It’s truly mind-boggling that Stranger Things has been growing with me for the past 8-9 years. As we wait for season 5, I’ve reflected on the past 4 seasons and have been more and more disappointed with the character writing. Initially, I really liked the cast. Seasons 1 and 2 knew how to balance out a heavy story with their growing cast. Seasons 3 and 4 is where the show shot itself in the foot. They added far more people than they needed to and refused to let go of characters who had no more use to the story, meaning we now have a bloated show where a majority of the characters are irrelevant or have some other extreme problem with themselves. It sucks to say this because throughout its run, some of my favorite characters have been pushed to the sidelines or have been rewritten to fit the story. Anyway, today I’ll be presenting some of the victims of the poor writing and directing in Stranger Things.
The first victim of bad writing in Stranger Things is Will Byers. For the first two seasons, he was decent because he was more of a plot device than a character. However, once his storyline about the upside-down is finished, you come to find that he doesn’t have a personality. All he does is look worried. That’s all he is. It’s really aggravating as it caused me to ask, “Why is he still in the show?” I’ve had this belief for a while that the Byers should have moved at the end of season 2 and never looked back, meaning they would make cameos (if any appearances at all) instead of being a part of the story. Jonathan and Joyce don’t have much to do either. Joyce is another plot device who’s just a worried mess all the time. I can’t blame her, though after Will’s story was done, I believe they should’ve given her something else to do. Jonathan does nothing. His only purpose in season 4 was to bring Argyle into the story, and he didn’t do much either.Â
Another issue the show faces is the character’s personalities being rewritten and/or their arcs being repeated. I don’t understand why writers choose to throw out seasons worth of character development for the sake of giving their characters something to do. If they have nothing to do, then get rid of them. I’m not saying to kill them off, but there should be other means of moving the show forward without them.
Two victims of major personality shifts are Mike Wheeler and Robin Buckley. I used to love these two. Robin was my favorite character in season 3 and despite Mike not being my favorite character, he was extremely well-written in the first two seasons. He cared very deeply about his friends and showed extreme loyalty and bravery for them. In season 3, however, he forgot about empathy and how to be kind to others. So, now he’s just an asshole. Robin also did a 180 in personality revisions. In season 3 she was witty, smart, funny, and very confident. In season 4 they threw ALL OF THAT out the window so now she’s quirky, annoying, and anxious in almost every scene she’s in. Why ruin someone who didn’t need a reset?
In terms of a character who has to repeat what they already learned, let’s take a look at Hopper, who is arguably the biggest victim of bad writing in Stranger Things. In seasons 1 and 2, he learned how to trust others and rebuild his life after the passing of his daughter. In season 3 however, he gets a major reset where he’s this angry grumpy shell of his former self. I wish he had died at the end of the season, but sadly it was a fake out death.
Despite my grievances with the writing, the show still has good parts. I love El and Max, both as people and their friendship. I like Dustin, Lucas, and Steve (duh). The cast and crew care very deeply about the show; you can see it in every scene. Color palate, costumes, makeup, editing, directing. It’s such a fun show. It’s unlikely for the character issues to be fully resolved in season 5, but I’m still excited to see how they wrap it all up.Â
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