The Hard Truth About Stranger Things Needs To Be Said

Although Netflix’s Stranger Things re-watch is a fun way to prepare viewers for season 5’s arrival, it has also drawn attention to the show’s biggest, most unavoidable flaw. As Stranger Things season 5’s release date nears, it is starting to dawn on longtime fans that one of Netflix’s biggest original shows ever is finally coming to an end.

Admittedly, the spinoff Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will keep the series alive in 2026. Since the upcoming show stars the same characters, maintains the same setting of Hawkins, Indiana, and takes place during the Stranger Things timeline, it’s fair to say that Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will maintain a lot of the original show’s appeal.

However, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 also recasts all the main characters, and the show’s shift into animation from the original show’s live-action format means it’ll have a very different tone and style. Stranger Things itself is still coming to a definitive end with season 5’s finale, so it is no surprise that many fans are re-watching the series from the beginning.

Re-watching all of Stranger Things is a strange experience, if readers will pardon the pun. The pilot episode of Stranger Things is darker, sadder, and slower than viewers might remember, and the rest of season 1 is hardly any less downbeat. The creators’ stated influence of Dennis Villeneuve’s Prisoners was strong during this early era.

Stranger Things Season 3 Is By Far The Show’s Weakest Outing

Season 2 sees the show’s tone lighten up somewhat, but the second outing of Stranger Things still feels like it takes place in the same universe as the first. That might not sound like it makes much sense, but the point is that the show’s tone is relatively cohesive.

Season 1 is very dark since Will is missing and thought to be dead for much of its runtime, while the tension between Joyce and Hopper and Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve ensures the show’s B-plots aren’t much of a relief. In contrast, season 2 lightens up a lot since, although Mike thinks Eleven is gone, Will is back, and the older characters are getting along.

Steve is building his scene-stealing friendship with Dustin, Jonathan and Nancy’s romance is blossoming as they investigate the shady goings-on in Hawkins, and the story of the season feels less hopeless, even though it still has stakes. The actor’s ages aren’t a problem yet, and Stranger Things still feels relatively grounded on the whole.

Re-watching the series from start to finish, it is extremely obvious where things go off the rails. Season 3 attempted to give Stranger Things a far broader, more cartoony tone, complete with a sunnier color palette, far more special effects-driven action sequences, and a more blasé approach to character deaths.

Season 3 is, in a word, goofy. The outing features a much bigger role for the divisive conspiracy theorist Murray, a string of silly side characters like Alexei the spy, and a bizarre subplot involving secret Soviet troops hiding under the Starcourt Mall. David Harbour’s Hopper goes from a troubled but well-meaning antihero to a boorish clod seemingly overnight.

Season 3 Doesn’t Fit With The Rest of Stranger Things

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

Even Mike doesn’t emerge unscathed, with the sensitive kid from seasons 1 and 2 being replaced by a gormless, unpleasant whining teen. Eleven and Mike’s infamous breakup is a particular low point, but there are plenty of moments from season 3 that are cringeworthy in retrospect.

Outside a committed, intense villainous turn from Stranger Things season 3 standout Dacre Montgomery, who seems to be starring in a different, entirely more serious show, season 3 is a mess. From Lucas awkwardly extolling the virtues of New Coke to Hopper mowing down numerous Soviet soldiers without flinching, the show feels unrecognizable compared to season 1.

By the time a monster the size of a house is chasing Steve’s car up a hill while Dustin uses a Never-Ending Story singalong to save the day, it’s clear that the show has lost the quiet, brooding charm of season 1. For a long while, it seemed as if this sillier, live-action cartoon Stranger Things would be its final form.

Stranger Things Season 4 Saved The Franchise In Time For Its Ending

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

Fortunately, by the end of Stranger Things season 4, the show had successfully turned things around. Season 4 isn’t perfect, and Eddie’s death is solid proof that the series would rather establish a beloved new character like Bob or Billy and then kill them off for dramatic stakes than harm any of the original stars.

However, the complaints leveled at season 4 pale in comparison to the structural issues with season 3. Season 3’s plot didn’t even add up. Numerous workers from the local paper go missing as part of Billy’s attempts to turn the town’s population into drones for the Mind Flayer, but their disappearance is never mentioned again after the monster’s defeat.

Season 3 gave viewers the lighter, sillier version of Stranger Things that many fans had asked for online, but this just proved that the show’s tone was dark for a reason. As such, Stranger Things season 5 now needs to lean into the higher stakes and grounded style of season 4 to end the series.

Release Date

July 15, 2016

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer

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