What is shown at the end of episode 1 is about as explicit as it gets. You'll see it a few more times, but nothing worse. Spiders appear for a few short sequences in the final two episodes, but it's nothing major. Just short sequences.
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Stranger Things S4 | OT | Every ending has a beginning (Open spoilers)
- Thread starter Conditional-Pancakes
- Start date
- Entertainment Video/Streaming OT
Yeah, my fear was that the longer eps were a sign of self-indulgence since the Duffer bros can pretty much do what they want at this point, but for the most part the show has kept up a good sense of momentum. My wife and I watched the first 4 eps last night which is a crazy length of time for us to watch one thing, but we were pretty riveted throughout.
A crackpot theory I have based on the Vol 2 teaser and the likelihood of Dustin's theory tracking is that
the "final confrontation" of the series will involve the heroes summoning their own forces from the Upside Down to act as a deterrent against Vecna and the Flayer. Not only is there precedent for this in Season 2 when Dustin manages to befriend a Demogorgon, but in Vol 2's teaser we see Hopper and Joyce walk through a containment facility with captive Upside Down creatures.
Just from a narrative standpoint, I don't think a punch-up against Vecna and the Mind Flayer is the only endpoint of our Upside Down discoveries, and I don't expect it'll be solved just by throwing a stronger Eleven back at the problem like they've done every time so far. I wouldn't be surprised if we get one more new creature thrown into the mix, but not as an antagonist, and only because this is like the one "rule of cool" moment they haven't done yet with the formula. I'm no D&D expert though.
Just from a narrative standpoint, I don't think a punch-up against Vecna and the Mind Flayer is the only endpoint of our Upside Down discoveries, and I don't expect it'll be solved just by throwing a stronger Eleven back at the problem like they've done every time so far. I wouldn't be surprised if we get one more new creature thrown into the mix, but not as an antagonist, and only because this is like the one "rule of cool" moment they haven't done yet with the formula. I'm no D&D expert though.
Post episode 7 mythology question
So is 11's biological father 1? They took, uh, material from him whenever he was mature enough to make all the numbered subjects? So then they all had surrogate mothers? Trying to figure out if the mind flayer could be 11's father because, you know, 80s.
Well, finished it. Episode 4 was really, really good, but... otherwise, man, this season really drags. I skipped over a good portion of some of the plotlines because there was just nothing happening. The
plotline especially, but even some of the other stories were just... glacial. Season could have been two thirds the length, at least.
I'm glad this season happened so that Episode 4 could, but otherwise yeah. It continues the flaws of the show post-Season 1.
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I'm glad this season happened so that Episode 4 could, but otherwise yeah. It continues the flaws of the show post-Season 1.
my theory is Brennan is finishing some old nazi science. It makes sense because all the revelations about the upside down he isn't all too shocked about. And the fact that we see the Upside Down was some kind of tangible energy nonsense at the end of this half season, it makes sense they would want to tap into it for energy. And that all the powers eventually stem from it in some way. The father may just Brenner as some form of guiding hand.
just finished episode 2, I think the usual main characters are the weakest part of the show. Do not care all about whats happening with Mike, Will, eleven. The joyce stuff is really great so far. Eddie is an awesome character so far too
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I'm half an hour into Stranger Things: The Movie (episode 7), and one of my impressions of episode 6 is clearly wrong. Nothing will be accomplished by the parents. LMAO!
My favorite thing is still the Mike's father still being a useless idiot in even normal situations.
Hey now, give some credit where it's due. He was not reading a newspaper in two whole scenes! That's progress, baby.
I'm up to episode 7.
Did you guys experience issues with the audio mix?
Dialogue all sounds like its under water...
Did you guys experience issues with the audio mix?
Dialogue all sounds like its under water...
Seen it all and my guess as to what is going on is:
The psychic power generated at the end of 11 and 1's fight opened the first gate to upside down. The Mind Flayer as it's called in the show assimilated 1 like he did to the people in season 3 making him the first drone of the mind Flayer. Once the mind Flayer learned of the existence of our universe it wants engulf it. I think the mind Flayer is an unlikable cosmic being. The only way to win is to kill one, cutting off the ability of the mind Flayer to create portals and then close the open portals.
I can't believe I watched the whole thing. So good
I figured out who number 1 was minutes before the reveal and immediately after that he was the villain in upside down and 11 put him there. Interesting note that when she did she used both hands and was using more power than I think she ever has so I figure fully unlocking that memory means she'll be beast mode.
I also recall predicting to my wife around episode 5 that part 1 is all gonna be about 11 being slapped around until the last minute.
What I was wrong about, in early episodes I speculated the jocks and asshole kids would end up being allies in a breakfast club sort of what but nah they're just assholes
I also recall predicting to my wife around episode 5 that part 1 is all gonna be about 11 being slapped around until the last minute.
What I was wrong about, in early episodes I speculated the jocks and asshole kids would end up being allies in a breakfast club sort of what but nah they're just assholes
Finished Part 1. That was phenomenal.
I correctly guessed who One was - I guess that was pretty obvious, but everything else was a surprise.
I did think his speech to Eleven leaned a bit too much into rpg-bad-guy territory. But overall a good twist.
Overall thoughts:
+Hawkins storyline is classic stranger things goodness. Cast continues to have a ton of chemistry with one another and the mystery unfolds well
+I think they successfully scaled up the story. While Hawkins is the highlight, the other storylines are pretty good too.
+Good villain
-Jonathan completely sidelined with season
-Will nearly completely sidelined this season
-Argyle is fucking annoying
-What the fuck is up with Mike? Giant asshole half the time.
Neutral - some plotlines are a slow burn. Still liked them, but I do understand why some people feel the season is bloated.
I correctly guessed who One was - I guess that was pretty obvious, but everything else was a surprise.
I did think his speech to Eleven leaned a bit too much into rpg-bad-guy territory. But overall a good twist.
Overall thoughts:
+Hawkins storyline is classic stranger things goodness. Cast continues to have a ton of chemistry with one another and the mystery unfolds well
+I think they successfully scaled up the story. While Hawkins is the highlight, the other storylines are pretty good too.
+Good villain
-Jonathan completely sidelined with season
-Will nearly completely sidelined this season
-Argyle is fucking annoying
-What the fuck is up with Mike? Giant asshole half the time.
Neutral - some plotlines are a slow burn. Still liked them, but I do understand why some people feel the season is bloated.
ha, yeah I told my wife as number 1 was killing everyone that this was super Japanese RPG in plot
There is one more season planned. They've always planned for five total, and I love it because the show has been *paced* for five seasons and was always meant to be five seasons. It really shows because of how well everything is planned out
Honestly each part feels like a season in itself. So basically there's like 3 more seasons. I can't complain about length, hell any more than that would be too much.
Too bad Netflix doesn't invest long term in these kinds of shows, ST itself may fail the algorithm of today if it started today.
Too bad Netflix doesn't invest long term in these kinds of shows, ST itself may fail the algorithm of today if it started today.
Awesome, I actually wanted more with how good this season was compared to s2 and 3!
I'm halfway through episode 3 and I'm kind of actually not seeing people's issue with Jonathan. Him being sidelined makes a lot of sense for the character at this point. He's had a big plotline every season so him sitting one out is fine. Plus I'm finding him funnier than he usually gets to be.
The bigger issue is the sidelining Will yet again. Noah Schapp is one of the stronger actors out of the core group of kids and they really just don't know what to do with him. I was hoping for them to pair El and Will up, as those two really haven't had much time together on screen. A dynamic with those two would absolutely work, but they refuse to explore it.
I will say that the season is continuing the trend of making any storyline not involving the kids in Hawkins absolutely the weakest parts. The show is as enjoyable as ever, but it still has the same issues that it has had since season 2.
The bigger issue is the sidelining Will yet again. Noah Schapp is one of the stronger actors out of the core group of kids and they really just don't know what to do with him. I was hoping for them to pair El and Will up, as those two really haven't had much time together on screen. A dynamic with those two would absolutely work, but they refuse to explore it.
I will say that the season is continuing the trend of making any storyline not involving the kids in Hawkins absolutely the weakest parts. The show is as enjoyable as ever, but it still has the same issues that it has had since season 2.
Lucas is trying really hard to fit in, but the show makes the case decently strongly that giving up on the people you care about to chase popularity isn't the right call. I thought it was realistic for that age.
Anyone got the orchestra version of the song that played in Dear Billy? It's too good to only be listened to in that one episode.
I really disliked him at that point in the story as well, and yet by the end of the season he cements himself as one of my favorites.
Just finished episode 4. 😙👌
I get all the complaints. Self indulgent, too many stories, comic reliefs... I fucken love all of it.
I dunno, I am very allergic to bad pacing, but I love these characters and as someone who is not usually a big horror fan I appreciate all the stress relief. Everyone seems to have so much fun in this series, and so am I.
I get all the complaints. Self indulgent, too many stories, comic reliefs... I fucken love all of it.
I dunno, I am very allergic to bad pacing, but I love these characters and as someone who is not usually a big horror fan I appreciate all the stress relief. Everyone seems to have so much fun in this series, and so am I.
Yeah he was starting to lose me around that point. Keep watching though, He won me back over real quick after that
It was just the fact that he chose to keep hanging with the jocks AFTER his friends told him something was up with Chrissy's death. After spending multiple seasons dealing with supernatural shit, that walkie convo with his friends should have probably immediately overridden the peer pressure to keep hunting Eddie.
Either way, not a big deal in hindsight. I thought we were building toward a season-long "Lucas joins the bad guys" arc but he snapped out of it ASAP.
Yeah. I think initially he was turned off by Max's rejection and just wanted to lose himself in the basketball stuff and feel like a hero. And then seeing his friends celebrate with Erica instead of him hardened that.
The conversation with the boys is exactly the moment he snapped out of it, though. As soon as he knew how bad things were getting, he lured the basketball gang in the wrong direction on purpose and bailed.
Finished the "Volume 1" just now and thought it was pretty solid and I really enjoyed the darker tone.
The longer runtime of the episodes didn't bother me all that much, however, cutting the storylines of Mike, Jonathan, Will and Joyce would've helped. I really couldn't care less about these characters this season, even if I tried. With Eleven I feel like they're retreading the same old ground over and over again and it's not getting more interesting.
I'm obviously going to watch the rest of this season and the next season as well but the biggest feeling this season has left me with is that I want a Scooby Gang/X-Files style show with the remainder of the cast. Just Steve, Robin, Nancy, Lucas, Max and Dustin solving mysterious crimes in Hawkins. Ditch the rest of the baggage, including Eleven.
Why did they decide to release the last two episodes later anyway? That kinda left a sour taste because I can't make any sense of it. If those episodes weren't finished yet then why not wait until they are?
The longer runtime of the episodes didn't bother me all that much, however, cutting the storylines of Mike, Jonathan, Will and Joyce would've helped. I really couldn't care less about these characters this season, even if I tried. With Eleven I feel like they're retreading the same old ground over and over again and it's not getting more interesting.
I'm obviously going to watch the rest of this season and the next season as well but the biggest feeling this season has left me with is that I want a Scooby Gang/X-Files style show with the remainder of the cast. Just Steve, Robin, Nancy, Lucas, Max and Dustin solving mysterious crimes in Hawkins. Ditch the rest of the baggage, including Eleven.
Why did they decide to release the last two episodes later anyway? That kinda left a sour taste because I can't make any sense of it. If those episodes weren't finished yet then why not wait until they are?
Probably Netflix is testing new release schedules. It's obvious that they didn't film around the fact that they were dividing the season.
Marketing. Netflix gets to save the season finale for a little later to avoid spoilers getting out, and they get to market the season twice.
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Just finished episode 7. I greatly enjoyed the last 30 minutes of the movie episode. I liked the reveal about what really happened with El at the research facility. I didn't see it coming at all, especially with the way episode 6 shows us the way El was bullied. It was clear to me that it was El that killed all the test subjects. But it wasn't her! I also liked the reveal of One being Vecna. I wonder where the Mind Flayer fits into all this.
I can't wait for Volume Two!
I'll write my overall thoughts about Volume One in a bit.
I can't wait for Volume Two!
I'll write my overall thoughts about Volume One in a bit.
Yeah, I honestly cannot believe that El/Will was barely explored given the beginning of the season. They barely have any sort of relationship and very few interactions.
Just finished episode 7 as well.
I do like that
I do like that
you can start putting together Vecna's identity as of Episode 5. Steve finding the glass jars of spiders hidden in the vent.
They rushed the hell out of getting El out of Cali and it was definitely a misstep.
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Well, for Volume Two of season 4 for sure. But for season 5? Who knows.
Oh! You are in for a ride!
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Nope! Season 4 is the "beginning of the end". Season 5 will be the last season.
Honestly I thought Lucas was much improved this season
In general, I agree. I enjoyed basically every minute, and am glad every storyline got its time to be fully fleshed out. That said, the Hawkin's story moves at quite the brisk pace and everything else moves significantly slower. It also happens to be by far the most interesting plot line [with the best characters]. So I can see how other people feel like everything else is bloat of extraneous.
I think the final battle of Season 4 will probably be
Or maybe they'll go full meta and summon Freddie Kreuger to fight
.
Vecna vs Eleven, but man I would much rather it be Max taking him down somehow.
Or maybe they'll go full meta and summon Freddie Kreuger to fight
Vecna
Just finished episode 7. This series is above and beyond any streaming show in terms of quality. It's just so damn good. I feel like the dialogue writing actually went up in quality somehow this season as well. Loved Eddie, new favorite character.
Thank you. I can't say I like that explanation but it kinda makes sense, even if it's still a little weird. Like, why leave such a big gap and give your customers the chance to unsubscribe for an entire month? I could unsubscribe now, save the sub for June and get straight back into it in July. Unless releasing it for the Memorial Day weekend, a holiday the rest of the world doesn't care about, was that important to them.
Whatever the reason might be, it's stupid and it sucks.