The first volume of the final season of ‘Stranger Things’ is much too ambitious
Let me preface this by saying that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Not at all! The Duffer bros are consistently good with filming things, and the story itself is replete with enough action and plot to keep viewers invested and entertained. The problem, instead, is that there’s sometimes too much of it.
It’s been three years since season four of Stranger Things ended. Season four rumbled onscreen as an ambitious two-part season with mostly hour-plus episodes. For most casual fans, that’s a long time to go in between seasons and be expected to pick right back up. The recap Netflix offers does a little to mitigate confusion, but it is still not enough.
The problem that Stranger Things has faced for a few seasons now is that it tries to do a lot at one time. That is often not as successful as presumably they’d like. The show was at its strongest when it was at its simplest. Its first season, which was awash in retro glamour, was a groundbreaking spectacle. Its inspirations in filmmakers like Steven Spielberg were obvious.
As the series stretched on, it seemed like the Duffer bros wanted to world-build more than they wanted to focus on the writing itself. Sure, the ideas they were introducing were fascinating and alluring, but when you put too many ingredients in a dish it becomes an indistinguishable flavor.
The long waits between seasons certainly didn’t help matters. The cast are now all adults playing children. There are terrible wigs as a result. It really isn’t believable, but it’s a testament to their talent and the show’s persisting allure that we overlook it.
Season 5 promised to be a huge finish for the series, and so far it is. But that isn’t always a good thing. Simplicity can be more effective than giant, blockbuster finishes, which this season swings into with almost alarming frequency.
Too many irons in the fire
The final season of a show is always a difficult place to introduce new characters. As Hawkins is now aware of the Upside Down, the military have infiltrated the once-sleepy town, introducing a new glut of gruff, no-nonsense military types. Unfortunately, they are not fleshed out enough to read as more than just caricatures. The scenes themselves on base also appear to be aimless, with people doing what they think soldiers do.
There are simply too many storylines at once. We bounce around from one to the other, but oftentimes the pacing is off, the characters too thin. So much lore is being introduced, but it’s a circuit overload at times that fizzes out the plot. We as viewers are not given enough time to sit with another revelation or character long enough to become emotionally attached.
Really, the Duffer bros just have too many good ideas, because none of them are bad, per se. It all boils down to too much at once. If the season so farhad pared back some of it, even just a little, it would have been much more effective.
Despite issues, the nostalgia is still there
At the end of the day, Stranger Things still gives fans what they want. For its shortcomings, it still gives us glimpses into the 80s-tinged nostalgia that we all fell in love with. When it hits its emotional beats well, it does them well.
It is almost like the shadow of Stranger Things season 5 is the show we fell in love with, and the season itself is what it has become due to its commercial success. What started out as a show dealing with loss, growing up, and friendship has fallen prey to Hollywoodification. But the shadow persists, and occasionally the direction shifts to push it back into view.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
