Spoilers Stranger Things - Season 5

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm hesitant about this one.

The thing is what do they hope to achieve with it other than banking on the popularity of the main show, what would it add for the character to go on a sidequest so to speak, why does the show needed to be made?

I'm thinking of two examples from the Star Wars universe - the Kenobi and Andor shows.

Kenobi was for the most part completely unnecessary ( my opinion of course) because it didn't add anything new to Star Wars. We can assume Kenobi had a rough time after the Jedi Order fell and the Imperium took over, that's not something groundbreaking. We also knew he and Vader/Anakin can't die so there's no tension in any of their fights and everything else that happens in between is also devoid of any necessary mystery because we ultimately know where it ends. So in the end the entire show was completely pointless.

In contrast there's Andor. We follow a character whom we know dies if we have watched Rogue One ( and any Star Wars fan that watches Star Wars shows has likely seen most, if not the entire, Star Wars catalogue) yet the show is so brilliantly written that we, or at least i, don't mind because we follow a hero's journey to becoming a hero and it is intertwined with a story that actually has something to say. Rogue One in itself is something of an outlier in that regard to begin with as everyone we grew to care for over the course of the movie dies but their deaths have meaning and serve as a catalyst for something bigger, in that the movie itself had something to say ( and i rank that movie directly behind the OG trilogy in terms of quality).

Now obviously i will watch the animated show to see what it's about and i hope the first few episodes convince me fast enough to overcome my hesitance but then again the DB's have proven they can write so i hope they have something good up their sleeves and it turns into Andor rather than Kenobi.

I think that's overthinking the situation.

Ever since its announcement, I've seen this series akin to all of the 80s animated series that were based on popular films, with The Real Ghostbusters being in the forefront in my mind because of its weird monster-hunting universe. Granted, this series may feel a little more "bound" by the canon (ugh) of the main series since it's specifically set between season 2 and 3, but I get the sense that the show is striving for fun monster-of-the-week adventures, that happen to tie in with the mythos of the Upside Down. That's good enough for me.

I don't need it to add to the lore. I don't need it to be deferential to the series canon (again, ugh). All I need from the show is for it to be fun.

All indications so far leans in that direction.

 

[Firebird]

Personally, I'm not really interested in any of the spin-offs at this point. I was invested in Stranger Things for everything that made the show what it was, not necessarily elements that could be carried through into other shows.

If the spin-offs are good - great! But I don't really need them all that badly.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Underwhelming series finale. More time (and care) should have been paid to the core group, and looking at the entire series, it would have been better to wrap this up in its third season. A classic case of a series dragging things out for no creatively satisfying / justifiable reason.

Spin-offs...a$ide from the obviou$ motivating factor, there'$ no solid creative rea$on to stretch out that world again.

 

[jaime]

I think any problems people have with the finale can mostly be resolved by just remembering this is something of an eighties pastiche. It’s managed that very well.

(speaking of which, Steve must have Egon RGB level hair in the cartoon, and it must end with an episode where the grown up cartoon versions watch an episode of Stranger Things thats based on their life, and wonder who the heck the actors are… )

 

[theenglish]

In contrast there's Andor. We follow a character whom we know dies if we have watched Rogue One ( and any Star Wars fan that watches Star Wars shows has likely seen most, if not the entire, Star Wars catalogue) yet the show is so brilliantly written that we, or at least i, don't mind because we follow a hero's journey to becoming a hero and it is intertwined with a story that actually has something to say. Rogue One in itself is something of an outlier in that regard to begin with as everyone we grew to care for over the course of the movie dies but their deaths have meaning and serve as a catalyst for something bigger, in that the movie itself had something to say ( and i rank that movie directly behind the OG trilogy in terms of quality).

It's probably better than the original trilogy, although those three movies will occupy the most space in my heart. Cassian Andor is the unsung hero of the rebellion and the Andor series/movie are fantastic from start to finish.

 

[JD]

I think that's overthinking the situation.

Ever since its announcement, I've seen this series akin to all of the 80s animated series that were based on popular films, with The Real Ghostbusters being in the forefront in my mind because of its weird monster-hunting universe. Granted, this series may feel a little more "bound" by the canon (ugh) of the main series since it's specifically set between season 2 and 3, but I get the sense that the show is striving for fun monster-of-the-week adventures, that happen to tie in with the mythos of the Upside Down. That's good enough for me.

I don't need it to add to the lore. I don't need it to be deferential to the series canon (again, ugh). All I need from the show is for it to be fun.

All indications so far leans in that direction.

If they really wanted to go full on '80s they'd set in it's own universe separate from the main show, but I guess they didn't want to take things that far.

 

[Commander Troi]

Overall, I was happy and satisfied by the finale. I cried at the gang playing D&D and bringing it full circle. I laughed at Max getting upset, as she reminded me of one of my fellow players. I cried again seeing Holly and her friends playing. I loved seeing Mike as a writer in the future.

 

[camdudetenger2018]

there is probley a alternate earth where since 2016 the stranger things seasons had 26 episodes and is most likely renewed for a few more seasons

 

[CaptainWacky]

I thought the finale was good overall, definitely liked it more than the rest of the season. It beneffited from not having to stop to explain everything again and again and from the characters not pausing the action to have deep conversations just before they're about to die. Okay, Steve and Jonathan did that a bit but it's the finale so it made sense to wrap their story up. I liked that they brought back the Mind-Flayer and the surprise reveal that it was Vecna's base all along, though it wasn't actually very scary and the fight was a bit underwhelming. Really the show kind of lost the atmospher an scariness of the first season as it went on, though at least season 4 had Vecna snapping teenagers like twigs.

I liked the epilogue as it had some of what I think the season has lacked: the characters just hanging out and doing stuff and existing in their world, instead of having endless conversations about the plot and the writers having to worry about giving 17 people in the same scene something to do. I do agree with the comment about Dustin's speech referencing things that we haven't actually seen happen. I guess a montage showing them going back to school and ending all divisions would have made the already long episode far too long (and I didn't expect to see Derek explaining everything to his parents and convincing them not to call the cops on his new friends for drugging them, but that would have been entertaining!)

The military stuff and particularly Kay were by far the weakest part of the season.

The end credits were good and it was nice to here the real version of 'Heroes' after the terrible cover version in the Doctor Who Fish Sex Show finale.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The end credits were good and it was nice to here the real version of 'Heroes' after the terrible cover version in the Doctor Who Fish Sex Show finale

Gods, yes, that was awful. Always go for the original, especially for David Bowie.

 

[theenglish]

Gods, yes, that was awful. Always go for the original, especially for David Bowie.

In this case, I thought it was apt as Bowie's version is more uptempo than Gabriel's, which was used way back in the first season when Will's "body" was found.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

That's fair. I would agree on that instance.

I'm just salty about whenever a bad cover is used over the original.

Looking at you, The Departed.

 

[jaime]

That's fair. I would agree on that instance.

I'm just salty about whenever a bad cover is used over the original.

Looking at you, The Departed.

To be fair, The Departed is entirely a bad cover in the first place.

 

[Jayson1]

I feel like ever thing in season 5 was bad until the last hour of the final episode when the show decided to be "Stranger Things" again, just so they could say goodbye instead of this bloated Marvel thing it had turned into. The non stop CGI was making me think back to the terrible Ant Man Quantaummania movie.

 

[bdub76]

I feel like ever thing in season 5 was bad until the last hour of the final episode when the show decided to be "Stranger Things" again, just so they could say goodbye instead of this bloated Marvel thing it had turned into. The non stop CGI was making me think back to the terrible Ant Man Quantaummania movie.

Previous seasons did a much better job building up. This one dumped you right into the action from the start, and then it slowed down.

 

[Jayson1]

Previous seasons did a much better job building up. This one dumped you right into the action from the start, and then it slowed down.

I agree. What made the other seasons better, especially season 1 is even though the show was playing into 80's movie nostalgia it made sure to keep things grounded when it came to life in Hawkins, making the Upside Down even more sinister and strange in comparison. The kids went to school. Adults had jobs and Joyce was a broken women, with a abducted child who starts having weird things happen to a point where she is using Christmas lights to contact Will, making her look like crazy women to everyone on the outside.

IMO I think the 1st 4 episodes, should have not involved the upside down at all except Velca entering peoples dreams sometimes like Freddy Kruger. Those episodes should have been them living in a military lockdown and getting into conflict with the military, under the control of LInda Hamiltion because they still want to capture Ele. Will Beyers should have been out of the closet by the end of the first episode and then have to deal with some of those bullies. Eventually though he gets his confidence and super powers to stop Veca from invading in episode 4. With the help also of Ele. The military joins forces with them in a uneasy alliance, and the next 3 episodes could be our gang and the military bringing the fight to him. Which leads to Velca's defeat and the destruction of The Upside Down and death of Ele. Then they do the roundup of showing us where eveyone is headed in life. Also even though liked some of the new kid characters, the show didn't need them.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Previous seasons did a much better job building up. This one dumped you right into the action from the start, and then it slowed down.

Which was a deliberate, conscious choice by the Duffer brothers and I think that was right call for the final season.

 

[bdub76]

I agree. What made the other seasons better, especially season 1 is even though the show was playing into 80's movie nostalgia it made sure to keep things grounded when it came to life in Hawkins, making the Upside Down even more sinister and strange in comparison. The kids went to school. Adults had jobs and Joyce was a broken women, with a abducted child who starts having weird things happen to a point where she is using Christmas lights to contact Will, making her look like crazy women to everyone on the outside.

IMO I think the 1st 4 episodes, should have not involved the upside down at all except Velca entering peoples dreams sometimes like Freddy Kruger. Those episodes should have been them living in a military lockdown and getting into conflict with the military, under the control of LInda Hamiltion because they still want to capture Ele. Will Beyers should have been out of the closet by the end of the first episode and then have to deal with some of those bullies. Eventually though he gets his confidence and super powers to stop Veca from invading in episode 4. With the help also of Ele. The military joins forces with them in a uneasy alliance, and the next 3 episodes could be our gang and the military bringing the fight to him. Which leads to Velca's defeat and the destruction of The Upside Down and death of Ele. Then they do the roundup of showing us where eveyone is headed in life. Also even though liked some of the new kid characters, the show didn't need them.

I would have liked to see more Linda Hamilton. She was under utilized given the huge cast.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Gods, yes, that was awful. Always go for the original, especially for David Bowie.

I just assumed that it came down to budget and the karaoke version was cheaper than the original.

 

[Firebird]

Gods, yes, that was awful. Always go for the original, especially for David Bowie.

I will say I do like the cover Hollywood Vampires did a few years back. I somehow heard their cover before I heard Bowie's original.