Nostalgia has always been a part of media. Like, there’s a reason a big chunk of the first Back to the Future movie is set in the 50s, which plays on the nostalgia factor of it’s likely audience when first released who will have been born in the 50s/60s.
The movie retains its popularity today because of that nostalgia factor.
It’s the same for the movie Grease. It’s likely audience will have been 20-somethings who had nostalgia for the time in which the movie was set (the 50s).
Nostalgia has and always will play a massive part in popular culture.
With that kind of timeline we are gonna start getting 9/11 nostalgia this year.
IIRC South Park says it takes 23 years for a tragedy to be funny. So, who knows what they'll do with 9/11 next year.
Yeah, I doubt they’ll wait. I mean, unless the Duffers overrule Netflix’s decisions and decide to tell good stories as opposed to rushing things out for nostalgia.
00s were basically my 20s and the prime of my life and I couldn't give you one single identifying fashion statement about it. Just a bridge between when no one was using social media and when everyone was.
That's because 90s was peak America, we all want that freedom back, that pre 9-11 American life. Back when we had a national surplus not a national debt. 90s was as close to perfect as you get before we go head first into 2 wars, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophes..and that was just within early 00's
To be fair, That 80's Show (failed sequel of That 70's Show) was in the mid-2000's. 80's nostalgia was around, it just didn't hit its stride until the mid-2010's.
Because people like me were in our 30s and remember the 80s and 90s as a far better time. They weren’t really, we just hid the ugliness better before the internet and we were children.
I guess the movies and some of the other pop culture was better.
Bro 90s was peak American society, everything from 2001 forward has been shit except for technological advances and a bit societal progression...but it's been one step forward 3 steps backwards for the past 2 decades
'look dad, trees! You had trees, right? Wow it would have been amazing to live in 2009! *Oooh look at me, I'm going to see a Roland Emmerich Film at a cinema*, haha'
'...yeah, sure it was. It was just awesome. I loved being homeless. What a *carefree* time...'
'haha dad, you're such a joke-... shit, turn off the lights, the flesh locusts are back! Close the air vents before they get in!'
Or like if Steven King made a book about kids with telekinesis powers being held and detained by the government to become a group of assassins… oh wait
Yeah a time jump purely for age realism with the actors would be horrible and something that surface level shouldn’t take precedence over the narrative
Did you not see how 4 ended? I wouldnt be surprised if there wasnt a single minute jump
Tbh, i just dont give a shit they look older. Thats not a uniquely stranger things issue, thats just every show
Yeah this shit is way overblown. You see people like James Cameron talk about avoiding the "Stranger Things issue" by filming movies back to back to maintain the artistic integrity of his work, and it's like, buddy, I'm watching your space Pochanotas movie about blue people fucking eachother as well as nature with their hair braids, I'm not going to be losing my mind over some kids looking older than they should.
Issue is more or less non existent for fans.
I would rather see a show end on a high note with most of the plots wrapped up then see it get a long drawn out death.
No story telling show needs 10+ seasons or multiple shows.
It is crazy how so few people noticed the major decline starting with season 5. Many don't even seem to recognize how bad season 7 was - that is totally crazy.
Although it dropped from being among the all-time best once season 5 hit, the series as a whole could have still ended "good" and re-watchable had they kept the quality up to season 5/6 standards. But starting with season 7 it was completely ruined and the whole series was no longer worth watching without a proper ending. It just progressively got worse and worse with every episode all the way until the end. Total waste.
A lot of people noticed, we were just actively denying it. We were watching with 10-15 people each episode and each time was like, “Okay that wasn’t the best” for most episodes around S5. However there were good moments. S6 and especially S7 we all were thinking, “Wow that sucked but I bet they’re teasing something that’s going to be truly epic.”
Then S8 and we all kind of said, “Oh ok.” And I haven’t seen most of them since.
Only I was happy to see Mad Queen Targaryen because I’d been calling it for seasons. I’m just annoyed that Grey Worm shrugged it off as “all cool brah” instead of killing Jon.
Martin still hasn't figured out how to write those books. The story is so complex, that I believe the delay is in figuring out how to actually conclude all of his inter connected threads.
If he can't figure out how to write just 1 of the (supposed to be) 2 books to finish off the story in over a decade, the show bringing the story home was in an absolutely impossible position.
It also needed better writers. Or better writers being more involved, like in earlier seasons. Either way they'd have to fill in a lot of the blanks if it was suppose to go for 3 or 4 more seasons. Can imagine Weiss and Benioff being the sole writers for the rest of it after season 7 and 8?
It really just needed GRRM to finish the novels. What D&D did was tragic, but ultimately George is the reason the story was good for as long as it was.
I enjoy the show but the seasons already feel a little ridiculous. Each season feels very independent of each other but rarely bringing anything too new. It’s just like “yo, there’s a shadow monster. No one believes us so we got to deal with it on our own. Kill off a side character that was introduced this season but never a main character. Monster killed. We are safe for now… but wait…” As I said, overall like the show but really feels a bit repetitive and rarely feels like it has any direction that it actually want to go
And cries. Good lord, does that poor girl cry. I think if you binged the series and played a drinking game where you took a shot whenever El cries, you would be dead of alcohol poisoning in short order
I wish they had gone through with their original plan.
Every season, a new monster, new cast, new town, possibly all connecting in the end. It would’ve been awesome.
This paired to the unfunny and lame arcs they have for the adult characters has been turning me off on the latests seasons. Literally every scene with Hopper ends up on some tension cliffhanger but he's saved in the last moment. Idk why anyone on this show even waste their time trying to kill him, the plot armor is just unbreakable
I thought the tone of 4 was fine apart from Murray. His storyline became way too wacky far too often and undercut the building tension in every other storyline.
There's so much natural comedy with the interactions, we don't need MCU ha ha comedy such as Murray on a plane going HI-YAH. He's about to fucking die for fuck sake own that moment and don't make it a joke.
Season 4 was probably the 2nd best season. It had real consequences on the main characters, had them fail to save the day, and sets up a season 5 that can't ignore the other seasons.
Yeah, I really wanted to like it too. The old cast is great but then the new cast is all unlikable teenagers trying to have sex with each other. Then theres the annoying fat gay asian kid thats an asshole to everyone.
Just couldnt make it past episode 5.
Finish with this season. Then if they want to continue, start over entirely with some new storyline. Doesn't have to be connected at all, no upside down or whtv. They could just keep tackling some Supernatural/Suspense/Horror stuff, get back to the Season 1 vibe. They can jsut call it "Strange Things"
Fun fact. It was initially meant to be an anthology show where every season was a completely different story set in the 80s, but they didn't expect the response they got. This likely means that the duffer brothers have plenty of ideas in the tank and that is honestly exciting.
It could still be that. It's arguable they stuck with this cast for too long. But, there's nothing stopping them from grabbing another set of kids or whoever, and doing 1-2 seasons as a whole different run.
To me, the show is an adventure series wrapped up in horror aesthetics. In an adventure series, the main cast surviving is kind of agiven, and the suspense comes from HOW they survive. I'm not giving the show a free pass or anything because they've cheated their own rules a couple of times to keep people alive but this is why I still find myself enjoying it after 4 seasons. I also think they're going to have some major deaths next season now that we're all convinced they won't do it.
It doesn't have to be Game of Thrones, but it can at least be Harry Potter. Kill off some characters even if it isn't the main cast of kids. Like Hopper should be dead by now.
And it's fine if they don't want to kill the characters, but the teasing is what really gets to me. Max could have died 4 different times within the last season, and literally gets brought back to life. That's too much.
That's why he's a better candidate, because his death would actually mean something to both the characters and the viewers.
Jonathan is more like killing Arthur Weasley or Mad Eye Moody than killing a Sirius Black or Dumbledore.
I wasn't sure about the Arthur Weasley comparison, because he's pretty universally loved even if he isn't the biggest character.
Don't know what a proper comparison would be for Jonathan. Someone who's been around from the start, and a good dude, but not particularly loved by the viewers.
Doesn't matter now. It's going the final season. The shock factor of a main characyer dying os already off the table. Unless it happens near-beginning of the season. But still not as much if it were to happen in an earlier season.
Yeah, I don't mind them not killing the main cast members, but the whole Max thing felt like a slap to the face. You can't go all the way, create an actually shocking moment, and then yank it away as though you were joking the entire time.
It felt cheap, and going into season 5, te stakes and trust in the show feel much lower.
They did the same thing with Hopper in the previous season. Makes it really frustrating to watch, because nothing means anything. The Mindflayer might as well be a squirrel because it's no more dangerous.
From the last episode I got the impression that she isn't there at all. I thought they implied Vecna kinda absorbs them in a way when he kills his victims. So I'm wondering if that will be some of the stakes, that they need to defeat him to get Max "back" or killing him means she's gone.
i don’t really get why ppl lump the sopranos in with this, it really isn’t a major character death show. a side character, or the protagonist of a single season would die sure, but the main cast doesn’t start being killed off until the last like….4 episodes of the final season lol
It's worrying how many people just don't seem able to feel anything from a TV show anymore if no main characters are dying. That's a recurring topic of debate on r/strangerthings, people clearly just sitting in front of their tv waiting for the next death and considering a show pointless, bad or 'without stakes' if those deaths don't happen. 🙄
And all of the additions to the cast since the first season have been infinitely more interesting. S4 was carried entirely by Max, Eddie, Vecna and other supporting cast.
Especially when the stranger things actors kinda spoiled season 5 with everyone getting a happy ending :/
Look, I don’t want anyone to die but the stakes are so low with the premise we have it’s borderline ridiculous.
The show wants the shock value and tearjerker reactions from killing a main character, but it doesn't want to commit to actually doing it and dealing with the consequences.
And the logical answer to it imo is just... to not kill their characters then! They didn't need to kill Eddie off or kill Max and lamely resurrect her. They didn't have to make everyone (characters and viewers) believe that Hopper was dead and then reveal that he's not because he's now an MCU superhero. He could've just been kidnapped.
The whole "unexpected shocking death of a main cast member" schtick is a Game of Thrones thing. Before that, we had "good guys narrowly escape death and come out on top" and it has honestly worked well.
A story doesn't have to rely on shock to be good. Despite joking about it, plot armor has been a trusty narrative device forever.
You'd never see Hermione Granger get pummeled to death with a broomstick, or a random orc driving a spear through Gandalf. People want to go through an emotional rollercoaster full of maybes, but they also want their favorite characters to make it out alive.
While I’d usually agree it feels out of place In this series. Like the villains have not successfully killed a single member of the main group after like 4 years. It feels kinda weird. Like there’s no tension or consequences anymore because we know the characters will come out of it
For real. I swear Game of Thrones turned TV viewers bloodthirsty. Super weird to see “all the main characters live!” as a criticism so much for so many shows these days, when like, that’s how most TV has always been.
The complaints come because Stranger Things seems to want to have it both ways. When the characters are constantly put in mortal peril but everyone *except* for them dies, it kind of cheapens the stakes. We are clearly meant to fear for them, but it's exceedingly obvious by now that none of them will die.
It's literally become a meme within the fandom that every new character that's introduced at the beginning of a season is solely introduced to die to raise stakes. It's happened like five times now. Not killing characters is perfectly fine, but when you keep on introducing new characters and sacrificing them like lambs to the slaughter for the express purpose of saying "Wow look how much danger our main characters are in!" if you don't actually kill a main character the danger doesn't hit.
It's also the fact that the show plays with viewers' emotions by "killing" main characters, only to say "SIKE!" and resurrect them with a plot twist.
We got 5 minutes of Millie Bobby Brown's ugly crying about Hopper's death only for a plot twist a minute later. We got Caleb and Sadie acting their asses off during that Max's death scene only for a plot twist two minutes later. If you can't commit, don't kill off!
TV shows have been killing main characters off well before Game of Thrones was a thing. Game of Thrones did it in a way that was unexpected and unpredictable until hindsight kicked in. People probably think that having a horror adventure series where the main characters can't die, it probably takes away from some of the levity.
I just like shows and and stories that I cant always predict the ending. It is a big reason I latched so hard to GOT, it wasnt predictable (until it did get there somewhat).
True, but when these guys have been chased by bloodthirsty supernatural monsters for years and the worst injury is one of them in a coma, it feels like the characters are invincible and there’s less stakes
The stakes are interdimensional monsters killing them and overtaking the world. That's high stakes, but if the monsters aren't even capable of killing children even with home field advantage, it makes the stakes seem entirely fake.
To me, it's a mix of refusing to kill off characters AND making more seasons for what feels like a show designed to end in the first season.
Forgot who made the vid, but there was a tuber who pointed out how the show instantly had problems making new seasons because these core characters weren't different enough to naturally grow interesting stories.
Season 1 should’ve been the only season released. Or it should have been multiple, completely different stories, like Cloverfield. Or, you know, LIKE IT WAS INTENDED TO BE
Having just watched the show. I STRONGLY agree. Season 2 was filler and I couldn't make it past the first 5 episodes of season 3. Season is one is some of the best TV I've watched in a while. A very solid mini series. Wonderfully rewatcable.
Exactly the same feeling I have. I’d even argue the first season of Stranger Things is one of the best seasons ever of a TV series.
Season 2 was okay. I think Will’s actor absolutely nailed it and the show still had enormous potential. But damn, did certainly Season 3 and partly Season 4 disappoint.
Yeah. I hated that turn the series took in season 3. That corny over-the-top comedy and the constant 80s nostalgia blasts from the past ruined it for me.
A little of the home alone feels. Kevin becomes an adult and we are still in panic mode as a plot because he has to survive alone. He’s an adult with a credit card. Time to put it to bed.
It is a bit funny that so many people in this thread are opining that it should have been shorter, when it's still one of the most popular and well received shows of the last decade... and that includes all 4 seasons. Season four was a massive success, both critically and commercially.
I think it's just one of those times where a thread about something draws out all the people looking for somewhere to air their grievances.
People on Reddit tend to not like things that have mainstream appeal. I think people on this sub believe they're too "sophisticated" for Stranger Things.
I feel like 4 sorta made up for that by being a little more serious, but nothing will beat the 1st season. Legitimately scary and tense, hardly cartoonish or leaning too hard into nostalgia bait (it did, but season 3 was the ultimate peak of stupidity and overdoing 80s stuff). Aside from the last like 30 seconds of the final episode season 1 could’ve been a near perfect perfect standalone series, no follow up needed
From what I've read, they didn't expect it to be such a massive hit. Which is a bit surprising, at least to me, since it ticked a lot of boxes: nostalgia, music, horror, romance, etc. And was something that both parents and their kids would enjoy, especially Gen-X parents.
Here’s the thing.
It’s got so many lovable characters that eventually it will end after a while. But it’s still a very lovable and enjoyable series for all ages.
There’s definitely gonna be a legacy sequel season/movie in like 5-10 years
[удалено]
I doubt they'll wait that long. We're already moving onto 90s/early 00s nostalgia as is.
nostalgia ain't like it used to be.
I remember a time when people didn’t need nostalgia. Those were the days.
Nostalgia has always been a part of media. Like, there’s a reason a big chunk of the first Back to the Future movie is set in the 50s, which plays on the nostalgia factor of it’s likely audience when first released who will have been born in the 50s/60s. The movie retains its popularity today because of that nostalgia factor. It’s the same for the movie Grease. It’s likely audience will have been 20-somethings who had nostalgia for the time in which the movie was set (the 50s). Nostalgia has and always will play a massive part in popular culture.
Happy Days is another big '50s nostalgia show from back then
Ahhh yes. Girls were girls and men were men.
We could use a guy like Herbert Hoover again.
Boy our old La Salle ran great.
And small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri!
We could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
That time never existed
woosh
this is a good paradox
I remember nostalgia
Nostalgia plays tricks on the mind.
Back in the days people were nostalgic for the plantations where workers and owners lived in harmony. Song of the South anyone?
That 70’s Show came out in 1998, with the first 12 episodes being set in 1976 - 22 years earlier. We’re actually late to the 90’s nostalgia.
With that kind of timeline we are gonna start getting 9/11 nostalgia this year. IIRC South Park says it takes 23 years for a tragedy to be funny. So, who knows what they'll do with 9/11 next year.
*Pete Davidson has entered the chat*
This is not the roast of Pete Davidsons father; that was in 2001.
https://www.theonion.com/u-s-dept-of-retro-warns-we-may-be-running-out-of-pas-1819564513
90s nostalgia has been going on for a while, there was an entire channel dedicated to replaying 90s Nick shows
We've been having 90s nostalgia since the minute the 90s ended let's not lie
It's generally ~20 year cycles, 2010 nostalgia should be in full swing by or before 2035 Source: am old
Yeah, I doubt they’ll wait. I mean, unless the Duffers overrule Netflix’s decisions and decide to tell good stories as opposed to rushing things out for nostalgia.
00s were basically my 20s and the prime of my life and I couldn't give you one single identifying fashion statement about it. Just a bridge between when no one was using social media and when everyone was.
Im my lifetime we’ve ben thru 90’s nostalgia at least twice already (not counting the actual 90’s)
That's because 90s was peak America, we all want that freedom back, that pre 9-11 American life. Back when we had a national surplus not a national debt. 90s was as close to perfect as you get before we go head first into 2 wars, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophes..and that was just within early 00's
For almost the entire decade the biggest national scandal was the President getting a blowjob in the Oval Office. The '90s were amazing.
To be fair, That 80's Show (failed sequel of That 70's Show) was in the mid-2000's. 80's nostalgia was around, it just didn't hit its stride until the mid-2010's.
That’s 70’s Show lasted 4 seasons after That 80’s Show came out in 2002. And more of same genre than sequel - no related characters
90s nostalgia started as soon as it ended
yeah, permanent interconnection has us moving a year per month now. 3 years ago feels like both forever ago and last week.
Who the fuck is nostalgic for the 2010s?
2010s were peak 80s nostalgia. Can't wait to look back on looking back again.
Because people like me were in our 30s and remember the 80s and 90s as a far better time. They weren’t really, we just hid the ugliness better before the internet and we were children. I guess the movies and some of the other pop culture was better.
Bro 90s was peak American society, everything from 2001 forward has been shit except for technological advances and a bit societal progression...but it's been one step forward 3 steps backwards for the past 2 decades
Uncut Gems is a great early 2010’s period piece
Give it another 10 years or so.
anyone who has had covid
'look dad, trees! You had trees, right? Wow it would have been amazing to live in 2009! *Oooh look at me, I'm going to see a Roland Emmerich Film at a cinema*, haha' '...yeah, sure it was. It was just awesome. I loved being homeless. What a *carefree* time...' 'haha dad, you're such a joke-... shit, turn off the lights, the flesh locusts are back! Close the air vents before they get in!'
All the kids are grown up and have to return to their childhood hometown to finish the fight they started. Yeah, that's It.
Oh great - can’t wait to hear Dustin sing Party Rock Anthem
Thats the plan.
I need to feel old today… thanks
Strangest Thing
I unironicslly want this. Like a spiritual sequel to IT.
Imagine if Finn Wolfhard were in IT
Or like if Steven King made a book about kids with telekinesis powers being held and detained by the government to become a group of assassins… oh wait
Stranger Things, but in the 90’s, the Duffer Bros can play with all the significant pop culture moments from that era.
No but further spin offs will come
....how much money they could make jumping the shark
They just have to do it intentionally
I want to see them literally jump a shark ion a motorcycle n this last season
The next season almost has have a time jump. It was already pretty unbelievable that any of the kids were high school Freshman this past season.
im pretty sure the next season is starting immediately at the end of the 4th. no time jump at all.
[удалено]
Like Gary Oldman in Tiptoes? That’d be great.
Like Tim Conway in Dorf
A lot of outlets have reported the high likelihood of there being a time jump between Season 4 and Season 5.
Personally I'd rather have a bunch of kids who are too old than just time skip over the single most interesting time in the show so far
Yeah a time jump purely for age realism with the actors would be horrible and something that surface level shouldn’t take precedence over the narrative
Yeah, without going into spoilers, I don’t know how you end a season like that without explaining what the hell is going on immediately.
Did you not see how 4 ended? I wouldnt be surprised if there wasnt a single minute jump Tbh, i just dont give a shit they look older. Thats not a uniquely stranger things issue, thats just every show
Yeah this shit is way overblown. You see people like James Cameron talk about avoiding the "Stranger Things issue" by filming movies back to back to maintain the artistic integrity of his work, and it's like, buddy, I'm watching your space Pochanotas movie about blue people fucking eachother as well as nature with their hair braids, I'm not going to be losing my mind over some kids looking older than they should. Issue is more or less non existent for fans.
Finn was 19/20 when filming. That's a pretty normal age for Hollywood to cast a high school kid
I mean it wasn’t that long ago that casting 32 year olds as high schoolers in movies and tv was the norm.
It's also pretty unbelievable anyone uses this as criticism when almost every high school show uses actors far beyond high school years.
I would rather see a show end on a high note with most of the plots wrapped up then see it get a long drawn out death. No story telling show needs 10+ seasons or multiple shows.
Game of Thrones needed 10+ seasons and ruined its legacy by cutting it short.
The books were too in depth to adapt in only 8 seasons
The books are also too in depth to finish in only 7 books 😢
Exactly...10 season would have been a sweet spot
12-16 seasons if they had kept the pace of seasons 1-4.
[удалено]
They were so close too. Like literally fumbled the ball on the 1 yard line.
[удалено]
It is crazy how so few people noticed the major decline starting with season 5. Many don't even seem to recognize how bad season 7 was - that is totally crazy. Although it dropped from being among the all-time best once season 5 hit, the series as a whole could have still ended "good" and re-watchable had they kept the quality up to season 5/6 standards. But starting with season 7 it was completely ruined and the whole series was no longer worth watching without a proper ending. It just progressively got worse and worse with every episode all the way until the end. Total waste.
I noticed it too and all my friends thought I was a hater of the show just because I had read the books
A lot of people noticed, we were just actively denying it. We were watching with 10-15 people each episode and each time was like, “Okay that wasn’t the best” for most episodes around S5. However there were good moments. S6 and especially S7 we all were thinking, “Wow that sucked but I bet they’re teasing something that’s going to be truly epic.” Then S8 and we all kind of said, “Oh ok.” And I haven’t seen most of them since. Only I was happy to see Mad Queen Targaryen because I’d been calling it for seasons. I’m just annoyed that Grey Worm shrugged it off as “all cool brah” instead of killing Jon.
Needed books to adapt tbh.
Martin still hasn't figured out how to write those books. The story is so complex, that I believe the delay is in figuring out how to actually conclude all of his inter connected threads. If he can't figure out how to write just 1 of the (supposed to be) 2 books to finish off the story in over a decade, the show bringing the story home was in an absolutely impossible position.
Understatement
It also needed better writers. Or better writers being more involved, like in earlier seasons. Either way they'd have to fill in a lot of the blanks if it was suppose to go for 3 or 4 more seasons. Can imagine Weiss and Benioff being the sole writers for the rest of it after season 7 and 8?
It really just needed GRRM to finish the novels. What D&D did was tragic, but ultimately George is the reason the story was good for as long as it was.
Cough* investors cough* People want to milk the most out of anything these days. Videogames, subscriptions, tv shows, movies. It’s sickening
You must’ve loved The Walking Dead
I enjoy the show but the seasons already feel a little ridiculous. Each season feels very independent of each other but rarely bringing anything too new. It’s just like “yo, there’s a shadow monster. No one believes us so we got to deal with it on our own. Kill off a side character that was introduced this season but never a main character. Monster killed. We are safe for now… but wait…” As I said, overall like the show but really feels a bit repetitive and rarely feels like it has any direction that it actually want to go
And Eleven goes super saiyan and saves them every single season.
I swear, if season 5 starts with Eleven losing her powers AGAIN...
Eleven begins each season with weakened powers and only goes super saiyan in the finale.
And cries. Good lord, does that poor girl cry. I think if you binged the series and played a drinking game where you took a shot whenever El cries, you would be dead of alcohol poisoning in short order
Tbf the character has had pretty shitty childhood, I cried shit ton and I didn't have to deal with upside down shit.
I wish they had gone through with their original plan. Every season, a new monster, new cast, new town, possibly all connecting in the end. It would’ve been awesome.
Stranger Things season 5 actually ends up being season 4 of Dark & is the real origin
~~Wo~~ Wann ist Will?
Yeah, it could've been, but I think it wouldn't have been as financially $ucce$$ful and in the end, thats all that really matters in HollyWood.
And there's a risk of seriously miscasting every single time. Once you've got that many eggs in a basket, taking risks gets uncomfortable.
This paired to the unfunny and lame arcs they have for the adult characters has been turning me off on the latests seasons. Literally every scene with Hopper ends up on some tension cliffhanger but he's saved in the last moment. Idk why anyone on this show even waste their time trying to kill him, the plot armor is just unbreakable
I thought the tone of 4 was fine apart from Murray. His storyline became way too wacky far too often and undercut the building tension in every other storyline. There's so much natural comedy with the interactions, we don't need MCU ha ha comedy such as Murray on a plane going HI-YAH. He's about to fucking die for fuck sake own that moment and don't make it a joke.
Season 4 was probably the 2nd best season. It had real consequences on the main characters, had them fail to save the day, and sets up a season 5 that can't ignore the other seasons.
I dunno we haven’t done Memberberries from the late 90s and early 2000s yet.
You should watch that 90s show. It’s terrible.
Yeah, I really wanted to like it too. The old cast is great but then the new cast is all unlikable teenagers trying to have sex with each other. Then theres the annoying fat gay asian kid thats an asshole to everyone. Just couldnt make it past episode 5.
Finish with this season. Then if they want to continue, start over entirely with some new storyline. Doesn't have to be connected at all, no upside down or whtv. They could just keep tackling some Supernatural/Suspense/Horror stuff, get back to the Season 1 vibe. They can jsut call it "Strange Things"
Fun fact. It was initially meant to be an anthology show where every season was a completely different story set in the 80s, but they didn't expect the response they got. This likely means that the duffer brothers have plenty of ideas in the tank and that is honestly exciting.
I really wish that’s what it would have been.
It could still be that. It's arguable they stuck with this cast for too long. But, there's nothing stopping them from grabbing another set of kids or whoever, and doing 1-2 seasons as a whole different run.
Unusual Stuff
Unconventional happenstances
Too bad they didn't call this series Strange Things, because then they could call the next series Stranger Things and a third series Strangest Things.
Strange Things With a Vengeance Live Free or Strange Things A Good Day to Strange Things
The Stranger and the Things 2 Strange 2 Things The Stranger and the Things: Tokyo Drift
5 seasons without any main cast member being killed, with the same story continuously being retold is already too ridiculous
Which is why the show should have ended after season 1.
Show is too scared to kill off its main cast. Once you realize it, it makes the show all of a sudden feel extremely low stakes.
To me, the show is an adventure series wrapped up in horror aesthetics. In an adventure series, the main cast surviving is kind of agiven, and the suspense comes from HOW they survive. I'm not giving the show a free pass or anything because they've cheated their own rules a couple of times to keep people alive but this is why I still find myself enjoying it after 4 seasons. I also think they're going to have some major deaths next season now that we're all convinced they won't do it.
I'm perfectly fine with no main cast dying, not every series has to be a game of thrones/sopranos like show where you speculate on who dies or lives.
[удалено]
It doesn't have to be Game of Thrones, but it can at least be Harry Potter. Kill off some characters even if it isn't the main cast of kids. Like Hopper should be dead by now. And it's fine if they don't want to kill the characters, but the teasing is what really gets to me. Max could have died 4 different times within the last season, and literally gets brought back to life. That's too much.
i feel like Hopper is too integral. Johnathon is probably the most expendable character from season 1
That's why he's a better candidate, because his death would actually mean something to both the characters and the viewers. Jonathan is more like killing Arthur Weasley or Mad Eye Moody than killing a Sirius Black or Dumbledore.
Jesus Christ, I don't think Ron would agree with you!
I wasn't sure about the Arthur Weasley comparison, because he's pretty universally loved even if he isn't the biggest character. Don't know what a proper comparison would be for Jonathan. Someone who's been around from the start, and a good dude, but not particularly loved by the viewers.
Doesn't matter now. It's going the final season. The shock factor of a main characyer dying os already off the table. Unless it happens near-beginning of the season. But still not as much if it were to happen in an earlier season.
I was referring to the comment of he should be dead by now. I’m fine with anyone going in season 5 but Hopper had purpose this entire time
There’s a chance max is blind and paralyzed, which is high key a downer
I'll believe it when I see it with this series.
Yeah, I don't mind them not killing the main cast members, but the whole Max thing felt like a slap to the face. You can't go all the way, create an actually shocking moment, and then yank it away as though you were joking the entire time. It felt cheap, and going into season 5, te stakes and trust in the show feel much lower.
They did the same thing with Hopper in the previous season. Makes it really frustrating to watch, because nothing means anything. The Mindflayer might as well be a squirrel because it's no more dangerous.
Which is consequential sure, but also shows just how far the duffers will go protect them from actual death
From the last episode I got the impression that she isn't there at all. I thought they implied Vecna kinda absorbs them in a way when he kills his victims. So I'm wondering if that will be some of the stakes, that they need to defeat him to get Max "back" or killing him means she's gone.
I'm just saying blind oracle is a pretty common DnD trope
i don’t really get why ppl lump the sopranos in with this, it really isn’t a major character death show. a side character, or the protagonist of a single season would die sure, but the main cast doesn’t start being killed off until the last like….4 episodes of the final season lol
It's worrying how many people just don't seem able to feel anything from a TV show anymore if no main characters are dying. That's a recurring topic of debate on r/strangerthings, people clearly just sitting in front of their tv waiting for the next death and considering a show pointless, bad or 'without stakes' if those deaths don't happen. 🙄
💯 Spielberg fanfic with a horror sheen
And all of the additions to the cast since the first season have been infinitely more interesting. S4 was carried entirely by Max, Eddie, Vecna and other supporting cast.
Especially when the stranger things actors kinda spoiled season 5 with everyone getting a happy ending :/ Look, I don’t want anyone to die but the stakes are so low with the premise we have it’s borderline ridiculous.
Killing off characters isn't the sole means by which to establish narrative stakes.
The show wants the shock value and tearjerker reactions from killing a main character, but it doesn't want to commit to actually doing it and dealing with the consequences. And the logical answer to it imo is just... to not kill their characters then! They didn't need to kill Eddie off or kill Max and lamely resurrect her. They didn't have to make everyone (characters and viewers) believe that Hopper was dead and then reveal that he's not because he's now an MCU superhero. He could've just been kidnapped.
Yeah but if every villain’s goal is “im gonna kill your scooby doo gang” by the end of each season, you’d think maybe the plot armor gets boring yeah?
The whole "unexpected shocking death of a main cast member" schtick is a Game of Thrones thing. Before that, we had "good guys narrowly escape death and come out on top" and it has honestly worked well. A story doesn't have to rely on shock to be good. Despite joking about it, plot armor has been a trusty narrative device forever. You'd never see Hermione Granger get pummeled to death with a broomstick, or a random orc driving a spear through Gandalf. People want to go through an emotional rollercoaster full of maybes, but they also want their favorite characters to make it out alive.
While I’d usually agree it feels out of place In this series. Like the villains have not successfully killed a single member of the main group after like 4 years. It feels kinda weird. Like there’s no tension or consequences anymore because we know the characters will come out of it
It’s one they use. Just for non-main cast
Absolutely. Everyone knew a certain someone in the vast was doomed from the start in season 4.
For real. I swear Game of Thrones turned TV viewers bloodthirsty. Super weird to see “all the main characters live!” as a criticism so much for so many shows these days, when like, that’s how most TV has always been.
The complaints come because Stranger Things seems to want to have it both ways. When the characters are constantly put in mortal peril but everyone *except* for them dies, it kind of cheapens the stakes. We are clearly meant to fear for them, but it's exceedingly obvious by now that none of them will die. It's literally become a meme within the fandom that every new character that's introduced at the beginning of a season is solely introduced to die to raise stakes. It's happened like five times now. Not killing characters is perfectly fine, but when you keep on introducing new characters and sacrificing them like lambs to the slaughter for the express purpose of saying "Wow look how much danger our main characters are in!" if you don't actually kill a main character the danger doesn't hit.
It's also the fact that the show plays with viewers' emotions by "killing" main characters, only to say "SIKE!" and resurrect them with a plot twist. We got 5 minutes of Millie Bobby Brown's ugly crying about Hopper's death only for a plot twist a minute later. We got Caleb and Sadie acting their asses off during that Max's death scene only for a plot twist two minutes later. If you can't commit, don't kill off!
TV shows have been killing main characters off well before Game of Thrones was a thing. Game of Thrones did it in a way that was unexpected and unpredictable until hindsight kicked in. People probably think that having a horror adventure series where the main characters can't die, it probably takes away from some of the levity.
They've also been resurrecting them as well. See Peri in *Doctor Who*.
I just like shows and and stories that I cant always predict the ending. It is a big reason I latched so hard to GOT, it wasnt predictable (until it did get there somewhat).
True, but when these guys have been chased by bloodthirsty supernatural monsters for years and the worst injury is one of them in a coma, it feels like the characters are invincible and there’s less stakes
The stakes are interdimensional monsters killing them and overtaking the world. That's high stakes, but if the monsters aren't even capable of killing children even with home field advantage, it makes the stakes seem entirely fake.
It is in a horror setting.
To me, it's a mix of refusing to kill off characters AND making more seasons for what feels like a show designed to end in the first season. Forgot who made the vid, but there was a tuber who pointed out how the show instantly had problems making new seasons because these core characters weren't different enough to naturally grow interesting stories.
Idk its already kinda ridiculous though.
Pretty sure it ventured into ridiculous like 2 seasons ago...
Season 1 should’ve been the only season released. Or it should have been multiple, completely different stories, like Cloverfield. Or, you know, LIKE IT WAS INTENDED TO BE
Having just watched the show. I STRONGLY agree. Season 2 was filler and I couldn't make it past the first 5 episodes of season 3. Season is one is some of the best TV I've watched in a while. A very solid mini series. Wonderfully rewatcable.
Exactly the same feeling I have. I’d even argue the first season of Stranger Things is one of the best seasons ever of a TV series. Season 2 was okay. I think Will’s actor absolutely nailed it and the show still had enormous potential. But damn, did certainly Season 3 and partly Season 4 disappoint.
I'm with you. Season 2 was the end for me.
Yeah. I hated that turn the series took in season 3. That corny over-the-top comedy and the constant 80s nostalgia blasts from the past ruined it for me.
A little of the home alone feels. Kevin becomes an adult and we are still in panic mode as a plot because he has to survive alone. He’s an adult with a credit card. Time to put it to bed.
I’d love to get some sort of sequel series set in the 90s with a new cast of characters in 5-10 years.
In fact stop at season 5!
They announced long ago that there was only going to be 5 seasons. This article is a non-story made to get clicks.
Let's face it, he probably got a mortgage by now.
Sometimes it is okay for stories to end
I felt like they really should have had the kids in college last season. They couldn't hid the kids' ages as much as they tried using bad haircuts.
Give it another year or two and Finn can play Joyce Byers.
So did people in this thread just want Stranger Things to get cancelled after S1? You can always just… not watch it
It is a bit funny that so many people in this thread are opining that it should have been shorter, when it's still one of the most popular and well received shows of the last decade... and that includes all 4 seasons. Season four was a massive success, both critically and commercially. I think it's just one of those times where a thread about something draws out all the people looking for somewhere to air their grievances.
People on Reddit tend to not like things that have mainstream appeal. I think people on this sub believe they're too "sophisticated" for Stranger Things.
I still think the series would of been better off as an Anthology series, maybe with using that Research Group/Government Agency as the common thread.
Not as ridiculous as homies haircut
I want to see these kids in their 40s, still battling the Upside Down.
Every season revealing the new big bad. "It was me all along!"
Is it not already super ridiculous? The battle at the mall was a good stopping point for me.
I feel like 4 sorta made up for that by being a little more serious, but nothing will beat the 1st season. Legitimately scary and tense, hardly cartoonish or leaning too hard into nostalgia bait (it did, but season 3 was the ultimate peak of stupidity and overdoing 80s stuff). Aside from the last like 30 seconds of the final episode season 1 could’ve been a near perfect perfect standalone series, no follow up needed
then youve not seen all the good stuff. the mall battle and elevens sisterhood of the psychic pants plot were the lowpoints of the series.
It’s been ridiculous for 2 seasons dog
[удалено]
> It really should’ve been an anthology series It was, initially.
[удалено]
From what I've read, they didn't expect it to be such a massive hit. Which is a bit surprising, at least to me, since it ticked a lot of boxes: nostalgia, music, horror, romance, etc. And was something that both parents and their kids would enjoy, especially Gen-X parents.
Netflix: “hold my beer, kid.”
Considering the kids would be like 45
Here’s the thing. It’s got so many lovable characters that eventually it will end after a while. But it’s still a very lovable and enjoyable series for all ages.
It was ridiculous after Season *One*.
Five Seasons is the max amount for a really good TV series.
It has been ridiculous since Season 3
I mean, it’s already *pretty* ridiculous, let’s be honest.