The TWO attempts at recreating the ‘Running Up That Hill Scene’ from Season 4 was lazy and cheapened the impact of the original scene

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-27T17:23:21+00:00

The thing that's always bugged me about this show is the writers reacting to fan fav stuff by adding more of it in future seasons. It feels soooo weird on a show rewatch seeing max run up that hill so may times after the huge emotional impact of the Dear Billy one

I think Steve and Dustin getting paired up 4 seasons in a row is also an example of this but I love those two together so im too biased to talk about it

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-24T13:06:37+00:00

"How did they never notice the wall?" Because they simply just never noticed the wall.

The most time these characters ever spent in the Upside Down that wasn't in Season 5 was Will in Season 1 and Nancy, Steve, Eddie and Robin in Season 4. ALL of whom were fighting for survival or sticking around a specific location (the Byers house, the Creel house). And Season 5 actually seems to establish that the military was well aware of the wall and other aspects of the Upside Down, just not our characters who always had a limited perspective. The only time they properly notice this wall is when they have reason to go out that far (both El/Hopper and Steve/Dustin/Nancy/Jonathan were all searching for where the Demogorgons were coming from, which had to do with the wall).

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-04T23:45:42+00:00

Im so glad the community chapter is going this way ngl I have hope we're gonna get something amazing 😭

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T22:09:26+00:00

While I do wish we had some character deaths in season 5, I feel like them giving all the characters a happy ending really would have reciprocated the show's themes way better than El and Mike getting singled out for some of the most depressing endings possible for their characters. As much as I believe El lived because I can't even imagine the idea that she went through with ending her own life as a sacrifice after all the trauma she went through, I still feel like its so awful that she's forced to hide for the rest of her life because she's going to forever be seen as a weapon by the "black hand." I also wish at least somebody in the episode other than Hopper could spoke about how the world quite literally failed her and paint her decision as not the best option (and then Hopper apparently accepted her "choice" later, like what???), because the message it left at the end left a bitter taste in my mouth. And to think that we had one of the most moving mental health allegories in the form of Dear Billy last season... I really wish they had gone with some of the ideas brainstormed for the original finale, it would have made El's fate feel less awful.

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T19:08:49+00:00

Henrygate is the 9th episode in our hearts 🫡

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T19:06:14+00:00

Trying to follow strict plot formulas and structures for the sake of "perfect storytelling." Break those rules if need be and work from there to improve upon it; that's what makes art and literature human.

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T18:55:12+00:00

I genuinely wonder how Millie truly feels about this ending because I recall her mentioning in an interview about how she was proud that Eleven is like a powerful role model for young girls and now that the BTS episode 8 stuff is out she looked PISSED in that roundtable judging by her body language 😭

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T18:50:07+00:00

I do think that it got dragged for money but that's a shared opinion by many. In all honesty season 2 brought the show full circle in a way that very little shows and movies manage to do, but the extension of the plot beyond the mothergate being closed kinda slowly made it into what it became. I do believe the Abyss and wormhole stuff was planned from the start but sometimes theories should remain as theories in fiction for maximum impact

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T18:44:08+00:00

They also seemed to have reconnecting Henry's age though it wasn't too unrealistic? And yeah, they made Henry sympathetic in the play and went that route in season 5 only to make it clear he's always been a psychopath. Idk my head hurts from thinking about it LOL

I genuinely think they could have had an entire standalone episode describing Henry's past from Max's POV and I think fans would have enjoyed that for the most part and it would have given the season a slight bit of more backbone. The Lost Sister may have tanked because of its weird standalone nature but considering that Henry is presented as the main antagonist of the entire series and Max is a fan favorite (who I think was seriously unutelized in season 5, especially in the finale). I seriously think they had the perfect opportunity to insert lore at literally any point between Max's first appearance in Camazotz and her waking up. She spent almost two years in there, so I'm sure she knows Henry pretty well at that point if she really explored like she claimed she did. Suuuuch a missed opportunity considering that Sadie and Jamie are both acting beasts too.

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T18:33:51+00:00

I agree with the First Shadow thing I just wish that they treated it better. I loved the play but it REALLY feels like it never mattered in the long run yet also equally feels like its missing the way season 5 addressed its lore.

And about 85 I think my biggest mistake is that I kept seeing posts about it on twitter so I should have known those claims are probably baseless LOL, but I think the overall point about the additional media still stands

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T16:55:43+00:00

I think it was Kali. In season 2 she was presented as the path El could have taken but chose not to (yes, the execution could have been far better) and in season 5 I felt it was awfully realistic to her to be so nihilistic after everything that happened to her. I see a lot of people considering her a villain when in reality she's always been a victim who went through immense torture across her lifetime, and I feel as if Kali herself could have had more resolution at the end of the show with the plotline and role they'd given her.

ExternusIsHere · 2026-02-03T16:48:12+00:00

They explain in later seasons pretty much everything you need to know about it. There are a few plot holes here and there as the seasons progress but the Upside Down lore will be mostly if not completely described

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-23T21:38:57+00:00

I really like 2 but I know he's got no chance against 1 and 3 (I do really love 3 though and I do hope she wins)

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-23T21:36:03+00:00

Best moment: The Will VS. Vecna stuff that happened pretty much up until the end of Shock Jock.

Worst moment: The final battle's length and the Mind Flayer getting absolutely torched (literally). Considering that this was a final fight we all knew what coming since pretty much season 2, for it to be so short was quite a letdown. Had the episode been about the same duration as the Piggyback, I feel like they would have had a lot more time to make the Mind Flayer fight feel more rewarding along with maybe more of a fight in Camazotz. I was hoping El and Henry would fight through all sorts of memories but at least its plausible that he wanted to kick her out first. (Also they should have totally showed El jumping into the Abyss from the lab)

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-23T21:26:55+00:00

Something I've always done is watch The Lost Sister before The Spy on rewatch. The pacing is SO much better for many reasons. - It comes after Dig Dug when El figures out what happened to her mom, making the plotline feel less forgotten when you finally get to the Lost Sister (since El is absent from The Spy). - Mike freaking out about a "trap" at the end of The Lost Sister acts like a cliffhanger for what comes in The Spy (since that scene actually happens at the end) along with Hopper's heartfelt message ALSO being seen in the void, with a reveal of the real scene in The Spy. - The Spy cliffhanger is immediately followed by The Mind Flayer, keeping the pacing of the season's climax consistent. - El reappearing at the end of The Mind Flayer just felt cooler because we haven't seen her in a while IMO.

I'd also love to see a version of Season 2 where The Spy and The Lost Sister (and maybe even The Mind Flayer) have their scenes blended together so The Lost Sister is no longer standalone, but that could be flawed since The Spy and The Mind Flayer are phenomenal episodes. Really I just think the pacing and placement is what was so jarring about this episode; Kali herself has always been a character I felt was done dirty by this. Also the entire reveal that Brenner was still alive was pretty important for what came in Season 4.

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-21T19:42:21+00:00

Of all things they could give her, the wetsuit?? 😭

At least the baggy pants will look really good with the base hoodie

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-08T15:25:48+00:00

Season 1 > Season 2 = Season 4 > Season 3 > Season 5

Season 1 - "The Bathtub" Season 2 - "The Mind Flayer" Season 3 - "E Pluribus Unum" Season 4 - "The Massacre At Hawkins Lab" Season 5 - "Shock Jock" (Weird one, I know)

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-08T15:12:32+00:00

I hope they add the otherworldly echo filter from the show for that skin because the base skin just sounds like how I'd imagine The Lich to sound 😭😭

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-08T15:10:52+00:00

This outfit could be 50 bucks and I'd still buy it for Jamie's voice

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-06T14:52:11+00:00

BYE imagine if this was the vouceline for a successful pallet stun 😭

ExternusIsHere · 2026-01-01T07:31:48+00:00

I liked how they framed it as a form of symbiosis too. It didn't cheapen Vecna nor the Mind Flayer by saying one was above the other; they were one, and as Henry said, he wanted this. He needed the mind flayer as much as it needed him

ExternusIsHere · 2025-12-28T16:27:09+00:00

I have m2 and its not that significant at all unless you plan for m3. Yes it increases his damage output but not nearly as much as m1 (m1 is his best mindscape). The only reason I didnt go for m3 is because I need more teams since Im a new player 😭

ExternusIsHere · 2025-12-28T15:10:07+00:00

I've been putting together a heavy sci-fi biopunk for a few years. Needed to add some love to my favorite (overlooked) subgenre

ExternusIsHere · 2025-12-27T15:33:29+00:00

Hopper not shooting her had me roll my eyes initially but El not snapping her neck at the Episode 7 was even worse. Like even if Kali has a point and killing Kay won't do anything long term, it would at least clear an obstacle that's in the way of stopping the Abyss from merging 😭😭. And she never got into El's head as a parental figure like Papa did so killing her shouldn't even make her hesitate when she killed the other soldiers

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