The fifth season is here! The first four episodes of the final season of Stranger Things have launched on Netflix. But can they live up to the high expectations of fans? Or is the hype perhaps long gone, as some people claim? I have an opinion on this!
Before I plunge into the fifth season of Stranger Things tonight, I’ll throw a philosophical question to fish for answers: Are there actually any things that are still really good? Or has everything gone down the drain?
It Has Long Been a Tradition: We Think Everything is Bad
I’m asking this because I can’t remember anything that we’ve all found unreservedly great in recent years. The German national team’s football (soccer for those living across the pond) games, the latest episode of a series, the new Taylor Swift album, or the new Ritter Sport flavor — no matter what it is, there are always people who think it’s terrible.
So, is there any chance that we’ll all love the fifth season of Stranger Things? No, of course not. However, we must be mature enough to draw the line: There are people who can constructively name what’s wrong with something. And there are people who just dislike things across the board, just because. They’re like the person who goes to a party where he doesn’t really want to be, uninvited. He pees all over the buffet and ruins the party for everyone else, and leaves.
The internet is full of these folks, as I’m sure you know. So I’m getting ready to stumble across too many people online in the coming days and weeks who want to explain to me why exactly this fifth season is shit (pardon my French).
Is the Stranger Things Hype Over?
Let’s forget about these lousy internet trolls for a moment. I’ve also read constructive criticism of the series, and there were actually a few points that made me wonder. For example, Ömer Kayali definitely has a point when he wrote on Series Junkies:
“The mystery and eeriness that characterized the first season gave way to spectacular CGI effects and action-packed showdowns. With each new season, the monsters became bigger, louder, and more visible — impressively staged, but without the eerie effect of the early seasons.”
Anyone who has read my ranking of the first few seasons will also know that I had a particular gripe with the third season. At some point, it wasn’t enough for me that they just strung together eighties reminiscences and action scenes. I also had the feeling that the Stranger Things magic was wearing off. But with the fourth season, the Duffer brothers had me completely wrapped around their fingers again.
The coward attacks from behind? Cheeky! Image source: KI-generiert mit Nano Banana Pro
Justified Criticism?
At the end of the day, I do believe that there are points of criticism that have spoiled the fun of the fifth season for some people. Do we really need so many references to the eighties? Sometimes it seemed a bit of an overkill, as if we needed to be given a sign: “Look, we’re in the eighties — that’s what you loved in the first episodes”.
But there were also things that the Duffer brothers had no control over, or not all of them. Things like the writers’ strike in the USA or the coronavirus pandemic. This contributed to the fact that our young heroes have achieved the feat of actually getting ten years older within five years of the series. Yes, perhaps some of the charm was actually lost when adults now have to pretend to be much younger kids in the midst of puberty terror.
So, is the Hype Still Alive?
I think so! When the series started (in Germany on the night of December 26th to 27th), the Netflix servers actually crashed briefly. Certainly not a sign that nobody wants to tune in anymore.
I listened to myself to see if I still wanted to. Has the story worn thin for me? Or am I too afraid that it won’t be brought to a proper conclusion?
Honestly? No, none of that! In fact, the last few days have completely put me back on the hype train, and I can’t wait to write the last few sentences here now and then check out the new episodes.
So yes: there’s always something to criticize, nothing is really perfect (except possibly the first season of Stranger Things!). But I’m determined not to let this season spoil it for me, even if it doesn’t go the way I thought it would.
I already know that I’m going to miss Eleven, aka Jane, Dustin, Mike, and everyone else, because they’ve really grown on me over the years. However, I can bear that much better at the very end than if a really, incredibly good series slipped into insignificance over the years.
While I’m playing a riff on my air guitar to Master of Puppets in memory of Eddie, why don’t you tell me how you feel? Are you still up for it? Or are you just watching the series to the end out of a sense of duty?
