This season’s first seven episodes focused on expanding the universe. There are now over a dozen primary individuals dealing with the consequences of Starcourt Mall, and a new threat is building in Hawkins at the same time as four different narratives interact with one another. Juggling so many different strands presented its own set of challenges. As fast-paced as the stories about Dustin and his friends searching for Vecna were, the ones set in California — primarily those involving Steve and Robin — felt sluggish by comparison. A few pages have passed after it was revealed that Vecna, Henry Creel, and One are one and the same in Volume 1. Others are urgently attempting to release Nancy, who is being kept captive in Upside Down and suffering from flashbacks of her terrible past.
Not only that, but Hopper, Murray, and Joyce are trapped in Russia with a Demogorgon, Eleven is in shock over her role in creating Vecna, and Will, Mike, Jonathan, and Argyle are on the prowl for clues as to where Eleven is being held captive. The Duffer brothers expertly tie these stories together in the last two episodes, and soon enough, everyone is on the same page. The season’s finale delivers an epic finish by refocusing attention on Hawkins rather than the rest of the globe. Each episode has a theatrical quality to it that makes you wish Netflix had aired the almost two-and-a-half-hour final episode in theatres. Despite this, the Duffers continue to cultivate and expand on this season’s spooky atmosphere. It seems as though danger lurks around every corner, and that anything can happen to anyone at any time. Because of this, the larger, more epic scenes are counterbalanced by smaller, more personal ones. Additionally, these scenes offer screen time to characters that were absent from the show’s early episodes.
We see Noah Schapp steal the show with his tender portrayal of Will, while David Harbour brings gravity to Hopper and Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin delivers an emotional performance. There is also a lot of romanticism in the air, despite the fact that the climax is all about fighting. So the pain of loss is all the more devastating when it occurs. Prior to these episodes, we had been warned that we should be “extremely concerned” about these people. You’ll find it difficult to contain your tears. The length of the last episode is the one thing I’m not happy about. They’ve been well-justified thus far, allowing for more in-depth and emotional storylines that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. However, it’s difficult to keep the action moving for the duration of a feature film’s epilogue. When it comes to a TV programme, there are a lot of unanswered questions that need to be answered.
As a result, the show’s tempo becomes increasingly sluggish as it nears its conclusion. In my opinion, breaking the episode into two may have given some of the sequences a little more breathing room. That so, Stranger Things hasn’t lost any of its enchantment throughout the years. To recap: clever banter, sincere people coping with growing pains, and tonnes of ’80s nostalgia abound in Volume 2. There will be new upcoming episodes of Stranger Things as well. The characters and the series are maturing. This is the best time to be a fan of this groundbreaking Netflix series than right now. Season 5 has all the makings of being one of the finest sci-fi shows ever, with the actors getting older, the fights getting bigger, and the fear getting colder. After season 4, if they can maintain the level of excellence, then yes, that is the plan.