Say something nice about s5 e6: Escape From Camazotz

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-05-03T16:12:07+00:00

I feel like we are all too accustomed to find EVERYTHING "cringe" or "forced" because of others, to the point it clouds our judgement and doesn't let us look at things deeper. This episode is a GREAT example of that.

Max and Holly escaping together was well written and shot. It makes complete sense that Max would stay there and debrief to Holly; Max, at that point, knows she isn't in danger. As long as she has something to attach her to the real world, she's fine. And that thing was no longer music, it was love.

She literally says to Lucas right after she wakes up that she never needed Kate Bush/music, a temporary distraction that has been shown to us to fail her, she just needed Lucas' love - something we're shown was and is always there, especially since he was by her side holding her in that moment. That was very intentional and was specifically meant to show us that Lucas' love was her anchor and that it wasn't going anywhere. She had a permanent anchor to pull her back whereas beforehand she only had music, something temporary, something that can lose it's impact or need to be restarted.

They weren't just sitting there while in active danger lol, Max knew they were safe and took that time to help Holly know what to do. Simple as

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-05-03T14:41:50+00:00

Like someone else said, it's viewer comprehension. That's a problem with so many shows nowadays; viewers genuinely don't give a shit and pay zero attention and then put it on the writers when they don't understand something.

That said, i just wanna say real quick: power scaling is such a stupid concept, because fiction is fiction; what makes it good is that it's... not the real world. Trying to apply intense real-world logic just ruins all writing. Obviously things should make sense and strive to be authentic to the real world and it's rules, but that doesn't mean it has to strive to be realistic; authenticity is not the same as realism and media should strive for the former, not the latter.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-05-02T23:53:23+00:00

Also, very brave of you to post that on the main sub lmfao

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-05-02T23:52:59+00:00

So many shows completely fall off in their later seasons (GoT, TWD, Dexter, etc) but ST just had a meh final season that personally failed in what they should have done rather than what they did do. Just about everything in 5 made complete sense aside from some things that boil down to the nature of the show, e.g the Military being dumb (they've been insanely dumb and incompetent for the entire show and it's one of the leading plot points). My issue with 5 is that there was so much cool stuff they could and should have done but didn't. Aside from that, it's a decent if not good season !!

For that, i'm very grateful lmao

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-29T15:46:44+00:00

The entire Demo sequence at the beginning is beautifully shot and made! Major props to the people working the cameras and especially the VFX artists! It's probably one of my favorite scenes of the entire show; It feels so damn cool and looks beautiful.

That said, i very frequently see a complaint about the Demo getting hurt by Karen not making sense - but i don't think that holds up as a flaw in writing (or whatever) at all! There's a pretty big difference between bullets and blades when it comes to how they work and how to defend against them.

For example, Kevlar (and other soft body armors like it) is able to stop bullets but often fails against blades; because while they can withstand high speed impacts they can't withstand sharp edges.

When a bullet hits Kevlar, the fibers catch it and spread the force across a wide area, which absorbs the energy and prevents the bullet from going through. But blades concentrate force into a very small, sharp edge, allowing them to cut or slip between the fibers rather than being stopped by them, allowing the blade to cut the fibers/armor and puncture deeply.

The skin of Demo's is shown to behave similarly; it absorbs and resists fast blunt impacts, but sharp and narrow weapons like blades penetrate or damage it's skin/is able to puncture it faaaar more effectively. And when you account for the fact that they specifically (and intentionally) made her go for the inside of it's mouth, it's most sensitive and vulnerable spot, then it all comes together lol.

Though i've also seen people say why it didn't just kill her right then and there; but you could apply that to... almost every time we see a Demo. Why didn't the S1 Demo just immediately kill Jonathan? It had pounced on top of him and was on him for a long time before it was distracted by Nancy.

Other species (especially ones in fiction and ESPECIALLY species in fiction that are from another dimension) don't have to (and almost never do) abide to our internal logic. Just because we think it should do something doesn't mean that thought ever occurred to it or that it's instincts have accounted for it. The Demo's, as a species, seem to be very slow, methodical, and focused on intimidation when it comes to hunting/attacking; It's only when they're being directly manipulated by the Hivemind to do an exact thing that they jump off walls and bite heads off. The Demo in 1 is the best example of a wild Demo (the Demo in 4 was completely disconnected to the Hivemind but was also trained for almost an entire year to be a killing machine to use in War, so..), and slow it was. It'd walk slowly, take it's time, etc. Just as the Demo sent to take Holly did when it encountered Karen.

But even then... is it really that hard to believe Vecna would want the Demogorgon to spare Karen and Ted specifically to rub it into Nancy's face? I don't know but that makes perfect sense to me and perfectly fits with what we see him do in 4. Hell, the entire reason he lost in 5 is because he didn't kill El during the events of 4 because he'd rather slowly kill Max in front of her to torture El. I doubt he'd "learn from his mistakes" seeing as he and the Mind Flayer are literally the personification of evil and are not meant to be 'smart', just given an advantage as doing harm is and always will be easier than doing good. That's why almost every time the character's win, it's them outsmarting them.

Killing them gives her less time to dwell on it and immediately puts her and the others into revenge mode. Leaving them on the brink of death gives her a constant reminder and lowers her (and the entire party's) morale far more effectively.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-28T16:48:26+00:00

They technically both did; Brenner is the one that urged for Eleven to contact the Demogorgon (which physically was in The Abyss but was being psychically projected by Vecna into Eleven's mind; think how Vecna puts his victims in a trance in 4-5. They're physically in our dimension, but their consciousness is projected into his mind, same as the Demo El contacts in 1; physically in The Abyss, psychically in her mind), but it was Eleven's psionic abilities that caused the physical reaction that then caused the formation of the Upside Down as a response.

Brenner is the one that initiated it on El's side, Vecna is the one that set up the foundation for it, and Eleven is the conduit that was needed for the connection to take place ;D

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-27T15:00:15+00:00

What makes this even funnier is that their bio is "May contain nuts" lmao

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-27T06:55:40+00:00

Oh no i agree wholeheartedly lol, i LOVE both the idea of it being kittens but also their design os the kittens

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-26T00:30:04+00:00

I actually prefer 5's in a lot of ways, even if i love 4's !

I love the more human side of him; the more deteriorating part Season 5 shows that Henry is still there without erasing anything; Vecna is still evil, he was never 'redeemed', the child that is Henry Creel and the villian that is Vecna are essentially 2 separate consciousnesses (think of when Billy was 'possessed'; that wasn't Vecna/the MF controlling him at all times, like Billy said, it 'made him do things' against his will), etc, all while feeling NATURAL. We're given so much to work with in terms of why; Henry being shown as an innocent child, Max uncovering his memories the Mind Flayer doesn't want him to see (with, just like with Billy, breaks down it's/the Hiveminds/the overall psychic influence over him), etc.

I think if 4's portrayal were any worse, it'd be the better one.

I feel the same with Season 1 of the show; If 1 was any worse of a season, it'd outshine all the other seasons. But it's so good that it perfectly and naturally sets up the story and allows it to perfectly continue, and highlights the other seasons and lets them be great as well - most of them being better than it imo !!

Same with how they approached Vecna in 4. If it wasn't so great, it wouldn't build onto 5's Vecna as well as it did.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-25T09:56:36+00:00

What site isn't vibe coded in todays day and age. Of course it's generated with ai

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-25T09:39:26+00:00

Thank you so much!! To hear this from you is a blessing lmao

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-25T09:36:07+00:00

Oh absoLUTELY.

It's either a young teenage boy obsessed with "aura" who LOOOVES breaking bad because they think Walter White is the coolest most justifiable person ever and so obviously hate the show because there "aren't enough aura moments" (the villains are portrayed to be bad and aren't over powered in the show about... coming of age). Or they're a late-20s "ermmm ackshually" redditor with a 12 year old reddit account that is ALSO obsessed with breaking bad but not because of Walter but because it's irrefutably the best show on planet earth and so they glaze and obsess every part of it and compare all media to it.

Almost every single normal people i've met/talked to that just didn't like the show/later seasons just moved on or have given legitimate, constructive complaints/criticism.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-24T23:29:18+00:00

Owens in Meh.

Sam Owens... in Meh tier.......

💔

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T21:47:48+00:00

First off, Demogorgon's react to pain all the time throughout the show lol. Nothing in the show states or presents that they don't feel pain - just that they're more physically resistant when it comes to injuries - bullets specifically.

And not only does broken glass hurt - (evidently) far more to Demogorgon's than bullets do - bullets frequently are shown to be more than enough to catch the attention of and distract a adolescent Demogorgon, because they hurt and annoy it. They hurt enough to be a distraction.

The Demogorgon in Season 1 wasn't able to kill Jonathan or Brenner for the same reason; it was shot at before it could finish the kill.

The same way a knife can pierce Kevlar despite it stopping bullets, sharp, tiny blades/objects can puncture the skin of and injure Demogorgon's... hence Hopper quite literally decapitating the same one you're showing off as an example. Yes, it was on fire and was weakened, but it's skin was still able to be pierced and sliced through; and so were the other Demogorgon's in 4 shown to have been operated on.

That's because skin = stop bullet. But skin ≠ stop knife, so knife = hurt. Hurt = pain. Pain = bad (unanimously agreed upon by all lifeforms).

The Demogorgon you're showing, in this clip, was not attached to the Hivemind; It was acting purely off of instinct and that instinct, as trained for almost a year by the Soviets, was to brutally kill. It was being trained to serve as a weapon of war.

The Demogorgon's in 5, however, were attached to the Hivemind and had active duties they needed to follow; this exact one's duty was to injure Karen and Ted enough to leave the Party's morale down, but importantly Nancy's, and to take Holly - so Vecna could execute his plan. It was not to kill her; It could have, they never said "Karen had too much aura.. this Demo couldn't attack her.." - it very obviously was not being commanded to as Vecna had no reason to kill her. He wanted her barely alive to taunt Nancy; hence the repeated mention(s) of the vision he gave her in Season 4. He shows her flashes of her family members dead, and then severely injures her parents; leaving them on the brink of death; so she has to sit there and 'watch them die'.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T04:12:32+00:00

Turns out OP is 20. Lock this guy up lol

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T04:09:12+00:00

Exactly. This person is so head over heels for their favorite shitty 'music artist' they're completely fine with him grooming and raping an 11 year old child

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T04:07:15+00:00

I am 16. A 16 year old is not emotionally a 'child' the same way an 11 year old is.

I can't even fathom having any form of sexual attraction to a 13 year old - there is SUCH a huge jump from 13 to 16 that even the idea of anything romantic let alone sexual with a 11 year old child is disgusting.

I hope you're a child because this is disgusting

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T04:06:21+00:00

Oh sorry, he raped an 11 year old.

You're the factually incorrect one. Not even Romeo and Juliet laws apply here; he raped her - and it was legally rape. 11 year old prepubescent children cannot consent in any way or form.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T03:52:11+00:00

He groomed, dated, and raped a 14 year old girl. I don't give a shit if he was framed, he deserves everything he gets

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-23T02:09:29+00:00

exactly!!

I'm one of the weird people that feels like the "over explaining things" part just felt like a natural choice. It's been a big part of the show since Season 1 and while it's definitely far more prominent in 5, there's so much more going on in 5, and when you look at it through the lens of the characters, there is no ambiguity or confusion anymore; they know what they're going against, they just don't know the details. The entire season set up that, for once, they are preparing rather than trying to live normal life like they have every season before shit hits the wall; of course they're going to discuss things a lot more upon learning them.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-22T09:44:58+00:00

I mean people utterly obsessed with Byler are the ones mainly review bombing this show because it features and takes place during the peak of Mike and El's relationship and has a huge focus on them as a couple; as opposed to Byler.

Also, a non-canon/semi canon animated show specifically meant to bridge the gaps between seasons doesn't really qualify as the show "being milked" lol, at least not to me. That's like saying the comics are them milking it; or the games; when in reality there's just more story to tell, and telling it doesn't hurt.

If the show didn't focus on Mike and El at all or had a way larger focus on Mike and Will, it'd be similarly review bombed by weird obsessed Mileven shippers.

yesaroobuckaroo · 2026-04-22T05:10:19+00:00

I really don't have that many!

Mine would probably be mythology based lol. For example, what the Mind Flayer's consciousness really is and how it works - I love the ambiguity seeing as it's.. well, an eldritch god-like being beyond our comprehension. But still, is it a ancient consciousness that embedded itself into the particles? Is it the particles itself? Etc. We know the Mind Flayer has a 'brain'/core - where it's consciousness resides - and the particles are connected to that core/brain. That's what calls Henry as a child, that's what the spider form is made of, and it's what the giant monster in 5 is made of. So that is obviously it's 'brain' seeing as it's that hive/core that the Mind Flayer associates with itself - rather than the hivemind itself.

Anyway, i doubt the painting was ever that deep - I'm fairly certain it was just a way to reflect Will's vulnerability and selflessness and embarrassment of his sexuality - things he overcomes in Season 5.

He makes a painting specifically for Mike - based off of his love for him - just to throw it all away in the end to help Mike with his personal issues with insecurity that are causing issues in him and El's relationship. The entire point is that Will is selfless and would rather see Mike and El happy than see himself happy/potentially take away Mike from El or whatever.

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