I think if it had been edited more, then the storytelling would have been too shallow, and there would have been bigger plotholes. As @Vidiot says, the death of basketball boy is easy to miss, and you can’t have too many “easy to miss” things. Got to add. It’s nice to discuss this. If we all agreed, the world would be pretty boring.
Stranger Things does have a writers' room, and they run a Twitter account where they offer some fun insights into the show and answer questions from fans. More than half of the episodes are credited to other writers, with the Duffers usually only taking credit for the first couple and last couple every season.
I watched Ep.8 last night. It really had me going. I was about to watch Ep.9, but that thing is feature film length! I'll probably watch it tonight, but wow, 2hrs 30min. The only thing that really capped me out about Ep.8 was when Spoiler: Too long underground El escaped, and all of this helicopter stuff and explosions was happening outside, yet the soldiers in the underground compound didn't come out until everybody split, allowing El's escape. What the hell were they doing down there that whole time?
Probably the heat, and that the underground installation, being a refurbished nuclear silo, is not just below the surface and takes a considerable amount of time to get up to the top.
Well, they got down there pretty quick; they come up the same. ...and on and on. But it's fun. Quality popcorn TV.
Scooby Gang: We've got El! Let's drive away in our old and beat up Scooby van! U. S. Army: Welp, there they go, driving away very slowly in the middle of nowhere. There is nothing that we can do, and no resources that we can call upon. And we would have got away with our plan to save the world by killing El and every FBI agent and scientist in our way with no repurcussions at all if it weren't for these meddling kids. --Geoff
So in other words the episodes aren’t long enough for you. You need to see absolutely everything, like them running up and down stairs and the like. Gotcha.
Their modes of transportation was taken out, as was probably all communication in the base. And they were likely working covertly and illegally. Generally speaking, US agencies do NOT fight and kill each other, so how are they supposed to explain this? Who are they going to call? They’re in the middle of nowhere. That’s a whole lot of walking to get to a phone.
I got the feeling it was the other way around. It seemed like Sam Owens (Reiser) was working with some FBI agents he knew to try to help El because the official government position was to take her down as they thought the deaths were her doing. The main army dude was alerted after they caught some police chatter over some sort of Government covert listening op a la Snowdens claims. The fact they were killed those FBI agents was possibly because they were viewed as traitors and helping the enemy (El)…not that it’s in any way realistic they would do that bit it’s a fantastical fictional show so you just have to go with it.
I think it was both ways. Both arms of the government were working against each other, but they were so covert that I doubt even the President knew of their existence. The FBI/scientists couldn’t call for backup but I doubt the army men could either. It’s that kind of stalemate/plausible deniability of the opposing operations that could create a window to allow our heroes to escape.
No, it's a timing issue. One doesn't need to see them ascend the stairs to know they could have done it 5 times (or more) over the span of time that it took for the chopper to arrive and everything else that went down...which was a lot! In fact, didnt the chopper radio-in to bunker asking if they should take the shot? The real logical answer is that they were ordered to stay down there, because El might implode them if they attacked. Cool! Then where did the other two helicopters go? See, it's not reaming on Stranger Things. These were the same kind of schitz that we bagged on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom about, back in 1984. They write these corny bits in on purpose. This isn't the kind of writing that needs to be airtight. I think maybe they actually succeeded to transporting me back to my younger self. I'm about as old as these guys. Thats "Mission accomplished" as far as I can tell. High praise.
Yeah, I see your points, but this is the kind of nitpicking that is very over the top online nowadays, you have to admit. Its the kind of over analyzing every scene that ruins everything. The people that routinely do this are the ones that are real downers at parties, I bet.
See? That's good '80s writing. "Let's write in a flamethrower!" Check! The irony is that the writers back in the '80s were more akin to the stoners than the nerds. Which is exactly why they'd write in a rad-ass flamethrower, dude.
Overall I was entertained by Season 4. It definitely went to 11! When El lifted Nina off the ground, I was transported back to Dagobah for a moment. None too pleased Yoda was with her decision to abandon her incomplete training in a desperate attempt to save her friends. PS. 5 Stars for the Master of Puppets scene. There's none more metal!
Actually, if you read back several pages I posted that I assumed that they were keeping the captive demogorgon at bay with flamethrowers all along. Apparently I was wrong and soviets are stupider than that. But that’s in keeping with 80s films.
I just did a spit-take all over my monitor. Yes, I said the same thing: "I can't believe it..." "That is why you fail." Great line, very nice call-back to Empire. But again, the Duffer Brothers are stealing from a lot of other movies and stories. Yes, it does. Just because it's fantasy or horror or science fiction doesn't mean it doesn't have to follow the basic rules of drama and story telling, which include "keeping everything as logical as possible to create a sense of reality." Without that, it just starts to become really sloppy. Meanwhile, the Duffers (sort of) explain why the episodes were so long this season, and what will happen with Season 5 and the finale of the show, which they again believe will be about 2-1/2 hours long... Duffer Brothers Say Season 5 Episodes Will Be Shorter Than Season 4’s – The Hollywood Reporter
Anyone else get some "Lethal Weapon" vibes from Season 4? Quite a few segments giving homage to that movie. I finished episode 8 and am waiting until the weekend to watch the 2 1/2 hour season finale. Sounds like one of my predictions was correct (Eddie).
This isn't a reply to this above specific comment. All the nitpicking about details. Let's recall that, at heart, this is a 'kids' series.' While there is more than enough to interest us old fogies, it's a series framed as a teens story, so of course, there will be little inconsistencies or illogical elements. For me, it's more mundane things that are left unanswered. How did they drive from southern California, to Utah, to Indiana (in a possibly stolen pizza truck)? Who paid for the gas? What group of teens would have that much cash on hand? Did no one notice Argyle has disappeared (gone off to help Scooby and co.)? Did Steve and Robin lose their jobs because they just closed up on a Saturday afternoon ("our busiest day), and didn't come back for two or more days? How do these kids all have such high-grade walkietalkies? (They're like the ubiquitous cell phones in stories set in more modern times.) How did the cops justify to their superiors their 'interrogation' of El without benefit of legal counsel? Etc, etc, etc. The bottom line, for me, at least, is you just have to take some stories at face value and accept to go along for the ride.
We finished the show last night. Took a few days to chip away at it. I was pretty enthralled the whole time. When the season started, I wasn't very into it. I didn't like Eddie or his club, and all the basketball stuff didn't matter to me. But the show kicked into gear soon enough and I really enjoyed it. I agree with other who say they kinda miss the simpler times, when it was just a small town in danger instead of this international thing. I started feeling that way last season when the Russians secretly built an underground base in America, under a shopping mall. That was a little ridiculous. But you just have to roll with it and go along for the ride. Spoiler thoughts: Spoiler: Spoiler Type Thoughts It took me a long time to warm up to Eddie. Sure enough, as soon as I did they killed him. Heh. At least he played "Master of Puppets" before he left. I liked Max. I think she might really be dead and that what's his face 001 Sanka is going to use her body for no good next season. Am I the only one who thinks there is significance to the fact that it's still Season 1 in The Upside down? Like, maybe they can undo stuff on that side and fix things before they occurred? I appreciate a show taking it's time and not rushing everything, but there were times during this season where some of the padding could have been trimmed. There were times I just wanted to slap pizza guy. And Robin needs to take a chill pill. What happened to the jock squad? I hope they all bit the big one during the "earthquake". That one kid was a total dickhead. Steve's wounds looked kinda infected before they wrapped them up. I hope he's ok. Harbour was a bit of a hero to me; a big man who still looked good. Also when he was Red Guardian and his father make toilet on his hands, he was best part of film. Now he's all thin like everybody else. Damn. I need to learn his weight loss secret. And again, I say, if you have to kill characters off.... ANYBODY BUT STEVE. GIVE STEVE HIS OWN SHOW.
But back in the day you needed not just bad guys but bad countries; the Nazis, Communist Russia and China all make for a wonderful big group of baddies, certainly the military and governmental arms of those countries. We all feared what they represented so why would they not pop up in this comic book Science Fiction adventure of good verses evil.
I don’t hide things in spoiler tags. People have already posted too much about the last few episodes to even bother with them at this point. If people haven’t seen it yet but are still checking out this thread then they are asking for trouble. Regarding the upside down and how it hasn’t changed since season one, if you remember the flashback of when 001/Henry/Vecna first entered it, it was a totally alien landscape that didn’t look a thing like Earth. I think Vecna totally recreated Hawkins as a way to map out locations on the other side, and the reason why Nancy’s house hasn’t changed since season one is because it hasn’t been a relevant location since then. In contrast, Eddie’s trailer seems up to date because he had his guitar and made no mention of how old his room was.
