The new season of Stranger Things have dropped, so of course we were more than happy to share our thoughts on the first part of Season 5!
As always, we break down our reviews by story, acting, and overall. So lets jump into it!
Story 8/10
There are several stories going on in this first section of the series season. Dustin dealing with the emotional trauma and fallout of Eddie Munson’s death from the season before, Will trying to come to terms of his sexuality while finding himself, and Eleven getting ready to take on Vecna 1 on 1.
While there are some additional story beats, like Joyce being over protective of Will, Robin trying to get her date, and Steve and Dustin spat, those aren’t really huge story beats, and feel more like side stories.
The one thing that I did find very frustrating about this season, however, is that there is a lot of lore and information that most regular viewers of Stranger Things will not have as a result of a story being told only to people who saw the play. The series is still watchable, but you are missing out on a lot of information that I had to go back and ascertain since it was not shared during the season yet.
Of all the stories going on, I find myself more engaged and enthralled by Will’s story as he’s finally allowed to come into his own, as he partners up with Robin and she helps him break free from his life of being treated like a porcelain doll. On top of that, her mentoring him and what she went through as a gay child allows him some much needed growth after the incredibly sad and tragic events in the last season.
Acting 10/10
Of all the acting this season, I really have to give it more primarily to the older children than anyone else on the show. Nancy, Steve, Robin, and Jonathan all do an amazing job conveying their stories, while being realistic in their roles, and working together in the season.
Of the adults Joyce, played by Winona Ryder, and Hopper, played by David Harbour, spend most of the season being worried and trying to keep their progeny out of danger. It feels like we’ve lost some growth from these characters from prior seasons.
Ted Wheeler and Karen Wheeler, played by Joe Chrest and Cara Buono, do seem to get a lot more screen time this season, and do a great job showing that they’re not absentee parents, as it’s felt in prior seasons.
Holly Wheeler, played by Nell Fisher, does a great job this season, despite the characters recasting and a time jump to allow the character’s story within this season. She steals every scene she’s in and she makes a great addition to the even younger generation of kids in Stranger Things.
Once again I must talk about Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp, really doing an amazing job with his character this season. He’s not whining and crying like last season. He’s engaged trying to learn more, and struggling through his terror as he is probably the most connected person in the show to the upside down, even more so than Eleven at this point
There’s another person’s work I would love to talk about and how amazing they are this season, but unfortunately talking about them would be a huge spoiler, so I’ll save my thoughts until my part 2 review.
Overall 9.5/10
If you’re looking for the traditional Stranger Things vibe, it definitely has a little bit of that, but the military interaction and how engaged they are does feel a lot more like Season 1, but an overdrive. There has been, here and there, pockets of this energy in the seasons, with railing against the American military industrial machine, but this season really pushes them as the villain even more so than Vecna, at least for the majority of this season’s part 1.
Conner’s Final Thoughts
Whether or not you should watch this now or wait until the 31st of December to watch the entire series in one go, that’s your choice. I do suggest that it is incredibly watchable and a small wait is well worth it to get this done and viewed now. The season does not really end on that much of a cliffhanger, it feels like it ends on an upbeat and a solid good note.
It leaves you wanting more but does not leave you “needing” to know what will happen next, and I think that’s a nice change of pace for the break between part one and part two.
Facebook Comments