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you-usuratonkachi · 2 years

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Issues i have with Stranger Things S4 Vol 1 and 2 writing

SPOILER WARNING FOR VOL 2

Okay, so I stayed up until 3 am to watch Vol 2, too scared that if I waited I would get spoiled something. Ngl, before Vol 2 dropped, I felt like Vol 1 had built up too much plot for it to be resolved in 2 episodes, no matter how long they were, there was way too much to address, too many plot lines opened or brushed upon and I was really doubtful that 2 episodes could solve them all, but I stayed trustful because generally speaking ST is a good show with good writing and going by the interviews I’ve watched, it seemed like everyone had their shit together. Well, after watching Vol 2, I can officially say I had reason to doubt this season could be wrapped up well.

The number one problem of this season is character writing.

The Duffers got so many characters to fit into the narrative and I know it’s not an easy thing to give space to them all in a story. I write myself and I understand that, but despite already having too much on their plate, they decided to add /more/ characters and spent way too long developing side-storylines instead of giving a semblance of relevance to the main characters.

1. The whole Cali gang storyline is useless to further the main plot and it’s blaringly obvious that they didn’t know what to do with them. The only person needed from their group was El and she wasn’t even with them for most of the season. They clearly looked at Jonathan and Will in California, as they thought “El needs to go get her powers back”, and went “so what the fuck are we gonna do with these two?” and thought the only way to give them screentime was by finally bringing up Will’s sexuality. The only reason Mike was there was because 1. it helped that there was one less character to deal with in Hawkins (this way they gave him a semblance of storyline too) and 2. a love triangle was more interesting than Will simply addressing his sexuality for a new character (that would have been one more character to deal with anyway). They could have left Will’s sexuality alone, as they have mostly done until now, but think about it, if they didn’t bring that up for the Cali gang, what was left of the plot for them? Literally nothing. So they purposefully CHOSE to give them no plot and let them be carried by the love triangle storyline and I have issues with that, because what kind of lazy writing is that? If you are going to bring up something like this and make it the only relevant plot-line for a whole group of characters, you MUST give them a status quo, something happening that changes the status quo, a development and the final resolution which HAS to be different from the initial status quo. But what they gave us is Mike in love with El and Will in love with Mike (which we already knew since before. If you didn’t watch the show with your eyes closed, it was obvious that Will was into Mike. As a watcher, I always thought that would never be addressed properly though, because there was no way to make Byler happen, seeing how Mike was framed to have an epic love with El, and I was perfectly okay with that. I didn’t ship them, I wanted Will to grow out of his crush for Mike and get a new love interest that would love him instead), created tension out of their buttholes, because what was the reason for Mike being awkward with Will at the airport and the rest of his ooc behavior? He’s been shown to be clueless about Will’s feelings so his behavior only made sense if he was dealing with internalized homophobia. Except he’s so in love with El so what’s the issue here?? There’s no issue. They made Mike Wheeler behave with no logic, just so it could create tension in the love triangle and make the stale plot-point feel like it was getting a development. But it didn’t. The start of it and the end are exactly the same. Mike is in love with El, WIll is in love with Mike. Nothing changed for any of them. Will simply suffered more. For no reason. The only plot line for the Cali gang is “Will suffers unrequited love. He cries. Some realize it, some don’t. Everything continues as per usual (except three main character developments get assassinated. RIP Will, Jonathan and Mike. You weren’t needed this season)”

2. Okay now that I’ve touched upon the 1st unnecessary love triangle, let me mention whatever the fuck the second unnecessary love triangle was: Steve, Nancy, Jonathan. Another love triangle leading to fucking nowhere. Why. Just why. Same as the first one. The show started with Nance and Jonathan having issues and ended EXACTLY the same. Jongathan is still lying to her, but they are still a couple. At least this one makes you feel like it’s actually leading somewhere different, and how could it not when Jonathan has no plot relevance anymore? I’m surprised they didn’t kill him off this season, but I imagine he was so useless they couldn’t find a relevant way to off him so they are keeping him for now. How can this feel satisfying? The whole tension between Nancy and Steve felt like a cheap affair. It was really disturbing and I cannot phantom why it happened at all. Nancy already knew that Steve has changed. Dude, she was there for season 2 and 3. She didn’t need the six-children-and-a-camper speech for that. They were already good partners in crime. They worked perfectly well as friends.

3. What they did to Eddie’s character is a crime. He was the most likely character to die because there was no way to clear his name, but they didn’t go any surprising way about it. He died alone as he battled off some bats, saying he didn’t run away this time like that was some kind of big accomplishment (no, seriously, if you’re going to make him die as a hero you have to AT LEAST make him go against the main villan, not BATS). He died unseen and UNMOURNED by the end. For no reason other than they had no way to clear his name and it would have been an hassle to keep hiding him around. Nobody cared about his death but Dustin (and the uncle, I’m surprised they remembered him), just because he happened to be the character that was with him.

4. There’s a parallelism in the story that didn’t pay off (okay, a lot of parallelisms that didn’t pay off, but this particularly stood out to me) in El’s storyline. A part from the fact that we have never found out how Brenner survived all those times, but when they have that dialogue as he traps her in the NINA room, El asks him if he ever loved/cared for One as Brenner stays silent. The whole conversation really rang me back to her conversation with Mike, so when I watched I wondered if there was any kind of connection? It’s really the same argument. But by the end as Mike gives her his “i love you” speech (all prompted by Will, using Will’s words, murdering Will’s feelings in the process) that doesn’t seem to pay off in any way, I’m not sure what I was supposed to get out of that blaringly obvious parallelism. So did Brenner love her after all? Or is Mike’s love fake and manipulative?? What was the reason for the parallelism? What’s with the love/care justapposition? What’s the message here??? Uncomprehensible.

5. The Robin and Viki whetever-the-hell-that-was?? Why was Viki even there? For 2 minutes in total. Which made Robin another queer pining for a straight, suffering in the background. YOU ALREADY DID THAT WITH WILL. NO NEED FOR A REPETITION. Plus why, as a watcher, should I buy the Robin/Viki pining, when Robin and Nancy were RIGHT THERE with a proper relationship development. If I had to see Robin pine for a straight, I’d rather see her pine for Nancy?? At least that made some kind of sense and it actually added something to the dynamic of the main group. Of course it would have sucked balls anyway, because again, it’s just a repetition of Will’s storyline, but if they really had to, that would have made more sense. The best course of action was to not give her any love interest at all if they had to make it so half-assed. And I know the ending is meant to imply that Viki is not so straight after all, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about the fact that we got the same gay-pining for the whole season TWICE. There’s only one question and it’s WHY. Wasted screentime.

6. Yuri’s change of heart. Because of a lukewarm motivational speech. Given to him by the other russian in the situation. Am I the only one who does not buy into it? The fact that Enzo (I like calling him this) is the one to tell the guy “you’ve seen what’s at stake”. Enzo doesn’t understand HALF of it, let alone Yuri?? Who’s convinced by the idea that his family is going to suffer as his family has been given no importance whatsoever in the earlier part of the show and he was shown as a lone wolf the whole time? That might have convinced Enzo, but Yuri?? That was weak as hell... but let’s say I buy into it, the airlift was still useless. Everyone was dead in the prison by the end, monsters included, they could have escaped the same way they came in, it’s not like Katinka brought them to America at the end. They still had to catch a plane for that. So?? Another road to nowhere.

7. They used the we-still-have-a-date-to-go-to motivation twice, both with Jopper and Lumax.

8. Jason searching for Eddie with a whole gang to end up with two dudes assulting the two black kinds in the show, one of which is ELEVEN YEARS OLD. All that built up for a racial stand off that, again, amounts to nothing. Since they brought up the entire basketball team, I at least imagined that they would have a frontal stand off with the whole hawkins gang at some point, that would have been interrupted by the actual evil and some people would actually die in the process. Honestly, they should have died as the upside down took Hawkins over. They played up the ending like so many would die at the end, and ONE character properly died. And when i say properly I mean that it’s the only confirmed death, not that they gave him a decent death.

9. Speaking of which, they didn’t show how Max came back to life. One is left to imagine that El kickstarted her heart with the power of her mind, I assume... but I ASSUME. I have no idea why they didn’t show it??

I probably have other complaints but these are my main ones. In conclusion, the season was weaker than it was hyped up to be. Some things were great, but it lacked something that the previous seasons had - the characters finally getting to fight together at the end. That amazing moment that happened in every season where all separate storylines finally paid off together as the characters reunited. It leaves one wondering why they took the decision to ship people to California and have Hopper in Russia. The fact that they were so phisically far made so many characters have no relevant part in the main storyline and, to include them in it, the Duffers CLEARLY had to make so many questionable decisions and write goddafwul monologes (i didn’t put this as a separate complaint, because it falls under the assasination of the Cali gang’s character development, but what was that? Smelly cheese delivered with zero emotion, their reunion after El blows up the NINA facility was so much more emotionally charged than whatever that was). Istg the only character that they managed to give a real, well-done and rounded development this season is Max (and partly El, except again for that whole I love you situation with Mike). I do applaude them for how they wrote Max this season, but at what cost...

#stranger things #stranger things spoilers #byler #before you come for me #i didn't ship byler before S4 #i love mileven #i always thought they were gonna be endgame of course #until the duffers made it so we would question it #and now i question them for that decision #because it was a cheap way to get themselves out of the plot holes they created #hey need to resurrect mike's personality from the grave because what in the world is he now #he has the emotional range of a washcloth #he's one of the mains for fuck's sake #as a mileven shipper i'm just so shocked at how UNCUTE they have made him #he's the shell of what he used to be #he literally has to be poked to do anythingpress on the stomach and the doll comes alive!#and recites everything you said to it previously!#save mike #oh and the ending #don't make me talk about the ending #with jopper and jancy and BYLER IN THE MIDDLE?? framed as a couple #dude what are you doing #like you would go that way for the last season? don't make me laugh #you were so cheap for the whole framing of their relationship #you assasinated their friendship for the sake of drama and you didn't even let it go by the end haha

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ferociousqueak · 6 years

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Fandom memery

@tarysande tagged me to do the thing a million years ago, and I might be late but I’m here! Let’s do this!

Three Fandoms:

1. Mass Effect

2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

3. Stranger Things

The First Character You Loved:

1. Liara T’Soni. She was just so cute and shy and bookish and easily flustered, and I loved her immediately. I knew nothing about the game when I started it, so when the dialogue with Kaidan turned flirty with Kaidan, I was like “oh snap! You can do this??” But THEN things turned flirty with Liara and I was just “BYE KAIDAN I HAVE A BLUE BOO NOW.”

2. Terry Jeffords. He was obviously the level-headed voice of reason who had little patience for Jake’s antics. Also, he’s a devoted husband and father who makes his family important to his identity from the very beginning, and that’s something I’d love to see more of in general.

3. Benny Hammond. He was just so understanding of Eleven being scared and obviously not capable of complex communication, and he was a giant, soft teddy bear, AND WE WERE ROBBED.

The Character You Never Expected to Love So Much:

1. Garrus Vakarian. I read a lot of people saying they were thirsty for him in the first game, but I side-eyed him in that game a lot, ngl. I saw him as a loose cannon looking to make Shepard his excuse for bad behavior, and DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID TO TALI IN THE ELEVATOR OMFG. To be clear, I didn’t dislike him. I just didn’t trust him. But he arcs so hard over the next few games and gains complexity, maturity, and vulnerability, AND I JUST LOVE HIM A LOT OKAY.

2. Jake Peralta. He annoyed me a lot at the start of the show, but like Garrus, he arcs hard. I feel like he starts out as the standard “Everyman” who’s supposedly brilliant but really he’s pretty mediocre and his self-regard is entirely unearned. But then he learns and grows and treats his colleagues as equals and family. I feel like he goes from being a lone wolf to the family pup, and I love his development.

3. Joyce Byers. Her first scene put me off. A lot. She’s chastising her teenage son (who’s making breakfast and who’s working nights to supplement her income) for not knowing where HER child is?? I raised my eyebrow at her pretty hard for that. But then as you start to learn more about her situation and how ready she is lay down her life for her children and how she doesn’t let ANYONE tell her she’s crazy when she KNOWS she’s right and NO ONE TOUCH HER SHE’S MINE AND I LOVE HER.

The Character You Relate to the Most:

1. Tali’Zorah. She’s a huge nerd who has no idea how to adult and pretty much relies on bullshitting her way into getting people to give her a chance to prove herself.

2. Amy Santiago. Again, a huge nerd who’s super organized and color codes everything and developed a deep sense of competition because her brothers always told her she couldn’t do things when she was a kid.

3. Joyce Byers. She’s been through some shit, but she would die for the ones she loves. She’s not tiny, she’s concentrated fury.

The Character You’d Slap:

1. Admiral Hackett. LET SHEPARD REST GDI. I don’t hate him, but he needs to learn that the Alliance has more commanders in it than just Shepard.

2. Hitchcock. Boy needs to stop creeping on ladies, realize he loves Scully, and marry that man already.

3. BILLY FUCKING HARGROVE. THAT RACIST SEXIST ABUSIVE UNSTABLE PIECE OF SHIT. That being said, I do realize the irony that he’s likely the way he is because he’s been slapped too much. But still:

Three Favorite Characters (in order of preference):

IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE???? WHAT KIND OF MONSTER!

1. Nyreen Kandros, Garrus Vakarian, Tali’Zorah

2. Rosa Diaz, Amy Santiago, Terry Jeffords

3. Joyce Byers, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair

A Character You Liked at First, But Don’t Anymore/Are Having a Hard Time with at the Moment:

1. Kaidan Alenko. I don’t hate him, and I understand a lot of people love him, which they’re free to do ofc. Specifically, it’s the romanced Kaidan that turns me off. He puts so much responsibility on Shepard for his feelings and even accuses them of cheating when he’s the one who did the breaking up (thanks BioWare for letting m!Shep defend himself to Ashley but not letting FemShep do the same with Kaidan that was great real classy and not sexist at all). I’m not a fan of that dynamic at all.

2. My love for the characters on this show has only grown <3

3. Karen Wheeler. I was a proud member of the Karen Wheeler Defense Squad in season 1, but then the Duffer brothers had to go and make her completely disinterested in her kids and then set her up with Billy and UGH EW GROSS NO THANK YOU. Season 2 Karen is a completely different person from season 1 Karen, and I will never forgive the Duffer brothers for creating an interesting, complex character and then going “oh wait you weren’t supposed to like her, here let’s ruin her for you.” KAREN WHEELER DESERVED BETTER.

A Character You Didn’t Like at First but Do Now:

1. Ashley Williams. While I never thought of Ashley as racist (in the Mass Effect universe, humans are on the receiving end of cultural and institutional racism and reverse-racism isn’t a thing so), the isolationist beliefs she holds in the first game put me off. Again, like Garrus, she arcs pretty hard and learns and grows and matures. At this point, I’m furious we didn’t get to romance her in the third game.

2. Charles Boyle, kind of. I didn’t exactly dislike him to begin with, but I found his obsession with Rosa creepy and distasteful. Once the show ditched that dynamic, I could appreciate him for being the goofy oddball he is.

3. Steve Harrington. In fact, I hated him quite a bit at first. But once he ditches his asshole friends and realizes he’s being an insufferable douche canoe, I started to warm to him. By the end of the season 2, I was ready to lay down my life for this disaster of a den mother.

Three OTPs:

1. Shakarian, Shali, Nyreen/Not being fridged

2. Jake/Amy, Holt/Kevin, Gina/Her phone

3. Joyce/Hopper, Jonathan/Nancy/Steve, Lucas/Max

And now for no-obligation tagging! @servantofclio, @mordinette, @pagerunner, @probablylostrightnow, and @bloomingcnidarians. Only if you want to!

#hows about a meme thingy #it looks like Friday is my official memery day #long post #Mass Effect #Brooklyn 99 #Stranger Things

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