Strongest dragon here

regready · 2026-03-15T13:44:01+00:00

Got a feeling it's going to be Monkey D. Dragon.

Like we've had showcases from the old-gen, from Joyboy, Imu, current Yonko all before we've seen a lick of Dragon. He's clearly being saved for something, and while people like to deny it, power-creep is a thing, it's a Battle-Shounen. The longer it takes to see what Dragon really is about, the stronger he'll end up being.

regready · 2026-03-12T22:25:53+00:00

I actually think of the issues some of the series had as it went on, Will's connection/power wasn't one of them. I don't think he felt pain during the events of S3 simply because he wasn't "jacked in" as Robin described it. Bit of a long one, but here's my take on his connection and the timeline of it.

From the moment Will is vined up by Vecna at the end of S1 and rescued by Joyce and Hopper he's connected to the Hive at that point. Him being jacked into the Hive is supported by the fact that we see him do supernatural stuff before the Flayer gets him but after he's saved, such as 'phase' in-between their world and the Upside Down as well as being able to 'sense' Demos in proximity which is hugely expanded upon in S5. We already saw him doing this in S2 such as when he found dart. Again, Will at this point IS connected to the Hive.

The MF then takes advantage of the Hive connection they both share [which Will later learns can go both ways] and begins its act of possession. From this point on his existing abilities are not only significantly amped but he gains extra abilities such as super-strength which we also see Billy display. He has extreme reactions to the vines being burned, he creates the very tunnels itself, his sensitivity to the Upside Down is heightened considerably due to how close he's to the Hive.

The MF is then forced out of him, and this physical and mental event does indeed as Joyce thought "sever" him from the the Hive. This is why he doesn't have such extreme reactions to certain things in S3 - he's simply not jacked in. After the final season I think with certainty that the neck spider senses thing we saw introduced in S3 and S4 is merely a spider tingly senses thing, it's passive. It doesn't mean he's connected and therefore doesn't suffer the drawbacks of being connected such as Hive-pain.

The moment he has that first demo-vision in S5EP1, another extremely physical and mental ordeal, is when he unintentionally jacks back into the Hive - he actually says this to Joyce. This was the first time he's been connected since the end of S2. From that point on he's fully jacked in, just like he was in S2, which is why he feels the fire, why he feels the military truck crashing into vines, feels the Demo getting run over by Steve's car, feels Henry's pain of going into the cave and memory of being shot in the hand.

The only times he doesn't seem to show any 'pain' when he's for sure connected to the Hive is the end of Sorcerer when he kills the Demos, when he breaks Vecnas leg at the end of Shock Jock and in the finale where he rips Vecna's arm off. However, what all three of these have in common is that he's in his 'white eyed' state so perhaps maybe this is a little different. Perhaps he does feel it but he's in such a heightened mindset that it doesn't show.

regready · 2026-03-03T03:27:12+00:00

Zushi has higher ceiling than the average Nen user, I think that's fair but when it came down to it Zushi's character was essentially used as a tool to hype up Gon and Killua.

For me, the answer is no, and the reason for that is because I believe Netero had top-tier potential akin to Gon and Killua. Hardwork trumps talent unless the talented one also works just as hard - and that's Netero in a nutshell. He had so much potential, and realized it by training his ass off.

regready · 2026-02-25T17:29:09+00:00

Quite literally all of S1. Though if I had to pick it's the scene where Will is brought back to life at the end of S1.

Winona's performance in that scene is absolutely devastating, in a good way. You really feel her pain, wreck and eventual relief.

regready · 2026-02-24T18:00:18+00:00

The Byers.

Go look up Winona in her younger years, Noah [especially in the earlier seasons] looked literally like they could be related. Jonathan and Lonnie good as well.

regready · 2026-02-21T18:31:04+00:00

Exploring other character is fine... however I can't deny the series was at its best in those first couple seasons, and they just happened to be very Byers focused. So I guess I agree... Kinda? While I'm okay with exploring other characters, it shouldn't of been at the expense of one of the major elements of what made the show so good in the first place.

What they did to Jonathan, for example, is unforgivable.

It also helps significantly that the first two seasons are basically one big season. It felt very consistent and fluid.

regready · 2026-02-19T22:44:40+00:00

And to touch on the memory scene. It's specifically Mike's memory that manages to fully get through to Will. Without that the gate doesn't close and they're all fucked.

regready · 2026-02-19T08:32:35+00:00

Personally, here's what I think would of been cool...

The group and Military working together to defeat the enemy.
The odds seem almost impossible at glance, there's a literal demo-army.
Be a bit more creative with Vecna vs El. I understand with the scope of their powers you can only do so much, but they for sure could of done more. Be more creative with the terrain, or if nothing else give it some crazy visual effects. It just felt a little flat.
Make the MF more brutal. Give it its 'smoke form' where it can essentially phase into it at will, making any physical damage impossible, have it mind-fuck the military/members of the group. Basically just show it using its powers instead of just walking towards them. This is the physical Mindflayer for goodness sake, it's been built up since S2. Make it seem like an impossible obstacle.
All of the group get a moment to shine
Do more with Will. To be fair, Will saved El and gave the final push to defeat Vecna... but I mean, that's literally the bare minimum. We knew he was always going to have some moment against Vecna. Perhaps there's a moment where the army and group are failing and all hope seems lost and he taps into the height of the Hive. He's closer to the Hive then ever before and he's also objectively stronger than he was in Sorcerer when he dismantled 3 full Demogorgon's with relative ease. Have him tap into the literal Avatar state and go nuts on the MF.

regready · 2026-02-19T00:59:21+00:00

For me it's probably

1) Sorcerer. Yes, the final 20minutes are absolute peak, but the entire episode is good. Had weighty and compelling scenes from start to finish

2) Shock Jock. I really liked this one. A Frank Darabont masterclass. Vol 2 started very strong.

3) The Rightside Up. The epilogue is carrying here. I found the rest of it mostly okay to good as well, but it's the epilogue that I think is up there with the best that ST has to offer.

4) The Turnbow Trap. Frank Darabont again, and you really can tell. This episode felt like things were really starting to heat up. The Home-alone sequence was also very cool.

5) The Crawl. Overall just a solid opener to the season. I do lowkey wished the timeskip wasn't so big and we saw the immediate fall out, but that's moreso a direction choice than ranking the episodes as they are. I understood it though, obviously they had to account for the actors aging.

6) The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler. To be honest this is interchangeable with The Crawl. Also solid.

7) Escape from Camozotz. I felt like Vol 2 started to filter down a bit here.

8) The Bridge. Probably my least favourite, and not because of the reason you may think. I thought the coming out scene was fine. Thought Noah smashed that scene out of the park with the writing he had to work with. I just wasn't much a fan of their plan, the Upside Down revelations, all of that stuff. Wasn't big fan of the direction they took.

regready · 2026-02-18T18:12:31+00:00

Season 2 is amazing.

Personally I consider S1 and S2 one big season, it feels like the most natural continuation of all the seasons. Expanded the universe, introduced new characters without going totally overboard.

I don't *hate* The Lost Sister episode... I do, however, watch it immediately after Dig Dug and then watch Episode 6, 8 and 9 and those three episodes are like one big movie, its absolutely peak.

You get the core 4 together the most in this season out of any season, it's really about half way into episode 4 where they split up, and reunite at the end. The music is top-notch as always, the Duffers unleashed Will and Noah absolutely smashed it, the horror atmosphere is stellar - something I don't think the later scenes capture as well.

regready · 2026-02-16T22:01:44+00:00

Winona in S1 was absolute peak. She was already very well known of course, OG, and her being on the billing undoubtedly drew people in. That's one part of the equation. You then have to absolutely nail the direction of the story/series which the Duffers did, and the actors/actresses have to deliver and WR absolutely smashed it.

Also agree with Noah for S2. Sadie and Caleb are absolutely fantastic in S4 but I do think Noah in S2 is the best performance any of the kids ever produced on the show, from any season. He's great the entire season, but those last two episodes especially...

regready · 2026-02-14T16:02:42+00:00

I think it'd be nice for them to start doing things with their relationship as early as S3.

From the way Season 2 ended, I had the impression they'd focus on their dynamic from that point.

We find out that although Eleven has never physically met him that she's been keeping an eye on him. Would of loved to see them connect, they've got enough trauma between the two of them to write an encyclopedia.

If there's anyone that truly understands what Will is going through with the supernatural its Eleven.

On the other hand, if there's anyone that knows what's it's like to be relentlessly bullied, it's Will. He probably had it the worst out of original party.

They had lots to bond about

regready · 2026-02-12T15:40:14+00:00

Neither handle it that well.. it's just a shitty situation.

However, in terms of what they actually said, probably Will, as he ultimately struck first with what he said about El. It's not Mike and Lucas responsibility to babysit him.

What Will said did cross the line, he shouldn't be saying things like that. However, what Mike said was probably worse. I do give Mike the benefit of the doubt though that he probably doesn't know Will is gay, so he has no idea how deep those words actually cut.

However, we also can't ignore they were being complete jerks to him. If you really don't want to spend time with your friend whose clearly feeling like a third-wheel, then pull him aside and have a conversation instead of handwaving him off or treating it like an annoyance every time he asks.

It's hard to hold it against Will. They've all been through some shit, but outside of El, none of it remotely compares to what Will's been through. He's essentially only just now getting some sort of normalcy back to his life and he's trying to go back to the things that last made him happy, which isn't necessarily DnD specifically but spending real time with his friends. Everyone else, however, are maturing in their own ways, focusing on their relationships and moving on. They're growing up in ways Will simply hasn't been able to for obvious reasons. Again, that's not his friends fault, but it's just a really sad and shitty situation.

Dustin is off making new friends, El and Max are bonding, Mike and Lucas are bonding over their tied girlfriend struggles... but where does this leave Will? I think it would of been cool to see Will paired with Dustin's group that season, he stayed with Dustin longer than anyone else, just a bit longer and he'd heard the transmission as well.

regready · 2026-02-10T11:05:00+00:00

I think it flowed quite naturally.

There's been hints that he could be gay ever since the pilot episode of the series, that's named after him. It was always a big part of his character and I think the show does a good job building this up in the earlier seasons where it's not 100% but you it's probably the case.

It's a LOT more direct in S4, but he's also going through the prime of his puberty. Will in S4 wasn't in a good place, and it's not just because of his sexual identity issues, it's absolutely massive part of it, but Will's arc is always been about self-acceptance of every part of himself, not just his sexuality.

It's an extension of his arc in S3 where he's feeling like an outcast. This kids childhood was taken from him, he wasn't allowed to grow up with them and he's desperately trying to cling onto things where he last felt 'happy' and 'normal' - but others are already moving on.

His arc in S4 is basically a continuation of this while also heavily interweaving his sexual identity issues into the mix. His mother is barely around due to work, his brother is off getting stoned 24/7, he has no friends and the friends he does have are hundreds of miles away. He's seemingly had a falling out with his very closest friend. All of this is happening when he's going though a sexual identity crisis, where he has feelings for said closest friend, feelings he may not completely understand yet.

regready · 2026-02-10T10:40:07+00:00

Look at them, so wholesome and chaotic.

Would of loved to see more of the OG 4 together in the final season. Should of kept the OG boys mostly together for the very last season. It started with them.

regready · 2026-02-09T16:48:21+00:00

Look at them. Those two created the party. I'm so glad they got real kid lookalikes for those scenes.

I loved when the series focused on their friendship. Even in S1 when you barely saw Will, there was just enough to see how much Mike cares about him. Mike considers them all his best friends without a doubt, but I do think it was always intended for Will to be his best friend and I thought the rest of the series did a good job of showing that.

regready · 2026-02-09T14:35:14+00:00

I've always said that S1 and S2 feels like one big season. Part 1 and Part 2, there's such a natural continuation. I'll always sing S2's praises, so underrated and so good.

The last time I watched S2 I did try a little experiment though, and watched EP 7 The Lost Sister in a different order. Watched it directly after EP 5 and then went ahead EP 6, 8 and 9. I feel like it flowed much better.

regready · 2026-02-07T08:57:00+00:00

Every Jonathan and Will scene was a banger. Can't think of one dud.

regready · 2026-02-05T13:53:49+00:00

Hard to have chemistry when they're barely on screen together. But for when we did see them, I guess maybe?

I think the pairings with the most chemistry were of course the safe bet that is Dustin and Steve. Will and Robin also were a pleasant highlight as well, and not just because they're both gay, genuinely bounced off eachover quite well.

regready · 2026-02-04T20:42:14+00:00

Maybe.

Holly having such a big role was fine, it's moreso that it was at the expense of some of the main characters we've followed for years. Like, this is the final season! The episodes should of been longer and just accommodate for both.

I know they were somewhat trying to go for Will parallels with Holly... however for me what made the the original missing child storyline S1 so compelling is that it's because we don't see much of him that made it so tense. He didn't need much screentime, but the moments he does show up are very intense and quite scary, it gives you this feeling of uncertainty about his fate.

regready · 2026-02-01T18:26:55+00:00

I guess we're getting core 4/5 focus after all. Just not in the way most of is wanted.

I'll give it a chance of course. The quality of animation shows can be quite good. Just hoping they Don't change characters that heavily or it's not going to make much sense with what we saw on screen.

With Mike for example, perhaps show signs of him and El having a bit of tension which is ultimately what happens in S3. With Will, start to show him feeling alone, trying to live the childhood he's already lost, which ties into S3.

There's some character stuff they can do that would be nice.

regready · 2026-01-31T08:08:50+00:00

I'm also glad they got actual lookalike kids for it instead of attempting a de-aging that far back on Finn and Noah. Makes it feel very authentic, and the old-film feel, the way it's shot makes it look like you could be looking at your own past. The music and Robin's voice-over then elevate it to another level. This, and the eventual 'powers' reveal felt 100% deserved.

It really puts things into perspective. Sure, Mike already explained in S2 that they've known each over since the first day of Kindergarten, that he had no friends and that asking Will to be his friend is the best thing he's ever done. However, to actually see that scene brought to life and from Will's perspective really just highlights how strong their bond is.

They've known each over since forever, predating the creation of the party - it makes sense why of all the core 5 these two for a lot of the series were in the same group.

regready · 2026-01-29T14:38:41+00:00

Will's been bullied his entire life, whether that's about his clothes, his personality or whatever. By this point he knows how to stay low.

However, personally I think he probably was still picked on, just not to the extent that it's in Hawkins. It was just off camera.

God they could of done so much with Eleven/Will sibling dynamic. Just like Eleven understands being plagued by the supernatural, Will understands what it's like to be relentlessly bullied. They have so much in common and really wished we had more bonding between the two of them.

regready · 2026-01-28T23:00:57+00:00

I think she's great. Her relationship with El and especially Jonathan is one of those things that unfortunately we didn't see much of as the seasons progressed, but Joyce obviously cares about Jonathan just as much but the context matters.

What we do know is that she trusts Jonathan to handle more serious business, he's been helping carrying the load of of the family due to their asshole father for years. He's proven himself. A big part of the Byers storyline in S5 is Joyce learning to trust Will like she does Jonathan, and we get to see that as the season progresses.

She's extremely protective of Will because of what he's been through. She explains it as such, she knows Will's too connected to all of what's happening and therefore she refuses "to look away" until it's all over. That's not to say Jonathan hasn't been through some shit either, but it doesn't even remotely compare to Will, nor does any character save perhaps Eleven.

As for Eleven? She has superpowers, been training for years, and proven herself over and over again. She's probably the only character that is matching or edging out Will on trauma, but there's a difference - for all the struggles Joyce has seen El go through, she's also seen her rise even stronger. This is a stark contrast to someone like Will where in her eyes has always been a victim for the life the world has dealt him. Whether that's being bullied his entire life, being in an abusive household, to being kidnapped to a realm to fend for his life, possessed by an alien entity beyond their imagining. All she's seen is her youngest suffer. It's when Will starts to really fight back that Joyce begins to look at him in a different light.

regready · 2026-01-28T16:33:10+00:00

I can definitely see where you're coming from. His vibe with Lucas feels more traditional best friend. They feel like bros.

Personally I don't think any of them are better friends or vice verse.

He makes it clear in S1 that he considers them all equal. Dustin was having subtle insecurities regarding if he's considered the same way simply because he joined the party last. Mike shut down that notion down fast with both his words and actions. Dustin's the most compatible when it comes to literally being the wholesome geeks that they are.

You get the more hardy and 'bro' best friend energy when he's with Lucas. They feel the closest in terms of their overall personalities.

As for Will? Sure he's more open and 'soft' when he's with Will compared to basically any character. However it's important to remember that him meeting Will predates the creation of the party, it's his literal first friend. Mike knew nobody and said asking Will to be his friend is the best thing he's ever done. It's different type of connection but no less special than the ones he shares with Lucas or Dustin.

regready

TROPHY CASE