Warning: This article contains spoilers from the first four episodes of the final season. Only read on if you’ve already seen the new episodes!
After years of anticipation, the final season of Stranger Things has finally arrived—well, at least the first four episodes. Netflix is saving another batch of episodes for Christmas, with the ultimate finale coming at the end of the year. I was super excited for the premiere: this show has been a huge favorite of mine, its characters grew up right before my eyes, and its world always wrapped me in a nostalgic vibe, like I could really travel back to the ’80s. Maybe that’s why these first four episodes didn’t quite convince me.
The long break didn’t help. For a layered, complex mythology like this series, it’s tough to pick up exactly where we left off years ago. Maybe rewatching previous seasons would have helped, but honestly, expecting anyone to have time for that is a stretch by the creators. Yet it kind of feels like that’s what they expected.
The storylines have always piled on mysteries—often before one was solved, another popped up. But now, every knot feels even more tangled. After a while, I found myself frustrated trying to decode who’s controlling whom, which memory belongs to who, what hidden threads lie behind each motivation, and what the mystical scenes actually mean. Instead of drawing me in, I felt myself drifting further away from the world.
Something Else Was Missing: The ’80s Vibe
One of Stranger Things’ biggest charms has always been how it played with ’80s pop culture like an adult rediscovering their favorite childhood toys. But now, that layer seems to have taken a backseat. There are fewer iconic musical moments, fewer film references, and overall less humor. The show used to balance its dark, scary tones with light, often charming moments. Now, almost everything leans toward drama, and the jokes mostly come from brief character banter—which often feels repetitive and a bit dragged out. You can almost sense the writers desperately trying to squeeze out another iconic line from a character, but the results don’t quite hit the mark.
Still, the fourth episode ended with a strong scene that brought back some of the carefully built, emotionally powerful moments Stranger Things has always used so well.
But this brief spark wasn’t enough for nearly five hours of story.
Perhaps the strangest part is that while the actors have clearly grown—and they do a fantastic job—their characters haven’t gone through the same growth. In earlier seasons, the kids’ dynamics and motivations were clear and relatable. Now, the dilemmas of these young adults feel more like sketches than fully formed stories. Will still struggles with coming out, Mike and El dream of a fresh start, and Lucas tries to cope with Max’s absence—but we could have guessed all that without watching a single minute of the new season. There’s little new depth or conflict.
Thankfully, There’s Still Reason to Hope: The Visuals Remain Stunning
The atmosphere still captivates in places. The actors remain talented, even if they don’t have much to work with right now. For me, these four episodes were a disappointment—but not hopeless. Stranger Things has always been at its best when everything was perfectly set up, and emotions, stakes, and creativity could finally run wild.
I truly hope that’s still the case, and that the episodes arriving at Christmas will remind us why we fell in love with Hawkins in the first place. The potential is still there, quietly buzzing in the background—I just hope they finally let it shine.
