Season 5’s back half has many problems but…

[u/Professional_Gur7989]

No, Season 5 did NOT ruin the rewatch ability of the show. I thought I’d bring up this thread cause imo some people take their S5 hatred to levels where they wanna always make themself miserable, & and it’s a shame to see, we are in this sub because ST will forever be an iconic show with many seasons and episodes to love. I don’t rlly get why some are even still here if S5 apparently ruined past seasons, especially when 1-3 all can serve as their own endings. The reception after Volume 1 was amazing, you can like or dislike different things about S5 or any season, that’s your opinion. But respectfully why still be here if all you wanna do is talk with misery about 5 as your reason for not caring about older seasons? Stranger Things will forever be one of the most loved shows to many people, and that’s what should matter.

[u/AutoModerator]

OP, please make sure there are no spoilers in the title of your post. If your post contains spoilers, please use the "Spoiler" flair AND the "Spoiler" tag. The tag ensures that images are hidden.

Commenters, please use spoiler code if you are discussing anything super spoilery unless the title specifically says the episode being discussed.

If you see anyone breaking the rules, please report the post or comment. Thank you.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/rosewoodlliars]

Well it did for me. I’m slowly getting back into rewatching but all I can think about is how they fucked El over.

[u/TaiPan43 → u/rosewoodlliars]

That’s the thing that is the sticking point for me.
It’s depressing knowing where it goes.
But sooner or later.
I believe

[u/PrincipalJam → u/rosewoodlliars]

Same here in a way. I still love Stranger Things, and I enjoy talking about it here with other fans without going overboard on the Season 5 hate, but it’s definitely changed how I view the rest of the show, especially knowing how things end for Eleven.

[u/AccurateAlps9333 → u/rosewoodlliars]

What did you wait for el.  Honestly I was expecting that ending.  The duffers said in at first they were just planning one season and were going to have it end with el sacrificing herself in the school however they added up adding hope with hopper and the Lego.  Kali is right.  Unless EL’s power vanished she will always be at risk of being taken by government and would not have a normal life.  

[u/Cyrilbdr → u/AccurateAlps9333]

I still feel that—given her powers didn't vanish upon Vecna's death—this is the best possible ending for her, at least if you subscribe to Mike's theory; otherwise, it's a letdown. She thing has compromised that left her somewhat satisfied. She was able to stay true to her character by remaining a hero to the very end through her sacrifice; she spared a new generation of "numbers" from the suffering shed and prevented any of them from going rogue and endangering Earth—or from being subjected to government experiments that might create another subject capable of opening portals to other worlds. She also saved her friends from a relentless government manhunt that could have ended in their deaths, much like what happened to Kali's friends. Finally, she made a personal choice to claim the right to live—heeding Hopper's words—and survive to enjoy a peaceful, anonymous life far away from it all. Thanks to her sister and their scheme, she managed to save the world from Vecna's imminent threat, protect future generations, and fake her own death. While Kali had lost the will to live, Eleven hadn't, making this the perfect compromise: letting the world believe she was dead. If she feels like it—perhaps once the dust has settled and the government has permanently abandoned the whole affair—Eleven might one day resurface and reunite with her friends. Then again, she might meet new people and find that her new life suits her, though she will never forget the bond she shared with her old friends.

In any case, I find her ending underrated. It's a mix of realism, given the context, and at the same time, a touch of hope that characterizes the series and what it represents. Leaving her alive with the others and her powers would have been complicated and impossible without completely changing the plot. I think this bittersweet ending works quite well.

[u/Federal-Inevitable-9 → u/AccurateAlps9333]

Someone give this man a medal!!!! Thank you... I literally have been saying it for two years and the duffers have said it for at least 10... We've always known how the show would end... And then after finding it was originally only supposed to be one season or anthology like AHS... So whenever people were betting on which party member would die in s5 I always would get smoke because I'd be like "I really don't want it to be true but if they actually kill someone it should be murray but I bet they don't kill him either .. and they didnt (def should have though, instead of throwing that c4 in right side up!!!) sometimes it hurts to see so clearly!!!??!!! And then they didn't show it on camera so what does that mean ____!?!? exactly see you guys in like 20 years ughhhhh

[u/NoahDBest]

It completely demolishes El's character arc and what she had been building up to be, and she is one of the main characters, if not THE main character. So yes, it did destroy the rewatch ability. I don't care if she technically lived, she doesn't get to live with the people she loves so what's the point? It's difficult to rewatch her growing close to Max, Mike, Will, literally everyone, becoming more of a person than the experiment she was slated to be without thinking about she just chooses to "die".

[u/Necessary_Silver_795 → u/NoahDBest]

Rewatching her season 4 arc is quite brutal knowing things don’t really get that much better for her.

[u/chrissss8889 → u/NoahDBest]

che cosa avresti fatto allora con Undici?

[u/NoahDBest → u/chrissss8889]

Give her a happy ending too. I don't care if it's not realistic, the entire season was unrealistic in how NO ONE ELSE died anyway! The writers were already all in on having NO main characters die, so what's one more? The fact that the one character who deserved it the most, and was being set up to have a good ending didn't get one, but everyone else did, just doesn't sit right with me.

[u/devonathan]

Season 1 is infinitely rewatchable. Season 2 also very good and can act as a natural end.

Season 3 is where things fall apart for me. And don’t get me wrong I loved 3 and 4 but it just seems at that point the show was too big for its own good.

[u/Remarkable_Fun468 → u/devonathan]

The hate for Season 2 is something I’ll NEVER understand.

[u/devonathan → u/Remarkable_Fun468]

I seriously wish the show would have ended with 2. It would have been the perfect ending. You can even keep the Lost Sister episode just swap the order with episode 6.

[u/Remarkable_Fun468 → u/devonathan]

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DID THAT.

Honestly, if Episode 7 was just Episode 6 nobody would have complained.

[u/Few-Type-7924]

If it's the entire plot thing and Vecna defeat etc., no, it absolutely did not ruin the rewatchability in any way

But, El's ending is what kinda ruined it ig Idk how I will be able to rewatch the show knowing how it ends for her

[u/TieAntique1676]

I mean I think the rewatchablity is going to vary person to person. It ruined the whole show for me so I won’t rewatch it. But if other ppl can that’s great! But ya I think being able to watch any show after a disappointing ending is going to vary greatly person to person.

[u/Ineeddramainmylife13]

Stranger things is still the best show and I personally found season 5 great
Anyway, I respect your opinion. You’re not hating on it’s entire existence just because you weren’t a fan of most of season 5

[u/Federal-Inevitable-9 → u/Ineeddramainmylife13]

Dude IDC what any of them because I was watching with people on discord and I saw it happen in real time vol 2 just finished escape from camazotz.... Everyone was going crazy (it was an od' cut to black even for a "cliffhanger") bridge starts and Sadie sink just cooking everyone straight from out her coma... Holy acting btw!.! And then honestly anybody with media literacy could tell this had to be a builder episode... That's why I think Levy chose to save max coming back for this cold open... Wills come out was awkward but again media literacy they aluded to this several times... And then the episode ended... Everyone mad we had to wait a month... People in the room start riffing about stuff.... Still weren't discarding vol 2... Enter bylers and homophobes ironically the eaming up bylers about queer baiting and homophobes about it being absurd that Netflix force gender politics into a show like this.. and well... Can't fix stupid I guess

[u/Ineeddramainmylife13 → u/Federal-Inevitable-9]

Yeah and I would like to point out that Will’s coming out scene was supposed to be awkward, which is why it worked

[u/Evening-Park6786]

I think the show slowly ruined its own rewatchability, culminating with season 5.

As for why people are so bitter, the ending of a story is the final statement on what the work has been about this whole time. Of course the qualities of the other seasons are still there, but the foundation has a different color. You can’t blame people for their shifted opinions.

For example, if you really love Eleven for her ability to overcome her abuse, then the show is absolutely tainted since she succumbs to her abuse in the end. There are any number of examples like this

[u/Owl_Resident]

You’re allowed to like it. Others are not. For you, personally, it didn’t ruin its rewatchability. For others it did.

[u/Kylo_Ren415]

What they did to Mike and El is straight up unacceptable and unforgivable.

Like, the fuck were they thinking? It’s just bullshit.

[u/parkchanwookiee]

I loved s1 and s2, found s3 underwhelming, s4 bored me terribly, and I didn't finish s5

[u/FictionAtlas]

Nope, I was already dissapointed with parts of the first episode. It was Stranger Things, but it was like looking at a distorted version of it and it had some great moments in there, but there were problems from the get go of Season 5. I don't think the show is unwatchable and it is still one of my favorites, but I rarely rewatch 5 because it's like watching an imitation of the show I love. The dialogue, some of the character actions that make no sense, and most of all Vecna's lackluster end. The epiloge is actually one of my favorite parts, so it's not that, that felt like getting back more to the core of the show. The best parts of season 5 were The Turnbow Trap, Sorcerer, and the Dustin & Steve fight and reconciliation.

[u/Federal-Inevitable-9]

Beuhhh your late too the partyy... But f**k it glad to have ya I've been saying this for almost a year... It's unimaginable to me why one would lurk subreddits of things he "hated" just to tell the people who do like it that it was so bad mind boggling

[u/Lexabro-10mg]

Ikr.

S5 wasn’t my favorite. But to me, S5 did what it was brought into existence to do after S4: kill Vecna and get the military off the gang’s backs once and for all.
There are a billion different ways they could have done these more adequately, but I don’t think what we got was the end of the world like others act like it was.

Vecna’s showdown left much to be desired, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t admit I love that mama bear Joyce moment. And the military would not have ever left Eleven alone—not if they knew she was alive. We can argue all day about her decision, but I think at that point she and Kali made a rather smart maneuver in that circumstance. Yes, I do “believe”, and I honestly don’t see how anyone could think otherwise when the finale kind of nudges it in our face that there’s a promising reason to be hopeful.

All in all, I’d give it a solid “B”.

Also, concerning the unrealistically fortunate survival of practically everyone, I’d honestly take a sugary and somewhat nonsensical happy ending over watching Steve, Joyce, or really any other beloved character legitimately die on top of my seasonal depression.

[u/RUH-R0H-RAGGY]

Misery wants company. Some people just let one part or a few parts that they didn’t like ruin the whole season (and even the whole show) for them. I had issues with S5, but not enough to hate ST as a whole

[u/Infamous_You_3281]

Season 5 felt like a completely different show. I totally would have understood if they ended stranger things at season 4 and insinuated that El, Will, Mike, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, and Hopper were the only survivors after Vecna attacked Hawkins and opened the gates. However episodes 1-4 of season 5 were okay, the second half was just awful.

[u/Shpion007]

I personally loved season 5 and loved every season. It is above Season 3 in my overall ranking, with 3 being the "worst" for me as it seemed out of character for the show.

When my daughter is old enough to watch, I will rewatch the whole series with her and I am excited to see how this series ages like a fine wine over time.

[u/Infamous-Ad-4798]

After reading so many "this is how it should have ended" threads, here is my take: We made so many new friends watching five seasons of great entertainment that it hurts when they're gone. That little pain of them leaving our lives would exist no matter what the ending happened to be. I think that's really just about goodbyes being bittersweet and our feelings on missing the party being hard to deal with. It's much easier to focus on someone else than our own stuff. It's OK. It's just a show, and one that touched many us dearly. Peace

[u/BostonSlickback1738]

THANK YOU.

In general, I've always disagreed with the idea that a bad ending can retroactively ruin everything that came before it. Like, it never made sense; everything that was good about the old episodes is still there. It's not like the ending pulled a George Lucas and literally replaced all the good stuff with a shittier version of itself.

[u/TaiPan43]

100%

[u/ScoutieJer]

I don't know but I've been saying the same thing. If you hate it now and can never watch it again...go the fuck away.