Spoilers Stranger Things - Season 5

[The Nth Doctor]

My favorite aspect of season has to be Will’s coming-out story, which was beautifully and believably told. But I also liked how the whole logic of the kids and Max being able to walk through Henry’s memories worked and was wondering if the writers perhaps let themselves be inspired by “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.

I was also reminded of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, along with Thunderbolts* (which felt like it was also inspired by Eternal). I'm glad I wasn't the only person who felt this way.

The one thing that was maybe a bit off is how Kali’s story was handled. And the fact that it seems like the writers basically forgot about all those (presumably innocent) pregnant women lying in that military camp in the Upside Down. And the fact that now we probably will never learn why Barb had to die back in season one.

I didn't have any issues with Kali's story nor did I feel like we needed an explanation for Barb's death (you'll see there was a page of two devoted on that topic...), but I'll agree that lack of discussion rescuing of the pregnant women was weird. Perhaps the assumption was they were already gone/dead by the time Eleven and Hopper rescued Kali but that wasn't made clear at all.

 

[Michael]

I was also reminded of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, along with Thunderbolts* (which felt like it was also inspired by Eternal). I'm glad I wasn't the only person who felt this way.

Well, the concept of being inside a character’s mind isn’t all that unique in science-fiction, but the way they staged it here, and very specifically that one moment where they show Max crawling through a book shelf from one memory to the next, was very reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine. And really, what better movie to take inspiration from? Interesting to hear there was something like this in Thunderbolts*. Need to check that one out then!

I didn't have any issues with Kali's story

Maybe having an issue with it is putting it too strongly, but somehow her story didn’t feel like it came to a satisfying close. And I realize that probably comes with being shot halfway through the thing. I don’t know, she felt like such a poor, tortured soul, so I guess I just expected or hoped for her to be able to get some revenge. I guess if one choses to believe in Mike’s version of what really happened, she was able to get some revenge in the end. But I guess I just wish it would have been a little more direct is all.

nor did I feel like we needed an explanation for Barb's death

Well, when watching the season I didn’t really expect them to explain it, but when it was over and my wife and I were talking about the show it was one of the open questions from the show that came up. I have to say, though, I’m really glad they remembered to at least put her in one of the flashbacks when they were hacking off Vecna’s head.

I'll agree that lack of discussion rescuing of the pregnant women was weird. Perhaps the assumption was they were already gone/dead by the time Eleven and Hopper rescued Kali but that wasn't made clear at all.

Could it also be possible that the military had evacuated the Upside Down station and took the pregnant women with them after Nancy had brought down the shield? I don’t remember them showing the installation after that happened.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Well, the concept of being inside a character’s mind isn’t all that unique in science-fiction, but the way they staged it here, and very specifically that one moment where they show Max crawling through a book shelf from one memory to the next, was very reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine. And really, what better movie to take inspiration from? Interesting to hear there was something like this in Thunderbolts*. Need to check that one out then!

For precisely those reasons, you're going to love how Thunderbolts* utilizes that technique.

Maybe having an issue with it is putting it too strongly, but somehow her story didn’t feel like it came to a satisfying close. And I realize that probably comes with being shot halfway through the thing. I don’t know, she felt like such a poor, tortured soul, so I guess I just expected or hoped for her to be able to get some revenge. I guess if one choses to believe in Mike’s version of what really happened, she was able to get some revenge in the end. But I guess I just wish it would have been a little more direct is all.

That's a fair criticism and perhaps further down the road I'll be more critical, but I'm still riding on my high that Kali returned at all.

All these years, it felt like I was the sole person (at least in these parts) who actually wanted her to return because I genuinely loved "The Lost Sister." But even I had essentially given up all hope that she would actually return going into this season, so I was over the moon when she made her surprise return. If there had been any rumors about her returning, then I thankfully managed to avoid them.

Which all of this is to say that perhaps you're right in this regard, but I'm blinded right now because I loved every minute of her limited role and theorized, ambiguous ending.

Well, when watching the season I didn’t really expect them to explain it, but when it was over and my wife and I were talking about the show it was one of the open questions from the show that came up. I have to say, though, I’m really glad they remembered to at least put her in one of the flashbacks when they were hacking off Vecna’s head.

I feel that never moment needed to be explained and that Barb was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's not like the show forgot about her. Nancy was able to give her parents some closure, even if a very watered-down version of the truth, although hopefully now Nancy call them what really happened.

Plus, Vecna taunted Nancy about Barb's death in season four and tried to make Nancy feel guilty about it all over again (and failed!).

Like you, I was glad she was included in the flashbacks during Vecna’s beheading because Nancy finally got her closure.

Could it also be possible that the military had evacuated the Upside Down station and took the pregnant women with them after Nancy had brought down the shield? I don’t remember them showing the installation after that happened.

Yeah, that could work, too. Either way, it was definitely vague. Unfortunately, lost in the shuffle of all of the big moving parts, wrapped in the largely wasted military plot thread (although I love Hopper's confrontation of Lt. Akers).

 

[Michael]

That's a fair criticism and perhaps further down the road maybe I'll be more critical, but I'm still riding on my high that Kali returned at all. All these years, it felt like I was the sole person (at least in these parts) who actually wanted her to return because I genuinely loved "The Lost Sister." But even I had essentially given up all hope that she would actually return going into this season, so I was over the moon when she made her surprise return. If there had been any rumors about her returning, then I thankfully managed to avoid them.

Which is all to say that perhaps you're right in this regard but I'm blinded right now because I loved every minute of her limited role and theorized, ambiguous ending.

You are absolutely right: The fact that they even brought Kali back at all after all this time is pretty extraordinary and when she first showed up it was one of the best “WTF just happened?” moments of the final season. The moment of her finding all those pregnant women was so visceral — and Linnea Berthelsen played the horror of it to perfection — that I was really rooting for her to give Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay (who I really enjoyed, because she made for a memorable villain, but ultimately felt underutilized) her just comeuppance.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

You are absolutely right: The fact that they even brought Kali back at all after all this time is pretty extraordinary and when she first showed up it was one of the best “WTF just happened?” moments of the final season. The moment of her finding all those pregnant women was so visceral — and Linnea Berthelsen played the horror of it to perfection — that I was really rooting for her to give Linda Hamilton’s Dr. Kay (who I really enjoyed, because she made for a memorable villain, but ultimately felt underutilized) her just comeuppance.

Yeah, I feel like we missed out on a cathartic opportunity there. I would've loved to see Kali face off against Kay, especially after Kali’s imprisonment at Kay's bidding.

 

[theenglish]

I've never seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I guess I will have to watch it.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I've never seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I guess I will have to watch it.

Great film. But it will tear your heart out.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

In addition to being a fantastic, mind-bending sci-fi, heart-wrenching love story, it managed to do something I hadn't thought conceivable at the time: Made me enjoy both Jim Carrey and Kirsten Dunst.

 

[Starkers]

Great film. But it will tear your heart out.

100%. One of my favourite films of all time though.

 

[Michael]

To be honest, when Hopper mentioned moving to Montauk in the finale, I thought this was a deliberate allusion to Eternal Sunshine. But apparently that’s what they were going to call the show in the original concept before it became Stranger Things.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

To be honest, when Hopper mentioned moving to Montauk in the finale, I thought this was a deliberate allusion to Eternal Sunshine. But apparently that’s what they were going to call the show in the original concept before it became Stranger Things.

Yup. I grinned at that little Easter egg.

 

[JD]

Is that supposed to be what the characters would look like today?

I feel that never moment needed to be explained and that Barb was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's not like the show forgot about her. Nancy was able to give her parents some closure, even if a very watered-down version of the truth, although hopefully now Nancy call them what really happened.

Plus, Vecna taunted Nancy about Barb's death in season four and tried to make Nancy feel guilty about it all over again (and failed!).

Like you, I was glad she was included in the flashbacks during Vecna’s beheading because Nancy finally got her closure.

Yeah, I never really thought there was a deeper reason behind Barb's death beyond the Demogorgon killed people and she just happened to catch it attention.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Is that supposed to be what the characters would look like today?

yes

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I just finished it, good final season. Seeing scenes from season 1 made it jarring just how much time passed in reality and how much the actors aged compared to how much the children supposedly aged.

I don't get why people are complaining about the finale, is it all homophobic incel shit or is there also legitimate criticisms?

I liked that they gave time for a wrapup at the end even if they did maybe go 20% to far on the sentimentality, it's good they gave us real conclusions for every character and showed D&D passing to the next generation. Maybe some parts of the final confrontation felt slightly anticlimactic because people expected a higher death count and the whole thing with building a psychic playhouse for the kids felt a little less scary than the threats in other seasons. And *maybe* fell on the side of humanizing the villain too much at the last moment when that wasn't the tone of the rest of the show. But overall it all worked well.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

As for the question of whether it would make sense to do a sequel. I'm not sure there's anything to add to the current cast of characters. It would be fun to see a similar styled show with 90s nostalgia instead of 80s, but if they did it, I'd rather it be set in the same world with a new set of heroes.

There's a pretty natural premise, the military somehow found enough of El's DNA to clone her and inevitable escapes ensued. Why couldn't they have grabbed a hairbrush from her home before they left town?

 

[Firebird]

I'm watching the documentary about the making of season 5 right now... and boy, is it not painting a very good picture of the Duffers. In multiple moments, it's like the Duffers kinda gave up from exhaustion.

I'm not surprised by the reveal that filming started without a finished script for the finale, but they actually show moments in the writers room where one of the writers brings up the question of where the demos were in the abyss and the Duffers just... don't bother with it. Like a lot of interviews they're doing now that the show is over, this doc is actually making the season worse for me. In some ways, it's like everyone else but the Duffers cared more about how the show was going to end.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I just finished the documentary and I'm absolutely blown away by the dedication of everyone involved in the production of the series.

I loved how the film focused on the Duffer brothers and how they juggled working as showrunners, writers, and directors. I particularly enjoyed seeing how they were directly involved with each element of the show's production but also how they communicated with each person in the production, whether it was to praise their work, make adjustments as necessary, or troubleshoot issues.

While the throughline was on the Duffers, I also greatly loved how the film delved deeply into the works of the entire production team, from the department heads to the assistants to the artists, stylists, builders, camera and stunt crews, and so many others I know I've forgotten. We got to see how each and every aspect was developed, some of which we got to see the beginning, the middle, and the end, such as the goo room and the inner chamber of the Mindflayer (I'm blanking on the production name even though the name was on the screen multiple times). You could tell everyone loved working on this series and some even acknowledged this would be the peak of their career...and they were good with that.

I liked how the film didn't shy away from difficult moments of the production, whether it was stress levels from some of the production about the timeline or the infamous goo not working as expected on the day of filming to the Duffers and the writers room wrestling with how to handle certain ideas. I loved how the film then demonstrated how each of those problems were worked on and overcome in their own ways and ultimately produced the fantastic final season.

The final wrap was very touching and I was crying right along with everyone else. I loved how the film didn't just focus on the Duffers' and the actors' farewells and how the series' conclusion effected them, but also the farewells of the entire production team.

I'm watching the documentary about the making of season 5 right now... and boy, is it not painting a very good picture of the Duffers. In multiple moments, it's like the Duffers kinda gave up from exhaustion.

I...honestly don't know what to say to this because I feel like we watched two very different documentaries. I never got the sense of the Duffers giving up. Maybe frustrated at times (and really only ever in the writers room when they had to work on the final script while filming) but I saw nothing but resilience and striving to overcome difficulties that came along the way.

I'm not surprised by the reveal that filming started without a finished script for the finale, but they actually show moments in the writers room where one of the writers brings up the question of where the demos were in the abyss and the Duffers just... don't bother with it. Like a lot of interviews they're doing now that the show is over, this doc is actually making the season worse for me. In some ways, it's like everyone else but the Duffers cared more about how the show was going to end.

Again, I read that moment completely different from you. I feel like you focused on one little moment and blew it up, while ignoring everything else we saw in the film.

 

[Firebird]

Again, I read that moment completely different from you. I feel like you focused on one little moment and blew it up, while ignoring everything else we saw in the film.

I posted that when I was halfway through and was commenting on that point specifically. To say I ignored the rest of the doc is a misrepresentation.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I posted that when I was halfway through and was commenting on that point specifically. To say I ignored the rest of the doc is a misrepresentation.

I guess I find it weird to post about documentary in the middle of watching it. Comes off like judging the whole thing.

 

[Firebird]

I guess I find it weird to post about documentary in the middle of watching it. Comes off like judging the whole thing.

People have reactions while watching and post about it.