Netflix Original Stranger Things

[Mog]

I’m good with the finale.

It hit the feels and ended solidly enough.

Spoiler

The story of the mage’s fate gives a nice bittersweet end.

Appreciated Hopper’s advice to Mike.

Tripping out at how much Maya Hawke looks like Uma (her real life mom) after the timeskip.

Didn’t realize Here Comes Your Man was released in 1989.

Bastards got me with the fake out of Hopper shooting the water tank.

 

[jvmacross]

8 hours ago, Mog said:

I’m good with the finale.

It hit the feels and ended solidly enough.

  Reveal hidden contents

The story of the mage’s fate gives a nice bittersweet end.

Appreciated Hopper’s advice to Mike.

Tripping out at how much Maya Hawke looks like Uma (her real life mom) after the timeskip.

Didn’t realize Here Comes Your Man was released in 1989.

Bastards got me with the fake out of Hopper shooting the water tank.

 

Spoiler

I also was happy to see Hopper and Joyce get engaged...best ending of all the characters....

They got me with the Steve plunging to his death fake out....lol 

Also got me with the possible Henry redemption scene....glad they went Anakin-Ep 3 instead of Anakin-Ep 6...

There was that brief time lapse where Hopper went to "find bandages" for Kali....more than enough time for her to have create the needed illusion of her immediate death....

Put me on the "I Believe" team....

 

[Thom]

Really good. I think they did a great ending, though one thing left me a bit miffed. 

Spoiler

I really don't like ambiguous endings, and though I like Mike's belief and it certainly was plausible, I wanted it to end her character with a definite 'yes, she did live.' 

An after-credits scene of her meeting the gang a few years later, after something bad happens to the General of course, would have been really nice.

I liked how they ended all of the character arcs, definitely hopeful, and I was grinning when all the kids ran down the stairs and started playing DnD! That was so cool.

Definitely on the side hoping for a spin-off series!

[Mog]

After the play has its run, you know they’ll do a House of Vecna prequel.

Probably have enough material and characters to do at least a season.

[Thom]

30 minutes ago, Mog said:

After the play has its run, you know they’ll do a House of Vecna prequel.

Probably have enough material and characters to do at least a season.

Much more interested in sequels.

[Chas]

If they do anything more with Stranger Things I think it will centre on the story around the man in the mineshaft and the origin of that rock, and maybe what happened to Henry between that moment and his becoming Papa's pet.

Edited yesterday at 12:13 AM by Chas

[TangledThorns]

Finale was OK, we've seen worse. 

I think they should have tied up Linda Hamilton's character though, she did a great job as a villain. 

But now I can cancel Netflix before the end of the month 😄

 

Edited yesterday at 01:14 AM by TangledThorns

[Big s]

I think this season wasn’t bad, just needed a little better focus instead of trying to add so many characters. Last episode was definitely the best of the bunch and kinda surprised to actually hear Iron Maiden in the soundtrack since they rarely put their stuff in soundtracks despite being one of the biggest bands ever, and especially one that still performs and sells massive shows. Great use of the song as well 

[Thom]

Thinking more on it...

Spoiler

...I think it is less likely that El survived. I would need to rewatch that scene and see if her hand is really glitching, or if that was just Mike imagining that he saw that. Plus, Kali was basically directly under the bombs, and considering how long the blast front took to reach the gate, she would have been dead too long for the illusion to last. If El's hand is glitching, I'll give them that and be content that she is alive and well somewhere. 

If not... To me, that ruins the pay-off of five season of what is an awesome show.

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Thom said:

Thinking more on it...

  Reveal hidden contents

...I think it is less likely that El survived. I would need to rewatch that scene and see if her hand is really glitching, or if that was just Mike imagining that he saw that. Plus, Kali was basically directly under the bombs, and considering how long the blast front took to reach the gate, she would have been dead too long for the illusion to last. If El's hand is glitching, I'll give them that and be content that she is alive and well somewhere. 

If not... To me, that ruins the pay-off of five season of what is an awesome show.

 

Spoiler

With she lived or survived isn’t the important thing. It’s all about myth and legend. It wouldn’t be El’s hand glitching so much either way. If it is, it could just be that her own power is over used, and if it’s not it could be that it was her sister in the image.

overall it’s more like the ending of Pan’s Labrynth where it’s an absolute maybe either way. But the o e sure thing is that now many people knew of her existence and her story is like many legends, kinda up to the individual teller or believer despite the evidence shown. Maybe one day there will be a further story that shows if she survived or maybe that’s it and we’ll never really get that answer, heroes don’t always survive and sometimes there are alternate interpretations of myths and legends.

 

[Thom]

25 minutes ago, Big s said:

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With she lived or survived isn’t the important thing. It’s all about myth and legend. It wouldn’t be El’s hand glitching so much either way. If it is, it could just be that her own power is over used, and if it’s not it could be that it was her sister in the image.

overall it’s more like the ending of Pan’s Labrynth where it’s an absolute maybe either way. But the o e sure thing is that now many people knew of her existence and her story is like many legends, kinda up to the individual teller or believer despite the evidence shown. Maybe one day there will be a further story that shows if she survived or maybe that’s it and we’ll never really get that answer, heroes don’t always survive and sometimes there are alternate interpretations of myths and legends.

 

Spoiler

I just don't like ambiguous ending.

 

[jvmacross]

2 hours ago, Thom said:

Thinking more on it...

  Hide contents

...I think it is less likely that El survived. I would need to rewatch that scene and see if her hand is really glitching, or if that was just Mike imagining that he saw that. Plus, Kali was basically directly under the bombs, and considering how long the blast front took to reach the gate, she would have been dead too long for the illusion to last. If El's hand is glitching, I'll give them that and be content that she is alive and well somewhere. 

If not... To me, that ruins the pay-off of five season of what is an awesome show.

 

Spoiler

To me the biggest clue she survived was her arriving to the place she and Mike said they would run away to...the mythical town with three waterfalls.....the one shown only had two, at least from what I could see....I take that as being reality vs fantasy....

I can see Dr. Kay (military) continuing the work and using whatever blood extracted to move onto DNA manipulation rather than just blood transfusion as the 80's decade ends....

Let these characters get older (just like IT 2) and nostalgia for the show to get greater and we'll see them back on the big or small screen again....

 

[Big s]

59 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

  Reveal hidden contents

To me the biggest clue she survived was her arriving to the place she and Mike said they would run away to...the mythical town with three waterfalls.....the one shown only had two, at least from what I could see....I take that as being reality vs fantasy....

I can see Dr. Kay (military) continuing the work and using whatever blood extracted to move onto DNA manipulation rather than just blood transfusion as the 80's decade ends....

Let these characters get older (just like IT 2) and nostalgia for the show to get greater and we'll see them back on the big or small screen again....

 

I kinda have a feeling that that’s what will eventually happen 

Spoiler

Now that Vecna is gone, it gives time to create a new menace and maybe something that doesn’t need an upside down. Also could leave room for the kids to bee adults like you suggested with the later half of the It story. I really doubt that with the popularity of the show and how it’s really THE iconic streaming show of the first generation of streaming originals that this will be all there is. Spinoff and sequel stories will definitely be something in the future and that ambiguous ending probably won’t be ambiguous forever 

Love it or not, Stranger things was the Streaming show that everyone thinks of whenever original streaming shows are brought up 

[jenius]

Looked like there was an interview where they said they're already working on a spin-off related to the rock... A prequel. 

[jvmacross]

Prequels seem to be working for the IT-verse....and there's always time-travel scenarios....LOL

[Mog]

Hence, my House of Vecna pet theory.

. . . Which they’ll probably overly stretch out.

Spoiler

Yeah, Henry started as a victim in all this.  BUT he’s still the a-hole that decided to do all those evil things afterwards.

And they’d really need to flesh out some story arcs to make the parents all compelling or interesting to watch.

 

[Big s]

2 hours ago, jenius said:

Looked like there was an interview where they said they're already working on a spin-off related to the rock... A prequel. 

They’ve had several spin off related interviews. Some having to do with the written stuff that I’ll probably never read, and animated thingy and at one time there was going to be one about the Ocho, but I think that her side story was something most people disliked and got shelved 

[Thom]

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Looked like there was an interview where they said they're already working on a spin-off related to the rock... A prequel. 

Just myself, but I really have little interest in prequels. I may change my mind when I see what they do, but when I hear 'prequel' I usually start to tune-out.

[Big s]

33 minutes ago, Thom said:

Just myself, but I really have little interest in prequels. I may change my mind when I see what they do, but when I hear 'prequel' I usually start to tune-out.

I’m never really a prequel fan, especially Star Wars prequel stories. 
As far as this, I guess it would be

Spoiler

A story about Henry as a child and becoming corrupted by that chunk in the brief case. Then of course the murder of his family. Unfortunately if that is what they’re thinking, I feel like we already got that whole story and there’s really nothing new to add.

 

[Thom]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

I’m never really a prequel fan, especially Star Wars prequel stories. 
As far as this, I guess it would be

  Hide contents

A story about Henry as a child and becoming corrupted by that chunk in the brief case. Then of course the murder of his family. Unfortunately if that is what they’re thinking, I feel like we already got that whole story and there’s really nothing new to add.

 

Spoiler

And that's the thing, I have zero interest in young Henry and as you point out, we've already seen what happens to his family. But maybe they'll do something interesting with it and how the chunk got to our world, and maybe it'll tie in to El showing up again!

 

[jvmacross]

11 minutes ago, Thom said:

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And that's the thing, I have zero interest in young Henry and as you point out, we've already seen what happens to his family. But maybe they'll do something interesting with it and how the chunk got to our world, and maybe it'll tie in to El showing up again!

 

Apparently the rock was explained already...if you read up about the Stranger Things "play"....

https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Rachel_Caves

[Thom]

13 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Apparently the rock was explained already...if you read up about the Stranger Things "play"....

https://strangerthings.fandom.com/wiki/Rachel_Caves

Never heard of the 'play,' and someone needs to update that.

[Mog]

There's a play currently running, where Henry

Spoiler

and many of the mains' parents are attending the same high school in 1959.

According to what I've read, Henry has a crush/love-interest, meets with the Matthew Modine doctor (aka "Papa"), and has to try to stop the Mind Flayer's dark impulses from taking root in himself (Henry).

Again, I can see them "trying" to build out the parents' stories (Joyce and Hopper, the Wheelers, etc.), along with Henry's backstory that we already know.  But kinda personally meh to the idea.

Also, always thought Henry during the Creel murder scene (from Season 4) was a lot younger than high school age.  I always pictured the bastard as being late elementary-early middle school age, during that killing spree. 

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Mog said:

There's a play currently running, where Henry

  Reveal hidden contents

and many of the mains' parents are attending the same high school in 1959.

According to what I've read, Henry has a crush/love-interest, meets with the Matthew Modine doctor (aka "Papa"), and has to try to stop the Mind Flayer's dark impulses from taking root in himself (Henry).

Again, I can see them "trying" to build out the parents' stories (Joyce and Hopper, the Wheelers, etc.), along with Henry's backstory that we already know.  But kinda personally meh to the idea.

Also, always thought Henry during the Creel murder scene (from Season 4) was a lot younger than high school age.  I always pictured the bastard as being late elementary-early middle school age, during that killing spree. 

 

I gotta agree about his age, I was thinking elementary school 

[jvmacross]

Probably not a coincedence....

[jenius]

Okay, I'm all done, and here are my thoughts:

I have been watching the show as it came out so I’m a terrible judge of what contradictions or loose threads the finale may have had because nothing is fresh enough in my mind.
 

Spoiler

After Kali died, my wife and I had to pause it and do a couple chores and I said to her “It’s too bad they killed Kali, that would have been the perfect opportunity to create an illusion that El died.”

I believe the intent of the writers is that El really does die. Kali is dead, the portal is far away, and it’s a heroic act of sacrifice. It doesn’t feel like that ‘goodbye’ happens and she would do that to Mike and Hop otherwise. The Kali version of events are Mike’s wishful thinking, as it is for all the futures he discusses BUT will become reality when there’s enough $$ to demand it so cleverly done. I wouldn't be surprised if the writers were like "AND EL SACRIFICES HERSELF!" and the producers were like "Fine, just make sure you leave a way where we can undo that." I think the shot with El and the waterfalls is another subtle hint that this is Mike’s fantasy, not what’s really happening. EDIT - I think that book on the shelf is another reason to believe this is Mike's fiction, NOT what happened to El. 

The finale gave me similar vibes to the last Lord of the Rings movie… it ends… and then goes on for another hour dully over-explaining that everyone is okay. It’s not terrible because we’re emotionally caught up with everyone but I didn’t need the four people hanging out on the roof making promises they won’t keep about staying in touch, Harrington coaching little league, or even the high school graduation… feels like there were more expedient ways to say “and they all found themselves and moved on.”

From a logical perspective, Hop actively killed lots of military people… feels like he wouldn’t be sheriff… but whatever, glad they overlooked it so he can have his happy ending. Also, the group gets gung-ho this season about inviting others into a life-and-death battle which you think they'd be shy about after Eddy. Vicky? Sure, come help. Science teacher? Let’s bring you into the upside down. The team also has crazy confidence this season that didn’t waiver. Isn’t the Mind Flayer supposed to be conscious also? Felt like it was reduced to a big spider and Vecna was the only brain. Not sure how I felt about the twist of Henry being corrupted by an outside source rather than being naturally gifted/evil.

So, I have some nits but overall I thought it was a fun ride and a good ending to a very fun show.

[Big s]

42 minutes ago, jenius said:

So, I have some nits but overall I thought it was a fun ride and a good ending to a very fun show.

Basically how I feel. Good ending not perfect , leave some room for a few things if they sector explore them.

 

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

Probably not a coincedence....

There’s a Nancy Wheeler set of novels popping up similar to Nancy Drew mysteries, that I’ll probably never read

[m0n5t3r]

Just finished bingeing part 2 and the finale. 

Finale was ok. But for me, the show overall was very entertaining with memorable characters, and I'll probably rewatch the whole thing in a year or two. 

Some of the things in the final season really tested my capacity for suspending my disbelief. 

Spoiler

Still don't know what to feel about Mike's what if scenario. If true, then I was right to think that Kali would provide the final twist in the story. If not, then I got fooled by Kali and she was just the finale's fodder which made me forget about the contents of the briefcase (which, disappointingly, started off as something but turned out to be a whole lot of nothing).

Spoiler

Favorite scene in the finale was Winona Ryder swinging that axe.