i am actually really tired of people dismissing criticism of vol. 2 as bylers upset their ship didn't sail when in reality it was just a poorly written mess that butchers/mischaracterizes/entirely abandons its characters.
like okay, removed entirely from mike, will, and el as a love triangle bc that dynamic is a volatile, incomprehensible mess and there's no way of deducing whatever this show is trying to say about them until we see the finale (especially because mike hasn't been a person since the opening of ep 5), THE WRITING IS STILL BAD.
the emotional impact of literally everything they'd been building up to was completely halted in its tracks.
max comes back from being in a coma for NEARLY TWO YEARS? okay cool, the only people that care are lucas, mike, and will. el, who learned about autonomy and identity and unapologetic confidence from max, merely pats her on the shoulder and then returns to mogging the camera.
like 80% of the GA didn't know jancy broke up until they were told by the internet or read that interview w/ ross? how about we call the GA stupid for not understanding the incredibly confusing writing and directing choices made in that scene! ALSO THE ROOM IS MELTING WOAHHHHH EVERYONE BE SCARED. JUST KIDDING. THE ROOM HAS RESOLIDIFIED. WE'RE SAVED!
mr clarke, a scientist even nerdier than dustin, the man who taught our little supergenius everything he knows, is told that the upside down exists and WE DON'T SEE HIM REACT AT ALL.
max finds out hopper is alive after literally everyone assumed he DIED in 1985? cool okay we don't need to see that reaction either no that's chill.
vickie and scott clarke are added into the main fold of characters but they left karen wheeler in the hospital? karen wheeler who has proven she's infinitely more capable than like half of the main cast? yeah we abandoned her and completely separated from her two remaining children because we love and respect mothers (ignore that we haven't let joyce do anything but talk to will and come up with plans that don't work this season!)
we've completely abandoned/sidelined the military plotline when we should have simply concluded the bulk of it at the end of ep 4/ the beginning of ep 5. you're telling me hopper knocked kay unconscious and didn't shoot that woman twice in the chest and thrice in the head? you're telling me after they broke kali out of containment she didn't take the opportunity to slit kay's throat on the way out? it would have been so simple to have vecna kill all the soldiers at the mac-z, kill kay, and then have the characters directly express that the military has no chance against vecna, and that it's entirely up to them to win the final battle.
don't even fucking talk to me about the el suicide arc they're pushing too. why reintroduce a hated character (one of THREE poc main characters in the show) only to make her more hated? at that point just let her remain the cool, punky, morally grey figure we met in season 2. not this pessimistic and untrustworthy version of kali.
not to mention that the explanation they gave for the upside down makes no sense and completely ruins the mystery of the show. a huge part of stranger things has always been a fear of the unknown, the fear and anxiety that comes with not knowing what you're going up against. season four established vecna as the one bbeg, and season five put the finale nail in the coffin. the duffers need to explain every single part of the upside down and it's origins just made the upside down as a whole less impactful.
also we've barely touched vecna's backstory even though the audience was told it would be explored in s5. what was in the briefcase? why was henry down in those caves in the first place? WHY IS HE SO AFRAID OF THAT MEMORY? WE STILL DON'T KNOW.
AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF. NOBODY'S FUCKING DIED YET. WHICH MEANS WE'RE GOING TO WATCH FIVE OR SIX HORRIBLY PACED, PROBABLY IRRELEVANT DEATHS IN THE FINALE WHILE "WHEN ITS COLD I'D LIKE TO DIE" PLAYS OVER THE ENTIRE TWO HOURS OF THE FINALE.
