Stranger Things, Seasons 4...and 5?!

[AndyDursin]

I think it's fine they put up a disclaimer for the first episode but honestly that really left me with a sour taste for obvious reasons that offset my enjoyment level of the premiere episode. Couldn't that scene have been moved to a later episode so you could've been eased into it at least? Putting that right off the bat -- big mistake.

I only finished that first episode but I felt the overall level of violence was a little excessive and didn't feel like continuing -- at least not this weekend.

[Monterey Jack]

Yeah, this season has been upping the gruesome horror aspects. That's been an element since the beginning (Eleven was snapping necks and causing people's eyes to bleed since early on), and it's appropriate, as the "kids" now look old enough to legally buy beer and cigarettes, but it is noticeable.

[AndyDursin]

The problem for them is that this is/was a show built around mashing up Spielbergian tropes with King homages. The horror stuff was always there, but it didn't dominate entirely -- and if it completely veers into hardcore R-rated horror they are going to turn off some of the fanbase. I'm seeing comments from fans here and there that echo that.

[jkholm]

Yeah, this season has been upping the gruesome horror aspects. That's been an element since the beginning (Eleven was snapping necks and causing people's eyes to bleed since early on), and it's appropriate, as the "kids" now look old enough to legally buy beer and cigarettes, but it is noticeable.

Agreed that the horror violence is ramped up considerably in this season. And as far as the kids' ages goes, I can accept that the younger kids are high school freshmen but I could have sworn it was already established that Steve, Nancy, Robin, etc. had graduated, yet here they are in shop class, the band and the school paper.

[AndyDursin]

I could have sworn it was already established that Steve, Nancy, Robin, etc. had graduated, yet here they are in shop class, the band and the school paper.

No kidding I thought they were in college!

The horror violence is what it is, but it's not entirely what the series was really built around. Maybe they're fine with tuning out some of their audience, but even I'm like, "yeah, I've seen enough now". 10 more hours to go? Feel like I'm good.

[Monterey Jack]

And as far as the kids' ages goes, I can accept that the younger kids are high school freshmen but I could have sworn it was already established that Steve, Nancy, Robin, etc. had graduated, yet here they are in shop class, the band and the school paper.

This is odd, at least as far as Nancy goes. She was already graduated from high school before season three had started! Robin's in her last year, though (that was established in season three). Steve still just hangin' around instead of being away at college is getting a bit awkward, though. In fact, have we ever met his parents during the course of the series? I re-watched the first three seasons to get caught up for the new one, and it's curious he's the only lead character going back to season one we haven't met the family of yet.

[Monterey Jack]

[AndyDursin]

lol

I am may be midway through (I guess) and I feel the urge to fast-forward through the entire Hopper plot. It's just dead weight, wholly unappealing (how does this play to the character's strengths anyway?), and punctuated by the fact I don't find anything related to Winona and Brett Gelman funny. They should've just fast-tracked him back into the story, that would've been much preferrable to watching this play itself out -- painfully slowly.

[Monterey Jack]

Yeah, the slo-mo "Let's get Hopper out of a Russian gulag" plot is a stiff.

I did appreciate that Suzie's cute sister is a dead ringer for Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club, though.

[Monterey Jack]

Also nice that Maya Hawke has costume changes this season, instead of being stuck in that awful "Scoops Ahoy" outfit for 99.6% of her screentime in season three. Many thanks to Ethan and Uma for creating such a beautiful girl.

[Monterey Jack]

Okay, despite my complaints about runtime bloat and the dreary Hopper subplot this season, uhhhh, episode #7...



Is it July yet...?!

[Monterey Jack]

Getting majorly hosed this year have been Jonathan and Will, the former being turned into a pothead for no reason (as fickle Nancy is once again handed off between suitors) and the latter given nothing but a vague "Is he gay for Mike, or what?" simmer (since no TV series or movie wants to commit to flat-out saying a character is gay, of course, because then they can't sell it in China! ).

[AndyDursin]

Definitely picked up after the first couple of shows but the Hopper stuff like we've said is a serious drag. Not really into the "is he gay for Mike" element either, just feels very stereotypical. Is it possible to have a quiet withdrawn male character onscreen today who just isn't a repressed homosexual? It's either that or they're a flamboyant queen.

[Monterey Jack]

Not really into the "is he gay for Mike" element either, just feels very stereotypical. Is it possible to have a quiet withdrawn male character onscreen today who just isn't a repressed homosexual? It's either that or they're a flamboyant queen.

Plus, the show already has its token gay character in Robin. You have to wonder if they're throwing the "is he gay?" thing Will's way because the character has been utterly useless since he stopped being the conduit for the Upside Down after season two. I wish they'd either commit to it fully, or drop it, because this kind of "simmering" homosexual tension always drags shows down. It made sense decades ago, when having sympathetic gay characters in movies and TV at all was rare, and writers had to "disguise" such content, but it's so ubiquitous these days that they as well go for it.

[AndyDursin]

I'm not finished yet but my grand overall thought so far about Season 4 is that separating large swaths of characters at a time because you can't figure out anything for them to do together isn't great drama inherently. The entire Mike and his pals section was as useless as much of the Hopper storyline. All the juice was with Eleven (even though that felt drawn out) and the Hawkins Scooby Gang or whatever you want to call them.

Very unbalanced season in that regard. Also how the beginning was so gory and violent. That calmed down after the first 2-3 episodes and the balance was pretty good from then on, but it started the season off on a heavy and excessive note.