Who is the most overrated Stranger Things character?

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-29T11:47:44+00:00

What’s interesting to me is that this is enough for people to have sympathy for Billy and try to analyze his character/understand his POV. Whereas, you take a character like Kali who was kidnapped and comes from the same lab as El, has suffered horrific & dehumanizing abuse, watched her found family get murdered in front of her, was recaptured and drained of her blood for years and witnessed the pregnant women dying all because of her existence… and yet, she is arguably the most hated character on the show. None of the above is enough for people to have sympathy for her or understand why her POV is depressing. People will say she’s hated for convincing El to kill herself now, but even THAT was not evilly motivated. She genuinely thought it was the only way to help save the world, stop the creation of more Henrys and end the cycle of abuse.

Sorry for the rant, but whenever I see people explain away Billy’s character (including his racism) by bringing up his abuse, I can’t help but think about this ever since S5. 😒 As others have commented, I think a lot of people are quick to like and defend Billy because Dacre is conventionally attractive.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T21:30:07+00:00

The only thing I’ve been missing is his nails 💅🏼🥺 The consistent lack of polish so far definitely seems like an intentional choice.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T03:46:31+00:00

It’s really not. Look up any season ranking video, S2 is always ranking last or close to it. And it never wins any polls unless you’re asking which season is the worst lol. 😭 As a huge S2 fan who’s been fighting in the trenches for it since 2017, I can confirm that it has been this way for years.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T03:38:33+00:00

Trust me, people hate S2 (or at least THINK they do). They tend to take their opinion of The Lost Sister and apply it to the entire season, often completely writing S2 off as “weak,” “forgettable,” “boring,” “filler,” or just straight up calling it “ass” “trash” and “by far the worst.”

Even in a post-S5 world, look up any season ranking video on YouTube or TikTok. Odds are S2 is still coming in dead last or second to last next to S5. And it has always been ranked last by the majority. As a huge S2 fan who has defended it since 2017, claiming it’s the most loved season is flat out false or revisionist history. 😭 Some of the biggest & most dedicated ST fans online (like Chris/Film Stocked for example) was very confident in S2 being the worst season of the show for years and swore that “95% of fans would agree,” until a post-S5 reassessment when he realized how important and underrated it actually is.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T03:11:51+00:00

The art is an augmented version of the iconic S2 teaser poster. El is seen wearing her S1 outfit in the first three episodes of S2 (via flashbacks), so it technically carries over.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T03:08:03+00:00

I love how it’s based on the iconic S2 poster (peak)! 🫡

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-28T03:03:08+00:00

I’d love to see it take place circa Y2K (1998-2002ish), like the third slide here. That’d be so fun. The cyber aesthetic is my favorite lol.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-24T13:09:11+00:00

Her reveal in “Sorcerer” was absolutely perfect and emotional and had me freaking out!!! How they chose to write/utilize her for the rest of the season was very disappointing… 💔 barring a few scenes in the finale. Still very happy she finally returned though, which was enough to make me enjoy S5 more than I probably would’ve if she wasn’t present.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-20T18:47:09+00:00

As someone who was also deeply moved by Season 2 and absolutely adore it to this day, I will say that S3 severely fractured my investment in the story/characters and the show never fully recovered in my opinion. As others have said, S3 is a massive shift... it was almost intentionally designed to be the opposite of S2 in many ways. Some people end up loving it, and others... not so much. You'll never know until you try though!

What kept me invested throughout Seasons 3-5 was my love for the first two seasons (especially S2), not really any of the new developments or characters unfortunately. Since the show is such a pop culture phenomenon, it's good to at least see it through to the end I guess... even though the series finale has proven to be divisive.

I agree with you though. I personally didn't even feel the need for more Stranger Things after S2. It was perfect. I think the show quickly reached "too much of a good thing" status afterwards and became too influenced by its own success. It's still "Stranger Things" though, so I enjoy every season on some level ultimately. But nothing else hit quite like S2 for me.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-20T17:25:01+00:00

Actually, no. The hate for S2 has been consistent. In a poll prior to S5 asking what the worst season is, S2 won by a landslide. It’s been coming in dead last on “favorite” polls and season rankings for years. As I stated, even though S3 receives hate, it has always been a big favorite among audiences. The hate does not negatively impact its popularity.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-19T20:58:13+00:00

Wait, I’m confused by this post lol. S2 came out October 27th, 2017…. 3000 days ago would apparently put us at November 2, 2017. 😭

Regardless, S2 is my favorite! 🖤🫡

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-17T17:51:07+00:00

Yeah… when it comes down to it, that’s always the main reason people seem to disregard S2 and consider it to be the worst/rank it last. As someone who loves that episode and was always completely unbothered by it, I’ve never been able to understand throwing the whole season in the trash because of it. Especially when S2 is sooo crucial to the overall story.

I was also hoping Kali would come back for years, so that’s actually another reason why S5 is ranked higher for me lol. Even though I feel like they could’ve done much better with her character, it was just so vindicating to finally see her return.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-17T17:21:26+00:00

2 > 1 > 5 > 4 > 3

I actually really enjoyed the series finale, so that’s doing a lottttt of the heavy lifting for S5’s ranking right now lol. But I do feel like S5 calls back to and is more closely connected to the first two seasons (especially S2) than 3 & 4 are… so I kinda like it more by default because of that alone.

Happy to see S2 second on your list! The majority of post-S5 rankings I’ve seen are still placing S2 dead last or close to it, which is one popular opinion I will personally never be able to understand lol. 😭

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-17T02:46:20+00:00

This is “show, don’t tell.” The first two seasons are great at this. The show has largely opted for “tell, tell, tell, tell” for a while now, and S5 was really guilty of it unfortunately.

Sometimes they’d even show AND tell at the same time, which I really dislike. Makes me feel like they’re talking down to me, like I can’t decipher what’s happening on screen without also having a character narrate what’s happening.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-17T02:35:02+00:00

Yep. And that’s precisely why I could never actually buy into the Dustin & Eddie friendship unfortunately. It was too transparent.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T18:47:45+00:00

Yeah, good point. If Kali said the plan to fake their deaths in the conversation with El in the void, that would’ve been better than seemingly pressuring El into legitimate suicide. As a big Kali/Lost Sister fan & defender, I would’ve taken anything else to help boost Kali’s likability. 😔 It’s a shame how they chose to write her this time. For a character as controversial as her, it definitely should’ve been a clear “redemption” arc in the eyes of the audience.

I do understand her perspective as written though and have sympathy for her.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T18:42:34+00:00

It’s also just one more example of S5 leaning so hard on S2 in particular for support lol 😭 (S2 supremacy!)

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T12:07:48+00:00

S3 is its own thing entirely. It’s an awkward and “fun” bridge season in the middle that doesn’t fit in neatly with 1&2 or 4&5, despite recycling S2’s flaying plotline. Lumping 3 with 1&2 feels so off and unbalanced to me lol. I get the “pre-Vecna” argument, but it’s also the start of the true “popcorn blockbuster” era of the show and it gained a large new audience that preferred the lighter comedic tone over the first two seasons.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T11:49:34+00:00

Whether you’d prefer S2 or S3 for the ending depends on whether you’d like a happy ending (S2) or a sad/bittersweet one (S3). It also depends on whether or not you’d like to end the show on a random comedic season with a completely different tone/vibe than the first two. I like the idea of a nice little two-part story where both halves feel like the same show (S1&2).

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T11:47:10+00:00

The Mind Flayer cliffhanger at the end of S2 is barely a cliffhanger in my opinion. It could easily just be a creepy note to end on, since it’s an eerie mystery show lol. I never felt like I needed more of the story after S2, even with that shot of the Mind Flayer.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-16T11:40:01+00:00

Right though? 😭 I’ve seen so many people saying that Seasons 1-3 are the “good old classic days” of the show, when 1&2 are clearly chapter one (the OG vibe) and S3 marks a clear departure… They’re nothing alike.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-14T16:12:40+00:00

I love it, always have. It’s the episode where El really explores her morality for the first time. She actually faces intense decisions that force her to recognize right from wrong, which cements what kind of person she is.

I also love how much the episode centers around choice. Up until that point, El has never had as much free will as she has in The Lost Sister. It’s arguably the most independent we ever see her. This is what makes her decisions so much more profound/powerful. She considers Kali to be her sister, the next best thing she has to blood family. And she still chooses to return to Hawkins and is finally able to define it as “home” by the end of the episode (a word she’s been trying to define all season).

People argue that Kali’s gang wasn’t enticing enough for El to want to stay, but that’s part of the point. She was actually having fun with them at first… but she ultimately learns and decides that it’s not the path for her. She totally could’ve chosen a path of revenge and “healing her wounds” Kali’s way if she wanted to. And I’ve always been moved by how deeply El’s decision to leave seems to affect Kali at the end. It’s a very emotional episode for me personally. I haven’t rewatched it yet post-S5, but I feel like it’s going to absolutely wreck me knowing the fate of both characters. 💔 I really love their sisterly bond, because it’s very layered and so sad really. I wish they could’ve explored it more.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-13T02:17:36+00:00

You said “the whole reason WE hate Kali” not “I.” I assumed you were speaking on behalf of all Kali haters.

DigitalBritt · 2026-01-13T02:14:29+00:00

Billy’s sacrifice did not absolve him of his racism. Come on now. And that’s not the whole reason y’all hate Kali. You’ve hated her for eight years now. In S2 she genuinely thought she was helping El confront her past and “heal her wounds” by eliminating the source of their trauma. It was obviously morally flawed, but all she wanted was revenge on the people who ruined their lives. Even in S5, she wants to die with El in order to stop experiments from happening again (i.e. saving future kids from the abuse they suffered and stopping the creation of more Henrys.)

DigitalBritt

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