Yes, the kids are now 90% Adam’s apple. Yes, Winona Ryder has been unforgivably sidelined. And yes, some characters are trapped in a room filling with yoghurt. But despite our misgivings, this show still absolutely slaps
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isten, this isn’t the place for newcomers. Stranger Things has been around for almost a decade, and it has spent almost all this time building a mythology that has grown so unwieldy that trying to explain it would cost me my wordcount and my will to live.
However, in fairness, this new penultimate batch of episodes gives it a good try. The content of these new episodes can neatly be split into three categories. There’s action, which is high-octane and fun, and probably why you’re watching. Then there’s dialogue, which is less successful because it causes characters to stop moving and emote at each other, even though they should probably be concentrating on the imminent end of the world.
And then there is explanation, of which there is a ton. You will remember that Stranger Things was initially conceived as a one-off, and its success forced the Duffer Brothers to cake on endless new lore to keep the engine running. Well, things have become so convoluted that maybe 40% of the show is taken up with people reminding other people what the hell is going on. The second episode of this new batch is so incomprehensible that Maya Hawke has to stop everything so that she can very slowly explain the plot, using props, as if talking to children. It doesn’t exactly scream entertainment.
