#st4 vol 2 rant

[farraigenafeile]

You know, as much as I didn't really like how stressful vol. 2 was (especially since I couldn't see half of ep 9 because it was just too dark), I really do appreciate one bit. And I've only ever had that done in one other TV show (that I also love). Just the sheer hopelessness. Things go wrong in TV shows all the time, but you as a viewer are always like nah, they'll figure a way out. Or you'll figure out a way yourself, because you're a smartass. But then Robin and Nancy and Steve were pinned to that wall, Dustin was cradling Eddie, Hopper was fighting a demogorgon, Max was basically dying while Lucas was getting punched by Jason (and his buddies didn't treat Erica well either)... ... I mean yeah then you just have Mike, Jonathan and Argyle just CHILLING a thousand miles away. Sure, but they're also kind of taking care of El lowkey dying. El is by the way doing a whole inception thing with Max and they're also not doing too great.. I haven't really felt this hopeless for my favourite characters in a while. I really couldn't come up with a way out. Obviously there was one, but the thing we hoped wouldn't happen still did happen. And tbh, we don't even know what's going to happen next. And yeah, the duffers said that they really wanted the kids to lose this time, but I really appreciated that in a way, because I don't see it as often.

[iworkforthescoops]

ST4 Vol2 SPOILERS

Listen, I LOVE Steve (he IS my favourite ST character after all), but honestly I’d rather they had killed Steve this season, because the way Eddie died? FUCK THAT.

This just shows that the whole purpose of Eddie‘s character was to be a filler death because the Duffer brothers are unwilling to kill one of their main characters. We saw it happen with Bob and Alexei and now with Eddie and we’ll see it again when in season 5 they’re going to introduce a loveable new character whose sole purpose is to be there as a cheap cop-out death, because god forbid that one of the main characters actually dies.

And the way that apparently Dustin and Eddie‘s uncle are the only ones who’re actually mourning him? They way that they just left Eddie‘s body in the upside down? The way Eddie died to protect a whole town that was out to kill him? Fuck that.

And this is just one of my many issues with volume 2 (looking at the whole mess that was Will‘s feelings for Mike being used to further the Mileven relationship).

God, I’m bitter. I need a fix-it fic. Or possibly a whole lot of them.

[mlchaelwheeler]

Even if Mike meant everything he said to El, the whole monologue stems from a lie. The one thing (all the stuff about the painting and El etc) that encouraged him to confess his feelings wasn't even true lol. Now he thinks that El "needs" him, when she doesn't. It's funny bc Will is the only reason why he said anything to El. I'm just curious about it because I wonder if it will come back and bite them in a way. At the same time though I'm still really mad at the writing when it comes to Mike.

I totally agree. They completely failed Mike this season in every possible way. They had him ignore Will (his best friend for 10 years) for no reason, realize he "loves" El only after she gets her powers back, and not even be able to tell El his feelings until Will begs him to do so.

The whole monologue is full of lies, which is so funny because mi|even's whole relationship is also built on lies. Both Mike and El have been constantly lying to each other since they got together in S3, even with "friends don't lie" being Mike's key phrase.

The line from Mike's monologue that stuck out to me the most was "I feel like my life didn't begin until the day I met you. I knew I loved you then and there." Like???? He had the audacity to say that lie while sitting right next to Will? The same boy who went missing that day and was trapped in the upside down and hunted by monsters for a week?? Furthermore, it was certainly not love at first sight. Mike plans to send El away the morning after he finds her, basically because she's getting in the way of his plans to find Will. After she shows that she has superpowers, Mike lets her stay, but tells Lucas that they need her as a weapon to fight whatever took Will. He says, "do you really want to face the demogorgan with your wrist rocket?" How is any of this love at first sight? When El took Mike to the quarry and he saw Will's "body," he slapped El's hand away, yelled at her, and left her without a way back to his house. That certainly doesn't seem like love to me, but idk. 🤪

Everything Mike said just doesn't make sense with his character arc. He's afraid El won't need him anymore? That he's replaceable? And this is after she writes him nearly everyday, then cries and begs him to tell her that he loves her. He didn't feel needed then? Not when he had absolutely no reason to not say it back (if his monologue is true, which, we know it isnt)?

What was the "truth" Mike was afraid to tell El? That he loves her?? That's exactly what she wanted to hear. Why couldn't he say it when she needed him the most? Then he can conveniently say it when she's on death's door, has her powers back, and may not even be able to hear him??

Mike didn't show any romantic interest in El when she was without her powers. The kiss at the end of S3, his confused expression after she told him he loves her, his fake california demeanor, and being unable to say he loves her when she's sobbing and begging him to. It's only when she got her powers back that Mike could be convinced to tell her his feelings. This just makes him look like an absolute asshole for no reason.

Why was a character with such potential in S1-2 completely massacred in vol 2? Why did his whole character arc become being "El's boyfriend"? What happened to main character Mike who would do anything for his friends? This isn't the Mike who sat on El's bed while she sobbed about his lack of feelings. This isn't the Mike who ignored Will sobbing next to him in the van. And this certainly isn't the Mike who cruelly stated in front of Will that the day Will went missing is when his own life began.

[eddiessidegirl]

Link to the article: —

LETS DO IT YALL

[eddiemunsonrulesmylife]

Eddie/Vol. 2 Rant

Alright, so now that it’s been a few days since the release of Vol. 2 and I’ve had the time to think about stuff, read other people’s opinions, read interviews, etc. I feel like I’ve finally pinpointed the thing that bothers me the most about Vol. 2 or more specifically, Eddie’s death.

TL;DR: Eddie was never a coward so he shouldn’t have had to “overcome” his “cowardice” and if he still had to die, it should’ve been a better written one.

I have a few disclaimers first though:

I’m not mad that Eddie died just because he is my favorite character. If Eddie was going to die regardless, so be it but what I’m upset about is the way his death was handled.

I have many other bones to pick for Vol. 2 that have nothing to do with Eddie (4 is still my favorite season overall, I just have beef with the ending of Vol.2 ) but this is an Eddie blog and that’s what I’d like to focus on for right now.

I didn’t necessarily want a “happy ending”, I actually like it when a show/movie is able to do something different to what audiences may want as long as they do it successfully.

The BS “Cowardice”:

Okay, so my main gripe with Eddie’s death is that it’s centered around this alleged “cowardice” that he suffers from YET Eddie has never once shown any kind of true cowardice. So making his entire character arc about “overcoming” his cowardice just doesn’t line up with the character we get to see.

Eddie is known in Hawkins as Eddie “The Freak” Munson because of his heavy metal interest, D&D interest, being held back twice in school and the Munson name (his father apparently being a criminal of some sort). Yet, despite all that, he has always remained true to himself. He knew the reputation he’d have because of his father and where he lives but still chose to dress how he wanted and engage in the interests he loves because that’s genuinely just who he is and he’s okay with that. His whole thing is to “never change who you are”!!

He’s in fact so authentically himself, that he essentially becomes a sort of shepard for other lost outcast kids and paves the way for them. He’d happily take on the brunt of snide remarks, bullying etc if it means he can provide a sense of belonging for other kids. What’s cowardly about that exactly?

He personally says (in the context of his own D&D game) that “there’s no shame in running” so he doesn’t even view running in the face of danger as an act of cowardice. If anything, I think in that moment he sees it as an act of survival and self-preservation which is 100% okay.

The first time we see Eddie “run away” is when he is literally witnessing Chrissy getting murdered. At that point in time, he doesn’t know anything about the Upside Down, Vecna, curses, demowhatevers, NOTHING all he is seeing is a poor girl being lifted into the air inexplicably while her limbs and jaw are snapped in horrible ways and her eyes getting sucked in. PLEASE tell me who would NOT run in that situation?? He’s terrified that whatever is killing her is going to kill him too!! He doesn’t know that she was being specifically targeted for her trauma (trauma he didn’t know about either). How would he know that? Running in that situation is very VALID.

Then, him being “on the run” because he’s wanted for murder is yet again an act of survival. He knows that the town of Hawkins has already deemed him guilty just because of his “freak” persona. Being a victim of the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s, there was no way they’d give him any real opportunity to prove his innocence or anything. Obviously the UD came in and started to interfere too much with stuff, but I’m assuming the plan was to hide until the group could figure out a way to prove his innocence and clear his name when the right time came. I don’t think there would’ve been anything particularly heroic about turning himself in or whatever.

He jumped in the lake after everyone. Yes, maybe he was more hesitant than the others but hey: it was his first Upside Down Adventure, he’s new to it all, he still didn’t know everyone well, and who the hell wouldn’t be hesitant about diving into a scary lake at night to go into some portal to another dimension?? He still jumped in!!

He didn’t run away from the bats in the first encounter with them, at no point did he “turn heel and run.” He stayed with the group every step of the way.

Lastly, his seemingly random decision(s) to stay behind and distract the bats further felt so out of place. There was nothing pressing him to actually do that. Watching the episode, it was like the character was buffering and just made a random snap decision to continue to draw the bats away. It wasn’t necessary to his or Dustin’s survival. They completed their part of the plan and they should’ve both sticked to just their plan. I know they didn’t know what was going on with the other groups, but as far as they knew, everything was going to plan. Why divert from that for no good reason?

I guess the only thing I can think of would be Eddie’s own personal negative self-view. Like that maybe he views himself as a coward as a result of being ostracized by his environment for his whole life. But if that was the case, the better arc for him to go through would be for him to realize that he is a hero because of exactly who he already is. That him taking other outcasts under his wing and giving them a sense of belonging is noble and brave. That him genuinely caring for Chrissy’s wellbeing and giving her the option to opt out of buying drugs was more than okay made him good. That him staying with the group every step of the way and even helping them on their endeavors was plenty heroic. To me, that would’ve been a far more meaningful character arc.

The Duffers:

Now, I know that the Duffers originally wanted Eddie to be a more menacing character, that he and Steve were supposed to have more of a rivalry and that generally speaking, he was not meant to be as likable as he ended up being. I know that the Eddie we know and love is primarily thanks to Joseph Quinn’s interpretation and performance of the character. I totally get that Eddie was written in as a new character that was not meant to live past his introduction season and that the fan reception was kind of unexpected by the creators, but just from a storytelling perspective, his storyline doesn’t match up with the character. If Eddie wasn’t as likable, his sacrifice could have redeemed him moreso (a la Billy). But Eddie was likable, very much so, and yet his death had no significant impact on the story or the characters (apart from Dustin).

I know that in real life, people just die and it’s usually for “no reason” but this is a story that is incredible in that everything in it serves some kind of purpose. Barb represented the idea that anyone, even the most innocent, could be taken in an instant. But she was not a very developed character. She was very likable character for the little that she was in, but she was not a main character or a significant addition to the main group of characters. Eddie played a part (literally) in the attempt to defeat Vecna and Hawkins could’ve been in more danger without him. So if he was going to die, so be it but it should’ve been for a far better reason/far better way than what was given to him.

The Ending of Episode 9:

My last and final gripe about Eddie’s death was the lack of reaction to it. Eddie dies in Dustin’s arms and then there’s a time jump where the only acknowledgement of him is when Dustin tells Wayne. We don’t get any scene whatsoever of Dustin informing the others, any scene of Mike reacting (and I mean, Eddie was a big deal for Mike so to have NO on-camera acknowledgment of that feels super lame). There’s no payoff for Steve with regards to his “don’t be a hero” line for Steve/Robin/Nancy.

Speaking of, I also resent the inconsistency of the way Eddie died. Steve was also severely bitten by the demobats but seems perfectly fine aside from being a bit chewed up. Eddie didn’t seem that much more bitten to where it was obviously life-threatening. At least not to me. ALSO, Steve, Robin and Nancy were strung up, restrained and actively being choked for like an hour and they were also fully functional after (idk how ones survives being choked by evil vines for that long but died bc of a few bat bites??).

Closing Thoughts:

We see Eleven develop some kind of new power (or at least new application of her existing powers) where she can resuscitate someone like we see her do with Max. Because we learned in 4 that the Upside Down is not fixed in time (and seems in fact frozen in time in some way) and because we don’t actually see Eddie’s dead body after he expires, I am PRAYING that all this can somehow mean Eddie can come back.

Tbh, I highly doubt it but there is a teeny tiny chance that the Duffers will see just how loved Eddie was and that maybe his story isn’t finished like they thought. Even if it means that he won’t be able to contribute to the plot in significant ways (since I’m sure all the major story beats are already planned), but clearly they were open to a drastic change of the interpretation for the character, maybe they can find a way to write him back in. How awesome (and metal) would it be to have Eddie “come back from the dead/Hell.” And imagine the look on Dustin’s face!! Like literally even if it means that he has to go to jail for some time until they can fully clear his name or some shit. Literally anything. I want the biggest, baddest retcon to save our boy.

Maybe I’m so biased for this because I really fell for Eddie in every way but of all the new characters (after Season 1), Eddie is by far my favorite. He has so much heart and deserves so much better (even if just a better written death).

🤍

[kittenkatbar]

long hot take incoming:

in my opinion, the actual text of season four (both volumes) doesn’t read as queerbaiting. from what i’m seeing, the main reason a lot of people are feeling like it does right now is because of the marketing.

having official accounts and interviews play up a ship for it not to happen in the season they’re promoting is.. a weird choice. however, i honestly think that if they hadn’t done that, the tags would mostly be full of analysis in the same way they were post volume one. i think we’d have an influx of posts saying how obvious it is that we are building up towards season five byler and how, yeah, will didn’t say the words “i’m gay,” but we don’t need that because he’s obviously queer.

now, if you feel queerbaited, if you are upset and angry: you are valid. this is not in any way me trying to say you’re not.

but i also think this is why, in the age of social media and constant content being thrown at us, we need to stop looking outside of the show for confirmation. stranger things isn’t an anthology, it’s a full running storyline that has not been completed yet. we still have an entire season! and yeah, i also would’ve liked to have s4 byler and a full coming out scene—although i’m still not sure that i personally need that? like will is queer. he is. we see it. i don’t need to be told everything point blank, but i also understand wanting explicitly stated queer characters and don’t fault anyone for that. but to reiterate: not a complete story yet. there’s nothing to say we won’t get that! but—i think in large due to the length of this season—people aren’t treating it like a series. they’re treating it like a stand alone piece.

if i’m reading a book series and four out of five books are published, but the plot lines started in the first book and carried throughout the series don’t wrap up in the fourth book.. i’m going to assume that they will in the last installment. it is good writing to carry plot lines until the end. if everything gets resolved, there would be no more room for character and relationship development, which would lead to ONLY plot-driven scenarios. i want more character-driven conflict, but we can’t have that if they all end before the last season. it would feel so weird if all of the character conflicts we’ve seen building the entire series were wrapped up and then season five had to come up with new, last-minute bullshit ones. it would feel inorganic and like they were creating conflict for the sake of conflict, not to resolve the entire story. i know instant gratification sounds nice and can be momentarily exciting.. but it would feel empty when we then have the entire last season being filled with random character issues to pad what could’ve been a long, emotionally fulfilling plot point.

plus, again this is all my personal opinion, but i don’t want will to come out in a moment where he feels like a mistake. i don’t want him to come out in the same scene that he is grappling with internalized homophobia. that feels self destructive. that feels dangerous. like yes, i know we have monsters and super powers so it doesn’t have to be completely realistic, but part of will’s character is that he struggles with his sexuality. it would be incoherent to erase that to give him a full on coming out scene, unless something happens in the plot to push it along—which in that moment, the plot needed el. the plot needed mike to support el and will to support them both. yeah, of course it all fucking hurt! it was supposed to. i don’t think we were meant to be rooting for mike and eleven being in love in that scene? i think we were supposed to see will being will and putting others first to his own detriment. i think we were supposed to see el still needing support and not getting the right kind—she failed—that was not a happy love scene. i think we were supposed to see mike, once again scrambling with his own internalized inadequacy and being unable to do anything helpful without will supporting him. i get how this could all read as will being used to push mike and eleven’s relationship further, because that was my initial reaction too.. but then i sat and thought about it, outside of my own ideas of what i wanted to happen and let the show tell it’s fucking story and.. that wasn’t a mike/eleven scene in a good way. that wasn’t framed for will as a good thing, personally or for his friendship with mike.

for a community that can analyze to hell and back, it seems weird that a lot of us are taking this all at face value. and i think it’s because we listened to marketing and promoting instead of listening to and watching what the show was actually giving us. i also think it’s because we are all a bit disappointed, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing to be, actually? sometimes being sad over not having something can make you appreciate it more when you get it. i didn’t want a quick will coming out, i want to explore his feelings more—which has definitely happened throughout this season and seems like it will culminate in the next. i’d rather be a bit bummed out now and get a better will plot later, than feel unfulfilled with being thrown a tiny bone and never having will’s queerness be important again.

look, i’m not saying it’s byler endgame. i’m not even saying i think any of this will be done well. but i think looking outside of the show for confirmation, banking on instant gratification, and treating the season like it’s stand alone content or the end all be all instead of a puzzle piece of the entire series and a lead up to the big finale.. is short sighted. it’s short sighted and does a disservice to all of the content we’ve previously had. i’m not saying you can’t dislike the season, everyone also had SO much anger towards season three when it came out, and now look how important those scenes are in context to byler.

give the characters a chance to become fully realized in the last season. they’re teenagers in the 80’s, their emotional intelligence is probably not their best asset. give will a chance to work through his fear and internalized homophobia. give mike a chance to work through his inadequacy and need to feel important (and also his feelings towards his girlfriend and best friend and why those feel so different to him). give el a chance to really, fully understand that she does not need to be romantically loved by mike wheeler to be strong, that she already is and she has so many people who love her in other ways.

please can we give these characters a chance to reach their full story arcs, because the whole series is their arc—not one season. can we let the show speak for itself? i love interviews and watching the official accounts talk about everything, but none of that can be considered canon to the show because it’s not the show. and can we all do what we do best: look to the future and analyze what we have. we have new knowledge now, but taking every scene at face value seems like it’ll only be doing a disservice to all of us. and if the show absolutely ruins all of these plot lines and characters at the end of the series? then we continue to make fan content and make it our own!

it’s okay to dislike it and be disappointed. but i think we should at least look at the finished painting before ripping it up and throwing it out the window, or claiming malicious intent with the way it’s being presented. slow burns exist and i really want to see where this one goes. the show is supposed to be a drama, so i fully expect characters that i love to be unhappy—yes, even the queer characters. the straight characters aren’t happy right now either, it would be weird for will to be just because he’s queer? his sexuality isn’t all that he is, it’s a big part of him, of course, but i don’t think he should be magically happy just to give us all momentarily gratification because that wouldn’t do anything for his character.

i honestly think the best course of action is for us all to let the show run its course and tell its story, let the actors give outstanding performances, and let the characters fully develop across the entire series. i think we will all be a lot happier if we analyze it for what it is and what it still can be, not what we had built it up as. keep making theories and fan content, but use the text—not outside sources, because marketing is made to get more numbers not to tell the story. the show itself might be a creative piece of media and a piece of art, but promotion and marketing is still a tool of capitalism. it’s there to bring in money, not to give you canon information. and if you do choose to buy into it, take it more from the actors than the official accounts—but remember that the actors are told what to say and how vague to be, that’s how PR and press works. it is their job. just because something they said would happen didn’t in s4 doesn’t mean it won’t in s5, it just means they used the talking points they were probably told to. and that’s not a bad thing or malicious, again, this is their job. take all outside sources with a grain of salt.

tl;dr: s4 doesn’t feel like queerbaiting to me, unless you’re counting sources outside of the canon show—which you probably shouldn’t do that for any media. that doesn’t mean people aren’t valid for feeling that way, i just think the way we consume media (or i guess the way media is pushed onto us) lends us to look for more outside the canon text, miss the big picture for the smaller points, crave instant gratification over seasons of build up, and expect certain elements in storytelling that make us feel like anything else is “bad writing” when it’s probably just different. i don’t necessarily think we will get canon byler, but i do think we will get better exploration of will and mike (and el) in season five, that will feel far more fulfilling than if it would’ve been tossed quickly into this season. the build up we are getting seems to be overlooked due to the collective hubris of us all expecting a happy narrative in the second-to-final season of a supernatural drama with dark themes. it’s obviously okay to not like the season, but i think we will all get more out of show analysis, positive community, and breaking down the text than we will being mad that sources outside of the actual content weren’t completely true.

[nothoughts-onlynewestfixation]

I don't know what happened this season but that was NOT my Steve Harrington. "Don't be a hero." AND THEN HE JUST LEAVES??? EXCUSE ME???

Don't even get me started on how the only people that really cared about Eddie's death were Dustin and Eddie's uncle- Mike was literally obsessed with Eddie!! So many people cared about Eddie, especially the kids- I understand Lucas focusing more on Max, but (I'm pretty sure) he was still friends with Eddie! The same goes for Erica, most of The Party really cared about Eddie, and having Dustin being the only person other than Eddie's Uncle care about him being dead was stupid.

Eddie didn't need to die. There was no reason for him to die. His death was completely avoidable, and it feels like the only reason he died was so they could say they killed off a main character.

[thatgirlwithasquid]

So... I just watched Stranger Things 4 vol2 and have a lot of feelings that I wanna rant about so.... SPOILERS BELOW in case you’re trying to avoid them <3

Aside from being utterly heartbroken - as in ‘I cried when he died, calmed down a little, started sobbing about it again periodically throughout the rest of the episode, calmed slightly, went upstairs, then started sobbing in the hall and still have tears on my face as I am writing this’ heartbroken - I am fucking livid. I’m so furious that my own ineloquence is serving as a barrier. There are not the words for how utterly *rage induced screaming* I am about this. It’s on a primal level, like only a scream of pure rage could suffice to get even a glimpse at the frustration I am feeling. ...So that will have to do instead, I hope you get the picture.

I sorta knew Eddie was going to die. Narritively it made perfect sense. He was the one acussed of being the murderer, he was the one who kept running away from everything happening, and, not to mention, how hard would it have been to write a storyline where Eddie can come back from that? How incredibly impossible to make it possible for him to get his name cleared, and have people believe it? So, yeah, it makes narrative sense that he would die a hero, finally standing his ground.

And I hate it.

I hate it more than I have words to express. I’m so livid, I might start crying again.

“Hunt the freak, right?”

...WELL THEY SURE FUCKING DID!

It makes me so utterly pissed that they introduced this character that broke the mould so much, and was so unapologetically himself and killed him off. Eddie made me realise that I don’t see a lot of alt characters in things. It was nice, as a kinda alt person myself, to see a character like Eddie. 

Killing off him isn’t nearly as bad as burying the gays would’ve been but... it still feels like that in a way. Of everything that could’ve happened, of all the characters they could have killed... Eddie?

A lot of the characters on the show, while all unique, were kinda similar in some ways. Eddie really broke that up and brought in a whole new kind of person. Yes, he’s a nerd like the Party, but he’s also very unique in a lot of other ways. And seeing this character be killed off.. It felt a lot like killing off the freak. 

It’s maddening and I’m so upset. Eddie was absolutely my favourite character, dethroning Steve with ease. And now he’s gone, and it really hurt, and this anger on top of this sucks.

There are a lot of other things that upset me, too, but in a far less visceral way: Steve being suddenly in love with Nancy again, Nancy’s attitude towards both Steve and Jonathan, no verbal confirmation of Will’s identity aside from reading between the lines (STILL! JUST SAY IT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!), AND SO MUCH MORE!

I still loved watching this season, and a lot of it was amazing. I’m just left feeling heartbroken and a little betrayed. But, hey, I am a fanfiction writer... the power of detroying canon is, quite literally, in my hands.

So, it’s time for me to write a fix-it fic.

[catalvarezs]

FUCKING STRANGER THINGS. FUCK THE DUFFER BROTHERS. FUCK ANYONE AND EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE WRITING OF VOL. 2

no, seriously. vol. 1 was so, so good. the best ST season, hands down. but miracoulosly, against all odds, the duffer bros managed to fuck it all up in two episodes.

first, will byers. seriously? you call that a coming out scene? fuck you. what reason was there to make will be in love mike if not for byler? what. reason. mileven were already a couple, will could be gay without falling for mike. are the duffer brothers aware that not all queer people pine for their best friends? are they? such a fucking cliche.

secondly, eddie munson. what the fuck. why the fuck. i get that he was doomed from the start, but atleast give him a decent death. they could have at the very least cleared his name. (no, dont say that would be unrealistic. what about this show is realistic?) he was the best thing that ever happened to this show and voila, they ruined it. PLOT DEVICE.

thirdly, the assasination of michael wheeler's character. oh boy. oh boy. this guy went from being kind and loyal and vaguely oblivious to being an utter dick. how does one not notice his best fucking friend crying next to him? how does one not read into that loaded-ass monologue? how did he forget will's birthday????? they were best friends, guys. did i imagine the first three seasons?

fourthly, here's a really good breakdown of racism this season.

in conclusion, fuck this show. fuck the writers. fuck anyone who thought this would be a good idea.

[stranger-awakening]

anyways i wrote a fix it for the basketball game in 4x01 because i refuse to believe the kids wouldn’t be there. y’all can read it here if you like <3

[heroichi-san]

But like why did Eddie have to actually die??? I mean they could've easily killed Robin in S3 just as they did Eddie now.

(kinda makes you believe the ongoing theory of Eddie=Kas is true)

A number of people thought Eddie dying was expected cause he's a new character and it's become a patter for ST to kill new side characters, but Robin(who I love just as much if not more) lived through S3 and is now even regarded as a main character. So I dunno bout anyone else but that was what I was hoping for Eddie.

The difference is that Barb, Bob, and even Alexei despite them being lovable characters they mostly remained as side characters. Except Bob with Will none of these characters even really interacted with the kids who the show revolves around.

I know Eddie didn't even meet El but he knew of her and even Robin(Steve isn't even that close to El either) wasn't close with her. I mean honestly non of the older kids were really close to El. Robin isn't even really close with the kids except for Dustin. But I don't think anyone in fandom regards Robin nor Eddie as a side character on the level of Barb, Bob, or Alexei.

[iworkforthescoops]

They’re a 10 but they liked the second volume of Stranger Things 4

[astrangerthingsblog]

i dont mean to be a negative nelly but i’m not too amazed by the fourth season yet. i really liked episode 7 but i think it’s sucks how much mike and will were sidetracked this season bc they’re my fav characters. i’ll hold my hope up for vol 2 but yea:(

positives: i think jamie campbell bower did amazing as 001. i’ve always loved him so i’m happy he did so great. also loved getting so much max content and sadie was wonderful of course. it was also cool getting some backstory of both el’s time at the lab and how the upside down happened (hoping we’ll get more of that later)

[hufflepuff221b]

So here comes the boring 'love triangle' rant. 🚨🚨🚨SPOILERS FOR ST4 VOL 2 AND NOT FOR JANCY OR JONATHAN BYERS FANS🚨🚨🚨

Let's start with Nancy. Here is a girl that, apparently, her only main purpose is whoever she may be in love with each season. Girl wants college, wants to be a reporter but it always come back to whether or not she wants Jonathan or Steve? How convenient for you Duffer brothers to have a female lead that you can throw two 'attractive' guys at and watch her bite her lip as she decided on who to choose.

Now blatant sexism aside I don't actually like Nancy. I liked her and Jonathan on first watch of season 1 but on rewatch I think he's pretentious dick and she had every right to call his bullshit for taking pervy pics of her and his reasoning. However her character went downhill from the moment in season 2 they decided to have her and Jonathan an official couple. I'm also slightly miffed that her and Steve never actually officially split up but hey she leapt into bed with Jonathan anyway 🙃after she's dicked him around for a while in a relationship that he was committed to and she was not. Now the Duffers have us believing that she may do it again with her 'resurfaced' feelings for Steve while she's with Jonathan still. It makes her a shittier character than she already is in my eyes.

Now Jonathan, ho boy where to begin? Pervy naked pics from a window, all his snide remarks about Steve even after they've fought the demogorgon together and Steve is trying to be better. Not to mention Steve taking Nancy dumping him like a fucking champ for the shifty eyed little weasel. I was actually starting to like him again in season 4 with Argyle and focusing more on his relationship with Will in vol 2 only for him to make that weak ass comment about leaving Steve in charge in episode 9. His little rat face all sniggering like Nancy would join in. Now my understanding is that she has never done that before and for once I was happy she was like 'um no he's actually matured'. But it's not the point, Jonathan clearly has such low self esteem on himself that he needs to belittle her ex and considering they got together by cheating thats probably why he suddenly asked if they were okay as a couple at the point in the episode, he's probably a paranoid wreck.

Well good he's a self righteous arsehole and while literally thee last thing I want in season 5 is for Nancy and Steve to get back together I hope she dumps his ass! (To quote the ever wise Max and El)

Finally Steve. Now as my favourite character I could be bias but I don't think I am when I say he had every right to be pissed off at Jonathan for taking those pics of Nancy and smashing his camera for it. Now I've seen a lot of posts saying it wasn't protectiveness it was possessiveness but I don't agree. Even from the very beginning of ST1 he pursues Nancy while his advice to Dustin in season 2 is keep them guessing. He's clearly already falling for Nancy hard before canon begins. The study scene when he doesn't push her shows that, only for him to act like a jealous jackass when he catches her with Jonathan later on.

The cinema scene is horrible and Jonathan had ever right to smack him for what he says about his family but as Flo says later on he smacks Steve 'for love', because he's jealous himself. Its no more protecting Nancy's honour than Steve smashing his camera.

Now Steve is a fan favourite so I get it there are a lot of bias for him even in season 1 but I don't forget that he was twat at points. However I also don't get why people vilify him for every single action either? He grows every season (within the shitty parameters of the Duffers development) where as Jonathan and Nancy never change, they are boring especially when they work together.

Look at Nancy and Robin's relationship this season, I don't like Ronancy as a ship but they were brilliant together. Which is why the weird stilted Steve/Nancy thing felt forced to me this season. Are the Duffers saying that ex's are incapable of working together without magically falling into each others arms again?

They do Steve dirty every season with bullshit story arcs that focus on his sex life and how many times they can beat the shit out of him. To the point where they gave him the cringy scene about his dream of travelling the country with a massive family. It's actually a nice sentiment but it can't be focused on the fact that he doesn't have a good home with his parents or that he's trying to plan for life after Hawkins. No no don't be silly, its focusing around the fact that he's telling Nancy so as to hint to her that he wants her to be the mother in the scenario. It's lazy writing and just makes Steve seem ridiculous.

He talked about getting hits on the head and crawling forward well the Duffers aren't allowing him to do that so I'm not sure why they wrote that in?

I basically think if season 5 even tries to focus on any kind of love triangle I'll stop watching. You did this in season 1 and 2 Duffle Bags and it was boring that time round to.

[evans-heaven]

Small Eddie rant and ST4 Vol 2 spoilers below the cut. If you don't wanna be spoiled or dislike people being overly attached to characters keep scrolling.

This was the first fictional character I've lost who just so happened to be my favorite. I've cried for other characters deaths, multiple times. But it was always about the emotional weight of those scenes, never the emotional connection I had to them.

This time, though, with him, I felt it in every conceivable way possible. Maybe its because my mental state has been a complete dismantle for the past year, so the death of a character that gave me so much comfort and happiness would cut through me like no other death could. His scenes gave me so much joy. If I was out during the day, I'd anticipate so much getting to come home and put his face on my screen, whether it was my television, phone or laptop.

He brought me out of a 4 year long writers block. Not even Chris Evans, who I've actually stanned for years now, did that. And all the love I got on those fics about him just solidified that I wasn't alone in loving that long haired freak.

I won't lie, I'm in a lot of pain right now. And watching his scenes won't offer any comfort like they used to, since seeing his face just makes me think of him laying in Dustin's arms, lifeless. Literally the worst moments of television I've ever witnessed (in an emotional sense, in terms of whether his death was necessary or not, brings a completely different meaning).

I really don't care how I sound right now, if I'm being dramatic or too emotionally invested, whatever. I'm just sharing my thoughts like everyone else is, because the amount of them I have right now is overwhelming, and my heart is completely torn.

I'll heal from this eventually, but everything changed after last night. Seeing him isn't gonna be the same anymore. I wish things were different. But I'm thankful for all the canon altering fics-we're gonna need them.

[ninthhousesteel]

fucking hell

i stayed up till 4 am to watch vol 2 cuz i thought it’d be good and it was good!!

Good ol’ queer bait thats what it fucking was.

I’m sorry that the duffer brothers felt that this was good enough writing to finish something amazing, and i am willingly ready to partake in a rewrite of vol 2 because this was blasphemous. (apologies ahead of time for the sheer amount of ranting i am going to do)

okay like first?? steve??? just. no. that whole spiel about the six ‘nuggets’ (that wounded me) and him LITERALLY SAYING THAT LIKE HES STILL IN LOVE WITH NANCY AND HE WANTS HER TO HAVE S I X KIDS WITH HIM ITS LIKE HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW HER BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW SHE AINT BUILT FOR THAT. ALSO nancy was in the middle of talking about robin, a person for whom they both care about, and its like he just redirected the conversation onto him. it looked like someone tried to inject more ronance but then someone else just like sidestepped it into Steve/Nancy, which was SO bad. Steve and Nancy shouldn’t be a thing. they just cant give each other what they need. Same with Jonathan and Nancy. Honestly, I did enjoy their relationship in all the past seasons, but s4 its been so strained and weird and the fact that Jonathan didnt even come clean to her at the end about the college apps was just ridiculous, and the exact moment i knew that they weren’t going to last. even their interactions at the end seemed weird and stiff, like neither of them really wanted to be there. (I hope they dont make her get with either of them. And maybe im just a diehard Ronance shipper, but Robin and Nancy make the most sense!!!)

Second point- Robin and Vickie

10000000.999999% unneeded and unwanted and unfunctional. If youre going to give the only explicitly confirmed gay character a love interest, the worst thing you could do was use the ‘oh no my crush is straight oh wait no she dumped him and now i think she likes me’ trope. tired, overdone, nasty. not even to mention the fact that Vickie is just. a straight (haha) up clone of Robin. They are the same person. They could be revealed to be cousins in s5 and i wouldnt be surprised. It’s tasteless and pathetic to watch. And it’s even more hurtful, because so many of us fans genuinely are in love with Robin and invested with her because we can connect to her the most, and the Duffers just cop out of a genuine and amazing relationship (ronance) and just turn to the basic and unflavorful This Was Obviously Written By A Straight Person relationship of Robin and Vickie.

And Max. And, you know let’s loop in Eddie too. Since they both died. Oh wait.

I’m not even sure to tackle Max’s death. i love her SO MUCH. she’s my second favorite character (right behind Robin). if i was in that situation, i would have let her die. its just easier, and we dont even know if, once dead, she even wanted to come back. this trope of bringing someone back always has consequences, which is why im not really a fan of it in the first place. it requires delicate writing because the situation can get bad very fast. and as of vol 2, im not sure the duffers can do it. (that being said, obviously i dont know their plan for max, but plots like these are kinda hit or miss yk? its just such a big thing)

Eddie’s death was anything but compelling. Like, i knew he was dying but i was kinda…. bored? idk if thats the right word to use, but it just felt kinda off. and the fact that no one addressed it besides Dustin, like, Eddie had so many more friends. and in my mind i think the whole ‘eddie died saving a town that didnt love him’ was more of a white lie for his uncle, because eddie didnt owe Hawkins anything. i mean, it does make him a hero in the way that everyone who helped was a hero, but not everyone needs a ‘redemption’ arc to better be accepted by society. like, his whole thing was kinda that he was different and he didnt care what other people thought. and he had so much potential too!!!

this is long lmfao sorry if i jump into your asks later because i still have more grievances

st4 spoilers

no need to apologize for the long ask because everything you said is true

i know duffers will never actually let ronance happen but Why push stancy it just doesn't make sense to the plot at all please just let nancy pull her self worth away from whichever boy she chooses duffers let nancy be single challenge

and im grilling them for putting in the whole six kids thing ESPECIALLY with the word nuggets it wasn't cute it wasn't funny it made me literally gag

AND VICKIE im

i love amybeth and nothing of this is directed to her bc she was getting paid to play a role and i love her <3

BUT THE DUFFERS let vickie be a barely present and exact carbon copy of robin just to serve as her love interest. how fucking lazy is that? they see how popular robin's character is Plus she's the only confirmed queer character (since they wanna be ambiguous with will) on the show and they just throw her with an underdeveloped character for diversity points... and with the whole extremely similar personalities thing yeah vickie started to ramble but robin said like 4 words and ik thats just bad writing and they don't actually care about my girl but im choosing to interpret it as she got over vickie which Good For Her

max my poor angel they really did just use you for bait </3 and sadie doesn't even know her role in s5 yet and its breaking my heart can we have anything nice Also why go after one of the girls.... one who's been abused her whole life too like give her of all people a happy ending

eddie was such a wastef character :( he was so original and fresh and he could've helped robin break out of her shell more but the duffers had to keep up the boring old pattern and kill him and his death was Meaningless because he could've just climbed to safety but noooo we can't have nice things now can we. and the fact that no one addressed his death what the hell