Why Stranger Things Vol.2 Fell Flat + Thoughts on the Series Finale

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the blog! As we all know, Stranger Things season 5 volumes 1 and 2 have been released. I’ve seen the discourse online, and I have to say that I am pretty underwhelmed with the way vol. 2 has left things. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan of Stranger Things for a long time, but I am not a fan of how much pressure is on the finale to wrap up all the loose ends.

I want to start a series that critiques writing. Things I dislike that writers do and ways the writing could’ve been way better. Stranger Things is the perfect example, so let’s get into it!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Thoughts before the finale aired:

I have three major issues with season 5. First, the pacing. Volume one was action packed, filled with edge-of-your-seat moments, and ended on such a high note that it left the audience desperately waiting for the next part. Volume two then dissipates all the build-up.

Episodes five, six, and seven were so exposition-filled that all the momentum is immediately halted. We are given information dump after information dump. We’re constantly being told things like, where Holly really is, what the Upside Down actually is, what Dimension X is, etc., The number one rule of writing is to show not tell. When really this would’ve worked better if the information was given to us in pieces.

The reveal about the Upside Down and Dimension X should’ve been revealed in the first volume to give it more time to sink in for the audience. Instead, we were told in episodes 6-7 and have had very little time to process this whole new dimension before the finale. While it has been hinted at towards the end of season four, it feels like it was sprung on the audience instead of being a well-developed idea.

Or the episodes should’ve been longer instead of feeling rushed to get the audience all the necessary information. I don’t understand why so much content was cut. We were originally told we’d have eight 2-hour long episodes, and the longest episode is 2hrs and 5min (the finale). The Duffer brothers have an audience who is invested in the show and would’ve watched 2-hour long episodes. Shortening the time cheapens the season because we have so many characters and arcs to wrap up. Twenty character arcs can’t be wrapped up nicely in 8 episodes.

Along with the exposition dump, the scenes in volume 2 felt drawn out. It felt like Jonathan and Nancy were stuck in the melting room for the entire hour-long episode. It lasted forever and all for the room to magically stop melting after they confessed their secrets. It felt cheesy and overall, a lazy way to save the characters. Instead, Nancy and Jonathan should’ve had their break-up/un-proposal, aired all their confessions, and then died. We would’ve felt the urgency, their character arcs would’ve been wrapped up, and this could’ve been the momentum boost the season needed but also for the characters to burst into action to defeat Vecna.

Max and Holly were trying to break out of Camazotz for an episode and a half. There was no edge-of-your-seat moment for Max and Holly because there was so much dialogue clogging up their scenes. There was no sense of urgency to make it back to their bodies like there was for Max in season four. I mean, when they both found their portals, they were literally WALKING to them.

My second issue is that there were no main character deaths. We were told this would be a dark Christas, and I have yet to see how these last three episodes were any different from the rest of the season. We were constantly teased with “almost deaths.”

I do think the teaser of Steve being the hero in episode five was good. We could feel Dustin’s emotion, his urgency (if you will) about letting his friend charge into the unknown. This was a perfect way for them to build their relationship back, and it gets a “jump scare” for the audience. This then happens at least three more times throughout episodes five, six and seven. Again, Nancy and Jonathan were stuck in the melting room. I do feel like their death would’ve significantly impacted the entire group. We would be able to see the bonds between characters and highlight relationships that haven’t been very shown in Vol 1.

Mike would’ve been impacted (as he should have more fire in him considering his mom and dad almost died, and Holly is being held captive but regardless…). Will and Joyce would’ve been impacted, and this would’ve been a great character development for Will. Him and Mike could have a heart to heart that solidifies their deep bond of friendship, and then the brainstorming/planning session could begin. Hopper could be there for Joyce. Eleven could be there for Mike. We’ve barely seen these couples interact in the final season.

Along with the no character deaths, the Duffer Brothers are not sticking to their world building logic. We have the scene in the hospital in episode six where Lucas is running from the Demo dogs while carrying Max. Lucas literally just kicks one for them and he’s able to escape. Later in the scene, Lucas is still playing the music for Max, and the Demo dogs are wandering around as if they can’t hear it. Only to then be distracted by the oxygen tank in the dryer—distracted by the NOISE IT IS MAKING. It doesn’t make sense.

To ramp up the stakes, Robin and her girlfriend, Vickie, should’ve died in the hospital scene. Yes, the Demo dogs were after Max, but it doesn’t make sense for the dogs to just skate by them. Not when they’re vicious animalistic hunters as we have been shown in seasons past. Robin’s death could’ve then created a healing point for Dustin and Steve. They both lost best friends, they can grieve together, Steve can understand how Dustin is feeling and vice versa. They can lean on each other and then take their anger and direct it towards Vecna.

The Duffer brothers have proven over the last 5 ½ seasons that they do not have what it takes to kill off a main character, and as a fan base I don’t know why we believed this season would be any different. Any character deaths we’ve had thus far have been characters we just met. Bob, Billy, Christie, Eddie, etc.

My last main issue about the last seven episodes is the fact that the writers brought Kali back. Why the hell are we bringing back a character the audience met once three seasons ago in the lowest rated episode??? THE LOWEST RATED EPISDOE. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t think her character should have this much value and power heading into the finale.

The only good thing is that she is a wildcard. We were told about a traitor which I’m not even sure where that rumor started, but Kali being the traitor is way too obvious. Do I think she means well and is on the good guys side? Hell no. But if the big reveal is that she’s actually evil…we already knew that. I don’t trust her, I don’t like her, and I don’t think she should’ve been brought back.

Instead, I think El and Hopper should’ve found the experiment Kali was a part of. It should’ve been more of a “oh this is why the military wants El” moment. The chamber thing that Kali is hooked up to would’ve been empty as they were waiting to capture El. Then we could’ve learned about the military wanting to re-create the experiment using El’s blood because I think that’s a cool storyline.

The last thing the season needed was more characters. Typically, when writing a book, the author should max out at 5 main characters, 6 at the very most. Anything beyond gets hard for the reader to keep track of everyone, and honestly it gets hard for most writers to keep track of all their characters as well. This ultimately leads to bad writing because nothing feels complete or some characters feel more flat than others.

The only way I will accept Kali coming back is if she is the Mind Flayer. I saw a theory online that Kali is a projection of sorts, maybe even possessed by the Mind Flayer. This would explain her weird behavior—and being persistent that her and El need to die, this would explain why she’s bleeding out of the opposite nostril from season two, and why the Duffer’s say there is a traitor. But again, Kali being the traitor is so obvious there has to be someone else too.

Part of me thinks maybe Will is the traitor. In Vol 2., Vecna said he needed Will to spy one last time. How do we know that just because Will got out that he’s 100% alright. I also saw people online investigating his coming out speech. How he talked about getting milkshakes from Melvard’s even though that’s a hardware store, and how he talked about how he loves getting lost in the woods…uh, the last time he got lost in the woods he was taken. Those weird statements that honestly make more sense if they were coming from Henry. I think there’s something wrong with Will. I don’t think he’s totally out from Vecna’s control, and I’m talking more than just being connected to the hive mind.

Ultimately, I fear the fan theories might be better than the end will be. The last and final episode airs tonight. We have 2 hours and 5 minutes to resolve a whole lot of conflict and complete a lot of arcs while also producing a good ending. I don’t know if this last episode will feel satisfying. I hope it does. I’ve been a fan of the show for a long time and don’t the last season to turn into a joke like Game of Thrones.

Once the last episode airs, and I have time to digest it, I will add or update my review of season 5.

*Thoughts after viewing the finale:

If I were watching Stranger Things with no real investment, just a fan taking everything in at face value and not analyzing the smaller details I would give the finale a 7/10.

As a fan of the show that has become invested and was watching for more than face value entertainment, I would give the finale a 5/10. I thought the finale was okay. Was it good? Sure. Was it great? No. Was it big and bold? No. The finale was played safe.

My first issue is the pacing problems. The pacing was really slow for the first forty minutes as we had to finish wrapping up any character-character conflict within the group. We see Steve and Jonathan's heart to heart, we have Mike and Will's heart to heart, and El and Hopper's heart to heart. Which is great, but this all should've been done in episode seven. There was no sense of urgency shown even though they needed to time the first part of their plan correctly.

Then the battle with Venca and the Mind Flayer happened so fast. The characters scaled those cliffs in 30 seconds, El made it into the Abyss with no issues, and ran at the Mind Flayer to within seconds be fighting against Vecna. I just thought it happened way too fast. The Mind Flayer was shown for maybe five minutes.

My second issue is the fact that the finale was played so safe. I don't understand why the Duffer Brothers said that this was the darkest season yet, one of the characters experiences the most brutal death ever — there was no brutal death and the one character "death" we got is ambiguous.

So many side characters have been killed off, but it's realistic for all the main characters to make it out? I don't think its realistic at all. Do I want everyone to die? No. I don't want them to pointlessly kill off characters, the death has to be meaningful. Which is why I think the death they gave shouldn't have been so wishy-washy.

My third issue is some of the plot holes. Where were all the Demos and Demo dogs. I feel like they should've been there. The battle was just the characters using flame throwers against the Mind Flayer. Do Joyce and Hopper just not remember knowing Henry in high school? I don't understand what the point of the play connection was if it actually didn't matter to the series. The connection point was too weak.

I'm also not sure where the traitor theory started, but there was no traitor.

ALSO, why the hell was Kali brought back. She wasn't a traitor, she wasn't the Mind Flayer infiltrating the group, and she wasn't even evil. She was such a pointless character to bring back.

I ultimately feel like the Duffer Brothers hyped this season up way too much.

Things that I liked: I did like the jump scare of Steve almost falling off the building. It was a little cheesy. Did I think he might actually die there? A little bit. It would've honestly been a terrible death for him because literally no action had started yet, but that's a way to build tension and drama. Steve's death would've affected the audience so much that everyone would've been locked in after it.

I also liked that we had like a 30-40 minute epilogue to be able to showcase all the characters moving on and returning to normal life. Dustin's speech being reminiscent of what Eddie said in season four was such a good full circle moment. Same with Max and Lucas finally getting their movie date, and Joyce and Hopper moving and getting engaged. Those were good callbacks to previous seasons.

I also thought the ending scene was really well done. The D&D campaign mirroring the first season's campaign. The scenes were so perfect. Putting the books on the shelf was a perfect; I could feel how real the tears were from the actors. Not just them saying goodbye to the show but their childhood. Then Holly coming down to play with her friends (even Derek which I love).

I think that goes to show not only the passing of the torch, but the next generation is going to get a normal childhood. They get to live in peace and play games that are just games which is all El wanted.

Ultimately, I think she died. I don't think it is realistic for her to be alive in some far off land and to never see Hawkins again. I think the Duffer brothers were right to say, "there is no ending in which Eleven is hanging out with the gang again."

Overall, I still love the series. I would recommend it because ultimately as someone who is just looking for entertainment, I think this show delivers. The characters are lovable, the first 4 seasons were really well written, and it's an addicting watch. I can't believe it's over.

Alright folks, that is all I have for this week! Come back next Wednesday for another blog post. As always, thank you for reading :)