re: Stranger Things S5 - Volume 2

quote:

---

Think it was pretty clearly set up that's what they're going to do

---

So are we thinking the friend that got in touch with Hop knew he might be a good asset for the Montauk shenanigans?

Fighting Godzilla mindflayer was pretty fricking wild, show took a step into severe sci fi territory but it was fine.

50 mins of closing out characters and they couldn’t just show Mike finding El come on!

Is she really out there or just Mike making it up?

If El really pulled a bait and switch with Kali we deserve to see that shite. How did Kali even do that with a gut shot??

End it with El sending Mike coordinates or something hell anything.

They didn’t drop the ball, I’m not going to say it was a horrible finish. It was fine, we deserved to see Mike find El though if she’s really still alive

quote:

---

just didn’t get the sense they had this ending mapped out from the start of the series. Unless they were talking about them wrapping up a D&D game in the basement and closing the door.

---

I thought the opposite. It never felt at any point in this show that they didn’t know where they were eventually going.

What we do know breaking bad guys has Jessie dying in season 1 and not apart of the ending.

Same as sopranos didn’t have the ending mapped out from the start or the series.

Stranger things finale stuck the landing

quote:

---

The Duffers said they had the ending in mind for Stranger Things from the start. It was a good one.

---

Hopper would be in solitary confinement the rest of his life the amount of US army soldiers he slaughtered

quote:

---

I'm just glad we got to see Mr Wheeler one last time.

---

I hope we see him at an upcoming LSU baseball or football tailgate. He’s a huge fan

quote:

---

Plot holes galore

---

Please name all the plot holes galore

quote:

---

As for the lack of creatures in the Abyss/Dimension X, I think they were used to create the physical representation of the mind flayer that is fought and defeated. That's the only thing that makes sense - we never see the mind flayer in a physical form until season 3 when it uses people to form a physical form. Otherwise, it'd be the smoke particles.

---

This right here! I was wondering how Vecna built the physical mind flayer.

Season 1 and 4 - Great

Season 2,3,5 - mid at best


Last episode was fine. Could have been better could have been worse

quote:

---

-Will lending a hand in the final battle with Vecna was good

-Glad they didn’t try to redeem Vecna

-Joyce with the axe was OK I guess

I’ll say I want to believe like the OG adventure party.

The not as good parts
-The Mind flayer went down like a bitch; I get they wanted everyone to have a hand in the win, but that’s was just laughably bad; let’s just run to this cliff a quarter mile away and scale either side in the next few seconds. I’m sure the 100 foot monster won’t get a hit on any of us.

-Glad they picked the right direction to randomly travel in the alternate dimension; at least give me a line from Will saying he felt it was that way or something

-Why is Will no longer hurt when plugged in? Because the story needs that to be the case! Ok then.

-Where’d the rock in the case come from? Who was the scientist in the cave? Seems like access to the abyss is available somewhere still.

-The Abyss and Upside Down just ran out of monsters I guess.

-So Dr K just let them all go and everyone just said C’est la vie? That’s interesting.

-Hopper has an M15 and can’t just shoot at the chopper with the speaker hovering right outside the window?

-All those kids and their families just gonna keep quiet?

---

Some thought/answers:
It's the conclusion of the seemingly abbreviated arc of Will has access to Vecna's power. It's a quickly tied up loose end.

They offered redemption but closed the door on it when Vecna said he was shown a way to fix the world and accepted it. Whether it was actually Henry or he was too weak and was still controlled, is debatable. It was an actual good example of subverting expectations.

I'm glad someone confirmed the kill. I was surprised that Dustin didn't come in a stab or decapitate Vecna. But I'm glad Joyce got to do something and get some of that anger out.

Probably should have taken a moment to show everyone else getting into position. A tad too far into suspending disbelief there.

I want to believe. I'm not sure if I totally do though.

Again, something more than Steve and Dustin getting monster goo on them would have been more believable. Someone should have gotten hit with something.

Agree - there should have been some line - especially with no clear direction to travel

Will is no longer hurt because he's confident since he let go of his only secret. Vecna works in playing on fears - see Hopper - and Will got the acceptance that he wanted/needed. I get it - it was ham-fisted in execution but I get the idea behind it.

The memory is touched on in the play - which was only performed in a few places. That guy with the briefcase is a Russian spy who stole it from where Brenner was working on it. Brenner's father was the captain of the ship in the Philadelphia Experiment and the ship was transported to the Abyss. He returned with changed blood type and injuries.

The spy stole equipment(?) which was supposedly found by Henry and sent him there too. The rock is a retcon (maybe?) or maybe something that was brought back upon the ship/someone on the ship when it returned and was being experimented on.

The Abyss monsters probably because the physical Mind Flayer. It does help explain the lack of monsters since volume 1.

I can only presume that Dr. Kay (General Kay) was quickly reassigned/retired after the spectacular failure of their mission. And the new officer in charge wanted a quiet end to everything and bargained a dropping of any potential charges/punishment in exchange for NEVER speaking of it again.

Yeah - Hopper could have easily walked to the window and started firing. I guess they wanted to amp up the tension and head fake that Kali was being left?

I think it was like the end of season 1. Many of the parents probably didn't know what happened or were told a sanitized version and given some cash to keep it quiet and/or threatened with charges for national security if they talked.