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00:00:00
The day is July 15th, 2016. [music]00:00:04
I'm fresh off of work at my local job, a00:00:07
job that I don't really like very much,00:00:08
but it's also my first ever job. I'm in00:00:10
high school, so I'm not supposed to like00:00:12
it. I turn on Netflix, and the first00:00:14
thing that's advertised is a new show00:00:16
called Stranger Things. I've never heard00:00:19
of it, but it seems very 80s small town00:00:22
mystery vibes, and I love those things.00:00:25
So, I turn it on. I watched the first00:00:26
episode, then the next one, and then the00:00:29
next one, and I'm thoroughly hooked on00:00:31
the mystery, story, and characters in00:00:34
this show. There's this kid with00:00:36
superpowers and a tattoo of the number00:00:38
11. Some shady government experiments00:00:41
and cover-ups, a monster with the00:00:44
ability to supernaturally kidnap people,00:00:46
weird alternate dimensions, a group of00:00:49
kids riding around town on bikes, a mean00:00:52
old sheriff with a heart of gold00:00:53
uncovering the mystery. This show had00:00:56
everything. For the next couple days,00:00:58
Stranger Things becomes the thing I look00:01:00
forward to the most. When I get off of00:01:02
work, I finish the season, hoping that00:01:04
it becomes popular enough for a second00:01:06
season. I tell my friends and family to00:01:08
watch it, and the rest, as they say, is00:01:11
history. I am the reason why Stranger00:01:14
Things became popular. It's strange to00:01:17
think back on this time in my life. A00:01:19
time before Stranger Things was00:01:21
Netflix's flagship show. The show that00:01:24
everybody was foaming at the mouth for00:01:26
more, no matter how long it took between00:01:28
seasons, a show that has become so00:01:30
popular that it's kind of cool to hate00:01:32
on it now. The time before the name 1100:01:34
was a household name. But that time did00:01:37
exist. And through a mix of a whole lot00:01:40
of different factors, Stranger Things00:01:42
became the show that we know today.00:01:44
Stranger Things as a series kind of00:01:46
baffles me because in a lot of ways I00:01:49
still think of the show as the small00:01:51
town mystery that got me through the00:01:53
summer nights working my first job. But00:01:55
I also recognize that the series has00:01:58
undergone so many different changes that00:02:00
my initial love and thoughts of the show00:02:03
are very different to what the show is00:02:05
today. But let's make one thing clear. I00:02:07
do really like this show. Despite some00:02:10
of the missteps and how downright00:02:12
annoying the wait between seasons has00:02:14
become, this is still a great show.00:02:17
There's a reason why it's Netflix's00:02:19
flagship series and it's gained the00:02:21
popularity it has. But I also think that00:02:24
the show almost got too big for its own00:02:27
good. And that's the premise of this00:02:29
video. I think that if Stranger Things00:02:31
hadn't gained such a massive following00:02:33
and instead it had its own niche00:02:36
audience that was big enough to sustain00:02:38
a second or third season, Stranger00:02:40
Things could have gone down as one of00:02:41
the greatest series of all time, right00:02:43
up there with Dark, another small town00:02:47
mystery show that only had three seasons00:02:49
and a small cult following. And that00:02:51
show is the greatest show of all time.00:02:53
But Stranger Things still might have00:02:55
that one of the greatest series of all00:02:57
time title by the time the fifth season00:02:59
comes out, barring a total Game of00:03:02
Thrones season 8 level collapse. But00:03:04
there's a few things as the show got00:03:06
more popular that ultimately ended up00:03:07
hurting the show in the long run. So in00:03:10
this video, I'm going to give all my00:03:11
thoughts on each and every season of00:03:13
Stranger Things in preparation for00:03:14
season 5. I'm going to go over the00:03:16
highs, the lows of the series, and why I00:03:19
think this series would have worked00:03:21
better if it hadn't gained the00:03:22
popularity it had. So, grab your bikes,00:03:25
uncover the mystery at Hawkins Lab, get00:03:28
captured by evil Russians, and fight the00:03:32
Terminator as we journey into the very00:03:34
strange town of Hawkins in Stranger00:03:37
Things.00:03:53
So, I don't think I really need to give00:03:55
a recap on this show whatsoever. It's a00:03:58
small town mystery that spans from the00:04:00
kids to the adults all working00:04:02
separately until they unite together to00:04:04
finally solve the mystery. It's been00:04:07
told before, it'll be told again. But00:04:09
what separates Stranger Things from00:04:11
others in the genre is its00:04:13
capitalization on 80s nostalgia. People00:04:16
like myself who were never around for00:04:18
the8s have this strange fixation on that00:04:22
time period, the outfits, the00:04:24
technology, the music, the films. So,00:04:27
this show really encapsulates all of00:04:29
those things into one story. But this00:04:32
season feels far different from the00:04:34
others. While yes, this show and season00:04:37
are set in the 80s and work in some of00:04:39
those references and tropes from that00:04:41
time period, this is still very largely00:04:44
focused on telling its own story.00:04:46
Everything '8s that we see or hear on00:04:49
screen is just to enhance the story00:04:51
being told. It's not relying on it to00:04:54
tell the story, which deviates greatly00:04:56
as the seasons go on. There's some00:04:59
licensed '8s songs. The soundtrack by00:05:02
Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein sounds very00:05:04
80s, but other times it doesn't. And00:05:08
some of the songs used in the more00:05:09
dramatic moments in this series aren't00:05:11
even from the8s at all. But talking00:05:13
about '8s films, this season has tons of00:05:17
references to those movies. Whether it00:05:19
be called attention to when they're00:05:20
actually talking about the movies00:05:22
themselves, or if the plot just mirrors00:05:25
a movie from the8s, it's all here,00:05:27
tropes and everything. but it's also a00:05:30
bit more modernized. There's an00:05:32
advancement of tropes that those other00:05:34
movies didn't get to because they were00:05:37
made in a certain time period. So,00:05:38
Stranger Things does its best to play00:05:41
around with certain tropes and tackle00:05:43
different expectations you might have00:05:44
for these characters, [music] which are00:05:46
far and away the best aspect of this00:05:49
entire show. Right from the very00:05:51
beginning, the show hooks you from its00:05:53
opening scene to its opening episode. In00:05:56
fact, I think Stranger Things has one of00:05:58
the better pilot episodes I've ever00:06:00
seen, and it's really never spoken about00:06:01
in that way. But this is pretty close to00:06:04
as perfect as you could ever want. It00:06:06
makes you want to hit the next episode00:06:08
immediately. It sets up everything00:06:10
perfectly. The boys and their dynamic00:06:13
and personalities all being portrayed00:06:14
through a game of Dungeons and Dragons00:06:16
is very clever. A lot of this feels like00:06:19
genuine banter between the boys. They00:06:22
aren't very popular, but they have a00:06:23
strong bond between them, and that00:06:25
carries on throughout the course of the00:06:26
season. Nancy is the typical teenager00:06:30
sneaking her boyfriend in through the00:06:31
window. Hopper is a drunk who doesn't00:06:34
take his work seriously. Joyce is a00:06:36
single mom doing her best, but is a bit00:06:39
off the rails. And whatever these00:06:41
scientists are doing in this lab is00:06:43
clearly somehow responsible for this00:06:46
monster and Will going missing. It's a00:06:49
lot of show don't tell and it works00:06:52
masterfully. And over the course of the00:06:53
season, there's a lot of different00:06:55
things going on. A lot of different00:06:56
plots, side plots, mysteries,00:06:59
characters, but all of this is00:07:01
introduced carefully. And it doesn't00:07:03
overwhelm you with how much stuff this00:07:05
story really contains. And it helps when00:07:08
all of the different points of view are00:07:10
at all times entertaining, telling, and00:07:13
mysterious. With a little hindsight00:07:15
though, the season is funny to look back00:07:17
on. It's crazy that at the time of00:07:20
writing this and uploading this video,00:07:22
the final season isn't even out yet.00:07:24
Yet, this person is now old enough to be00:07:27
married and have a child. But that's00:07:29
another thing that surprised me about00:07:30
going back to this season, and that's00:07:32
just how good these child actors were.00:07:35
Like I said, a lot of their dynamic00:07:37
feels real and genuine, so that00:07:39
certainly helps these scenes. But even00:07:41
in the more dramatic scenes, these kids00:07:44
nail each and everything that they're00:07:45
asked to do. In the teenage portion of00:07:47
the story line, Nancy is with the school00:07:50
jock instead of the loner nerdy boy, but00:07:53
eventually warms up to the loner nerdy00:07:55
boy to the point that we root for him00:07:57
over the awful school bully. But the00:07:59
school bully isn't your typical00:08:01
one-dimensional villain that just00:08:03
disappears after the girl gets rid of00:08:05
him like they do in all of those8s00:08:07
movies. Even by the end of the season,00:08:09
Steve feels like a much different person00:08:12
and like he was here to be more than00:08:14
just a temporary love interest for00:08:16
Nancy. Steve is a jerk in this season,00:08:19
but he's actually not as bad as I00:08:22
remember. Like his friends are just00:08:24
over-the-top genuine but like00:08:26
when Steve rips up Jonathan's photos, he00:08:29
has every right to do that because00:08:31
Jonathan was being really creepy. He's00:08:34
not mean to Barb or anything. He puts a00:08:36
harness on his friends whenever they get00:08:38
too out of line in front of Nancy. And00:08:40
I'm not saying he's a good guy in this00:08:42
season by any means. He's just not as00:08:44
bad as I remember. He's not like00:08:45
irredeemable because I think there was00:08:48
always a plan for him to become someone00:08:50
different. Hopper is your pretty typical00:08:53
big angry chief of police with a heart00:08:56
of gold type of character, but he also00:08:58
turns into your pretty typical '8s00:09:00
action hero. And these types of people00:09:02
are just incredibly easy to root for00:09:04
because these are the people who usually00:09:06
find answers by any means necessary. But00:09:09
again, he ends up becoming a pretty00:09:10
layered character. He's not just angry00:09:13
for the sake of it. This case becomes00:09:15
very personal to him because he's lost a00:09:17
child before and he'll do anything to00:09:19
make sure that doesn't happen to another00:09:21
person. But the real draw of the show00:09:23
when it was first premiering was the00:09:25
fact that Winona Ryder was in it. I know00:09:27
it's hard to remember a time before00:09:30
Stranger Things was as huge as it is,00:09:32
but back in 2016, this was more commonly00:09:35
referred to as Winona Ryder's new show00:09:37
and not Stranger Things. And for good00:09:40
reason, because Joyce Buyers is a huge00:09:42
factor in this season and all seasons00:09:45
afterwards. She plays this person who's00:09:48
a little bit off the rails so well, and00:09:51
we know that everybody around thinks00:09:53
that she's crazy. And at first we think00:09:55
maybe she's a little bit crazy too, but00:09:57
she ends up being right about just about00:10:00
everything. And for this season, the00:10:02
groups are largely split into their00:10:03
respective age ranges until they come00:10:06
together at the end. But the real00:10:08
strength of this season and of this show00:10:10
is all of the characters and their00:10:12
dynamics with each other. Mike and00:10:14
Eleven, Nancy and Jonathan, Joyce and00:10:17
Hopper. It's all so great to see these00:10:20
people interact with each other and the00:10:22
other characters in their story lines.00:10:24
If there's one thing that the Duffer00:10:26
brothers are really good at writing,00:10:28
it's character dialogue and growing00:10:30
those dynamics really except for Mike00:10:33
and Nancy, but I'll get to that later.00:10:35
What works so well about this season is00:10:38
that it is a through and through00:10:40
mystery. We don't know what's going on00:10:42
at Hawkins Lab. What happened to Will?00:10:44
What this monster is? And we want to see00:10:47
the answers to all these questions,00:10:48
which also goes along with another big00:10:50
theme of this season, and that's horror.00:10:53
With all of these things being unknown,00:10:55
it leads to a lot of pretty horrific00:10:57
moments. The demogorgan in the opening00:11:00
scene that has uh far different powers00:11:02
than we ever see it have again is a big00:11:05
hook into this story, and it's truly00:11:07
very terrifying. When Eleven is first00:11:09
explaining the upside down and where00:11:11
Will is and what he's hiding from, so00:11:13
she flips the board upside down. It's a00:11:16
pretty terrifying moment because we have00:11:18
so little context into what she's00:11:20
actually talking about. And again, we00:11:22
want to see more. Will communicating00:11:24
with his mom via the lights and saying00:11:27
he's in danger. Since we as the audience00:11:30
have very little answers to all this, it00:11:32
leaves it to our imagination to fill in00:11:34
just how much danger he's in and where00:11:37
he is. And that's truly the scariest00:11:39
part of anything in the horror genre00:11:42
when we just don't know the answers. A00:11:44
huge breakthrough in the mystery comes00:11:46
in episode 4, the body, where Hopper00:11:49
goes to investigate Joyce's claims about00:11:51
Will's body not being real. And this is00:11:54
an excellent scene and a real turning00:11:56
point in this season because it makes us00:11:58
realize just how powerful these people00:12:01
at Hawkins Lab actually are. It's a00:12:03
standout moment of the season and a00:12:05
standout moment of the series for me.00:12:07
But even throughout this season, there's00:12:09
just a lot of really horrific imagery00:12:11
and more adult themes and content. And00:12:15
this tone doesn't really return to the00:12:17
show until season 4. While seasons two00:12:20
and three contain some of the horror00:12:22
imagery, it's the tone that I00:12:24
specifically love in this first season.00:12:27
But having a good mystery is only part00:12:29
of it. Another big highlight of the00:12:31
season is how smart it is at connecting00:12:33
the mystery together. Like I said, this00:12:35
is a pretty complex story line with a00:12:38
lot of different characters and events.00:12:40
All of them having different knowledge00:12:42
of the mystery at any given moment in00:12:44
any given episode. So, when Hopper hears00:12:47
that Benny had a young boy in his shop00:12:49
the day that he died, we as an audience00:12:51
know that this is Eleven. But it also00:12:53
leads him to think that it's Will and00:12:55
continue the path down this mystery. And00:12:58
in some way, they actually are00:13:00
connected. There's even a moment where00:13:01
Eleven points at a picture of Will, like00:13:04
she knows him or knows what happened to00:13:06
him. And correct me if I'm wrong here,00:13:08
but I don't think that she should know00:13:10
about this. There isn't a scene later on00:13:13
in this season or even the series that00:13:15
explains this. Was she used to go and00:13:18
look for where Will is before she00:13:19
escaped? I'm going to assume this just00:13:22
happened offcreen. But even if it00:13:24
didn't, this was another scene used to00:13:26
connect everything together, to give00:13:28
both the boys and Eleven the same goal00:13:31
going forward, which was to find Will.00:13:33
[music] Even if it seems like most of00:13:35
the other people in town have given up00:13:36
on finding him. Even with all the side00:13:39
plots introduced in this season, a lot00:13:41
of them have a way to connect the story00:13:43
together. When Troy and his mom go to00:13:45
the police station, he mentions a girl00:13:47
with a shaved head that was with Mike00:13:49
and Dustin, which gives Hopper another00:13:51
lead to go off of and even gives a00:13:53
reason for this whole bullying side plot00:13:55
to be here in the first place. And as00:13:57
much as people might not want to hear00:13:59
it, Steve as a character in this season00:14:02
is more of just a glorified side plot.00:14:05
But even he has his moment to shine at00:14:07
the end. Episodes seven and 8 bring all00:14:10
the different storylines together in a00:14:12
very satisfying manner. Jonathan and00:14:14
Nancy have been working to kill the00:14:16
monster regardless if Will is dead or00:14:18
not because they know that this thing00:14:20
definitely took Barb as well. The kids00:14:23
know for a fact that Will is alive00:14:25
because Eleven has told them that and00:14:27
showed them the proof. Hopper eventually00:14:29
comes to realize that Joyce is right00:14:31
about Will and does anything and00:14:33
everything he can to help her find her00:14:35
son. All of these people have different00:14:37
pieces to the mystery, so they come00:14:39
together to share information and move00:14:42
the plot ahead, which allows them to00:14:44
break apart again and actually solve the00:14:46
mystery. While it would be easy for all00:14:48
of the characters to be sidelined in00:14:50
order for Hopper and Joyce to go in and00:14:52
actually find Will, each story line has00:14:55
its own concrete ending. Nancy and00:14:57
Jonathan try to buy Hopper and Joyce00:14:59
some time by luring the creature in and00:15:02
killing it, Steve even being there to00:15:04
help with this. And while it ultimately00:15:05
doesn't work, it certainly weakens the00:15:08
creature enough for Eleven to actually00:15:10
kill it. And for Hopper and Joyce to00:15:12
find and rescue Will. Everyone has their00:15:15
own ending, and in their own way, they00:15:18
save the day and solve the mystery. One00:15:20
of the things this season, and really00:15:22
this show, does particularly well, is00:15:25
making you hit the next episode. Sure,00:15:27
if you're into a show enough, you'll00:15:29
always hit next episode, even if it's00:15:31
3:00 a.m. and you have school or work in00:15:33
a few hours. But this season is quite00:15:36
literally designed to make you hit next00:15:38
episode. This is one of the shining00:15:40
examples of all streaming shows and why00:15:43
writing for this format is different00:15:45
from shows on regular cable TV. You know00:15:48
when you're binging a show and you can00:15:50
tell that it premiered on TV because it00:15:52
would cut to black and then come back00:15:54
and show the previous 5 seconds before00:15:56
continuing on? Well, this show of course00:15:58
doesn't have to do [music] that. But00:16:00
each and every episode ends on a00:16:02
cliffhanger that makes you want to watch00:16:04
the next episode. Doesn't have to be00:16:06
much of a cliffhanger, but it keeps you00:16:08
wanting more. Keeps you on the edge of00:16:10
your seat, even if what you want is00:16:12
answered in the very beginning of the00:16:14
next episode, the end of episode 3. They00:16:16
apparently find Will's body. The00:16:19
beginning of episode 4, Joyce is adamant00:16:21
that it's not him. The end of episode 5,00:16:23
Nancy is in the upside down and is about00:16:26
to be trapped. The beginning of episode00:16:28
6, she finds her way out. This happens00:16:30
with each and every episode. It's00:16:32
incredibly smart and a bit manipulative00:16:35
writing, but it works, and I do believe00:16:37
this plays at least a small part in what00:16:40
made this season so successful. The00:16:42
season leaves a few things open-ended,00:16:45
like Hopper leaving waffles in the woods00:16:47
and Will's vision of the upside down,00:16:50
but they're appropriate cliffhers left00:16:52
just in case the show did well enough to00:16:54
warrant a second season. But if it00:16:57
didn't, then the story is all told from00:16:59
beginning to end. There's also this sort00:17:01
of confusing scene between Hopper and00:17:03
these men in a car. He talks about how00:17:06
he made a deal with Brener, but I uh00:17:09
don't remember this ever coming back up.00:17:11
I absolutely adore this season of00:17:14
television. I'm always a fan of these00:17:16
small town mysteries and I think this is00:17:19
one of the more complex versions of00:17:21
those stories that works on every level.00:17:23
Take some personal bias into00:17:25
consideration when I say this, but this00:17:27
is one of my favorite seasons of00:17:29
television of all time. The small town00:17:31
mystery, the horror, the different00:17:34
storylines intersecting and connecting.00:17:36
This season just speaks to me. So, I'm00:17:39
going 9.6. 6 out of 10.00:17:46
So, with the first season of Stranger00:17:47
Things being a renowned success,00:17:50
production for season 2 began right00:17:52
away, meaning the second season actually00:17:55
came out a little after a year removed00:17:57
from the first season, which is00:17:59
absolutely insane by today's TV00:18:02
standards and insane by Stranger Things00:18:04
standards. But because Stranger Things00:18:07
was this huge success, it meant the00:18:10
second season got a pretty noticeable00:18:12
budget increase, leading to much better00:18:14
visual effects, particularly when it00:18:16
comes to The Upside Down. But with that00:18:18
budget increase came a few cons as well.00:18:21
Either the Duffer brothers or Netflix00:18:24
themselves thought a big reason why this00:18:27
show was a success was because it was00:18:29
set in the8s. And that very well may be00:18:32
true, but it certainly wasn't the only00:18:35
reason the show was successful. And this00:18:37
season started a trend with the8s in00:18:40
this series that I, for one, didn't00:18:42
enjoy. There's an almost constant00:18:44
barrage of licensed music, games, and00:18:48
movies that's overtly reminding you that00:18:51
this is in the8s, just in case you00:18:53
forgot, I guess. And maybe this is what00:18:55
people liked about the series. It's00:18:57
definitely not the defining feature that00:18:59
I liked about the show, but it seems00:19:01
that's what this season wanted to focus00:19:04
on. Maybe it's because I, you know,00:19:07
wasn't alive for the '8s, so outside of00:19:09
some movies, I don't have the same00:19:11
appreciation for all the8s nostalgia,00:19:13
and I actually cared more for the story00:19:15
and the characters. I don't know. I00:19:16
might be in the minority there. We were00:19:18
left with a few mysteries at the end of00:19:20
the first season. Why is Will still00:19:22
having flashes of the upside down? And00:19:24
where is Eleven? We get both of these00:19:27
answers pretty early on. But let's start00:19:29
with 11. Eleven is trapped in the upside00:19:32
down for all of about 2 minutes and then00:19:36
goes to Mike's heavily guarded house and00:19:39
stands by the window. But no one sees00:19:41
her or can catch her when she runs away.00:19:44
So she's in the woods and finds these00:19:46
waffles in the box that Hopper left for00:19:49
her. But how did he know to leave these00:19:51
waffles at this exact spot? And again,00:19:54
what was the deal that Hopper made with00:19:57
Brener? These things don't really have00:19:59
concrete answers. Then we have Will. It00:20:01
would make sense that he's having tests00:20:04
run on him by the new people at Hawkins00:20:06
Lab and that he would in some way still00:20:08
be connected to the upside down. So that00:20:10
introduces us to the next big bad of the00:20:13
series, and that's the mind flare. They00:20:16
left all these plot threads in season 100:20:18
so that way they could do a season 2.00:20:20
But you can tell they hadn't actually00:20:22
really planned out a season 2. So the00:20:25
real meat of the plot of the season00:20:27
doesn't really start until about halfway00:20:29
through. And the first few episodes are00:20:31
all about resolving those few mysteries00:20:33
and lingering questions from season 1.00:20:36
But the season does start off on a00:20:38
pretty intriguing note. There's a00:20:40
totally new band of characters, one of00:20:42
them with the power to make people have00:20:44
visions. And this turns out to be number00:20:47
eight. I really liked this opening00:20:49
scene. I thought it was a great way to00:20:51
expand the world and give us some more00:20:53
answers as to why 11 is well number 11.00:20:58
And I was excited to see where this00:21:00
would go over the course of the season.00:21:02
Big emphasis on the was excited. And00:21:05
stuff like this is to be expected. This00:21:07
is a sequel. It's even marketed as00:21:10
Stranger Things 2, not season 2. and all00:21:14
sequels end up going bigger and trying00:21:16
to be better. Even if most of the time00:21:18
they miss the mark on the later portion00:21:21
of that statement, the mind flare is a00:21:23
good example of sequels going bigger and00:21:25
better. This thing is equally as00:21:27
terrifying as the demogorgan. The scene00:21:29
of it rising up in episode 2 is00:21:32
genuinely terrifying. Gives a great00:21:34
sense of scale as to how big this thing00:21:36
really is. Things like there being many00:21:39
different demma dogs instead of one00:21:41
demogorgan is really reminiscent of the00:21:44
difference between alien and aliens. Not00:21:47
to mention a lot of other references to00:21:49
80s films. There's a reference to Close00:21:51
Encounters of the Third Kind when Will00:21:53
opens the door. The Exorcist when Will00:21:56
is possessed and his voice changes. And00:21:58
speaking of the mind flare, this thing00:22:00
even looks like a xenomorph. Like I00:22:02
said, this season leaned very heavily on00:22:05
being an 80s TV show, so it was packed00:22:08
headto toe in references. Although in00:22:11
this season, some of those references00:22:13
aren't so in-your-face. If you aren't00:22:15
aware of these other '8s films or00:22:18
tropes, then it's possible you wouldn't00:22:20
get these references. And I think that's00:22:21
fine. Paying homage to these different00:22:23
properties in a very diluted manner was00:22:26
always fine with me. It was that way in00:22:28
the first season, too. But again, this00:22:31
changes as the series goes on. A big00:22:33
aspect of this season was, of course,00:22:35
the new characters, but also the new00:22:37
character dynamics. The first two00:22:39
episodes are a bit slower of a pace00:22:42
compared to last season, but a lot of00:22:44
this is to build up the characters00:22:45
chemistry. Like last season, we only got00:22:48
one scene of Will and the friends, so we00:22:50
truly didn't get to see a lot of their00:22:52
friendship. The season definitely00:22:54
focuses on that while also throwing a00:22:56
wrench in the dynamic by adding in Max.00:22:59
The new characters like Max, Billy, and00:23:02
Bob are fine additions, but for this00:23:05
season, they really only serve very00:23:07
specific purposes. Billy is now the hot00:23:10
shot bully in school because Steve is a00:23:12
good guy. Max is there for the boys to00:23:14
have a crush on, showing us that they're00:23:16
getting older. Bob is here to show that00:23:18
time has passed, to give Joyce some00:23:21
semblance of happiness. in her life. And00:23:23
because this is Shawn Aston, the poster00:23:26
child of8s mystery. Of course, these00:23:28
characters go on to do great things and00:23:31
be strong characters, but in this00:23:32
season, they're kind of just thrown in00:23:34
here to enhance the characters we00:23:36
already know. The unsung hero of the00:23:38
season is Bob, but we'll talk more about00:23:41
him later. The characters and their00:23:43
dynamics are still very strong and prove00:23:46
to be the best part of the season. Very00:23:48
early on, characters and their00:23:49
relationships develop. Whether that00:23:51
means stronger bonds start to form like00:23:53
with Joyce and Hopper or Cracks and00:23:56
already formed relationships like Nancy00:23:58
and Steve. There's also new pairings00:24:00
that form throughout the season that are00:24:02
very strong like Hopper and 11 and of00:24:05
course Dustin and Steve. It's said that00:24:08
a big inspiration for Hopper and 11 was00:24:10
The Last of Us with Joel and Ellie and00:24:13
that very much feels like it comes00:24:15
through on screen. Hopper is the00:24:17
reluctant and angry father. Eleven is00:24:19
the sarcastic and rebellious teenager00:24:22
with a very special condition. And both00:24:24
Joel and Hopper have dead daughters00:24:26
named Sarah. Jonathan and Nancy are00:24:28
another duo that have a ton of00:24:30
development. I remember the first time I00:24:32
watched the series and being angry that00:24:34
she was still with Steve by the end of00:24:36
season 1, but that doesn't last very00:24:38
long in this season. And in this season,00:24:41
Jonathan and Nancy are super easy to00:24:43
root for. They're the classic will they,00:24:45
won't they? characters, having to get00:24:47
separate beds in the motel and00:24:49
everything. Their journey to Murray's to00:24:51
get his information, but also tell him00:24:53
information is great for their00:24:55
relationship development and allows us a00:24:57
closer look at Murray, who's just a side00:25:00
character this season, but eventually00:25:01
goes on to be like a main side character00:25:04
because of how great he is in this00:25:06
season. But because these two end up00:25:08
together, it meant that Steve was00:25:11
sidelined for a little bit. It seemed00:25:13
like they didn't really know what to do00:25:15
with Steve this season because they were00:25:17
going to have Jonathan and Nancy be00:25:18
together. So, they paired him with00:25:20
Dustin, which quite obviously was a00:25:23
really great choice. This unlikely duo00:25:26
is one of, if not my favorite one in the00:25:29
entire show, and their friendship is my00:25:31
absolute favorite thing to come out of00:25:33
this season. It seems that opinion is00:25:35
shared by a lot of people given how00:25:38
reluctant they are to separate these two00:25:40
from here on out. And speaking of00:25:42
Dustin, he's very clearly the one who00:25:45
has the most to do in the first four or00:25:47
five episodes with him getting Dart and00:25:50
keeping it a secret from the rest of the00:25:51
friends for a while. We spend a lot of00:25:54
time solely from his perspective and we00:25:57
don't really get that much time with the00:25:59
other kids besides Will, but even then a00:26:02
lot of times it's not solely his point00:26:04
of view. But I think Dustin is the one00:26:05
to get Dart and to very stupidly keep it00:26:08
a secret because he's the character who00:26:10
gets a pass. He's the lovable, funny,00:26:14
innocent, and clueless character. So,00:26:16
the audience is more forgiving of his00:26:18
stupid decisions than they would be if00:26:19
this was like Mike doing all of this.00:26:22
Takes a bit of time for the plot to00:26:24
really get set into motion. Part of this00:26:26
is because they have to set up the new00:26:28
characters and plot lines, but part of00:26:30
this is because this show in general is00:26:33
just very slow at setting up new plot00:26:35
lines. Yes, the time it takes can be00:26:38
great because it makes the eventual00:26:39
payoffs for bigger scenes and episodes00:26:42
pack that much more of a punch, but a00:26:44
lot of time it just leaves me wondering00:26:46
when the actual plot is going to move00:26:48
forward. At the end of episode 3, we00:26:50
finally get to see the plot start moving00:26:52
in motion when the mind flare possesses00:26:55
Will because of some advice that Bob00:26:57
gave him. Way to go, Bob. The start of00:27:00
episode 4 is really when things start00:27:02
hitting their stride. There's a lot less00:27:04
in-your-face '8s references and more00:27:07
character drama, and we can really start00:27:09
to see the suspense building. We see00:27:11
Will have a conversation with his mom00:27:13
and really get to see how incredible of00:27:15
an actor Noah Schnapp is. All of the00:27:18
acting in the show is good, even with00:27:20
the kids, but Noah, particularly in this00:27:23
season, is on a completely different00:27:25
level than they are. Will is given a00:27:27
bigger role in this season, and I'm sad00:27:29
to say that this season is his biggest00:27:32
role across all seasons. He plays the00:27:34
difference between Will and the spy00:27:37
incredibly well, and I'm not sure if any00:27:39
of the other kids could have done that.00:27:41
Hopper and Eleven's fight is extremely00:27:43
well-acted on both accounts and really00:27:46
shows us a change in their dynamic that00:27:48
sets the plot further in motion. Hopper00:27:50
also could not have handled this moment00:27:52
worse.00:27:53
>> You [screaming] are like Papa.00:27:55
>> Really?00:27:57
I'm like that psychotic son of a00:27:59
>> There's really a dramatic shift between00:28:01
the suspense in the first three episodes00:28:03
to episode 4. The editing seems to flow00:28:06
better. The music is less so about00:28:08
reminding you that you're in the8s and00:28:10
actually telling the story at hand. And00:28:13
the character drama actually seems like00:28:15
drama and it's not just developing00:28:17
characters. Like I said, on one hand,00:28:19
with lots of buildup makes the payoffs00:28:21
better. But I actually felt more engaged00:28:24
with everything happening in episode 4.00:28:26
So, I think the first three episodes00:28:28
were just a bit too slow getting00:28:30
everything started. Bob gets a great00:28:32
moment to shine, figuring out Will's00:28:34
drawings are actually a map of Hawkins,00:28:36
which leads them to finding and saving00:28:38
Hopper. But things aren't so simple for00:28:41
the lab people because Will is so00:28:43
connected to the upside down that if00:28:45
they burn the tunnels, they'll end up00:28:47
killing Will. And this is such a great00:28:49
dilemma for the story to have because00:28:51
they even talk about how it might be00:28:53
worth it for the kid to die in order to00:28:54
put a band-aid over this problem. It00:28:57
leads to a lot of great questions about00:28:58
Will himself and Mike being the one to00:29:01
figure out that Will is being used as a00:29:04
spy. Episode 6 gives us some of our00:29:06
greatest moments in the entire season.00:29:09
We get the Dustin and Steve00:29:10
interactions, Murray talking, which00:29:13
forces Jonathan and Nancy to finally get00:29:15
together, the gearing up of a big00:29:17
battle, and some great character00:29:19
interactions that develop even our side00:29:22
characters like Max. Tensions build with00:29:25
Steve facing not only Dart, but the00:29:27
twist that there's more demodogs than00:29:29
they thought. Then we see that Will has00:29:32
given up their position and the men are00:29:34
walking into a trap and the Demod dogs00:29:36
are heading to the lab. Oh man, what a00:29:39
great cliffhanger. I can't wait to see00:29:41
what happens in the next episode. Wait,00:29:44
what is this? This isn't a continuation00:29:47
of last episode. This is an 11cent00:29:50
centric episode focused on her meeting00:29:52
the X-Men. I don't care about this.00:29:55
Bring me back to the characters I want00:29:57
to see. Eleven's story has been so00:29:59
painfully boring this season, and now we00:30:01
have to sit through an entire episode00:30:03
that's basically just a backdoor pilot00:30:06
to a spin-off. There's so much wrong00:30:08
with this episode, it's not even funny.00:30:11
But let's back up a little bit and talk00:30:12
about Eleven's storyline this season. 1100:30:16
goes to visit her mother, which in and00:30:18
it of itself is an intriguing plotline,00:30:21
but we know ultimately how it ends00:30:23
because Joyce and Hopper already went to00:30:25
go visit her in the first season. That00:30:27
plot line was one of the only issues I00:30:29
had with the first season because it00:30:30
didn't really lead to anything new. It00:30:33
would have been far more impactful for00:30:34
the audience to discover Eleven's00:30:37
mother's state while we were through the00:30:39
point of view of Eleven rather than00:30:41
already knowing what's going to happen.00:30:43
This just adds to Eleven's plotline00:30:45
being the worst out of all the plot00:30:47
lines this season because it's just not00:30:50
all that interesting. Sure, it leads to00:30:52
answers about finding more people like00:30:54
her, but that's not exactly a great00:30:56
thing either. Not only is this a weak00:30:58
plotline, but the acting isn't great.00:31:01
The characters aren't interesting and it00:31:04
couldn't have come at a worse time00:31:06
because they just hooked us with00:31:08
everything happening at Hawkins just to00:31:10
hit pause so that way we can go on a00:31:12
side adventure. To make matters either00:31:14
better or worse, this story line really00:31:17
doesn't make any sense because it00:31:19
doesn't lead to anything in the future00:31:20
of the show. You can just skip this00:31:22
episode entirely. The only thing you00:31:24
won't know is how Eleven got new clothes00:31:26
and a new hairstyle. They set up a00:31:29
really intriguing mystery in the opening00:31:31
scene of the season, but then they don't00:31:32
touch on it again until episode 7, which00:31:35
feels like it's too little too late at00:31:38
that point. I get it. They tried00:31:40
something new and it didn't work. So,00:31:42
they didn't elaborate on it in future00:31:44
seasons, which is good rather than them00:31:46
trying to force the idea down our00:31:48
throats. But, it makes this entire00:31:50
episode completely worthless and just00:31:53
really cements 11 having the worst00:31:55
storyline this season. On paper, Eleven00:31:58
going to meet other people with powers00:32:00
so that way they can help her with hers00:32:02
is a great story line, but the execution00:32:05
and I think more importantly, the timing00:32:07
[music] of this plot couldn't have been00:32:10
worse. Literally, if you just skip00:32:12
episode 7, it flows so much better as a00:32:15
season. The different story lines start00:32:17
to converge together. And this is00:32:19
actually a point that allows for greater00:32:21
impact than season 1. Because in season00:32:24
1 when the story lines converged, they00:32:26
had to explain about everything going on00:32:28
and how each group knows what they know.00:32:31
But in season 2, our characters all know00:32:33
each other. They all know what's going00:32:35
on. And this allows for more actions to00:32:38
actually take place. And these last few00:32:40
episodes, nope, not you, feel really00:32:43
impactful and thread the story lines00:32:45
together very well. There's bigger00:32:47
moments, bigger stakes, and even some00:32:50
better writing than there was in the00:32:51
first season. As our characters are00:32:53
meeting and the story lines are finally00:32:55
coming together, it seems that everybody00:32:57
has made it out of Hawkins lab alive00:33:00
until Bob gets attacked by [music] one00:33:02
of the demod dogs. Bob is undoubtedly00:33:05
the unsung hero because he allows for00:33:07
everybody to get out of Hawkins lab00:33:09
alive until he meets his honestly pretty00:33:12
disturbing end. By far the most00:33:15
disturbing thing we see out of the00:33:16
entirety of season 2. But this whole00:33:18
sequence in episode 8 is very tense,00:33:21
engaging, and ultimately heartbreaking.00:33:23
While everybody working together and all00:33:25
the branching storylines coming into one00:33:27
is exactly what they did in the first00:33:29
season and subsequently what they do in00:33:31
the next season, it really works because00:33:34
of the characters and seeing them all00:33:36
interact with one another. Dustin is00:33:38
trying to explain everything to the00:33:40
group and how they can stop the spy, but00:33:42
Hopper kind of dismisses him because00:33:44
he's just making Dn D references. But00:33:46
Dustin continues on. He's like, "No, no,00:33:48
no, guys. This is serious." Until he00:33:50
ultimately realizes the analogy falls00:33:52
apart. It's such a great scene. The00:33:54
Duffer brothers, like I said, are great00:33:56
character writers. So, even when the00:33:58
story suffers a little bit, the00:34:00
characters and their dynamics are great00:34:02
to see. This whole interaction gets even00:34:04
better when the day is saved by 11.00:34:07
While she definitely had the worst00:34:09
storyline this season, she's still 11.00:34:12
And it's a very heartwarming sequence to00:34:14
see her reunite with all the friends,00:34:16
Mike and Joyce, which is much needed00:34:19
after the devastating death of Bob a few00:34:21
minutes earlier. The final episode of00:34:23
the season does two things very well.00:34:26
Wrapping up the story lines to a00:34:28
satisfying manner and setting up plot00:34:30
lines for the next season. With season00:34:33
1, they weren't sure if they were going00:34:35
to get a second season. So, all we00:34:36
really got was the one quick glimpse of00:34:38
Will throwing up the slug, which00:34:40
obviously became a central plot of00:34:42
season 2. But the ending of this season00:34:44
showed us things like Billy flirting00:34:46
with Mrs. Wheeler, Billy's backstory00:34:49
with his father, the mind flare watching00:34:51
over Hawkins, and the many other00:34:53
character relationships that would00:34:54
develop in another season. But00:34:56
truthfully, the story is complete. They00:35:00
closed the gate and Hawkins is back to00:35:02
normal. Sure, the story could continue,00:35:05
but it didn't really need to. At the end00:35:08
of the day, Stranger Things 2 is very00:35:10
much like every other sequel out there.00:35:12
It gets bigger, but not necessarily00:35:15
better. The characters prove to be the00:35:17
strongest aspect of the show, especially00:35:19
with the new interactions, [music]00:35:20
like Steve and Dustin, and really just00:35:23
Steve with the rest of the kids. It00:35:25
certainly takes a while for things to00:35:26
get going, and when they get going, they00:35:29
take an abrupt stop, so that way we can00:35:31
see what 11's up to, and then they get00:35:33
going again. Some of the payoffs in this00:35:36
season are really great, but a lot of00:35:38
the season focuses too much on making00:35:41
sure, you know, it's set in the 80s than00:35:44
it does telling a story. This isn't a00:35:46
bad season by any means. It's very well00:35:49
acted and written for the most part, and00:35:52
I will always enjoy watching it, but00:35:53
it's nowhere near as strong as the first00:35:55
season. I still love the small-cale00:35:58
mystery elements and kids going on00:36:00
adventures. As crazy or ridiculous the00:36:03
concept might be, it still itches that00:36:06
scratch that I always have for adventure00:36:08
mystery shows. So, I'm giving Stranger00:36:10
Things season 2 a 7.7 out of 10.00:36:20
All right, time to move on to season 3.00:36:22
I had only watched this season one time00:36:24
until this recent rewatch of the series.00:36:27
And I remember when I first watched it,00:36:28
I thought, "Yeah, that was pretty good,00:36:31
but not as good as the first two00:36:32
seasons." And I don't know, maybe it's00:36:34
because I remembered really liking00:36:35
season 4 after this. But season 3 just00:36:39
absolutely pales in comparison to all00:36:42
the others. And because I've been00:36:44
looking up a lot of stuff about Stranger00:36:45
Things, of course, my phone keeps on00:36:47
recommending me Stranger Things pages.00:36:49
And I see nothing but praise when it00:36:51
comes to this season. And I feel like00:36:53
I'm losing my mind because this to me is00:36:55
just so obviously the weakest season. I00:36:58
have no idea how anybody can think00:37:00
otherwise. So, if this is your favorite00:37:02
season, please tell me why and how that00:37:05
is in the comments. A big reason why00:37:08
this season fails is because there's no00:37:11
mystery. Everything is shown to us from00:37:14
the opening scene. In the first season,00:37:16
Will gets taken. Where did he go? Who's00:37:19
this girl who escaped from the lab?00:37:21
What's going on in the lab? The second00:37:23
season, what's this new monster? Who's00:37:25
this other person with powers? What's00:37:27
going on with Will? The third season, is00:37:30
there actually something going on with00:37:32
the Russians and the mall? Oh, wait.00:37:34
That's not a mystery because it's00:37:36
revealed right away. If the second00:37:38
season had too many 80s references for00:37:41
you, then season 3 might as well just be00:37:43
a straightup spoof of things from the8s.00:37:47
This season embraced the summer00:37:49
blockbuster trope. And while there's a00:37:51
certain charm to that, it also00:37:54
completely disregarded what Stranger00:37:56
Things was and what it will be, making00:37:59
this season stick out like a sore thumb.00:38:01
One of the things I really don't like00:38:03
about this plot is how far-fetched it00:38:06
seems. Are Russians really invading00:38:09
Hawkins? That sounds pretty ridiculous,00:38:12
even by Stranger Things standards. And I00:38:14
think if there was a whole conspiracy00:38:16
and the kids were uncovering the00:38:18
mystery, theorizing that there were00:38:21
Russians just to be shot down by Popper00:38:23
or some other police as a ridiculous00:38:25
idea. And for there to actually be a00:38:28
reveal that, oh no, there are Russians00:38:29
here, that might have been cool. But00:38:31
it's also kind of a double-edged sword00:38:34
because if that was the way things00:38:35
happened, it might have just seemed even00:38:38
more laughably silly. The other plot00:38:40
going on in this season revolves around00:38:42
the rats and everything happening with00:38:44
Billy. And this is certainly the more00:38:47
interesting story line, but again, it00:38:49
kind of seems obvious what's going on00:38:51
here. So, the mystery is just presented00:38:54
to us automatically. We see what00:38:56
happened with Billy and we're just00:38:58
waiting for the characters to piece it00:38:59
together, which is a far cry from what00:39:01
happened in the last two seasons. And I00:39:04
think part of the heart of Stranger00:39:06
Things as a story is all the mystery. So00:39:09
when you take that out of the story, it00:39:11
feels like there's something missing.00:39:13
But in this season, there's a big00:39:15
emphasis on everyone growing up. The00:39:17
first scene we see with L and Mike is00:39:20
them making out. They're going on dates00:39:23
to the movies. Dustin has a girlfriend00:39:25
now, and even the older teens are now00:39:27
getting jobs and aren't at school00:39:29
anymore. Hopper's going to Joyce for00:39:32
parenting advice. It just seems like00:39:34
everybody has entered a new phase of00:39:36
life. And then on the flip side, there's00:39:39
Mrs. Wheeler trying to get younger.00:39:41
There's not a whole ton of new00:39:42
characters this time around. The two00:39:44
biggest ones are Alexi, who I'll talk00:39:47
about later, but certainly the biggest00:39:48
one is Robin, Steve's new co-orker, at00:39:52
his scoops a job, who tells him how bad00:39:54
he is at getting girls. Hm. I'm sure00:39:57
this isn't going to be his new super00:40:00
obvious love interest. Seriously, this00:40:02
show is getting so predictable. [sighs]00:40:05
Anyways, I actually really like Robin00:40:07
more than a lot of the new characters00:40:09
that get introduced in subsequent and00:40:11
past seasons. She's a nononsense00:40:14
sarcastic girl who embraces the mystery.00:40:16
So, whenever she's on screen, it's00:40:18
mostly to further the actual plot. I00:40:21
hope they don't change her entire00:40:23
personality in subsequent seasons.00:40:26
Anyways, this whole theme of growing up00:40:28
is really emphasized by Will's00:40:31
character. This whole season, he's00:40:33
clinging on to the past and wants things00:40:35
to go back to how they were because for00:40:37
the past 2 years, he was robbed of a lot00:40:39
of those moments between him and his00:40:41
friends. They all grew up and left him00:40:43
in the past. And it's honestly very00:40:46
heartbreaking because this kid was00:40:47
robbed of his childhood, but also after00:40:50
the first few episodes, they kind of00:40:52
just stop [music] addressing this. All00:40:54
of the characters this season seem a bit00:40:56
like caricatures of who they were in00:40:58
previous seasons. Hopper is supremely00:41:01
over-the-top on every occasion. Steve00:41:04
seems to be even more of an idiot now.00:41:06
It just kind of seems like each person's00:41:08
main trait was just dialed up to 11 in a00:41:11
bit of a goofy way. And in doing so, it00:41:14
really messed with the tone of the00:41:16
season. We're seeing [music] a drunk00:41:18
hopper blow a raspberry in somebody's00:41:20
face. And then the next scene, we watch00:41:23
as Billy strangles and kidnaps a girl.00:41:26
It just feels a little all over the00:41:28
place. Hopper, in particular, [music] is00:41:30
just absolutely insufferable across the00:41:32
first three episodes. Joyce stands him00:41:35
up. And if this is how he acted, then I00:41:37
would stand him up, too. This is like00:41:39
robot chicken hopper edition. I don't00:41:42
know what they were thinking or what00:41:43
David Harbor was thinking, but he's00:41:45
terrible in this season. I think maybe00:41:48
he thought the louder he could be, the00:41:50
better performance it was, because it00:41:53
certainly seems that way. Of course, a00:41:55
really great pairing this season is00:41:57
Steve and Robin. And [music] over the00:41:59
course of the season, we think that this00:42:01
girl was clearly introduced to become00:42:03
his new love interest. He slowly starts00:42:05
falling for her. There's jokes that00:42:07
Dustin makes about Steve getting to00:42:09
spend more time with her. They have00:42:11
great chemistry and character building00:42:13
moments, like Steve admitting that00:42:15
popularity isn't the greatest thing in00:42:17
the world. And then comes the moment00:42:19
where they finally admit their feelings00:42:21
for each other. And Steve does, but00:42:23
Robin doesn't because she doesn't like00:42:25
Steve or any other guys for that matter.00:42:27
I think this is a brilliant piece of00:42:29
misdirection and writing. I think it's a00:42:32
very clever way to have representation00:42:33
in a story because of how everything was00:42:36
framed from the very beginning. I00:42:38
certainly didn't see it coming and to00:42:40
see Steve just kind [music] of accept00:42:41
this and move on gives them another00:42:44
notch in their relationship and dynamic.00:42:46
It does kind of spell another doom00:42:48
[music] for Steve later on, but I'll get00:42:51
to that later. Just like last season, it00:42:53
takes a little while for things to get00:42:55
going. But with this season, it seems a00:42:58
little more dramatic. The mystery being00:43:00
told with [music] the rats and the00:43:01
Russians and what's going on with Billy00:43:03
is very shallow and doesn't seem to be00:43:06
very important. What is important is the00:43:09
character dynamics and building that up.00:43:11
Now, with this being the third season, I00:43:13
think this [music] slow start is more to00:43:16
do with world building and focusing on00:43:18
the characters that we know and love.00:43:21
There's new friendships like Eleven and00:43:23
Max, [music] a romance brewing between00:43:25
Hopper and Joyce, even though she's00:43:27
going through a rough time with Bob's00:43:29
death, and each and everything to do00:43:31
with the [music] new Starourt Mall,00:43:33
which they clearly spent a ton of money00:43:35
on, so they were going to get their00:43:37
money's worth for [music] that set. Some00:43:39
people probably really like these small00:43:41
character building moments, and I do00:43:42
too. Sometimes it is nice to see00:43:44
characters that we love go through good00:43:46
times. But I think with this season in00:43:48
particular, the pacing really suffers00:43:51
[music] from it. But just like with00:43:53
everything in this video and every video00:43:55
I've ever made, that's just my opinion.00:43:57
I'm sure plenty of other people who00:43:59
enjoy seeing these moments more than the00:44:01
mystery and how it unravels. In the00:44:03
first season, a lot of the high school00:44:05
and teen drama was balanced very well00:44:08
with the world building and the mystery.00:44:10
But in this season, it felt like for00:44:12
every one scene that was spent on00:44:14
building the mystery, there were seven00:44:16
scenes on funny worldbuing or character00:44:19
moments. The third episode does end up00:44:21
ramping things up a bit quicker. When00:44:23
it's rainy out, we see a bit more of00:44:26
Billy's plan unfolding and figure out00:44:28
how there is clearly something going on00:44:30
with the Russians. Unless all malls in00:44:32
the 80s had armed security guards00:44:35
speaking Russian, protecting new00:44:37
shipments of clothes. I don't know. I00:44:39
wasn't there. And speaking of the00:44:40
Russians at the mall, this comes along00:44:42
with a bit of silliness. So, let's talk00:44:45
about this guy who is essentially the00:44:48
Terminator. I take huge issue with this00:44:51
whole aspect of the season because I am00:44:54
a Terminator fan. I assume the Duffer00:44:56
brothers are too, and that's why they00:44:58
added this in here. But, they got what00:45:00
works about the Terminator completely00:45:02
wrong. What worked about the Terminator00:45:05
was that it was an unstoppable killing00:45:07
machine. No matter what they did, they00:45:09
just could not kill it until a very00:45:11
lastditch effort. The scariness of the00:45:14
Terminator isn't just getting a Wish.com00:45:17
version of Arnold, putting him in a00:45:19
leather jacket and riding a motorcycle.00:45:21
This whole aspect is by far the most00:45:23
in-your-face reference to a movie from00:45:26
the8s. And just the mere presence of00:45:28
this character takes me out of the story00:45:30
entirely. Not to mention how this guy is00:45:32
literally just doing an Arnold00:45:34
impression when he talks. It's the00:45:36
silliest thing the show has ever done.00:45:38
And that's saying quite a bit. And it's00:45:40
not like a story line like this couldn't00:45:42
work if it was just disguised a little00:45:45
bit better. Imagine we have this massive00:45:47
Russian guard who's intimidating in his00:45:50
own right. And then he gets caught by00:45:52
Billy or the mind flare, but the mind00:45:54
flare realizes, "Wow, holy crap, this00:45:56
guy is a tank." And with his new00:45:58
zombie-like abilities, he'll be even00:46:00
more unstoppable. You know what I'm00:46:02
going to do? I'm going to send him out00:46:03
on a quest for revenge against Hopper00:46:06
because he's the one who was helping L00:46:08
or something like that. And if Hopper's00:46:10
dead, then my quest to get 11 will be00:46:13
far easier. And then everywhere Hopper00:46:15
and Joyce go, this dude follows and00:46:17
tries to kill them. But no matter what00:46:19
Hopper does, he can't seemed to kill00:46:22
this guy because he's one of the Mind00:46:24
Flares puppets. that would mirror the00:46:26
plot of the first Terminator movie and00:46:28
mimic that same horror, but it wouldn't00:46:30
have to be a super in-your-face00:46:32
reference that doesn't even make all00:46:34
that much sense. The stakes this season00:46:36
are just far bigger than seasons past. I00:46:39
get that the threat of Russians was a00:46:41
very big thing in the 80s, but when00:46:43
there's a group of teenagers just00:46:45
sneaking around a very vibrant00:46:48
underground Russian base and no one is00:46:50
noticing them, even though they're in00:46:52
plain sight, it gets ridiculous.00:46:54
>> It's just like ridiculous the stuff that00:46:56
we're doing. We're in like a Russian00:46:58
mall base.00:46:59
>> Steve is getting beat up and is in a00:47:01
life or death situation, but he's making00:47:04
a lot of jokes about it. The tone just00:47:06
seems all over the place and it makes00:47:08
the stakes seem like a joke. I'm pretty00:47:11
sure Dustin straight up kills a dude and00:47:13
the scene is played for laughs. I'm not00:47:16
sure what this weapon is, but we never00:47:18
see this doctor again. So, I'm assuming00:47:20
this electrical shock just stopped his00:47:22
heart. Now, I'm not saying that I hated00:47:24
this season. In fact, I think it gets a00:47:26
lot of things right. The budget once00:47:28
again increased, leading to better CGI00:47:31
for this goopy monster. It's the00:47:34
appetizer.00:47:36
[screaming]00:47:38
>> But this also led to an increase in the00:47:40
cinematography. It feels like each and00:47:42
every shot that they wanted to do this00:47:44
season, everything that they planned00:47:46
out, everything that they storyboarded,00:47:48
they were able to achieve with this00:47:50
budget. So, some of the bigger action00:47:51
sequences are really great. Even just a00:47:54
lot of the lighting in the CGI heavy00:47:56
sequences look better than it did in00:47:58
seasons past. And I truly think this is00:48:00
the reason for the big time difference00:48:02
it took between seasons because with00:48:04
this higher budget meant they could do00:48:06
some more creative things horrifically.00:48:09
One of the things I really like about00:48:10
the season is how it has a higher00:48:12
emphasis on horror than the second00:48:14
season had. Everything about this real00:48:16
version of the mind flare in this season00:48:18
is focused on body horror with the rats00:48:21
turning into goops and eventually people00:48:23
turning into goops and combining00:48:25
together. It brings back that horror00:48:27
feeling and adds a new one that hasn't00:48:30
been in the show at all. Everything00:48:31
about Billy transforming seems right out00:48:34
of a vampire or werewolf movie with a00:48:37
full moon included in everything. The00:48:39
way the faces of these people look and00:48:40
how zombified they get is particularly00:48:43
terrifying and very reminiscent of older00:48:45
zombie films. The Jonathan and Nancy00:48:47
hospital scene particularly stands out00:48:49
to me and feels like a sequence right00:48:52
out of Resident Evil. In fact, a lot of00:48:54
this season reminds me of Resident Evil,00:48:56
and I think that Natalyia Dyer should00:48:57
absolutely be in Zack Creger's Resident00:48:59
Evil film, but that's a whole other00:49:02
discussion. There's a missed opportunity00:49:04
because Jonathan is about to be killed,00:49:06
then is saved by Nancy, and then he00:49:09
delivers the final blow, but so does00:49:11
Nancy at the same time. It would have00:49:13
been cool for this to be traded off.00:49:15
Nancy saves Jonathan because she hurts00:49:17
the creature and then she could have00:49:19
been disarmed. And then Jonathan00:49:21
delivers the final blow to save her. And00:49:23
I know this sounds small, but there's a00:49:26
lot of little decisions like this that00:49:28
just kind of feel like this draft of the00:49:30
script wasn't that polished. And this00:49:33
continues to happen throughout the rest00:49:35
of the season. Jonathan tries his00:49:37
hardest, gets his ass kicked. Nancy00:49:39
tries to save him and makes some00:49:41
headway, but she can't do it. And then00:49:44
Eleven comes in and actually saves the00:49:46
day by holding out her hand as hard as00:49:48
she can. This exact same thing happens00:49:52
three times in this season. Jonathan is00:49:55
absolutely useless. As soon as Lucas00:49:56
picks up the axe, he actually helps. And00:49:59
this is kind of the same thing00:50:01
throughout the series. Jonathan is just00:50:02
not great in any of these combat00:50:05
situations. All the people who have been00:50:07
infected get killed and morphed into the00:50:09
mind flare, which is a very horrific00:50:12
scene, especially when you see the00:50:13
people beforehand and there's this kid.00:50:16
I feel like this would have been a good00:50:17
opportunity to include Mrs. Wheeler and00:50:20
raise the stakes. And I ultimately think00:50:23
that was probably part of the first00:50:25
draft of this script, but they couldn't00:50:27
find a way to have this great giant00:50:29
battle against the mind flare at the00:50:31
mall without killing Mrs. Wheeler. So00:50:33
that's why they didn't do it. With the00:50:35
amount of stuff that goes on in this00:50:37
town and when it's the same group of00:50:39
people involved, you'd think by this00:50:41
point they'd have like a weekly meeting00:50:43
just to discuss the strange happenings00:50:46
to try and get to the bottom of stuff00:50:48
before it's too late. Why aren't Steve00:50:50
and Dustin going to Hopper and just flat00:50:53
out showing him the armed guards and all00:50:55
the information that they have about the00:50:57
Russians? Why do all the kids meet to00:50:59
talk about the mind flare and00:51:00
immediately think it's about Billy? Now,00:51:03
I get it. Part of why the pacing of the00:51:05
show in seasons past worked was all00:51:08
about how the groups were split up and00:51:09
when they get together, it brings all00:51:11
aspects of the story together. And that00:51:14
really worked in the first season when00:51:16
these characters didn't know each other.00:51:18
It worked in the second season when00:51:20
everybody had different secrets to keep,00:51:22
whether that was Hopper keeping 11 or00:51:24
Dustin keeping Dart. But this season00:51:27
doesn't have any of that. Even when the00:51:29
kids are all at odds with each other,00:51:30
they unite when things get serious. But00:51:33
they don't ask for help or tell anyone00:51:35
anything else that could be important.00:51:38
This really makes the least amount of00:51:40
sense when it comes to the Starourt Mall00:51:42
plotline. It never occurs to Dustin or00:51:46
Steve to go and get Hopper or any other00:51:48
higher authority. Now, I get it. They're00:51:51
mostly comedic relief, but Robin is00:51:54
actually really smart. So, why wouldn't00:51:56
she suggest they go and find somebody to00:51:58
tell this to? She's like a cold war00:52:01
codereaker with how smart she is. Yet,00:52:03
apparently, she just wants all this00:52:05
credit to herself. I guess the formula00:52:08
for Stranger Things had been shown twice00:52:11
over now. And with this season, it was00:52:13
just very apparent that everyone was00:52:16
going to be split up regardless of if00:52:17
they could help each other much earlier00:52:19
on, and they'd all come together, figure00:52:22
out the mystery, and save the day at the00:52:24
end. And with this season taking over00:52:26
two years to come out, it just seems00:52:28
like the story line should have been00:52:30
more polished. What if everybody came00:52:32
together at the start of the season and00:52:34
then splits up for half the season into00:52:36
certain groups? Then those groups all00:52:38
come back together and then at the00:52:40
mid-season point they switch over once00:52:42
again. This worked wonders in season 200:52:44
when they paired Steve and Dustin00:52:46
together. What if the same thing was00:52:48
true with Hopper and Steve or Jonathan00:52:51
and Lucas or really any other00:52:53
combination other than the ones that00:52:55
we've already seen in the fifth episode?00:52:56
There is some semblance of this with00:52:58
Jonathan and Nancy coming to share their00:53:01
information with the kids and vice00:53:03
versa. And I really liked that aspect.00:53:05
But I also think they only did that00:53:07
because Jonathan and NY's whole plotline00:53:09
was done. So they just combined it with00:53:11
the others. But I guess there was a00:53:13
triedand-rue method, so they just stuck00:53:16
with it. But this season didn't deliver00:53:18
the same results as the other two00:53:20
seasons did. I think part of why this00:53:22
season feels so disjointed to me is00:53:24
because the two major storylines going00:53:26
on, everything at the mall with the00:53:28
Russians and then everything happening00:53:30
with Billy and the mind flare are so00:53:32
disconnected from each other. Six00:53:35
episodes into the season and it's like00:53:37
there's two separate seasons of00:53:39
storylines just combined into one. The00:53:41
Russians are trying so hard to open the00:53:43
gate to the other side and they don't00:53:45
even realize that there's something from00:53:47
the other side already among them. And00:53:49
it really takes until the last episodes00:53:51
of the season for everything to come00:53:52
together. And even then, it's only cuz00:53:55
11 and everybody goes to Starourt Mall00:53:57
to find Dustin, having no inclination00:53:59
about anything going on with the00:54:01
Russians. There isn't some clever way00:54:03
that both storylines connect. It's just00:54:06
that they all at the last minute decide00:54:08
to meet up and all hell breaks loose.00:54:10
[music] In the other seasons, there was00:54:11
always something that brought everybody00:54:13
together, whether that be prior00:54:15
knowledge of where people were or00:54:17
because they already knew where people00:54:19
were and they hear a noise that leads00:54:21
them in that direction. This season just00:54:23
doesn't really have that because there's00:54:25
no connection between the two story00:54:27
lines. Alexi is the latest character00:54:30
that the writers introduced to be00:54:32
extremely likable just so that way they00:54:34
could kill him off in a heart-wrenching00:54:35
way. The first season had Benny and to00:54:38
an extent Barb. The second season had00:54:40
Bob and the third season had Alexi. And00:54:43
they didn't even really try to hide what00:54:44
they were doing. Alexi always had the00:54:47
cute and funny moments. Had him form a00:54:50
relationship with Murray. And yeah, his00:54:52
death is sad. It hurts their own00:54:54
objective, but I knew this was coming00:54:56
the minute he was sipping on that00:54:57
slushie in the car. Everything and00:54:59
everyone, however disjointed it may be,00:55:02
all ultimately end up at the mall trying00:55:05
to explain what the other people have00:55:07
been going through. and nobody really00:55:09
understands what the others mean because00:55:10
it doesn't make sense. There's two00:55:12
separate scenes of everybody explaining00:55:14
what they've seen and what they've been00:55:16
doing and catching everybody up. And00:55:18
there were scenes like this in the00:55:19
previous seasons, but it was more so00:55:21
just sharing different aspects of the00:55:23
same story and information. This is just00:55:27
a cluster of different worlds clashing.00:55:29
But even after they all come together,00:55:31
they just separate back into the same00:55:33
groups they all came in beforehand. And00:55:36
I take issue with this because so much00:55:38
of what works in this show is the00:55:40
characters and their dynamics with00:55:42
different characters. So why not switch00:55:44
them up in a way that makes sense? Why00:55:46
is Erica staying with the group she was00:55:48
with and not going home with her00:55:50
brother? I know they ultimately don't00:55:52
end up going home, but that feels like00:55:54
what a 10-year-old should be doing, but00:55:56
sibling dynamics in this show are00:55:58
certainly not a strong suit of the00:56:00
writing, which feels weird from a show00:56:02
written by the Duffer brothers. Now, a00:56:05
lot of this was probably due to the00:56:07
scheduling of the actors since they were00:56:09
already paired together. They could just00:56:11
film the stuff that they needed to from00:56:12
the final episode, too, and just keep00:56:14
the groups the same. But, it just annoys00:56:17
me. The final fights going on are all00:56:19
really climactic and theatrical and00:56:22
enjoyable to watch, but it does feel a00:56:24
little strange to me that Eleven is the00:56:27
one having this emotional breakthrough00:56:29
with Billy. Billy and Eleven don't even00:56:32
actually know each other. They've never00:56:34
met. And for them to be bonding over00:56:36
Billy's memories instead of h let's say00:56:40
his actual sister feels so strange to00:56:43
me. If this was Max on the ground00:56:45
pleading with Billy about standing up00:56:47
for what's right and helping her and her00:56:49
friends, thus bringing him back, that00:56:52
would make so much more sense and would00:56:54
feel much more emotional than Eleven00:56:56
being the one doing this because she has00:56:59
no connection with Billy. Max could be00:57:01
talking about their relationship and00:57:03
their dynamic and all these flashbacks00:57:05
could still happen to make him change00:57:08
his mind, but it's not what happens.00:57:10
It's like all the lines are present, but00:57:13
they just don't really connect them in00:57:15
the right ways. There is this attempt to00:57:18
give Billy a redemption arc. L sees his00:57:21
whole backstory, and it's just an00:57:23
extension of what we saw him going00:57:24
through with his dad in season 2 and00:57:27
then how his actual mother abandoned00:57:29
him, which explains to a certain extent00:57:31
how and why he is the way he is with00:57:33
women. But I truthfully don't really buy00:57:36
this as a redemption. He does one good00:57:39
act in his final moments and suddenly00:57:42
from here on out all is just forgiven.00:57:44
Billy was not a good person. He wasn't00:57:47
from the moment he showed up in season00:57:49
2. He wasn't until his last scene in00:57:52
season 3. I see a ton of people talking00:57:54
about his redemption online. But I don't00:57:56
see it that way whatsoever. And the big00:57:59
grand death of the season is of course00:58:02
Hopper. He sacrifices himself so that00:58:04
way the gate can be closed. Again,00:58:07
there's this great giant emotional00:58:09
sequence at the end with Eleven reading00:58:11
a letter from Hopper, it's very sad. And00:58:14
even though Hopper was kind of annoying00:58:16
this season, it's going to be tough to00:58:18
go on without him. Kind of weird though.00:58:20
There was this like giant cut to black00:58:22
right before he died and he wasn't in00:58:24
the wide shot when the device was00:58:26
exploding. There's a postredit scene00:58:28
talking about an American. Hm. I I00:58:31
wonder if this is all going to be some00:58:33
big conspiracy for theorists online to00:58:35
debate and that he'll actually be alive.00:58:38
No. No. That would be so stupid, right?00:58:42
The buyers are finally moving away. I00:58:44
feel like they should have moved away00:58:46
like after season 1 realistically. And00:58:48
it's a pretty sad overall ending.00:58:50
Jonathan and Nancy are going to have to00:58:52
do long distance. L is moving away with00:58:54
the buyers and she's lost her powers.00:58:57
And once again, there's nowhere for the00:58:59
story to really go from here. The gate00:59:01
is closed again. The mind flare is now00:59:05
dead. So, what's above that? Are they00:59:07
going to do something like reveal00:59:09
there's secretly been this grand villain00:59:12
pulling the strings from behind the00:59:13
scenes from the very beginning, even00:59:15
though there was no setup of that00:59:16
whatsoever? No, of course not. That00:59:19
would be stupid, right? There is00:59:21
certainly a charm to this season and its00:59:23
campiness. And I'm sure, well, actually,00:59:26
I know there's a great amount of people00:59:28
who really like that, wish that there00:59:30
was probably another season like this00:59:32
that copied a ton of things from the8s00:59:34
movies, but this season just didn't do00:59:37
it for me because it really does feel00:59:38
like it's just a copy of popular '8s00:59:41
films. It doesn't feel like it's taking00:59:43
inspiration from them or nods to them in00:59:45
clever ways. It just feels like a00:59:47
cheaper imitation, and that's just not00:59:49
what Stranger Things is to me. That's00:59:51
not the Stranger Things that I enjoy.00:59:53
So, for that reason, I didn't00:59:55
particularly like this season at all.00:59:57
With that being said, this is still01:00:00
probably an above average season of01:00:02
television. So, I'm going to give season01:00:03
3 of Stranger Things a 6.2 out of 10.01:00:12
So, in order to talk about season 4 and01:00:14
really season 5 as well, we have to talk01:00:16
about how long the wait between seasons01:00:19
was and just how hyped up these seasons01:00:22
are. By season 4, Stranger Things was01:00:24
far and away Netflix's most popular01:00:27
series, allowing them to raise prices01:00:29
whenever the next season was around the01:00:31
corner. But it took almost [snorts] 401:00:34
years for season 4 to release. Now,01:00:36
there were some external factors for01:00:38
this, but it just allowed Netflix to01:00:41
continue teasing the audience with01:00:43
trailers and interviews [music] about01:00:45
how big this season was. And to their01:00:47
credit, they were exactly right. There01:00:50
are multiple different storylines this01:00:52
season with multiple different things01:00:54
going on across the entire world.01:00:56
[music] Everything in this season is at the same01:00:59
time much grander in scale while also01:01:02
bringing the show back to its smaller01:01:03
scale roots. And that's a very tough01:01:06
thing to balance. But I actually think01:01:08
this season does it well. The Duffer01:01:10
brothers compared this season to an01:01:12
early season of Game of Thrones. And01:01:14
that's quite the statement to make to01:01:16
compare your season to some of the01:01:18
greatest seasons of television ever01:01:20
made. But honestly, I do see the01:01:22
comparison and I do see the intent to01:01:24
try and make this like a season of Game01:01:26
of Thrones. The first trailer for the01:01:28
season showed us all that Hopper was in01:01:31
fact alive. I think the internet just01:01:34
guessed it and everybody knew it, so01:01:35
they're like, "Yeah, whatever. Let's01:01:36
just come right out and say it. Yeah, he01:01:38
is alive." But it also retroactively01:01:41
makes it really [music] weird to have01:01:43
such an emotional moment for his01:01:45
sacrifice if they were just going to01:01:47
reveal he was alive in the first01:01:49
trailer. Yes, they also did this in the01:01:51
trailer for season 2 when they showed us01:01:53
that Eleven was alive, but there was01:01:55
proper setup that she was going to01:01:57
return. And let's face it, everybody01:01:59
knew that she would be back. Hopper, on01:02:01
the other hand, would have been a really01:02:03
great reveal when we were actually01:02:05
watching season 4 to find out he was01:02:07
alive. But I feel like this has more to01:02:10
do with Netflix and the executives01:02:12
rather than the Duffer brothers01:02:13
themselves. They wanted David Harbor on01:02:16
the press [music] tour. They wanted to01:02:17
make sure the dads would still watch01:02:20
just in case they were going to stop01:02:21
because of Hopper's death. But it makes01:02:23
that entire emotional sendoff in season01:02:25
3 feel very diluted. But I guess it was01:02:29
always going to feel diluted whether01:02:31
they revealed it in the trailer or not.01:02:33
But after this first teaser trailer, it01:02:36
wasn't until over 2 years later that01:02:38
this season would actually be on01:02:41
Netflix. This was also the first season01:02:43
to split up the episodes. The first01:02:45
seven premiering in May before the final01:02:47
two episodes came out in July, allowing01:02:50
everybody to get caught up and talk01:02:52
about the reveals from episode 7 before01:02:54
continuing onward, building the hype01:02:56
online so that way more people would01:02:58
watch it, which makes episode 7 feel01:03:00
kind of like a finale itself. In fact,01:03:03
it is a bit strange that they cut up the01:03:06
episodes this way, only leaving two01:03:08
episodes afterwards. But episode 7 is01:03:10
the big one of the season, even compared01:03:12
to the two that come after that. It's01:03:14
the highest rated episode of the entire01:03:16
series. It's got [music] the big01:03:18
climactic reveals that connect the01:03:20
entire series together. And I do01:03:23
actually think this is among the best01:03:25
episodes of the series. But like I said,01:03:27
the story lines in this season feel like01:03:29
they try to connect everything to the01:03:31
past, which is a noble effort, and I01:03:34
think a great majority of it works. But01:03:36
there's also times it's painfully01:03:38
obvious that this story and everything01:03:40
with Vecna was not what was originally01:03:43
intended for this story. There's a lot01:03:46
of additions to the story that01:03:47
retroactively make other things in the01:03:50
past make more sense, [music]01:03:51
like how Eleven actually escaped the01:03:54
Hawkins facility and a more concrete01:03:56
explanation for how the lights work in01:03:58
the upside down answering how Will was01:04:00
able to communicate with Joyce back in01:04:02
season 1. With this also comes a fair01:04:05
bit of retconing, like how Eleven's01:04:07
powers actually came from one and01:04:10
experiments trying to replicate his01:04:12
powers, not from the experiments on her01:04:14
mother. meaning that Eight's powers in01:04:16
season two feel like even more of a wild01:04:20
card now. There's an immediate change in01:04:22
tone from the last season right from the01:04:25
very first scene. Everything is far more01:04:28
grounded and seemingly smaller scale01:04:30
just like seasons 1 and two. We're not01:04:33
starting with a Russian Transformers CGI01:04:36
device. Nope. Everything is much more01:04:38
grounded and I could not welcome this01:04:40
change more. The characters are all much01:04:43
more grown up both visually and01:04:46
maturity-wise. And while all of the kids01:04:48
are now just freshmen in high school,01:04:50
they do kind of act the same way that01:04:52
Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan did back in01:04:54
the first season. And with all the01:04:56
trauma that they've been through, it01:04:57
does make sense that it would age them01:04:59
up quite a bit. But mainly what I love01:05:01
about this season is how much it feels01:05:04
like a continuation of season 1. This01:05:07
season fully embraces the mystery and01:05:10
the horror that made the first season so01:05:12
great. There's no more 80s references01:05:15
just for the sake of it. This is just01:05:17
focused on telling a story that has a01:05:20
backdrop of being set in the 80s, just01:05:22
like the first season. Vecna,01:05:24
particularly in the beginning, is such a01:05:27
terrifying villain. What he can do to01:05:29
people is horrific. And with how01:05:31
mysterious this villain is, it really01:05:34
makes me want to hit next episode01:05:35
because of the mystery, not just to see01:05:37
the characters continue onwards until01:05:39
the mystery presents itself to them.01:05:42
This season, across the many different01:05:44
storylines, has one consistent tone.01:05:47
It's darker and more dramatic. And of01:05:50
course, there's moments of levity, but01:05:52
not at the compromise of the tone like01:05:54
season 3 had. The moments of Levity have01:05:56
the right pacing, [music] and the scenes01:05:58
don't feel jarring when there is a more01:06:00
light-hearted scene. The characters are01:06:03
much more toned down. They don't feel01:06:05
like caricatures like they did in the01:06:07
last season. At least most of them01:06:09
don't. And this season actually feels01:06:12
like prestige TV once again. The writing01:06:14
is better. The characters and their01:06:16
dynamics are better. The pacing is01:06:18
better. And I'm not saying that this01:06:20
season is perfect. In fact, far from it,01:06:22
but it's a major return to form from01:06:25
seasons 3 and even season 2. But because01:06:28
this season is split up into different01:06:29
story lines, I figured I'll take it one01:06:31
by one. Starting with the best story01:06:34
line in the season, and that's of course01:06:37
California. No, I'm kidding. Of course,01:06:40
it's everything happening in Hawkins.01:06:42
Just like all seasons, a lot of the01:06:44
mystery happens right in Hawkins. And01:06:46
the mystery presented in this season is01:06:49
all about Vecna. Very early on, we see01:06:52
that this new character, Chrissy, has01:06:54
strange visions and hears this clock01:06:57
chiming until she ultimately meets her01:06:59
end by seeing Vecna. All of the major01:07:02
players in Hawkins this season are01:07:04
mostly a mixup of different dynamics and01:07:07
characters that we've seen from the01:07:08
past. But what makes this mystery so01:07:10
enticing is how different it seems from01:07:13
all the mysteries of the past. At first,01:07:15
it doesn't seem to be related to01:07:18
anything weird from Hawkins Lab or The01:07:20
Upside Down. And for a while, when I01:07:23
first watched this season, I was fully01:07:25
on board with that. I didn't really know01:07:27
how that would be or how that could be.01:07:30
And it's ultimately not. But the story01:07:32
line takes our characters on so many01:07:34
different courses. on the trail of this01:07:37
murderer, Victor Creel, which is the01:07:39
most serial killer name of all time, to01:07:42
the Creel house to try and figure out01:07:44
who Vecna actually is and how he's01:07:47
killing and choosing his victims. It's01:07:49
all incredibly exciting and more of the01:07:52
typical season 1 Stranger Things stuff.01:07:54
I found myself incredibly excited to01:07:56
watch whatever scenes were going on in01:07:58
Hawkins than a lot of the other story01:08:00
lines. And just like all seasons, a lot01:08:03
of the new characters come from Hawkins.01:08:05
So, let's talk about Chrissy and Eddie,01:08:08
everybody's favorite fanfiction couple.01:08:12
It felt very obvious very early on that01:08:15
this would be the new character that01:08:17
everybody would grow to care for just to01:08:19
die at the end of the season. And that's01:08:22
exactly what happens. What I didn't01:08:24
expect though was for Joseph Quinn to go01:08:26
on and become this mega star who I don't01:08:29
think has slept since he was cast in01:08:31
Stranger Things. At least that's what it01:08:33
seems like whenever I see him in01:08:35
interviews. I think he's already the01:08:37
biggest star out of all the teenage01:08:39
Stranger Things cast. And I think he's01:08:41
already got a brighter career right now01:08:44
than any of the others will probably01:08:46
ever have. And I really didn't think too01:08:48
much of it when I first watched this01:08:50
season, but Joseph Quinn is actually01:08:52
really great in this role. He adds a01:08:55
whole different dynamic and dimension01:08:57
than the rest of the cast. He's really01:08:59
funny with his physical humor. He's01:09:01
great at the more dramatic scenes, and I01:09:03
can definitely see why he's got a lot of01:09:05
roles. But other than these two, one of01:09:08
which isn't in more than a single01:09:10
episode, all of the other new characters01:09:12
introduced are pretty terrible,01:09:14
particularly Jason. I'm not sure what it01:09:17
is about the Duffer brothers and their01:09:19
love for a bully character, but Jason01:09:22
fills that role this season. They even01:09:24
have other bullies for 11 over in01:09:27
California and also 11 in the flashback.01:09:30
Seriously, if there's a bully character01:09:31
in season 5, I am done watching this01:09:34
show. All right. Yeah, I will. But I01:09:36
really don't get the obsession over01:09:38
having a bully in every single story01:09:41
line. But Jason and his group of jocks01:09:44
don't develop even remotely over the01:09:46
course of this season like Steve or even01:09:49
Billy did. And he also just dies at the01:09:52
end. I'm sure this character will either01:09:54
only get a passing mention in season 501:09:56
or just not at all. and most people will01:09:59
probably not remember who he is. This01:10:01
season takes us back to some good old01:10:03
high school drama. Lucas is becoming01:10:06
more popular. He's on the basketball01:10:08
team and makes the game-winning shot.01:10:10
And apparently Mike and Dustin want to01:10:11
play Dungeons and Dragons again, so they01:10:13
join the Hellfire Club. Too bad for Will01:10:16
now that he's moved away. Erica makes01:10:18
the game-winning shot in Dn D. Nancy01:10:20
works as the editor of the paper. Steve01:10:23
is still friends with Robin, so he's one01:10:25
of the jocks who goes back to his high01:10:27
school games. And Max is still grieving01:10:30
her dear great brother Billy. And01:10:32
because this is the main group in01:10:34
Hawkins, they're all directly01:10:36
responsible for uncovering the mystery01:10:38
in different ways. In fact, this story01:10:41
line kind of seems like it's a spin-off01:10:44
or just like another season without some01:10:46
of the main characters after they left01:10:48
the show thinking they could find better01:10:49
jobs. But unlike those cases, this01:10:53
actually works. Lucas is working with01:10:55
the popular kids who eventually start01:10:57
looking for Dustin. That gives him a01:10:59
huge conflict. And we think maybe he's01:11:01
in with these popular kids, searching01:11:03
for Eddie. But if you can see it,01:11:05
there's some visual clues that show us01:11:08
this isn't true. You see how Lucas isn't01:11:11
wearing the Letterman jacket while the01:11:13
others are. That's the visual clue. The01:11:16
groups even split up. Like, I complained01:11:18
about how they didn't do enough in01:11:19
season 3, seeing Robin and Nancy01:11:22
together. And this is a great pairing.01:11:24
Even if this version of Robin seems like01:11:27
a completely different character than01:11:29
last season, she doesn't seem confident01:11:32
or smart. She seems a little ditsy and01:11:35
absent-minded. I don't know, maybe she's01:11:37
spent too much time with Steve and01:11:39
adopted his traits. the older teens band01:11:42
together and then the younger teens band01:11:44
together. Seeing Eddie interact with the01:11:46
other older teenagers who are his age01:11:49
but not in high school. I love seeing01:11:51
these different pairings. It brings a01:11:53
lot of great moments and dialogue. Max01:11:56
being a target of Vecna's raises the01:11:58
stakes a great amount and makes sense01:12:01
for the story. It definitely feels like01:12:03
the Duffer brothers wrote Vecna's01:12:05
victims to be people with trauma so that01:12:07
it would give Max a greater role and so01:12:10
they could write the episode Dear Billy.01:12:12
And her whole sequence at the graveyard01:12:14
and getting away from Vecna is one of01:12:17
the highlights of the season because it01:12:19
also feels like there's actual stakes to01:12:21
this scene. I didn't know if Max was01:12:24
going to die here or not. They felt real01:12:26
because the tone of the show made it01:12:28
feel that way. It's one of the scenes01:12:30
that makes this season feel far more01:12:32
adult than the previous two seasons.01:12:35
It's a phenomenal scene, and the tone is01:12:38
never changed or played for [music]01:12:39
laughs. It's just all around really01:12:42
powerful storytelling. This episode also01:12:44
gives us insight into Victor Creel and01:12:47
his whole backstory, which is maybe the01:12:49
darkest sequence in all of Stranger01:12:51
Things. One of the things I did find01:12:54
incredibly strange about this storyline01:12:56
is the budding re-romance of Steve and01:13:00
Nancy. It reminds me of something like01:13:01
The Vampire Diaries or really any other01:13:04
love triangle story. Two characters get01:13:06
together, but then the sexual tension is01:13:08
gone between them. So, they need that01:13:10
person to want the other person again.01:13:12
And then they just keep switching01:13:14
between the two. So, to retread this01:13:16
whole story line once again feels odd to01:13:20
me. And it feels like they just didn't01:13:21
really know what to do with Steve since01:13:23
he didn't have a love interest anymore01:13:25
because everything built up between him01:13:27
and Robin last season was all just01:13:29
misdirection. But at the same time, I01:13:31
can't even hate on this too much because01:13:33
Steve is great in this season and01:13:35
Jonathan is not. But I'll get there.01:13:38
Part of the reason the stakes feel so01:13:40
high in the story line is because 1101:13:43
isn't here. There isn't the usual coming01:13:45
together at the end and everybody01:13:47
working together to solve the mystery01:13:49
and save the day. This group is pretty01:13:52
sparse, so it makes everybody contribute01:13:54
in different ways, especially towards01:13:56
the end of the season. But I'm going to01:13:58
talk about the other story lines first01:14:00
before talking about those final two01:14:02
episodes. So, let's talk about01:14:05
California. As excited as I was to see a01:14:09
scene in Hawkins, I was equally as01:14:11
disappointed to see a scene in01:14:13
California. California has to be my01:14:15
least favorite story line across all01:14:17
seasons of Stranger Things, namely for01:14:20
the complete [music] and total character01:14:22
assassination of Jonathan Buyers.01:14:25
Jonathan is sidelined in the worst01:14:28
possible [music] fashion and demoted to01:14:30
your stereotypical stoner. He offers01:14:33
nothing of help to anybody other than01:14:36
the fact that he's able to drive a car.01:14:38
All of his motivations and aspirations01:14:41
from the previous seasons are completely01:14:43
absent here. He just didn't want to go01:14:45
and visit Nancy so that way there could01:14:47
be some strife between them, opening the01:14:50
door for Steve once again. And as01:14:52
somebody who used to really like and01:14:54
[music] root for Jonathan in the early01:14:55
seasons, this just feels like a01:14:57
completely different person. There's01:14:59
even the other guy who's an extra in all01:15:02
Stoner films, and this is another pretty01:15:04
terrible side character. I never found01:15:07
any of his jokes or quips to be very01:15:09
funny. I'm honestly pretty glad that01:15:11
Argyle will not be in season 5. Eleven,01:15:14
of course, starts her journey here01:15:16
before getting arrested and intercepted01:15:18
by Sam. And then Mike comes to join the01:15:21
sideline with Jonathan and Will. Same01:15:23
with Joyce and Murray. They both start01:15:25
their journey here, but after receiving01:15:27
a [music] note that Hopper's Alive, they01:15:29
eventually leave to go and be part of a01:15:31
more relevant story line instead. This01:15:33
season does share the same issues that01:15:36
season 2 and three had with slow01:15:37
beginnings, but that is solely due to01:15:40
[music] this plotline. We see very01:15:42
intense things happening in both Hawkins01:15:44
and Russia, but this plotline has some01:15:47
friendship and bullying issues with one01:15:50
of the world's most powerful people. So,01:15:52
this whole plotline just [music] brings01:15:54
the pacing down, but for the first time,01:15:56
it's not just the first couple episodes,01:15:58
it's the entire season. In episode 4,01:16:01
there's this tracking shot in the house01:16:03
with the one agent who goes John Wick on01:16:06
everybody. And this is great. This is01:16:08
exciting. The cinematography is01:16:10
incredible. It's entirely unexpected.01:16:13
Does it make up for the rest of the01:16:15
lackluster story? No, it doesn't. But01:16:18
this is still really cool. Will's whole01:16:20
personality and storyline this season is01:16:23
boiled down to a message. The very same01:16:26
message that the show has covered01:16:28
already and in a much better manner with01:16:30
Robin in season 3. Now, if the writers01:16:33
want to make Will gay, that's fine.01:16:35
There has actually been quite a bit of01:16:37
setup for this from the very beginning.01:16:39
An aspect that I didn't actually pick up01:16:41
on on my first watch of this series.01:16:44
Call my gayar bad all you want, but01:16:45
that's whatever. Like I said, this is01:16:47
just a retread of a story line this01:16:50
series has already done before and done01:16:52
well, I might add. So, for Will's only01:16:55
thing to do across this whole season is01:16:58
to be sad about Mike instead of having01:17:01
that be his internal conflict and giving01:17:03
him another external conflict. It feels01:17:06
extremely on the nose and honestly a01:17:08
little bit unwarranted. When we finally01:17:11
get the big emotional payoff scenes when01:17:13
he talks to Mike and Jonathan, it's01:17:16
like, wait a minute, that's it. That's01:17:18
what this entire storyline has been01:17:20
leading to. They did the same thing with01:17:22
Robin, but I think it was more01:17:24
emotional, and she had a much more solid01:17:27
character and storyline in the process.01:17:30
Will's whole character is about being01:17:31
[music] connected to the upside down in01:17:33
some way. So, why on earth would they01:17:36
remove this character from that01:17:38
plotline? and it gives him nothing to01:17:40
do. There's some more funny moments with01:17:43
them going to Suz's house and that whole01:17:45
sequence. Really, that's the only thing01:17:48
that Mike adds to the story, but it01:17:50
doesn't really pick up until they01:17:51
finally reunite with Eleven in the01:17:54
eighth episode. And by then, this whole01:17:56
story line is basically a wash. It's far01:17:59
and away the most boring, the most01:18:01
poorly written, and just ultimately01:18:03
feels like everybody is here because01:18:05
they didn't have anything to do in the01:18:07
actual proper story lines. I just really01:18:10
think everybody here should have gone01:18:11
back to Hawkins after like the second or01:18:13
third episode. All right, so now let's01:18:15
go over everything in Russia, which like01:18:18
I said earlier is a pretty good story01:18:20
line. I do feel like the only reason why01:18:22
the storyline even remotely works is01:18:25
because of the introductions of the01:18:26
Russians last season and how much better01:18:29
everything is handled here. Hopper is01:18:31
going through hell. He was captured and01:18:34
apparently transported to Russia for01:18:36
interrogation, which does seem a bit01:18:39
strange, but you can really feel the01:18:41
stakes of this entire storyline and just01:18:44
how harsh everything is. This feels far01:18:46
more realistic and darker in tone than01:18:49
last season. But if the whole Russian01:18:52
mall thing didn't happen last season,01:18:54
then this story line would be straight01:18:56
up silly, even with its darker tone. But01:18:59
this is all around an improvement over01:19:01
last season. So, I don't have too much01:19:03
to complain about. Hopper escaping and01:19:05
going through with his whole plan feels01:19:07
so tense and like it could actually go01:19:10
wrong. It doesn't feel like since he's a01:19:12
good guy, he's just going to get away.01:19:14
his whole fight with the Russian feels01:19:16
like there's actual stakes to it. And01:19:19
that's more than I can say out of the01:19:20
entirety of season 3. With this whole01:19:23
Russia plotline, the differences between01:19:25
seasons 3 and four are night and day. It01:19:27
feels like two completely different01:19:29
shows. And it's entirely unexpected when01:19:31
he does escape, but is then brought back01:19:34
and everybody involved in this story is01:19:37
betrayed. It's so heartbreaking to see,01:19:39
[music]01:19:40
especially with how happy Hopper was a01:19:42
second ago eating a jar of peanut01:19:44
butter. This might be an out-of- pocket01:19:46
comparison to some of you, but for those01:19:47
who have watched my channel for a while,01:19:49
this entire sequence is really what I01:19:52
wanted to see out of The Ones Who Live01:19:54
and Rick Grimes trying to escape from01:19:56
the CRM. This is just a masterful01:19:59
sequence in pacing, tension, and01:20:02
heartbreak, and that's what I wanted to01:20:03
see out of that show. David Harour's01:20:05
performance is also particularly great.01:20:08
How he went from this cartoonish01:20:11
caricature in season 3 to delivering01:20:13
what I think is his greatest performance01:20:15
ever is a testament to how different the01:20:18
tone and the writing in this season01:20:20
actually is. Everything with Joyce01:20:23
Murray and Yur is more so to bring a bit01:20:27
of levity to this very dark and01:20:29
depressing story line and I think it's01:20:31
done appropriately. Murray has always01:20:33
been the comic relief character, so it01:20:36
doesn't feel too out of left field. When01:20:38
they finally do see Hopper, it feels01:20:40
very Game of Thrones to me. Characters01:20:42
reuniting under bad circumstances across01:20:45
the world from where they once were.01:20:47
Them having to watch as a demogorgan01:20:49
potentially kills Hopper is another very01:20:52
tense sequence. And this demogorgan is01:20:55
absolutely insane. I'm going to choose01:20:57
to believe that this is a fully grown01:20:59
demogorgan and not the same sized one01:21:02
from season 1 because in no way, shape,01:21:05
or form is Steve Harrington defeating01:21:08
this thing with a baseball bat. Joyce01:21:10
and Hopper's reunion is so heartwarming01:21:13
and it's of course at the end of episode01:21:15
7, so we had to wait to see it resolve01:21:17
until months later, which means I'm01:21:20
going to wait to talk about it later,01:21:21
too. So, let's move on to Eleven's story01:21:23
line. When Eleven decides to leave and01:21:26
get her superhero powers back, she runs01:21:28
into Papa who's actually alive somehow.01:21:31
And then he gets her to relive her01:21:33
memories of her time at Hawkins lab.01:21:36
Now, this whole story line intrigues me01:21:39
because I really don't think this was01:21:41
the plan to explain all the other01:21:44
numbers and the experiments for the01:21:45
kids. I think the original plan was for01:21:48
the lost sister to spawn some sort of01:21:51
spin-off and all of the other kids and01:21:53
other numbers would get explained in01:21:55
that show. The Duffer brothers are very01:21:58
clearly huge X-Men fans with the amount01:22:00
of references the show makes to it. And01:22:03
I think that spin-off show would have01:22:05
had a lot of other kids in it with other01:22:07
unique powers. [music]01:22:08
In this season, there really aren't any01:22:11
unique powers. It's just all kids with01:22:14
telekinesis and mind readading. But with01:22:16
season 4, knowing that they failed01:22:18
showing another number in season two,01:22:20
they still needed to address the other01:22:23
kids and other experiments. So, they do01:22:25
their best with that here. The whole01:22:28
suppressed memories aspect feels a01:22:31
little bit forced and like it's the01:22:33
easiest way they could explain what01:22:35
happened to the other kids without01:22:36
having to go back and incorporate number01:22:39
eight back into the story. As for number01:22:41
eight, in this season, they don't even01:22:43
really mention her whatsoever other than01:22:46
a throwaway line from Henry about how01:22:48
she's not here anymore. Did they get rid01:22:51
of her because she had a different power01:22:52
than the rest? Does that mean there's01:22:54
other superpowers in this world? I don't01:22:57
know, and I don't think we'll ever find01:22:59
out. I do think it's clever how they use01:23:01
adult 11 in the memories since she's01:23:04
learning them for the first time. But01:23:06
when they do really need to emphasize01:23:08
how small and young she was, then they01:23:11
use this CGI version. And it doesn't01:23:13
look amazing, but since it's used01:23:15
sparingly, it's fine. Everything about01:23:18
the episode 7 reveal is [music] great. I01:23:21
did find it a bit strange that Nancy was01:23:23
the one on the opposite side of01:23:25
everything with the reveal, but I also01:23:27
don't really know who else would have01:23:29
been a better candidate to learn all01:23:30
this. She was the one putting together01:23:32
the mystery with Victor Creel, so it01:23:35
makes sense. But the back and forth01:23:37
reveals of the Creel backstory and01:23:39
number one being Vecna brings the01:23:42
mystery and the story full circle in a01:23:46
better way than any of the seasons have01:23:48
done before this. Like I said earlier,01:23:50
it feels painfully obvious that this01:23:52
wasn't the clear plan from the01:23:55
beginning, but what they came up with01:23:56
here is so [music] great that I kind of01:23:59
give it a pass that there's no01:24:01
foreshadowing to it.01:24:02
>> No.01:24:03
>> Yes.01:24:04
>> No.01:24:07
>> [laughter]01:24:08
>> In episode 8, when Eleven's choosing to01:24:10
leave the facility even though Brener01:24:13
wants her to stay because she isn't01:24:14
ready to face VCNA yet is this sort of01:24:17
twisted version of Luke leaving Yoda.01:24:20
And I think this is a very smart homage01:24:23
to that movie. If this was season 3,01:24:25
Brener would have started talking like01:24:26
Yoda and turned green to really hammer01:24:29
that reference home. And this whole01:24:31
story line for 11 kind of does exactly01:24:34
what the Lost Sister episode did for01:24:36
her, learn more about her backstory, and01:24:39
greatly enhance her powers. But the way01:24:41
it's done in this season with proper01:24:43
time and buildup is much better than how01:24:45
they did it in a single episode back in01:24:48
season 2. In the final episode, Joyce01:24:50
and Hopper finally kiss now that01:24:53
Hopper's gotten rid of his dad bod and01:24:55
slim down. and they ultimately end up01:24:58
deciding to stay in Russia because they01:25:00
need to make sure this lab and this01:25:02
demogorgan is destroyed. With all the01:25:04
troubles of travel in this season, it's01:25:07
actually cool to see that not everybody01:25:09
comes together in the final act to save01:25:11
the day, but they all help from their01:25:13
own respective storylines. It's a break01:25:16
of the usual mold that this show has01:25:18
done in the past. And I really like that01:25:20
because if the final episode, everybody01:25:23
somehow managed to make their way back01:25:25
to Hawkins in time for the final battle,01:25:27
it would probably come across a little01:25:29
bit cheesy. Eddie's sacrifice is01:25:32
entirely expected, but it's also very01:25:35
sad, frustrating, and heroic all at the01:25:38
same time. Sure, he could have gone up01:25:40
and saved himself, but he also ends up01:25:42
saving everyone by buying them a bit01:25:44
more time. Everyone gets their own very01:25:48
cinematic time to shine. There's Eddie01:25:51
versus the Bats, Lucas fighting against01:25:53
Jason, Hopper against the demogorgan,01:25:56
and Eleven versus Vecna. It's all very01:25:59
satisfying and just overall cool to01:26:01
watch unfold. Classic good versus evil01:26:04
stuff. I thoroughly enjoy these types of01:26:07
stories. And most importantly, all of01:26:09
this stuff feels earned. Whether it's01:26:12
the better writing, how long these01:26:15
episodes are, so it's just more time to01:26:16
build that story. I don't know what it01:26:18
is, but all of this is great to me. I01:26:21
see a lot of comparisons to like a01:26:23
Marvel movie. And yeah, those are01:26:25
definitely fair comparisons. Maybe not01:26:28
what other people have signed up for01:26:29
when it comes to Stranger Things, but01:26:31
all of this for me worked. I'm also01:26:34
particularly a big fan of endings like01:26:36
this. All hope seems lost, but then the01:26:39
heroes bounce back and take the upper01:26:41
hand. When it seems like the heroes have01:26:43
everything wrapped up and are about01:26:44
ready to save the day, nope, the villain01:26:47
wins and sets the heroes back by a whole01:26:50
lot. Speaking of Marvel, I truly think01:26:53
Infinity War repopularized this trope01:26:56
and I love it. I don't think everybody01:26:58
loves it. I'm very surprised by how low01:27:01
the rating is for this episode. And01:27:03
yeah, a 9.1 is pretty low for an episode01:27:06
like this, but I do just kind of think01:27:09
that Max should have died right here.01:27:11
This would have given everyone in the01:27:13
group all the more motivation to find01:27:16
and kill Vecna. Eddie's death is sad for01:27:19
the group in Hawkins, but people like01:27:21
Hopper, Will, Jonathan, Joyce, and01:27:24
Eleven don't even know or care for him.01:27:27
Eleven using her powers to bring Max01:27:30
back to life. I don't know, kind of01:27:32
cheapens the whole impact of this loss01:27:34
to Vecna. Everyone eventually does01:27:36
reunite in some very heartwarming01:27:38
moments, but the happiness is01:27:40
short-lived because it starts snowing01:27:43
upside down particles and the hunt for01:27:46
Vecna is officially on in about another01:27:49
4 years. If the whole California01:27:52
plotline was even half as good as the01:27:54
other ones, I think this season is01:27:57
easily the best. But it's not, and it01:28:00
really drags this season down. Pair that01:28:03
with some questionable plot holes like01:28:04
how Hopper even got to Russia and the01:28:07
whole group going into the upside down01:28:09
through a lake when apparently there's01:28:11
another portal just in the middle of a01:28:13
road somewhere. There's a fair bit of01:28:15
things that don't make sense, even with01:28:17
this season trying its hardest to01:28:19
connect everything together. Some people01:28:21
might not like the idea of Vecna being01:28:24
the mastermind behind everything because01:28:26
it obviously wasn't set up. And to some01:28:29
degree, it does bother me, but they also01:28:31
did a pretty masterful job at trying to01:28:33
make it all fit. And I have to give them01:28:36
credit for that. This season returned to01:28:38
the mysterious horrorfilled vibe that I01:28:42
enjoyed out of season 1. and I think01:28:44
it's far and away the second best season01:28:46
of the show. So, I'm giving season 4 an01:28:49
8.8 out of 10. Stranger Things as a01:28:53
series completely baffles me. Season 101:28:56
was a show made for adults but just01:28:59
centered on a younger cast. It was a01:29:02
horror show with a thoroughly gripping01:29:04
mystery and the show did very well, well01:29:07
enough to warrant a second season. So,01:29:09
the Duffer brothers continued with their01:29:11
story, which was a love letter to all01:29:14
things '88s. And because they had a01:29:16
higher budget, they were able to achieve01:29:17
things that they couldn't in season 1.01:29:19
Better CGI, more money for licensing01:29:22
songs and films, and just overall stuff01:29:25
from the8s. But this was also when the01:29:28
show got supremely popular. And I think01:29:30
both Netflix and the Duffer brothers01:29:33
realized their audience was from a01:29:35
variety of ages, not just adults 18 and01:29:38
up. So, season 3 lowered that tone so01:29:41
that way all audiences could enjoy it.01:29:44
If this season had been animated, I01:29:46
think it would have made more sense and01:29:48
not been as jarring of a season because01:29:50
this season still had darker moments,01:29:52
but also scenes that broke the suspense01:29:55
and seriousness of the situations at01:29:57
hand. Season 4 kind of continued this01:30:00
way despite going back to the more01:30:02
serious and mysterious roots. This was01:30:05
more of a blockbuster now, then the01:30:07
blockbusters season 3 was trying so hard01:30:10
to copy. If this had been in theaters, I01:30:13
imagine we would have gotten some01:30:14
Marvelesque reactions to it. But part of01:30:17
me still thinks of Stranger Things as01:30:20
this small town mystery show that was a01:30:22
hidden gem on Netflix for a little01:30:24
while. That if this could have only been01:30:27
a two or three season show, this would01:30:29
have gone down as one of the all-time01:30:31
greats when it comes to TV. But because01:30:34
of how popular the show got and because01:30:36
it had to cater to all kinds of01:30:38
different audiences with a wide range of01:30:41
ages, I think this show became a shell01:30:44
of what it could have been, really what01:30:46
it should have been. But Netflix needs01:30:48
their money. This show became a main01:30:51
selling point for Netflix. So, what the01:30:53
vast majority of audiences want, they01:30:55
get, even if it turns a niche small town01:30:58
mystery show into something reminiscent01:31:01
of the Marvel universe. Those are all my01:31:04
thoughts on Stranger Things seasons 1 to01:31:06
4. If you're watching this in the future01:31:08
after season 5 is all out, then you can01:31:10
probably click on screen to watch my01:31:12
breakdown and review of season 5. But if01:31:14
you're watching this in the present,01:31:15
then let me know you want to see that01:31:17
breakdown of season 5 by hitting the01:31:18
like button. I was also going to include01:31:20
a section on my final theories for01:31:22
season 5. So, I might make a separate01:31:24
video for that. Let me know if that's01:31:27
something you want to see in the01:31:28
comments down below. Thank you a lot to01:31:30
all my channel members. You guys are the01:31:32
best. And I'll see you all in the next01:31:35
one.01:31:40
[music]Description:
Subscribe to help me reach 400K! There’s this kid with superpowers and a tattoo of the number 11? Some shady government experiments and coverups? A monster with the ability to supernaturally kidnap people? Weird alternate dimensions? A group of kids riding around town on bikes? A mean old sheriff with a heart of gold uncovering the mystery? This show had everything. For the next couple days Stranger Things becomes the thing I look forward to the most when I get off of work, I finish the season hoping that it becomes popular enough for a second season, I tell my friends and family to watch it, and the rest, as they say, is history. I am the reason why Stranger Things became popular. 0:00 - 3:52 - Intro 3:53 - 17:42 - Season 1 17:43 - 36:14 - Season 2 36:15 - 1:00:08 - Season 3 1:00:09 - 1:31:47 - Season 4 Become a member of the Channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCDwHndN_0rTs4iklHOm9GQ/join Join My Discord! https://discord.com/invite/xhFYpxjCdm Outro: Follow You Into The Dark - Alan Wake 2 Soundtrack DISCLAIMER: There was NO AI used in the creation of this video. - All Music is from Artlist.io - The recording is my actual voice, not an AI. - I wrote the script of each and every video on this channel - I made the thumbnail and applied a filter over the characters to give them a unique look. - Editing was done by myself on Premiere Pro If you don't believe me, feel free to check out my older videos from before AI even existed and see for yourself.
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