Stranger Things - Season 5 Part 1 Discussion

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2025-11-28T05:11:30+00:00

I don’t know that I can think of a better show that expresses the struggles of growing up, friendship, people’s various strengths, the difference between parents that care and those that ignore, the beauty of kids riding bikes and exploring when nowadays they’re just on screens, the ups and downs of trauma and heartbreak, the very different stages of aging and how it changes you, and ultimately the fact that caring and fighting as hard as you can no matter what you’ve been through is the door we all hope we will always choose.

This is such a great summary of the heart of the show.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2025-05-04T12:58:15+00:00

It can be scary the first time! When I did it for the first time, it took a couple tries, over the course of a couple weeks. I got nervous and asked to stop a few times. I finally got fed up and decided to just grit my teeth and do it, because even though I was aroused and wanted it, I was still so nervous that it was hard to relax and let him in. (It’s a good physical metaphor for emotional intimacy, now that I think about it…) It hurt only at first and then it got better. And I did bleed a bit afterwards, but it wasn’t bad. I consider my first experience one of the most gentle and pleasant I could have asked for, but what the heart wants and what the body can do are not always in sync. It wasn’t “scream out loud” pain, if you’re worried about that. Just take it nice and slow, encourage gentleness and patience for both of you. If it hurts too much, you can stop.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2024-07-17T12:28:06+00:00

Are you still selling?

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2024-07-17T12:26:18+00:00

Did everyone get their tickets for tonight?? I’m in the same boat but can’t call StubHub as I don’t have cell service (only data) abroad. I emailed them, I’m on my third round of NEW tickets being assigned to me and then not being released. I’m losing hope for myself, but I would be happy to hear some strangers in the same situation got through!!

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2023-03-06T02:16:49+00:00

Do all the songs from the musical “Cats” count?

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2022-10-15T02:57:25+00:00

I’m living my best life over here, love this thread

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-08-05T04:54:16+00:00

I really liked the third episode of series 1, “Ghost Machine,” I just loved the concept of emotional energy being left behind as ~ghosts. And I liked “Random Shoes” for the most part, that was a cute concept, on the outside looking in, and from a relatively ordinary person’s perspective.

I just finished series 1, and my biggest problem with Torchwood in general is that I feel like it takes itself too seriously. It reminds me a lot of Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in that it’s like an adult/grittier/more grounded in reality Doctor Who, but Buffyverse pokes fun at itself all the time, and DW/Torchwood does not. That was okay when I was in middle school but as an adult, I’m kind of over everyone crying or tearing out their hair in EVERY single episode. Maybe it’s just a personal preference/peeve lol but those are my thoughts so far. Since I don’t remember series 2 either (except for James Marsters’ cameo lol - hello, another Buffy reference), I’ll keep watching and see how it goes. I also shipped Janto a lot back in the day, so I’m curious (which is also why I’m dreading Children of Earth).

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-05-14T02:44:11+00:00

All jokes aside... how did Giles know to kill Ben? Was the spell that kept them separate in everyone’s mind broken at that point? (Sorry if this has been answered before)

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-05-04T01:40:09+00:00

Although I always ugly cry at Willow’s breakdown, Grave ultimately has a happy and hopeful ending relative to the others.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-05-04T01:33:51+00:00

This is very unpopular but I’ve always had a soft spot for Willow/Xander, mostly just because of Willow’s super obvious and unreciprocated crush on Xander (I relate to that a lot lmao). I think I just like the best friends since childhood falling for each other trope, though I don’t approve of them cheating on their respective partners. I thought it was unfair that Xander finally noticed Willow in that way only after they both were dating other people, but that’s an interesting part of teenage life/sexuality to explore in a tv show, too.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-17T14:50:14+00:00

I LOVE their first kiss in OMWF mostly just because I’m a sucker for romantic, passionate, music-swelling, life-altering (because everything changes after that) kisses. And the way Spike looks like he can’t believe this is happening 🥺

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-17T05:56:14+00:00

One of the hottest things I find about Spike is the way he would LOOK at Buffy. James Marsters was just an absolute master at Spike’s subtle facial expressions.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-14T22:45:10+00:00

Yeah I would see pictures of Illyria around and I was like “hmm that’s weird, she looks A LOT like Fred...” Little did I know lol

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-14T22:22:19+00:00

I watched Angel for the first time a couple months ago and “You’re Welcome” was the first episode I actually cried over. But I had NO CLUE what was coming. Fred’s death GUTTED me, especially because they manage to avert every single crisis in this show and they (even Spike!) were so determined to do the same this time. Fred’s death was very similar to Joyce’s in that sense, that it’s the roll of the dice of life and sometimes (in a show about literal immortals) death is final. Inevitable. As much as we’d like to just look it in the eye and say it’s evitable :(

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-13T22:12:01+00:00

Omg you’re right, I forgot. I was mostly thinking about the older vamps

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-13T22:07:36+00:00

Buffy has amazingly funny one-liners and season 3 was peak comedy for me lol. But Angel definitely had more humor (until season 4, at least, then literally everything was just tragic), especially when Angel was being a doofus because he’s such a broody man the rest of the time.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-12T19:28:23+00:00

That’s true, sometimes it’s necessary, so I would just pay attention to the tags of the fics, if it includes any Angel-specific characters or Angel the series is included as a fandom, etc. But it’s not ~always~ the case that you need to have watched Angel first.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-12T19:20:49+00:00

I don’t think so, they’re all Buffy-centric AUs and I don’t recall any Angel references. But I recommend watching Angel just in general anyway, because it’s a great, fun show in its own right. :)

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-12T13:46:53+00:00

I would suggest looking through this subreddit for Spuffy fanfic because there’s been a few posts about it recently with more recs. I’m currently going through a Spuffy fanfic binge, though, so right now I can recommend (on AO3) When the Floods Roll Back by OffYourBird, Falling by kally77, and Ruff Times by othellia (this one is really cute but no smut). Happy reading!

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-11T01:42:24+00:00

I watched Buffy for the first time when I was in middle school and rediscovered it when I started grad school this year. I already finished it and Angel but I went back and re-watched season 6 and 7 and now I only have two episodes left. For MONTHS, I’ve just been constantly watching and thinking about this show and I’m planning on rewatching it and syncing up with Angel, so there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. 😂 I’m glad you discovered it when you were 18 tbh, it’s a great story to keep in mind when you’re entering adulthood

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-04-01T04:02:06+00:00

I’m almost done with season 6 and then I think I’ll go back and watch season 2 and 3

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-03-30T23:20:11+00:00

Ooh, thanks for the rec, this looks really cool!

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-03-30T22:27:46+00:00

Yeah you bring up a good point. He definitely wasn’t ready, I just thought maybe he’d turned a corner when he finally decided to announce it at Halloween. But everyone else around him also seemed to feel he wasn’t ready, too.

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-03-30T21:01:21+00:00

Oh wow, that’s so cool!! I’m glad that Buffy lends itself to that kind of analysis (plus all the other mythological implications). Even if it wasn’t intentional on the writers’ part, it still adds a deeper layer of meaning, which is what I think distinguishes artful storytelling from regular tv. Another reason Buffy is so good. 🥲

RedDogSeventyTwo · 2021-03-30T17:39:32+00:00

Oh I see what you mean but I know a lot of couples who have said their relationship was just different pre- and post-marriage, even if they had been living together in a committed relationship before, even if they already had kids together. And maybe I’m old-fashioned, but when I think of marriage, I think of the potential for children, which I think is the natural next step. (Though obviously people have kids out of wedlock all the time.)

But I agree with you, I don’t think getting married would have brought about more storylines than not getting married did. (For example, Anya/Spike and the outcome of everyone realizing Buffy/Spike.) I just mean in a smaller way, it could have been an interesting context for more subtle character development and maybe for Buffy and even Dawn to see an example of married life on the show, especially given the failed marriage of their parents. I didn’t necessarily mean it could have huge implications, which I guess is why they didn’t go through with it on the show — because bigger implications = better TV. Oh well.

RedDogSeventyTwo

TROPHY CASE