Tis Me Michelle

It’s time for a revolution in television. Since the age of streaming began, there’s been a shift in what television is. IMO, not for the better.

With the series finale of Stranger Things, I can’t stop thinking about the television I grew up on. Mainly about how the content, quality, and cadence are so different. It’s not all bad, but undeniably a separate medium. Stranger Things was one of the earlier streaming hits, starting in 2016. Over the span of almost a decade, it only had 5 seasons with just 8 or 9 episodes each.

I’m not a huge sci-fi/fantasy gal, every now and then I dabble. One of my favorite shows from the early oughts was Fringe. Not a one-for-one, but a lot of similarities in themes. Also spanning 5 seasons, but with an average of 22 or 23 episodes, all done within 5 years. That’s the cadence I was used to, what I miss. Consistent seasons, with great character and world building. One of the best parts of Stranger Things are the fantastic characters. We fell in love with them and were truly invested. I felt like there could have been so much more, between the growth of the core characters and ultimately the storyline. Even with such big production and longer episode runtimes, it felt like the end was rushed and lacked depth.

In all honesty, I didn’t hate the finale. The actual end, with the core characters playing D&D, I loved. I thought that was a great way to wrap things up. It was sweet and well deserved. The rest of the season felt rather half baked. There were so many plot points, yet none were fully fleshed out or thought through. And this is where I begin to question, not only the writing of the show, but this new format.

When I started watching season 5, I was so lost. I don’t know if the expectation of the streaming platforms is that we re-watch full series in preparation for a new season, but I don’t have that kind of time. Rewatching the recommended ones were already a time commitment, and didn’t really pay off. There is no doubt we are invested, we all tuned in. Even if we (me) didn’t remember what was going on. But even with the limited memory, I was still expecting more. A more defined and interesting conclusion. Taking 2-3 years betweens seasons and still not delivering quality storylines is very disappointing.

With that kind of time, I expected everything to come together. The final battle with Vecna to be epic. His villain origin story was rather lackluster. Even with it being El who defeated him, it felt like she was just a pawn. All those seasons of building her up and it was so blah. Mike was the glue of the show and then he was barely in the season in a meaningful way. There are so many characters to keep track of, and not enough screentime for the best of the best. We had some great scenes with Dustin + Steve, but I could always use more. Both Lucas and Erica were far too underutilized. And why even bring Kali back? There was no reason. And Dr. Kay. Waste of time.

And most of all… Even after stepping into his role as the sorcerer… I feel like they did Will such a disservice. You are telling me he was deemed ‘weak and scared’ just because he’s gay? Or did I misread that? Also if Vecna only goes after ‘weak or scared’ kids, there’s no way he could have tapped Dipshit -> Delightful Derrick. And then that coming out scene. Diaboloical. If anything that should have been 1. a heart to heart with just him and Mike, 2. a tender family moment with Joyce + Jonathan, or 3. coulda been a sweet ‘ya know i’m gay’ at the end of the D&D game, and the crew being like DUH. Their choice was the absolute worst one. All of this starting with Will and him becoming a sorcerer was cool. But like what for? Just underwhelming.

In this streaming world, it feels like they are just going for big moments. Scenes that look cineamatic. The moment we see Will become the Sorcerer. Or when El leaps into her fate. I honestly think people who’ve turned to streaming wanted to make a big blockbuster movie, but ended up on the small screen. Either because they were given a no go for the movies, or because they can prolong the work and probably ultimately make more moolah. My problem is, if that’s the goal, they either need to cut out all the fluff and get to it.. Or commit to diving deep and developing the stories fully.

It also seems absurd how they drop the the episodes. Droping barely a handful of episodes, then having to wait for the next drop. We are in the age of binge watching everything, all at once. I am guilty of it. But I’m at the point where I’d rather have it episode by episode rather versus the rationing of episodes.

Some of my all-time favorite shows are sitcoms, and I think that’s because it focuses so much on the relationships. Boy Meets Worlds, Parks & Rec, Schitt’s Creek, being some of my favs. Great shows have beautiful friendships and relationships. Stranger Things is no exception there. It felt like they missed the mark with some of the main ones including Mike + El’s relationship and Mike + Will’s frienship in this last season especially.

Again, we love the main characters already, I’d love to see more of them. Have more backstory of Lucas + Erica’s parents. Did Max ever meet them? What happened to Max’s mom? Where was she when Max was in a coma? Dustin + Steve, more of them please. Individually, together, however. How the hell is Mr. Wheeler alive? What is his deal?! Yes, these are sub-plots, but it adds to the story, the world building. Even snippets here and there. Think of all the walk and talks that happen in Gilmore Girls, we get a lay of the land and interact with people along the way.

I don’t know how they sold this show, or what the ultimate vision was. Or if there even was one. With Game of Thrones, we obviously know they ran out of source material. I’ve heard things here and there in social media, but if we are giving these Duffer Bros the benefit of the doubt, this was soley theirs. From all the responses I’ve been seeing from their commentary on the audience’s reactions, it feels like they didn’t want us to think so much. But wasn’t that the point of this whole show? Weren’t we trying to figure it out? Weren’t we on a hunt to figure out what was going on with Will. And where El came from and what happened to her? We were setup to be engaged, ultimately to be told to accept what we got.

Stranger Things was a super fun show. A lot of us spent a good chunk of our life following along with it. It feels like that’s why there’s such strong feelings towards it. In one regard, I’m glad the core characters got their happy ending. And in another, I feel like we the audience were bamboozled. Either way, this show kept us on our toes for a solid decade, and that is no feat.