To be a loving fan of Stranger Things has increasingly felt like an act of loyalty rather than a source of joy. Volume 2 of season 5 comes across as a melancholy reminder that a series that was once so confident has fallen prey to too much hand-holding storytelling, forced exposition, and a reliance on plot armor that quickly veers from unnecessary to ridiculous protections around characters who have been established as necessary to their own arcs or even simply to their world.
The most problematic thing isn’t the scope or the ambition; it’s the need for the writing to constantly explain itself. Even the most pivotal scenes come to a standstill as the characters spout two-minute monologues about whatever emotion is already apparent or restate information that’s already, again and again, repeated ad nauseam. Will’s constant declaration that Vecna is here is no longer a dramatic choice; it’s borderline parody. The series is afraid of silence, subtext, or letting the pictures speak instead.
Lacks the OG storytelling element
This over-explanation seamlessly transitions into character moments. The reunions are meant to hit the emotional notes of familiarity, but feel awkward or strangely muted instead. Eleven’s non-reaction to the fact that Max is alive is confusing, especially when juxtaposed with Will’s extreme reaction, given that she barely shares screen time with him over five seasons. Mike’s non-reaction to the fact that Nancy is there while Dustin hugs her out of fear that she might be dead subverts character logic in the simplest of ways.
The action scenes are not even spared. The existence of plot armor reaches absurd levels. Karen Wheeler, living, finding her way through the hospital with injuries, relying on instinct to set up a flawless demogorgon trap, and escaping unscathed, takes absurdity even to the levels that Stranger Things has already set. The attack at the hospital, where an injured Lucas manages to fend off a demogorgon while soldiers are mowed down effortlessly, highlights the inconsistency with the physics and stakes of the show.
This season contains many instances of narrative awkwardness, but none are more egregious than the way Max and Holly extract themselves from the mind of Vecna. Setting an escape mission on pause in order for Max to give “motivation” speeches takes all the urgency of survival out of the situation and actually makes Max’s character worse instead of better. The narrative could’ve left it at failure: Max alone and stranded would have had an impact on all of us.
The late-game reveal that the Upside Down is simply a bridge into a newly named “Abyss” feels equally unnecessary. It feels like a late-game mythology expansion in the worst possible way—a way that reshapes the very meaning of the story they already told. Still, there are sparks: the camaraderie between Dustin and Steve is always genuine, the return of Mr. Clarke is welcome and necessary, and some performances shine above the material. Stranger Things: Season 5, Volume 2, however, suffers from the glut, the explanations, and the basic inability to trust its viewers. As Stranger Things heads into its final season, it is difficult to say that it has become the victim of the one curse it previously managed to avoid—the curse of excess, not ambition.
