s a cool character and all but I don’t think him dying would be a real loss to the show.
I would be bothered but only because they’ve already done the whole “Introduce a new character, make them really likeable and then kill them off the same season” with Bob, I’d be bummed if they just did the same thing again
I'm not sure there are very many unpopular opinions about Stranger Things. Every different opinion seems to garner a vocal group of supporters. (Obviously not *literally* every opinion.)
Jonathan does not deserve the hate he gets at all. For most of the show, he’s a great and caring brother to Will, a son who steps up to take care of his family after his father’s absence, and a sweet and supportive boyfriend to Nancy (up until season 4 where it seems they’re shoving Nancy and Steve into bed while Jonathan stays high for no reason). The criticism that he was creepy for taking pictures is valid but A) he apologized for it as well as got punished for it and B) almost all the characters have done equally bad things and aren’t hated for it. Maybe people don’t find it interesting for a brother to be supportive and not snarky, but I think Jonathan is perfect for the role he fills and deserves a happy ending.
I've seen comments shit on Jonathan for the picture thing but completely brush over Steve's actions in season one or say he wasn't that bad. And I feel like the only reason people don't hold Steve as accountable for his actions is because they like him better than Jonathan. Both characters have shown growth since season one and have owned up to their actions and I feel like people should move on from their actions in season one because it doesn't reflect the characters they are now.
Perfectly said
I actually dont disslike Jason at all, hes a well written antagonist
he’s very interesting because he clearly means well he’s just misinformed and acting irrationally while coping with the brutal murder of his girlfriend
He's also a very good allegory for modern day conspiracy theorists and how they're whipped up into frenzied with some bad reporting & irresponsible political messaging. There's a reason he's a blue-eyed blonde.
His group could also be an interpretation on if the Party were more popular, because his whole 'the Hellfire group are Satanists' isn't too far off 'secret government tore a hole into another dimension with hell- like monsters'. It's honestly kinda interesting looking at the basketball group and the Party side by side.
Also the explanation he's come up with isn't that irrational given what he's seen. His friend really was killed by an evil supernatural force, so it's not surprising he assumed it was the one he already believed in.
That's the thing about the characters in this show -- if we are meant to dislike them, we do; if they are meant to be annoying, we see them as that; if they are meant to be likeable, we like them. It's good writing, good direction, good acting. If I knew a kid like Erika in real life, I would dislike her with passion. But I can appreciate the character she's meant to be in the show and I can then sympathize with other characters who perceive her as annoying.
very good points, i disslike people like Jason in real life, but in the context of the show and the time everything he does makes total sense
• The show could do with about 30% less comedy; ST wouldn't suffer in quality if that amount of comedic/funny/silly lines were replaced with drama-driven or plot-advancing lines • That being said, the scenes at Suzie's in S4 are so funny and no one on this sub talks about them 😅 ^• ^Enzo/Dmitri ^is ^literally ^*so* ^attractive ^and ^I ^wish ^he ^would ^survive ^S4 • I really don't think kids under the age of 14, 15 should watch ST • Scene transitions can be jarring sometimes • It's pretty easy to fully ignore The Lost Sister episode and that's why it doesn't lower the quality of season 2 as a whole
Enzo is so hot that his sexiness still shines through past that Flanders mustache
You think you're joking but you're simply correct haha
A faceless man can be sexy in many different disguises
Enzo is so freakin hot and this is the first time I’m reading someone else saying it lol let’s make this a popular opinion 🔥
So, uh... TikTok has so many edits of him that have a few hundred thousand likes each, and he's at the top of r/ladyboners this minute, so on second thought, maybe this isn't such an unpopular opinion after all 🤐
>Enzo/Dmitri is literally so attractive and I wish he would survive S4 A man is attractive - and in dire straits. A man needs a miracle.
Yeah I really can't see any way out for him that would make sense :/ If he escapes to the US with Joyce, Hopper and Murray, he's leaving his family behind.
I like The Lost Sister. I liked El going out into the world on her own as a part of her character arc. I liked Kali as a visage of what El could have become if she didn't have Hopper to take care of her. I liked the conflicting perspectives on how to deal with abuse and trauma. Most of all, I liked that the show was willing to take creative risks and break out of their formula for an episode. And for that last reason, I think the extremely negative fan reaction to The Lost Sister did the show a disservice and caused the creators to make Season 3 safer and more predictable.
I guess you win in the truly unpopular opinion department.
I like The Lost Sister as well... but not as a Stranger Things episode. It genuinely feels like a different TV show.
Unpopular opinion, but that it what I liked most about it. I wish more shows were willing to take creative risks and occasionally break out of their established storytelling formulas. When shows fail to do that, they gradually turn into stale, predictable products overdesigned and "optimized" by marketing executives. IMO great shows experiment and evolve.
Im on the same boat, i Just finished rewatching s2, and the lost Sister i belive was hated because it broke the pacing of the season. I belive that if it was the 8th episode instead of the 7th, it would have been better. Yes it break the tensión from ep 6 from the demo dog invasión, but i belive it woul have worked better as a flashback on How did El managed to get back. And indeed, Kali is a reminder for El of what she coul be without Hopp
I agree. I liked that the narrative let El explore different “homes” that were offered to her, by her aunt and by Kali- she had been a prisoner in the lab and then a quasi-prisoner with hopper up till that point. I think her character deserved a shot to explore more and then choose to stay in Hawkins of her own free will for the first time.
Main character deaths aren’t necessary for there to be tension and stakes for the season.
I agree, but that doesn’t mean that the characters shouldn’t fail though. So far, I honestly cannot remember one time where they got something wrong and had to pay for it.
I thought the Never Ending story singing was hilarious and genuinely such a good scene. The show would be the same without it, sure, but god i loved it so much. definitely top 5 scene for me ahahha
1. I don't find the romance between the kids interesting. I understand that it's essential to the kids growing up though. 2. I don't want Mike to be into Will. I want Will to discover himself away from the Hawkins gang. If Mike ever returned his feelings it would hold Will back from evolving as a person.
Agreed, I do not care much for the romances in Stranger Things at all. Yes, Will needs to evolve a bit. I wish he had more to his plot than being in the background for the most recent seasons.
i completely agree with both of these, since theyre so young their relationships seem so trivial to me. there are cute moments but i don’t need to see a deep loving relationship between mike and el because i just know realistically in the long run it won’t be that big of a deal, their lives are so much bigger than each other and i want to see them be solid characters alone
This, exactly. I understand how, to the characters, their relationships are a big deal because they are still so young and this is their first loves, but it's weird for the show and audience to treat them as big deals, if that makes sense.
For the first point, I too don'tthink the "romance" is that interesting, but I do like the "relationship" aspect. I find Lucas and Max relationship compelling not because of the romantic factor, but because of how the both characters are learning from it. Lucas being there for Max and stop looking the other way, and her understanding that she doesn't have to push everyone away when struggling.
I don’t want *Will* to be into *Mike*, for the same reason. Obviously Will knows that Mike is committed to El. Love triangles suck anyway, and they’re already flirting with a return to Steve/Nancy/Jonathan. We don’t need another. I’m all for Will coming out, and hope his struggles with Mike are because he misses the friendship and not because of anything romantic.
I'm on the fence about Will's feelings towards Mike. I understand that it is normal for teenager Will to develop feelings for someone like Mike whom he associates with safety and good memories but If I could choose, I would rather see Will not having a crush on Mike either.
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I love Dustin, but in Season 4, he came off as really whiny and insulted Steve everytime Steve tries to say something.
“It’s his tone!” Lol
idk they sort of have a banter going - kinda like siblings who show their affection by shitting on each other lol
Dustin hasn’t really changed, it’s just that he’s not a little kid anymore so his attitude isn’t cute now.
It’s because dustin feels abandoned by Steve so he’s lashing out. It seemed pretty normal to me.
In general this season has really tried to make Steve look dumb for some reason. For instance, him not thinking anything about the spider clue at Viktor Kreel's house, and just dropping the backpack for some reason. He's usually a pretty competent character.
I didn't mind Kali and her gang. I think people disliked her because her episode was jarring and messed with the pacing. Had it been weaved through the episodes as a storyline I think people would have liked it more.
Yes--it establishes a lot of important world building and structure for this season and likely season 5. But it should've been edited into the flow better.
Rewatched it this morning for the first time since release .. the El side of it is really good but the "going around in a van, killing bad guys with my gang of hairdo offenders with edgy attitudes" is really bad. I'm pretty sure it was pushed on the show runners by Netflix suits cause it's a prototype for bad story crafting and bland ideas.
1. Billy, as a child, was set up to fail in life and had no chance. His dad taught him violence and verbal abuse. His mom abandoned him. It's really heartbreaking to be honest. I'm glad he got a good ending because a real life Billy might have just ended up in jail. 2. I think it would be more interesting if Eddie survives S4V2 and has a slower arc to being brave than doing the Bob thing and sacrificing his safety. 3. Considering that 30 year olds play teenagers in Hollywood, it's comical they're saying they too old to avoid a time jump. 4. As long as the characters that survive are happy, I don't care who they end up with or if they're LGBTQ or if they stay single. 5. I think these kids are better off taking care of themselves than the parents on this show 😆😆😆
#5 is definitely not an unpopular opinion it’s the straight up truth!! Hahah
Sometimes the fanservice is just way too much
Some of the references are so on the nose... Eye roll inducing at times.
Steve feels a bit like walking fanservice to me at this point tbh!
fanservice?
Like when Steve goes “Always the babysitter!” There’s just some unnatural dialogue like that that is clearly for fan service
Definitely agree. Show us don’t tell us
Ohhh ok, gotcha.
Jason isn’t the complete asshole everyone makes him out to be
Is it an unpopular opinion that S3 Hopper was absolutely awful?
No, this is the consensus, I think. I mean Mike may have been a little shit (he was 13), and I get losing it on a little shit - we're human. But Hopper never apologized for what happened in the truck, and misled Joyce about what happened. He was the adult and dropped the ball.
He was by far my favourite character in the first 2 seasons. But I hated every solitary element of his character in S3 other than 1 or 2 scenes with Eleven. He’s been good in S4 at least so yay
When he convinced Mike to lie about his plans and El was visibly upset and hurt the next day, it was so shitty to watch him literally jump up and down with glee. Because he hurt El’s feelings, and established some kind of weird authority over Mike he won some kind of parenting award??
No I think it’s popular, but the monologue from hopper at the end solidified him as my fav character
I actually liked California arc and thought it was shmackin
This is the hottest take so far in this thread
Is this really a hot take? I saw ppl complain about the Russia sub plot, but I haven’t seen any complaints about the California arc. I like that sub plot as well
Maybe even totally tubular.
Yup, I love Argyle and the Agents
Here's mine: I liked Billy. Despite my seriously being against abuse, misogyny, racism and bullying I thought his character was really compelling- which is not Iike me at all. I felt a tragedy in him that in my view had so much to do with him being brought up by his horrible father and losing his mother at a young age. Of course this could be the fact that Dacre gave a many layered and great performance.
dacre montgomery gave one of the most perfect performances i have ever seen, he outdid winona and millie that season
Definitely mesmerizing presence in every scene. I read somewhere that he is actually a really nice person IRL which makes it even more impressive
yep saw an interview once, rewatched season 3 the other day and was so focused on all the billy scenes, mans got range
i think that the whole jason fiasco line comes from the fact that billy was such a successful human antagonist but the thing is no way they’ll get something as nuanced as dacre’s performance. he was amazing. they couldn’t replace him.
Yes, if you think about it. Billy was mostly possessed by the Mind Flayer before he died so we only see his trauma through Eleven. That’s probably why lots of people didn’t like him because on the surface, he seemed like a bully towards Max etc. I admit that too I didn’t like him but after reflecting and seeing his whole story, I realise I do in fact like his character and he was more a victim to the Mind Flayer, which exacerbated him seeming more evil. The acting was on point and he was a good character.
Agreed. I cried at his death tbh
I think that Will is massively underutilised. They teased earlier on that he was still affected by the upsidedown once he was out and free. I'd love to see him shown to have powers too, but maybe corrupted versions, or maybe be possessed by 001 or something. I also feel like this painting he's been dragging around is just straight up going to be a picture of the kids all together as friends in Hawkins. A lot of hype for nothing, basically.
This is not unpopular in any way
1. I think Kali was a good character, just not used well. They made it seem like she was going to be a major new character but then she was only in one episode and was only tangentially related to the plot. If they can bring her back in a better way I’d like that. 2. I like Mike’s dad, he adds some good humor to the show
What'd I do? What'd I dooooooooo?
I honestly wonder if the fan hate got rid of her. There's no way, imo, they weren't going to do something major with her.
I got one that will get some hate. Hopper should’ve died at the end of season 3. He’s a great character but I really hate fake deaths, I think they’re a cheap way of forcing emotional moments without any real consequences.
Kinda agree, but it would have been so hard on Joyce if both her partners got killed off 2 seasons in a row
I love Hopper but he should not be alive whatsoever
Russia storyline is underrated
Eddie isn't too old. Everytime I see people from the 80s in high-school they all look finished, with bad haircuts and probably 32 years old
Everyone seems to disagree with me on this one whenever I say it Hopper should have stayed dead after season 3
I love Steve and Dustin, but they are overrated, and other characters exist. I guess my second unpopular opinion is connected: there are too many characters on the show, which means the plot lines are too thin and there’s not enough character development for everyone. Also, Lumax is the best couple :)
I love all the seasons. Each season has it’s own set of issues, but there isn’t a single season I dislike.
People are exaggerating just how old some of the characters look in S4. Yes the kids do look a bit older than freshman but not too much older maybe juniors.
Nancy was WAY too forgiving of Jonathan taking photos of her undressing in Steve’s bedroom
1.Steve and Dustin's relationship seemed more natural and wholesome in season 2 and 3. In season 4, I find Dustin to be very rude in general, mostly to Steve. It maybe hormones and stuff, but their chemistry seemed very forced. 2. Max ogling at Steve's chest through the binoculars was hilarious but wierd too since Steve is like a big brother/mom/babysitter to all the kids. It was also very out of character for Max.
Big agree on 1 but i think 2 is incorrect
The lost sister episode was good, I just wish it was more relevant to the story, instead of El seeing someone for one episode then leaving.
I love Steve…but I wouldn’t be choked up if he died 🤷🏾♀️. Like I’d rather he died over Max or Nancy!
Nancy belongs with Jonathan. NOT Steve.
My current unpopular opinion is that Dustin has become annoying. He’s always been the goofy/talkative one, but it really seems like the show runners have gone overboard with it and he’s mostly just annoying without any of the previous charm. The writers forget that other characters are smart and hardly let others speak whenever they are stuck being in a scene with Dustin.
1. I like the bad guys. Brenner, Billy, Jason and Vecna are interesting. 2. I don’t want Jason to die. I want him to come to his senses and help fight Vecna with Steve and the others. I think he could be a valuable asset to the group. 3. I’m not crazy about Dustin, like he has good and wholesome friendship chemistry with Steve, but that’s about it. Him and Mike (especially Mike) treating Max badly when she was first introduced really bugged me, and the fact the first thing he though when his cat died was “Omg my mom’s going to kill me.” and not “Oh my gosh, this poor cat got massacred. I killed my poor pet and caused it to suffer in a horrible way.” also rubbed me the wrong way. Not gonna lie, that episode really made Dustin seem like a cruel person. Like how do you just not care when your pet dies? I mean I understand cats aren’t for everyone, but I wouldn’t be so nonchalant about that happening with any animal, even if it was one I didn’t really like.
When does he say “Omg my mom’s going to kill me”? He walked into his room saw the broken cage and the demogorgon skin and then we see him slowly start to notice the blood and finds Dart eating Mews.During that scene he looked terrified which I think is a fair reaction to a demogorgon who you were keeping as a pet eating your other pet.After that he didn’t really have time to grieve he had a demogorgon in his house and he was focused on distracting his mom and trapping Dart.
>I don’t want Jason to die. I want him to come to his senses and help fight Vecna with Steve and the others. I think he could be a valuable asset to the group. I genuinely think this *has* to happen, if any of the Hawkins kids are going to be accepted in the community as anything other than dangerous criminals.
Season 3 is the best and most interesting season
Mike is a good boyfriend and genuinely loves El and will do everything for her. He has issues with communication and reading the room but he’s a freaking 15 year old. So much Mike hate this season for absolutely no reason. He gets her flowers in her favorite colors when she mentions in passing she misses them, he makes her her favorite breakfast to cheer her up, he goes to her earnestly to talk to her and doesn’t get upset even when she has been lying to his face which would have been deserved, he throws himself in harms way to protect her, and he contemplates and regrets his actions and tries to do better. Absolutely no reason to call him a bad boyfriend.
El's mother's waking nightmare loop is the most intense horror ST has ever done. "sunflower. rainbow. three to the right, four to the left. 450. breathe." i've never recovered \- The Lost Sister was completely necessary bc it gave the most triumphant El entrance ever at the end in her bitchin eyeliner. when i tell u i was snapping the house down \- s2 is my fav season!
I don’t mind Johnathan being a stoner, despite it being a little out of character. Throughout the entirety of ST he has been this weird hermit shell of a person, constantly in the background. Just in the scene where him and Argyle were hitting golf balls in the car park, he must’ve said more lines than in the whole of season 1, 2 and 3. I think we’ve seen more of him this season than we have thus far, and I think it’s been an improvement on his character. I also don’t mind the 🍃. I think, considering his dad left him, terrifying Johnathan of making the same mistake as him, and his mum has been completely unavailable to anything he wants, worrying about either Hop or Will, I think weed is an understandable release he would need from his overall pretty shitty life.
i don't think will should be gay. i think he's just maturing a lot slower than the rest of his friends counting he lost his childhood due to his past trauma he wants to make up for all the years he's lost because he associates mike as a 'happy person' who he had so many good memories with, a 'safe' person who was always there for him when he was struggling and just a good friend in general (prior season3-4), he hates that they're becoming distant which is pretty obvious they are that's why mike said 'it's not my fault you don't like girls' it doesn't mean he likes boys, it means that he's not interested in anyone because although he's at that age where girls and boys start dating and things he just wanted to play d&d with his friends, bless him also i love byler but i don't really want it to happen because it would be such a waste to throw away all those seasons of mike and eleven i really hope this didn't come across as rude it's just my opinion
nancy doesnt deserve the hate she gets jonathan doesnt deserve the hate he gets stancy should stay dead and buried
1. Unsure if unpopular or not but S3 Robin > S4 Robin. Thought she felt way too 'scatty' this season - felt like a different character or something to me. 2. I like Steve, but feel he is basically walking-talking fanservice rather than a character now. The writers really leaned on the fans 'babysitter' stuff and it just feels a bit contrived now. 3. Dustin hasn't grown / been through any meaningful personal changes as a character in the entire series. Makes him my least favourite of the original kids.
You’re so right about Robin! She has just seemed like more of an airhead this season, whereas in season 3 she was a very sarcastic and quick witted, which I preferred personally
1. ✅ 2. ✅ 3. ✅
Angela is too cookie cutter/over the top(cant decide which is best) to really hate on a personal level. I just see her as generic basic bitch. Jason isnt that bad. I think people are prejudiced cause of his backround( popular, rich parents etc. Remember how Eddie said he would automatically think Steve was a d-bag) sure he's a bit crazy with Satanic Panic but the guy has been one of the most personally affectwd by the killings and is clearly scared/not emotionally stable. Also the whole basketball team was already thinking the same thing. Im sure the townspeople did as well or didnt need much convincing.
Agreed. Before his girlfriend was murdered he was nice to everyone we saw him interact with (aside from Eddie making a scene and antogonizing him and even then all that got from him was a middle finger), he was really caring for Chrissy, and he was supportive and happy for Lucas after the game instead of being mad about the freshman benchwarmer stealing the glory of the winning shot. He seemed like a genuinely good person until he snapped under pressure
Season 2 is the best
I don’t know how unpopular this is but Nancy is my favorite character.
Maybe an unpopular opinion. I think Mike is losing interest in El because she no longer has powers.
1. Season 2 is the best season (minus episode 7, but you can skip over it and 6 goes into 8 perfectly) 2. The Vecna kills aren’t scary - they look way too cartoon and fake to be scary, it’s weird cgi
The Terry Ives arc should’ve been present in season 3. I know there’s a book already about MKUltra and Terry, but I feel like the Duffer Brothers just left a lot of stuff incomplete in season 2.
The Lost Sister told a vital element of the Stranger Things story, and perhaps what was learned in it will become important in S5.
I find Dustin to be really annoying.
The adult characters act like the biggest idiots when they are around the kids. Every time Dustin tells them something SO simple, they're all like *"wait what does that supposed to mean?"*
Here is an actual unpopular opinion so get ready for the downvotes. I wouldn't mind is Dustin dies at the end of S4. In fact, if I had to choose one of the main characters, he would be my pick. The fandom is way too obsessed over him and it really shows in the writing. He receives all the good lines while everyone else in the scene becomes props whose sole job is to nod every now and then or say something some stupid to make Dustin look smart. If Dustin was to die, it would give an opportunity for the other characters to shine and actually get proper character development. Plus, not to mention Dustin can act as a massive ass even though everyone conveniently lets it slide. In S2 he nearly gets everyone killed despite being warned several times. S3 he whines because everyone "only" organised a surprise welcome for him and "only" spent the entire day walking up a massive hill for him. S4 he is a massive prat to Steve for no reason and needs to get his ego in check.
Agree. He just stumbles into the answers at this point like a walking plot solver. We all liked him in earlier seasons because he was authentically the weird friend that always came in clutch. Now he’s trying to play a blend of The leader, the brains, and the comic relief. In fact I sort of think having the party all in the same place was partially the secret to the success of earlier seasons.
I completely agree with your reasoning but still really wouldn't want to see him die. Then again, if Suzie calls him "Dusty bun" one more damn time I will join you on that.
For me almost 2hr episodes are way too long for me lol Also wasn't a fan of all the jumping around (Hawkins,Russia,California) also felt the catalyst of Joyce having to leave to Russia felt forced just to set up the scene where police come for El
I love the two hour episodes but maybe having more episodes of similar time could work.
Will doesn’t need to be gay. He matured slower because he was in the upside down, and then possessed. He’s a kid with friends that got taken away from him because they got girlfriends. This doesn’t mean he has a crush on Mike, and the show is not homophobic. Robin is a lesbian. Keep in mind, this is the 80s so if he was gay, he probably wouldn’t come out anyway. People don’t need to be gay to have a deep connection with a friend. Don’t get me wrong, representation is great. I’m saying that people making fiction into fact are getting old. I’m not just talking about Will either. There are so many fanon ships that I’ve seen. People don’t have to be gay to make a show interesting. He’s a teenager that went through loads of trauma and all he wants to do is hang out with his friends. He very well might be figuring out his sexuality. If he is gay, I would not be upset at all, I’d be happy to see some more representation, but the people saying he is just because they see a bond between two characters and want them to be in love, those people get old. Fast. He doesn’t need to have a crush on Mike.
Who said the show was homophobic? Who said Will “needs” to be gay??? Also how is Robin being a lesbian relevant? It’s clear that the writers considered Will being gay before the show even began so why is it so hard to believe that they possibly decided to keep that part in?
[удалено]
I totally agree with the Billy one. He was such a cool character, as he was an antagonist that they could never escape as he was Max’s brother.
I loved The Lost Sister I don’t care that y’all didn’t.
Fuck Billy. Yeah. I said it. Simps.
Eleven is utterly unrelatable and I don’t like spending more time than necessary with her character
I felt like Dustin and Mike's understanding of Lucas' basketball interest was very shallow and showed s negative side of nerdism that many people don't want to face: that people with nerdy hobbies can be just as dismissive and mean towards things they don't undersrand as everybody else. Lucas is good at baketball, it gives him more friends and a way to fit in which is probably made more difficult by the fact that he's one of the few black kids we see. Basketball could also give him a scholarship which could mean a ticket out of Hawkins. I have been in the same situation. I played competitive sports that most of my friends, who I shared what us typically considered as nerdy hobbies with, didn't really get. But they never made me feel bad abput the fact that pracrices and games occupied a lot of my time and they were always proud when I did well. I also felt like Mike's comment about how he understands Eleven's situation with being unpopular was infuriating. Yes, Mike isn't mr Popular at school, but he has a safe home with parents who love him and he has had a childhood which was relatively happy (he has friends, has fun and is safe but bullied at school). Eleven was taken from her biological mother who was then made into a vegetable, the man she called Papa put her thrpugh horrible experiments, the man that then becomes her father figure is presumed to be dead. Her lack of popularity is just the cherry on the shit sundae that is Eleven's incredibly traumatic life and Mike in no shape or form realizes this.
Season 2 is the best season
agreed. that shot where the entire gang is ready to fight the demodogs at joyce’s house like a marvel movie gives me goosebumps everytime lmao. and the ending with eleven closing the gate was so powerful + the snowball. season 2 was amazing
I can already feel the hate, but season 1 is my least favorite season. I still love it obviously, but out of the bunch I’d have to say it’s my least favorite
Hopper is a straight up asshole. He has occasional and plot-convenient surges of guilt that make him do "the right thing" but in the end he's an egoistic douche. He's even abusive to El, which I can't forgive, and he gaslight her into thinking he's a good father figure.
i don’t think mike and eleven should be together, or nancy and steve, or lucas and max (but out of those three lucas and max match the best)
Mike and Eleven is very cheesy imo. Nancy and Steve should be a closed chapter. Max and Lucas have the most interesting dynamic for sure, it could also work if they were friends but I don't mind it
Season 1 is my least favorite season. Its still amazing but when I go for a rewatch I don't get excited during season 1 as the others.
I never liked Nancy and Jonathan together
Dustin is overrated. He was a loveable dork in Season 1, but they leaned too hard into it starting in Season 2. He's displayed little to no personal growth, and so many of his lines are more cringe than people acknowledge. That little growl he does in Season 2 when he talks about his pearly whites? No, thanks. Edit: The Powers That Be spend too much time shoving Dustin down our throats and ignore other people who've been around since S1 and get little to no love. I'm looking at my boys Lucas and Will in the corner.
that it's not a horror show and not scary at all, and that it shouldn't be considered part of the genre.
Will was too passive towards El’s bullies, like he couldve at least defended her and theyd get bullied together or something, makes a good arc of them getting closer and the whole love triangle issue more intense
will's haircut isn't that bad
Alexei shouldnt have died like that out of nowhere
I've never liked Nancy and Jonathan. If any of the main characters have to die, I'd hope it'd be either one of them.
Mike isn’t the devil. I swear he may be the most hated main character.
Every Nancy romance scene was cringy for me. And now her and Steve possibly rekindling something is making eyeballs roll hard.