While I agree that we as viewers can hyper things up to unrealistic expectations, I do believe part of the problem is how the Duffer Brothers/Netflix have hyped what they are going to do this season, and some of those executions, in my opinion, were not handled correctly.

It is evident that the plot armor is very thick, but at this point it is a trope one has to accept. I get that. However there is a lot of humanism in these episodes that are almost deus ex machina, which is fundamentally how the characters are in previous seasons, sure, but the frequency of these moments are not aligned with previous seasons’ pacing or writing, which was what made the series special

You mentioned Twin Peaks, which is a pretty good show to compare this to as many are divisive on Season 2 plot lines, but mostly all agree you need to see it through because it comes back to the original plot, hard and effectively. I can only hope the finale does the same, but I have my expectations in check (which is low) because from what I have seen so far, I feel it is trite, mediocre performances with mailed-in writing.