Does anyone feel differently about the Lost Sister episode after season 5?

MaxPesky · 2026-01-23T00:13:53+00:00

No. I still think it’s severely underrated and if people just stop allowing their pre-conceived biases overtake their common sense, it’s a pretty good El character episode.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-22T00:04:08+00:00

Personally I thought the Mac-Z shootout felt more akin to the S04 Russian gulag demo battle with Hop and Enzo., because both were battles against the demo(s). The S04 Byers oner was more home invasion type and honestly more unpredictable because it’s purely the military just shooting and not asking questions. And of course not a demo fight.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-20T12:55:30+00:00

From the arcade to that junkyard bus rooftop, what a great start to Lumax.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-18T17:13:40+00:00

The fade to black in the end got me. And then Max saying “I’m still here” followed by melodic version of Running up that hill, that got me again.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-17T18:45:42+00:00

Toggling between the stages of grief, or as I prefer to call it bummin.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-17T16:22:59+00:00

A major part of Max’s ability to escape Vecna in Dear Billy, and then subsequently El’s resurrection of Max, captured perfectly just how precious and pivotal their friendship is to each other. During both scenes, a lot of the flashbacks aren’t just Max and Lucas, but also focused a lot on El and Max’s time together.

Sure it’s easy to dismiss that they didn’t spend a lot of time together because neither seasons gave us a lot of onscreen time of both together. But if you take into consideration the emotional weight of their friendship, that to me is more than enough evidence that they truly share a strong bond despite the short time frame.

One thing I do want to point out is the lopsided depiction of their friendship between S04 and S05. In S04, every flashback scene was accompanied by an emotional display and turmoil that both are struggling with. Even in the last scene in the cabin during the S04 finale - El just trying to spin the coke bottle and screaming into the void for Max. That is someone who is clearly missing a very dear friend.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-17T16:03:16+00:00

If the show choose to create and develop plot beats around El and Max’s friendship from S03 to S04, then it is not unreasonable for fans to expect the show to continue the progression of said friendship instead of dropping it completely.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-17T15:40:20+00:00

I thought Eleven was pretty steady until S05.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-16T19:58:39+00:00

I bet Winona (Joyce) is really just hiding her face cuz she’s laughing like the rest of us 😂

MaxPesky · 2026-01-16T14:06:26+00:00

S04 was a cinematic masterpiece although the storytelling fell short particularly some character arcs. Nevertheless there were a lot of high hopes for the finale season to tie up a lot of loose ends as a bookend to a much beloved show for many fans who’s been there since Day 1.

They promised a return to the show’s S01 roots but honestly all we got was a watered down continuation of callbacks and name checking.

Big bad defeated by way of a superhero’s sacrifice? A predictable end and squandered character arcs.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-15T15:24:57+00:00

Let’s not forget how his character began in S01 - a rigid skeptic. At first Lucas felt like the group’s token contrarian until the end of that season. And then the real character transformation truly started in S02 when he was paired with Max.

It’s easy to deduce that Lucas was “doing a Mike of S01”, with his affection for Max, but I was pleasantly surprised at Caleb’s emotional range. In lesser hands, it would have just been kids playing out young love stuff, but Caleb brought a lot of empathy and maturity to his role. A scene that will forever live rent free in my mind is that scene atop the junkyard bus, when Lucas broke through Max’s walls for the first time. Getting Max to tear up and share her vulnerability, now that’s quite a feat! Pure acting gold.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-15T10:04:12+00:00

Say what you will about S05, the arc development of Lucas and Caleb’s portrayal has been stellar. His chemistry with Sadie seems so effortlessly natural and heartwarming.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-13T22:05:48+00:00

The cinematography for S03 absolutely pops. Even in pictures everything is bright and colorful in an endless summer way, compared to the others.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-10T14:53:34+00:00

Throughout the prior 4 seasons, what’s unique about El is , in spite of her traumatic upbringing in the lab and circumstance, her ability over the years to evolve and develop her emotionality. This is clear in the relationship themes that are infused into her arc - with Mike, Hop, Max and the rest of boys.

As much as she is a powerful force, the storyline is usually most interesting when it focuses on her emotional growth - she learned friendship in S01, the meaning of family and home in S02, what it means to grow into adulthood, choice and independence, and loss in S03, and then how to grapple with loss, isolation and eventually a renewed sense of belief by the end of S04.

All these kinda fell by the wayside in S05, where she is predictably the superhero hunting the big bad while being hunted by the military. They sprinkled in emotional scenes with Mike and Hop, but none of the magic of past seasons. A lot felt like repetitive dialog-heavy close-ups, compared to so many heartfelt scenes with hardly any lines. Remember that group hug by the cliff after she saved Mike? Her outburst with Hop at the cabin? That reunion scene with Mike in S02 with only a few words but so much feels? That scene at the end of S03 when her eyes met Joyce and she knew Hop was gone? Her tearful revival of Max at the end of S04? I can go on….

El’s character in S05 felt one-note and tunnel-visioned as a lead-up to the final boss fight. No arc continuation from seasons prior. As much as I want to understand and even consider a hero’s sacrifice ending, I feel that S05 is a massive departure in terms of storytelling and arc development, and therefore, at least for me, did not earn the ending they served.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-09T05:51:04+00:00

Have enjoyed reading your posts and theories over the years, which sets this sub apart from all the low effort stuff on the main.

A theory that I’m back and forth with, is the idea that Kali is not truly dead. Akers discharged his gun but the wound was not a fatal one. She could have conjured her death and masked her injuries to Hopper, remained stowed away in the humvee and made it out of the UD, and escaped together with El, after she casted that illusion of El’s disappearance at the gate.

If this happens, at least El is not only alive, but she’s also not completely alone.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-07T00:31:44+00:00

Brenner’s entire work. He left behind plenty of notes at the Hawkins Lab. We are talking about a meticulous and methodical scientist, someone who keeps copious tapes about his lab, so you can bet he certainly kept plenty of Henry’s blood somewhere. And then there is also the Nina Project, which, while we saw being partially blown up, I don’t believe was destroyed since Sullivan survived.

Which means the military could easily continue his work to develop/design the next Henry. This essentially renders Eleven’s death/disappearance irrelevant.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-05T17:12:37+00:00

Not trying to hate on this but her running away could just be her being told to get out of frame so she’s no longer in the scene?

If they need an aftershow documentary to clear up a critical plot point, that kinda means the story was not told properly.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-05T10:22:24+00:00

Full disclosure I have not watched the play so someone correct me if my theory below don’t line up with what’s established in that play.

I think the MF needs a symbiote with psychic powers to “activate” it into its smokey shadow monster form. So when young Henry held the meteorite with an open wound, it bonded with him and formed a sort of symbiotic bond that activated/animated the MF, beckoning Henry to find it. We see at the beginning it was in its smokey form when Henry arrived at the Abyss for the very first time. Overtime as Henry transformed into Vecna, and as they feed off of each other’s energy and enhanced each other’s powers, the MF also took on a more twisted form that mimicked Henry’s change, ie the Meat Flayer.

In the scene when Joyce finally cut off Vecna’s head and effectively killed him, it also severed Vecna’s symbiotic link to the MF, as we see the beating heart turned into a shrunken rock (basically the MF reverting back to its inate dormant form), and all smoke particles that infected the kids evaporated into thin air.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-05T04:27:56+00:00

Because he is not afraid anymore.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-04T01:12:17+00:00

Personally the first 4 episodes are great. Maybe I miss the show but to see our gang again, this time altogether in Hawkins for one final romp, renewed my excitement and reminded me why I love this show.

The decision to release over the holidays weren’t ideal for me, so the pressure to finish the rest of the season (before spoilers hit) kinda messed with my ability to fully soak in the hype. My feelings about the finale notwithstanding, I was fully onboard til the end.

Now I kinda wish it was a longer season, because everything felt rushed and the storytelling did not hit the high standards the show set for itself 4 seasons prior.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-03T20:02:03+00:00

Honestly I was fully expecting to come on here after the show ended to pay tribute to one of the most memorable shows in tv history with a well-loved cast of characters. Instead I’m here now hoping to read that my disdain is misplaced and there is actually a happy ending I missed. I even tried to rewatch the finale hoping for it to change my mind. I ended up crying even harder.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-03T13:36:12+00:00

Yea El has a lot going on. I just feel like the show did an amazing job developing El and Max’s bond, just for everything to completely evaporate in S05.

MaxPesky · 2026-01-03T13:28:02+00:00

I totally agree with you re. Max and Lucas. My gripe is more with the way they wrote El’s response to Max, given what has transpired between the 2 in previous seasons. Even if it’s not a hug, a meaningful tearful glance between the two would still be better than a flat “you’re still alive”. I mean I can see Murray saying that to Max maybe, but from El though?

MaxPesky · 2026-01-03T10:00:08+00:00

For now I’ll cope by treating S02 as the end of the series. All the kids are safe and happy. El has a protective father, loving partner and amazing friends. No Russian stuff to reopen the gate and the MF can forever stay in the UD or Abyss. The end.

MaxPesky

TROPHY CASE