🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This review dives into the first volume of Stranger Things Season 5, exploring its narrative highs and lows, character arcs, and the challenges of concluding a decade-long cultural phenomenon. While the season delivers moments of intrigue and nostalgia, it struggles with narrative bloat, inconsistent character relevance, and tonal swings.
Notable Quotes
- You know, I could best describe season 5 as a decent but slightly overstuffed pizza that some prick sprinkled with chunks of Brussels sprouts just for shits and giggles.
- Holy [__] if I have to listen to Kate Bush one more time, I'm going to devote my entire life to building a time machine just so I can go back to the 1980s and erase her from existence.
- People that have stuck with Stranger Things for almost a decade are going to ride it all the way to the end credits, no matter how good or bad it is.
🎬 The Evolution of *Stranger Things*
- The series has been a rollercoaster, with Season 1 being a standout, Season 2 solid but uninspired, Season 3 widely criticized, and Season 4 redeeming the show.
- Season 5 attempts to balance the stakes of a climactic final battle with the weight of its sprawling cast and subplots.
- The decision to split the season into volumes is seen as pretentious and unnecessary.
🌀 Narrative Challenges and Plot Inconsistencies
- The story picks up in 1987, with Hawkins sealed off by the military, but the apocalyptic stakes from Season 4 are oddly downplayed.
- Characters now travel freely in the Upside Down, with even the military establishing a research outpost there, raising questions about narrative logic.
- The demigorgans' threat level fluctuates wildly depending on the scene, undermining their menace.
👥 Character Overload and Stagnation
- Many characters, including Max, Robin, Lucas, and Jonathan, feel redundant, with recycled arcs or busywork to justify their presence.
- The love triangle between Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy persists without meaningful progression.
- New characters like Holly and a more active Will are welcome additions, but they add to the narrative bloat.
🎭 Performances and Emotional Tones
- Performances range from superb to insufferable, with Maya Hawke's portrayal of Robin criticized as overly quirky and uncomfortable to watch.
- Emotional tones swing wildly, making it difficult to maintain consistent engagement.
- The show struggles to kill off characters whose arcs have concluded, leading to a lack of impactful stakes.
📺 The Last Real TV Event?
- Despite its flaws, Stranger Things remains a cultural phenomenon, with fans committed to seeing it through to the end.
- The reviewer reflects on the rarity of such event TV
in the current entertainment landscape, suggesting this may be the last of its kind.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Video Description
Its been ten years in the making, but the final season of Stranger Things is here at last. Well, the first part of the final season because for some reason we're splitting it up into volumes for this thing. Anyway, was it worth the wait? Will it be the last ever piece of event TV? Join me for my review.