#y’all giving the duffers too much credit

[b11tchin]

Hey gang STEAMING HOT TAKE of the day: I honestly think Noah is baiting a queer relationship between Mike and Will because it’s so obviously clear Mike was destined to be with El since season 1 whether you agree with it or not and dude has been so flaky on explaining or even confirming his character’s sexuality for years. And now you’re hyping fans up for a ship that isn’t 100% happening for sure? Also the Duffer brothers suck at writing NUANCED romance with layers and complexity. As a mileven truther they’ve done BEEN fumbling their relationship for a hot second now and even if Mike were to get with Will, the transition to that relationship would probably be narratively horrendous especially since we’re in the penultimate season. Also let’s not hate on Mike if he doesn’t reciprocate Will’s feelings. I’ve already seen so many people shitting on Mike if he doesn’t and it’s giving incel and not appreciating Mike for the sensitive character he is! Headcanons are a beautiful thing for that specific reason. And milevens need to stop hating on Will!! If I’m being honest, this love triangle bullshit is a tired narrative as it is!! I already am bored seeing it with stancy and jancy

[chirpsythismorning]

My favorite argument against byler endgame, is when you present a bunch of evidence to someone and after they denied denied and denied the possibility, they get to a point where they’re just like, “the Duffer brothers are not that smart”. And they basically give this implication that they HOPE that’s the case.

Like, okay..? So you admit that it would be awesome and yet you’re hoping it’s not going to happen? You’re hoping your favorite show is shit and nothing means anything and you’re willing to defend it for being bad instead of acknowledging all the signs it’s actually epic??.

[ohjaimelannister]

Do you think Hoppers actually dead though?

O K A Y.

I’ve been looking for an excuse to pull all of this together so here we go! NO Anon, I do not think that Chief James Hopper has gone and died on us. There’s no REAL evidence (there are easter eggs though) however and the Duffer Brothers could still pull the rug out from under us but hey.

No I do not believe that Hopper is dead. Although some things can be interpreted as pretty final and if the Duffers really kill him off I will never watch this show again, because it’s horrifically SHITTY writing and im already super tired of that this year lmao.

One - There is no body? We were never showed a body or what’s left of one? We have seen bodies for Benny, Barb, Bob and Billy (and even people who were in it for like 5 minutes). THEY EVEN PRODUCED A FAKE WILL WHEN THEY WANTED US TO THINK HE WAS DEAD. THEY AREN’T AGAINST SHOWING US BODIES!!! Which brings me to my next point!

Two - They also aren’t against to showing us death. Lots of gory detailing death, WHOEVER it is. Billy died horrifically but you saw it even though hes a kid. Bob got ripped to shreds.  And even those dudes at the beginning of S3 died horribly? They still showed it. Hopper’s death??? It cuts away. You see NOTHING. AT. ALL. There aren’t even any remnants OF a body where he was standing, and Joyce goes down there and LOOKS. Surely shed find something? Gooey grossness like the bodies at the beginning? Nope. You could argue that they’d be against showing us the death of a beloved hero and a main character but. Again. Bob was beloved and arguably one of the sweetest characters in the show and he was ripped to bits in front of us and Joyce. Billy was a kid for all intents and purposes, still he died a horrible death. Not one bit of that was cut away.

Three - If you look in the shots hes not on the platform when the thing explodes????? like at all? Either that’s badly shot or its done deliberately because he’s just not there anymore? There’s the portal to the Upside Down and you can see a ladder in the shot too, so maybe he either went into the Upside Down or down the ladder and got caught by the russians?? We just don’t know.

Four - We see the devastated Eleven and the aftermath of what happened at Star Court. Then it jumps to three months later? Okay, odd that were not shown anymore of the grieving or the funeral. Then of course Eleven read the SPEECH. Think about the end of it specifically and about LEAVING THE DOOR OPEN 3 INCHES!! You can see from one of the final shots of Star Court that the gates not CLOSED. It was healing but it never fully closes. So Hopper could be in the Upside Down, or travelled through it to Russia on the other end?? Who knows. Point is, they included this line at the end for a reason. Whether the reason is that hes actually dead and they’re just being profound or that its a hint about his fate, its meaningful.

Five - During the ending the song HEROES by Peter Gabriel plays, this is the same song that was placed over them finding Wills fake body, and after all the goodbyes and the ‘speech’ where it ends with “keep the door open three inches” well. Come on.

Six - Then it cuts to Russia and you hear the “not the american” line, and Hopper was called “the American” throughout the series by that Russian baddie. Should I start waving Red Flags here or???? Then again, a lot of people are saying this could be Brenner. Okay I 100% get your logic Im with ya, and for a few days I’ve also thought it could be Brenner. But here’s the thing. Elevens powers. Brenner makes her use them to spy on a russian man in Season 1. Hinting that there’s more going on here than just super powers, kids and other dimensions. Don’t forget that in the 80s the world was in the grip of the Cold War, and things would have started reaching a boiling point for this long before 1985 when it ‘officially’ began. We were never given any answers about why Brenner was spying on this man, or even Russia. Or even if he WAS spying for the US. Nothing, it’s a throwaway scene. Or IS IT? Russians show up in Season Three somehow knowing about the Upside Down, having failed at their own attempts to open a gate in Russia. They somehow know that its Hawkins they need to be in to successfully open their gate and potentially get monsters to use, oh I don’t know, in a WAR???? How would they have known any of this information to begin with?? Oh I wonder. We were told all about Brenner being alive and out there in season two (and we were never told WHERE and this is not referenced again), but as far as I can remember Eleven has never shared this with anyone else, even though it’s completely RELEVANT information. And as far as I can remember (its been a hell of an emotional few days) I dont think were given any explanation about how the Russians knew about the Upside Down, Hawkins or anything. So maybe the reason they knew is BECAUSE BRENNER is the one giving them their directives? Because hes worked for THEM this whole time???

Seven -  Interestingly also Eleven lost her powers? JEEZ ISN’T THAT CONVENIENT!!! Because the first thing shed use them for is to look for Hopper even if she was told he was dead. Shed look, 100% for the man who saved her, gave her a home, loved her, worried for her, cared for her like she was his goddamn OWN. Conveniently though now SHE CANT??? Interesting.

Eight -  And now. There’s the voicemail message. In one of the episodes (my brains so fried I cant remember which one sorry) Murrays gives out his landline number, and when you call it you can hear him give a message to Joyce. You can listen to it here.  You can tell this is after season three, because why would he talk to Joyce Byers? Surely if he was trying to reach someone for information it would be Hopper?  “I have an update, its best if we speak in person" an update??? About what??? Why is he coercing with joyce???  Notice how he says “it’s not good or bad but its SOMETHING” and then says “we’ll talk about it in person” (or something like that) why would he be calling joyce with an ‘update’?????????? AND ON WHAT EXACTLY?? INTERESTING!!

Nine - Theres this interview with the cast specifically ABOUT Hopper, the death and the post credits scene. And I love David Harbour but, you cannot lie for shit my angel.

Ten - Millie has said in an interview “ Her dads gone, or so she thinks” COME ON.

Eleven - Again WE KNOW DAVID HARBOUR IS LIKE THE MARK RUFFALO OF STRANGER THINGS. And hes bad at keeping shit to himself. Hes already told us at the end of last YEAR, literally a month after they finished filming season three that the Duffers have told him the ending to the series as a whole. Why would any creator do this for a man they have effectively just fired, because his character died? Why would they tell him? They wouldn’t.

Tweleve - Again. David Harbour, bless his heart, I think its trying to give us HINTS and bread crumbs to follow. Last week he changed his instagram photo from Hopper in S1 to the number 6. Odd. Today he changed it to the number one :

Twelve continued - Basically if he changed it to an 8 next, we know hes trying to hint at Murrays voicemail message and this is a clue for Hopper. Because why else would he bother?

Thirteen - Theres also this screenshot from Cara Buonos instagram where she literally SAYS about him being in Kamchatka, and uses the Russian word for PRISON. (Of course this could just be a joke between the actors

Fourteen - Theres also the fact, which is not evidence mind you, that its incredibly shitty writing to have both the men that Joyce Byers loved/loves to die in front of her? And actually having her put the action in motion that kills the man she loves? No. I wont accept that. And weve been shown her non willingness to believe in peoples death, everyone and their mothers told her Will was dead and she was being crazy. Did she listen? No. And she got her boy back. Will she think once she has a clear head that Hoppers dead? Maybe. Which is why she asks Murray to investigate. Hence the Voicemail Message.

Fifteen - Its also incredibly shitty and hard to swallow, for Elevens sake too. I mentioned already how much she loves Hopper and finally got a true parent in him. Do you honestly think they’d put her through all of that just to lose him NOW? Like i said, its convienent how shes lost her powers at this very crucial moment.

Sixteen - DAVID. HARBOURS. BEARD. RIGHT. NOW.

And SEVENTEEN -Just in case y’all are having trouble with any of that it looks like David Harbour has let sorta slip (my god I fucking ADORE THIS MAN LET ME TELL YOU). I dont know how reliable this is mind you because its not coming from a BIG source, but HERE he hints at knowing who the American is, after telling everyone else (see the interview above ^^) that he doesnt know and he cant say anything. 

‘During an interview with David Harbour, I attempted to delicately get around the fate of Jim Hopper. Harbour, however, came right out and gave it to me straight. “This is the question I’m going to have to dance around–” I began, only for Harbour to interrupt me and ask, “The ending?” “Right,” I said. “Is there a way you can talk about the future of Hopper without…” I trailed off here, only for Harbour to ask: “Well, did you see the post-credits scene?”I had, of course. And so I straight-up asked: is that Hopper behind the door? According to Harbour, that’s the most likely scenario. Throughout the season, the main Russian baddie refers to Hopper as “the American”, and having another Russian refer to the mysterious prisoner in the same way was the big giveaway.Of course, knowing that Hopper is alive, and knowing how he survived and ended up in Russia, are two different things. We’ll have to wait for season 4 to get that answer. And we’ll have to wait to see how things unfold from there. Will a big chunk of season 4 involve Hopper escaping that Russian base, and trying to get back to America? Time will tell. One thing is clear: Hopper still has a long journey ahead of him; not just physically, but emotionally.’

SO, basically Jim Hopper has not left us, Joyce or Eleven.  And if the Duffer Brothers have done all this to screw with us, well. Im not gonna be responsible for what I do.

I FEEL JIM HOPPER IN THIS RUSSIAN PRISON TONIGHT!!!

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK!!!!!!!!

[bruhhemianrhapsody]

final stranger things 3 thoughts

so i’ve slept finally and maybe cried a bit more and like? i figure i should actually talk abt what i liked instead of shit posting lmao. obviously this post contains spoilers under the cut. y’all have been warned.

first off i just wanna say, plot wise, this season was the strongest by far. while i’m really unhappy with how the duffers handled the writing of their characters (which i’ll talk more about later) the story line and plot devices they used to pull off this season are absolutely superb. episode by episode and together as whole i find it was really well paced and well executed. the fact that they had more than one antagonist—and not the “”human antagonist”” bullshit they pulled with billy in s2—makes it all that more interesting to watch and i think that’s what really what keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. with such an extensive cast of characters they were really able to pull off having two separate stories really, really, impressively well. this season was the most gory yet—and i’m totally here for it. the cgi was 11/10 and maybe this is just bcuz im a fucking weirdo but the monsters this season were the best they’ve ever been. shit kicks ASS.

that being said, they don’t know how to write good character development and it SHOWS. most of the characters this season come off so one-sided and lacking substance. specifically for me this was the worst with steve, at least up until the final few episodes. it feels like they turned him into comedic relief for absolutely no reason, and his only motivation the whole time is girls girls girls. the last few episodes were better, more so after robin came out, but the whole time he just kind of feels like an empty shell of a person with no substance whatsoever. same goes for mike, i get that eleven has always been the biggest part of his story, but to make him even remotely believable there just needed to be something else for me. idk, almost everybody this season kind of fell short for me, including billy. the writing didn’t do jack shit for him, and the only thing that i think really separated him from the rest was dacre’s performance. of fucking course i’m biased, but the low budget redemption arc that was given to billy really would’ve never worked without dacre’s skill to back it up.

specific scenes i really enjoyed? the sauna scene and billy’s death scene obviously. for once i’ll give them credit for writing these scenes very well, and of course props to dacre and sadie and millie for just? being able to invoke so much emotion. i also really enjoyed the will/mike scene out in the rain (gay rights or whatever). the whole alexei/hopper/joyce/murray dynamic and all of their scenes were also top notch, we stan.

anyway literally fuck the duffer brothers fuck them that ending was such a cop out, and probably the only part of the plot i really hated. for the obvious reason that they killed my boy billy, which by the way? fuck that. stop killing off victims of abuse for shock value and “”redemption””, write stories about victims getting help and victims getting better instead of taking the easy route and have them die the hero. stop treating trauma like a throw away plot device you can use and then ignore. also like? fuck them for making robin gay. like yeah okay i would die for her i love her and i’m glad we have representation and maybe i’m salty because i wanted billy to be that person for this show, but it just feels like representation for the woke points, not because it’s important to the story. i dont know some of y’all might hate me for this but it would’ve been so much more impactful if it was billy. they set it up perfectly, the whole max and billy blaming each other for leaving cali (which never gets explained, also, but in my brain it would’ve worked really well if say, max caught billy with a boy and ratted to neil), the weird thing between steve and him (which the duffers had to pull a quick no homo on lmao), the agressive queer coding in all of his scenes in general, not just with steve (i’ll die on the hill that the scene with heather’s family was absolutely born out of internalized homophobia. as well as him going after karen, that shit reeks of repression and denial), his dad calling him a f*ggot (which i mean sure it’s the 80’s, but it’s seems like a very pointed insult to me) and the whole toxic masculinity thing he’s got going on that just feels like too much to write it off as it just being the 80’s. it just really felt like the duffers cut off something that could’ve been so powerful and important, for no reason other than no homo. idk it just? rubs me the wrong way.

this season was good, but it’s just could’ve been so much better and i’m just? disappointed but not surprised at this point. idk it just feels empty and hollow and i can’t imagine what they’re gonna do with s4 now that everything is just kind of? eh whatever. i think i’m gonna go take another depression nap and then maybe come back to cry abt my boy some more lmao. fuck the duffer brothers.