Stranger Things

[Argobot]

On 10/31/2017 at 12:36 PM, YoThatLimp said:

Alright so

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Did anyone else think Bob was an evil scientist at first? When he weirdly decides to tell Will to confront the evil and that info turns Will into a host. I definitely thought that this was on purpose and the DoE was trying to expand testing of the Upside Down stuff on the public. 

 

Obviously it turns out to be totally bunk, but that was a weird 2-3 episode 'Evil Bob' arc for my wife and I

 

 

Yes, I had this exact same thought!! Especially because the music in that scene was super creepy and ominous. I guess it was just a red herring that didn't really go anywhere?

[SecretAsianMan]

6 hours ago, Argobot said:

 

Yes, I had this exact same thought!! Especially because the music in that scene was super creepy and ominous. I guess it was just a red herring that didn't really go anywhere?

 

You should read this for an alternate take on that scene.

 

19 hours ago, SecretAsianMan said:

One interesting thing I was reminded of that came out of Beyond Stranger Things

 

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In an early draft, Bob was going to die much earlier.  When he's in the car with Will giving him advice about standing up to the shadow monster, an evil possessed Will was supposed to murder him right there.  Bob was originally only supposed to be in a single episode but Sean Astin proved to be so charming they expanded his role and made his death a pivotal moment for Joyce.  Astin himself knew that Bob had to die so he asked for Bob to go out as heroically as possible.

 

 

[Kolzig]

I finished the second season last weekend. I still really like this show. So much good stuff in it, but of course still lots of dumb stuff. Most has been already discussed but

 

Spoiler

I still really hate how bad all the Demogorgon/dog monsters look in season 1 and 2.

 

The ending closing of the gate was fine cgi, but I don't understand why they made so bad cgi monsters even now in the second season.

 

Bob was awesome as was Doc Owens. I liked the twist that the company man wasn't evil this time.

 

One thing that felt weird to me was Dustin and Steve in the tunnel by the rope when the Demodogs come running and those just run past/through the guys. That can't be El's doing, right? She can't make people invisible like that. Was it meant that Kali was there closeby somehow?

 

Here are some spoiler references regarding the 2nd season:

Spoiler

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/10/stranger-things-season-2-references-easter-eggs-80s-nancy-costume-halloween-music-aliens-goonies-jurassic-park

 

I'm worried that the creators have been talking about making four seasons in total. That would mean there's still two seasons to go. While I love the characters and the setting of Hawkins, I fear things will go overblown in the next seasons. I wasn't a big fan of episode 7 of this season. It had it's moments, but overall it felt not like a good episode of Stranger Things.

[SecretAsianMan]

2 hours ago, Kolzig said:

 

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One thing that felt weird to me was Dustin and Steve in the tunnel by the rope when the Demodogs come running and those just run past/through the guys. That can't be El's doing, right? She can't make people invisible like that. Was it meant that Kali was there closeby somehow?

 

 

Spoiler

I don't think there was any intention of outside interference.  The Demodogs had higher priorities (getting back to the gate) than Dustin and Steve so the two were ignored, not hidden by another person.

 

[Professor Video Games]

I finished S2 last night and thought it was decent...I like the characters a lot though the plot overall was kinda unremarkable. Some random spoilery hot takes:

 

I liked that the doctor was actually a decent guy and I like where things went with Steve, who I felt was the character with the most satisfying arc this season.

 

The arc with Dart felt like a waste. They find him, raise him, and then his pivotal scene was the group just being able to walk past him in the tunnels? I kept waiting for the moment where Dart would save them from the other dogs or something. Unless I missed something in that bus scene?

 

I was annoyed they killed off Bob and groaned when he forgot his gun...though like someone else mentioned, it wouldn't have helped him anyway so why even have him forget it? Also why did the power go out in the research building in the first place? It felt very contrived.

 

I get what they were trying to up El's "power" or whatever in episode 7 but it didn't really work for me. That whole goofy band of misfits thing was dumb...maybe if it weren't a one episode thing I would have eventually cared about any of them, but I didn't and also I was constantly distracted by that one guy's stupid mohawk.

[Spenny]

1 hour ago, Professor Video Games said:

 

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I get what they were trying to up El's "power" or whatever in episode 7 but it didn't really work for me. That whole goofy band of misfits thing was dumb...maybe if it weren't a one episode thing I would have eventually cared about any of them, but I didn't and also I was constantly distracted by that one guy's stupid mohawk.

 

 

 

I am curious if anyone thought that group of characters was "cool". I am not sure if they do not appeal to me because I'm too young for the nostalgia of their look, or if genuinely they're just kind of doofy.

[brkl]

We finished this a week or so ago. I thought it started very boring and never got great, while there was some stuff I liked. The first season started with some pretty thrilling scenes, while now I don't know if they even tried to go for horror. Overall it was pretty pointless, just never made a good argument for existing and I was actually more annoyed by the references than the first season. I mean, I wasn't at all the first time and now all I could think of was ET, Aliens etc. I don't know why I thought this series would have totally different characters and stories each season. I must have dreamed it. 

[dium]

You didn't dream it, I think that was the original plan for the show.

[plasticflesh]

A ponderous article exploring the dilemma of distinguishing an artist's products form an artist's moral actions, and the accompanying reddit thread and discussion.

 

Whoops, wrong thread. Please delete this post, or let it stand as a testament to my clumsy internet use.

[jennegatron]

41 minutes ago, plasticflesh said:

A ponderous article exploring the dilemma of distinguishing an artist's products form an artist's moral actions, and the accompanying reddit thread and discussion.

1. I think this is not the thread you mean to post this in and 

2.For those of you who don't want to read this, here's your summary - "i'm an asshole and hate when people tell me that consuming the art of living monsters enables them to continue being monsters, and I don't know why everyone on twitter is so mean to me about it, so I'm going to be a philosophical blowhard and advocate for piracy so I can continue to watch the Woody Allen movies that let him rise to prominence. Also I hate vegans and poetry."

[plasticflesh]

Both of those points are accurate, thank you.

 

Sorry to interrupt the Stranger Things discussion.

[jennegatron]

1 hour ago, plasticflesh said:

Both of those points are accurate, thank you.

 

Sorry to interrupt the Stranger Things discussion.

Haha, no worries :0)

[J_K_Day]

I'm almost done with Season 2 (only have the final episode left). It's enjoyable, but clearly doesn't have the vitality of its predecessor in a way that feels archetypically S2-ish to me. It struggles in trying to maintain the relative believability and tightness of S1 whilst having to deal with a way bigger, floppier storyline. Growing pains, basically, which seems thematically appropriate. You get the impression that a good number of the specific elements that went down well are just being remixed - so you have another D&D analogy, another cutesy phrase for Will's problems ('Upside Down' > 'Now Memories'), another puppy love angle, another vaguely sociopathic cool guy who'll get rehabilitated, the crayon tunnel map instead of fairy lights, etc.

 

But, the writers/actors and the audience know the characters and scenario better, so there's less need to durdle about establishing things, and more opportunities to land dialogue and character development moments, both of which I think are done well. It feels like there's a deliberate effort to include charming little character interactions (especially with the secondary characters) as a counterweight to the increased scale and less personal feel of the main storyline, which is effective and does inspire some confidence that the writers are aware of the need for balance going forward.

 

Overall, it feels a bit like they're trying to hold onto everything that was good about Season 1 AND escalate it along every axis, and you can't really do both. That tension has been navigated pretty well for these nine episodes, but the next batch will definitely be a test. S3 will either need to re-compress with a spookier, more intimate angle (unlikely) or go all-in on expanding the universe, and hope that it works. It feels like history would warn against that, but if you want to keep the characters (which I expect they do, since the fandom is there), then probably you have to risk it.

[Erkki]

Is it just me or is season 3 way more gross than the previous ones? I still like it though

[Ben X]

Yeah, definitely a lot more goopy. I'm enjoying it too. It took maybe an episode longer than it should have to get going but it's still very entertaining.

[Cordeos]

Finished the season last night. Overall I thought it was ok but I was getting quite annoyed by all the lazy tropes and heavy handed product placement. I am not sure if I care if Season 4 happens or not, a lot of the plot feels like it’s been spinning it’s wheels for the last 2 seasons.

[Erkki]

Yeah, by “gross” I actually meant two things - the audiovisual gooey stuff and the tropes. Also the whole arc with the sheriff - from domestic violence user to love interest by persistence and then a martyr