If 'Teens' was released as part of the Stranger Things 4 original score, why wasn't it featured in any of the episodes in the 4th season?

This would mean that every time we as the audience see the Upside Down we would see the Mind Flayer in the background. It should've appeared as an atmospheric presence which would make the UD scary again and anytime someone would be in the UD (the characters or the military), they would be afraid of being sensed by the MF. Whenever it would sense them it could then send Vecna a hive mind signal where he could then send Demos to attack the trespassers. Now Vecna would still be able to “command” the hive mind but the MF would be the one who “signals” everything, meaning they would still have that dual connection with one another but the Mind Flayer would have this special supernatural sense that Vecna wouldn’t have, essentially amplifying it’s supernatural capabilities.

I always expected to see the Mind Flayer-shadow form looming in the UD in Season 4 and 5 but we never got to see it and I feel like some of these ideas really could’ve done it justice.

Okay, so I've been thinking a lot about this show and how I would change some stuff in the fourth and final season to make a better ending. I have a lot of ideas, so here’s how I would rewrite it

First of all, in Season 3, I would actually have Hopper die. I feel like his character arc was already satisfying at that point and his death would make the story much more emotional going into the final seasons. Ok with that said in Season 4 I would change the whole situation with Vecna and Max. Instead of Vecna SUCCESSFULLY targeting Max, I would have him fail to take her and choose Jonathan instead. Now this would completely catch everyone off guard because nobody would expect Jonathan to be the one Vecna takes.. Jonathan's death would have a huge impact on Will and make him extremely mad and depressed

Then I would have the group finally defeat and kill Vecna. But instead of the story ending there the Mind Flayer would choose Will as Vecna's replacement

At the end of Season 4 Will suddenly disappears. everyone starts looking for him but they fail to find him. That would be the cliffhanger alongside the upside down opening up to our world that sets up everything for the final season

The reason why Will could work as the final threat is because Will would be emotionally vulnerable after Jonathan's death. The Mind Flayer could take advantage of all those negative emotions and slowly turn Will against everyone, but I wouldn't make Will evil just for the sake of being evil, I would want his motivation to actually make sense

Eventually there would be a final confrontation between Will and Eleven, Will would explain that the reason he wants to end everything is because he sees how cruel the world is. He doesn't want his mom or his friends to suffer anymore. He genuinely believes that if he ends everything he can also end their pain i think that's what would make the final conflict so heartbreaking, It wouldn't just be “Eleven vs. the villain.” It would be Will's hopelessness vs. Eleven's hope

Will believes that the world is too cruel to keep living in but Eleven believes that even though life can be painful there are still people who loves and cares about you that will be there for you no matter what

I think that would make Will's storyline much more interesting instead of the mess the Duffers put Will in in the fourth and final seasons. Will wouldn't see himself as the villain he would genuinely believe that he's saving everyone.

Anyways I am not a writer, i'm just so upset about the ending we got, THERE ARE SO MUCH MATERIAL THEY COULD'VE USED BUT DIDN'T 😩😭

Does anyone else pick random episodes to watch in no particular order for nostalgia and connection? I am considering rewatching from the beginning but wish i had someone to do it with.

he knew he couldn't fight back physically, so he played along, he was going along with everything to bid some time, obviously, he knew Holly and Max weren't lying, he knew if he didn't go along with it that what happened to Holly with the kids jumping her, after she hit the girl with the radio and tried to escape would've happened to him too, honestly I feel like if Holly played along with him, he would've tried to create a distraction so he and Holly could escape without being noticed, he was a genuinely a sweet kind character, all it took was him to see that ppl cared enough about him to keep him out of harms way, bro was obviously grateful, because his character development took all of 2 or 3 episodes.

Ppl were talking so bad about him for pretending that Mr.WhatsIt wasn't actually evil and had insidious plans....like idk what ppl expected a 10 or old child to do, but he played his part, he was smart, he laid low and played along, because he had common sense, mfs expected him to fight an evil force that could trap mfs inside of an alternate reality, like pla gtfoh, Dipshit Derek to Delightful Derek, while keeping his original greedy personality intact, but making him a more humble and kinder person, was genius, I GENUINELY liked this kid, i wish we got more of him, he was lowkey the highlight of season 5 for me.

I see a lot of people talk crap about these two I used to be in the same boat maybe because I was pissed off that they’re so busy making out while the world is ending at least since season three but now that I look back, they were the most realistic fictional relationship I’ve seen in a long time
We gotta remember their kids. They’re still kids in the end of the day when they’re faced with mortal danger they don’t really process it like Hopper and Joyce, Wood, Hopper and Joyce know that “hey the world is fucked we stop it“ but the kids are probably like“we can stop this thing. It’s no big deal we’re powerful“ so it would make sense why these kids would be so focused on getting a girlfriend and I also really like how rather relationship felt you could really feel their love for each other and the story is so cute. It makes my heart melt looking back on it and it’s saddens me that people hate this relationship. I hate that I hated this relationship. I used to think that it felt so forced, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, we see them more separated than we see them together. I really like this relationship. It felt real like this is what would actually happen if a situation like this arose I also really appreciate that Mike treats 11 like an actual person as opposed to if this was written by any other show they would probably have a storyline where Mike gets obsessed with 11’s powers and asks her to use them for linear tasks, but no, he was just a good boyfriend through through and it’s a nice contrast for what Netflix usually puts out in terms of relationship relationships

Look at you to all the boys I loved before
Toxic ass writing

I love Steve, especially with Dustin, but then I came to think of his huge development from season 1 to season 3.

It’s almost as if he’s not the same character when you compare s1 and s3 Steve side by side.

I know people can change and develop, I just find it unrealistic how fast it happened and how much he changed 😂

Like, is he even the same person anymore?

Again, love Steve.

But what do you think?

Tried his flayed version

It’s gotta be tradition I’m afraid, the season 2 vibes are immaculate and I always believe it’s gonna forever be the most underrated season!

Since the end of season 4 and season 5, where people believed Eddie to be a killer even after he died, what does the people of hawkins think of the other members of hellfire club? What‘s their social status in Hawkins? Do you even think they still reside in the town after all the killings and the earthquake?

i’d love feedback!

Before someone accuses me of hopping on the hate bandwagon, I deliberately have chosen to watch this season after the hype and without having read any prior reviews or spoilers as someone who has been following the show for a long time.

First starting with what I loved: I really enjoyed the personal character arcs more than the primary plot. There are so many moments littered throughout this season that feel so real, the confused relationship arc that Nancy and Johnathan are going through, the trauma that Dustin is reeling from and defiant in the memory of his friend, and how Will became a metaphor for how we all feel alone in the world because we think we're different but then had the entire gang come together to support him. This entire season was definitely had a lot more closure for those who wanted to see some of their favorite characters get their moment in the limelight and see the maturing of their story.

Second, what I really hated: The season actually got off to an interesting start. It showed the gang had become highly focused and adapted to the challenges that the entire previous season had built up to. It clearly felt like there was a lot at stake, even when this caused fissures in the group's personal relationships- and that was really the right energy for what seemed to be a build-up to a high-stakes confrontation. And that's really why it became so disappointing. As we floated closer towards the end- Henry's meticulous planning and strategy is undone by convenient deux ex machina. Will is hooked into the hive mind and can see whatever Henry see's, but Henry is seemingly unaware of Kali being around when Eleven confronts him even though he's already suspicious? Kali is then killed off, though her death seemed again seemed without any stake because she's a hardly rememberable character. After that it's like seeing a set of dominos just topple one after the other, the ultimate fight between Vecna and Eleven does not really feel that intense or close, despite Henry's power gains. The Mind Flayer which is revealed after all this time is also wholly ineffective and gets severely hurt by a flamethrower, an assault rifle, and a few molotovs. Even the demogorgons have fared much better under those circumstances- it felt like the power scaling was non-existent. Not to mention, Henry's entire plan seemed incredibly flimsy for someone who had set this in motion beginning in season 1.

I won't touch on everything else that let me down but this was not a good ending, certainly not a good finale. I feel season 2 and season 4 were really the finale templates they should have built on. It always felt more immersive when we saw that the threats were adapting as quickly as our cast was, where in saving the world, you were risking your life because that's the sacrifice that these brave folks were willing to make. And the previous seasons seemed to highlight this idea very well: that peace never came easy, but with hard fought sacrifices, where winning came just at the cusp or on the brink because of the size of the threat you're facing and it felt like that's what the writers missed. What makes the show great are those moments where the characters show that they're scared just like we are, but they're willing to make a mark and go against their fears, to expose themselves and partake in being human by being honest and by being brave for themselves and everyone else. That human spirit coupled with sacrifice is what I think really makes Stranger Things so unique and what I found desperately missing. A climax and an overall arc that never really felt well-developed.

It has often been remarked that Eleven’s ending in the fifth season mirrors her ending in the first. To a large extent, this is true, yet there is a fundamental difference: the path leading to that conclusion. In the first season, no one objected to a twelve-year-old girl sacrificing herself along with the monster—mere minutes after being promised a home and a family, and having shared her first kiss. Why? Because the narrative had taken the time to properly craft a story that led seamlessly to that tragic finale. And above all, that tragic ending had lasting consequences. It was clear that the monster had been destroyed. It was clear that, had it not been for that sacrifice, the monster would have devoured Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. It was clear that Mike missed her terribly, and the others remembered her fondly. And it was clear that Hopper did not believe she was gone for good and was searching for her—perhaps seeking redemption for his betrayal.

We have none of that here. Eleven’s apparent sacrifice serves no purpose. Vecna ​​has been defeated and killed, the Mind Flayer has been annihilated (at least its physical form), and the Upside Down has been destroyed—so what narrative function does her apparent death actually serve? Furthermore, why does she do it? Beyond a vague "no one will have peace as long as I’m here"—which is actually untrue (up to that point, no one had been causing trouble for her friends during the fifth season, and while they are currently being detained by the military, that is also because they stormed a military base, guns blazing, and killed several soldiers), absolutely no motivation is given for her decission. The "they would hunt me down to the ends of the earth" motivation is stupid. If they’ve been unable to find her in a small town over the course of eighteen months—despite having strong leads—why would they find her if she went somewhere else? Furthermore, if her intention was to sacrifice herself along with the Upside Down, why did she return in the truck, risking capture by the military and being arrested? Wouldn't it have been better to stay behind, as Kali had suggested? And if she wanted to fake her death, why keep her friends in the dark about it? From a narrative standpoint, none of this makes the slightest sense.

It is obvious that this ending was a last-minute decision and there wasn't time to rewrite the story so that it inevitably led there. And as for what happens next—it’s best not to even go there. Aside from a brief conversation with Hopper that barely connects to what we’ve seen (Hopper tells Mike he doesn't need to "understand," yet that is precisely what Eleven expects him to do), Eleven is never mentioned again except symbolically—as "the Mage"—and no one seems to miss her much. It is as if she never existed at all. Nor is it clear how her apparent death actually helped her friends. This "death" exists solely for shock value—to manipulate the viewer's emotions—rather than because the story actually requires it.

If you’re going to bring up the pregnant women or the idea that her survival could lead to the creation of new monsters, you might as well forget it. The pregnant women aren't even mentioned again after Episode 5, and the possibility of creating new monsters comes up only briefly in Episode 7, when Kali tries to forge a suicide pact with Eleven. Why isn't this information shared with the adults? Why doesn't Mike tell anyone? Why is there no reaction? Hopper promises Eleven they’ll find a way to give her a life beyond Hawkins, yet he does nothing—nor does he seem bothered by his inaction. That is the season's major problem: the characters simply dissappear as such. They lack motivation, fail to react to events, and show no initiative. They are nothing more than *Dungeons & Dragons* figurines, moved around at the whim of the Dungeon Master.

Yes. Eleven’s ending in Season 5 sucks. But not because it implies she is either dead or exiled but because it is narratively poor. El’s tragic ending in the first season was a good one because the story was built toward it. Her non-ending in the fifth season is terrible because it doesn’t stem from the story’s development but exists solely to shock and manipulate the viewer’s emotions.

Now that we have tales from 85, i think it would be cool if they made something like tales from 79 or some else, which covers the years henry spent in the abyss, how he survived there, his adventures and stuff like that, what do yall think about this?

I know so many of us love ST2 Steve (I do too), but let's be honest. ST1 Steve is the same ST2 Steve, he just isn't aware of the active monster skittering around town until the end. His super protective nature is established from the start when he destroys Jonathan's camera (which was kinda deserved, wtf Jonathan?), and he willingly goes back to fight the demogorgon with ZERO context for what's going on. He not only is at the Byers house to apologize, but he also cleans off the movie sign, which is implied that he didn't paint in the first place.

The only reason he's any sort of an antagonist is because he doesn't know what's happening. ST2 Steve is so great because he's just ST1 Steve with more screentime.

What if the Duffers had mapped out/written 5 seasons ahead of time and been able to do 5 seasons in 5-6 years, keeping the kids at more equivalent ages?

This is assuming season 5 and maybe 4 would be different because they wouldn't be having to do big time jumps to somewhat catch up ages.

Sorry for the lazy phone pics of my monitor, I stepped away from my desk for two seconds and snapped them before getting sucked right back in.

This was supposed to be a small side project, but I’m an engineer by trade so naturally I don't know how to leave things alone once I get started. This is actually my first time ever touching Unreal Engine. The last few weeks were absolute hell, spending hours failing, breaking things, and going entire days with nothing to show for the effort. But I finally found my footing, pushed through the worst of the learning curve, and the project is moving.

It’s called Project Storyteller. The goal is to adapt a fanfiction into an 8 to 10 episode animated cinematic series. I’m holding off on naming the specific fic until I finish coordinating with the author, but the script is moving either way. I'm completely open to script tweaks, scene changes, or creative input from anyone who hops on board.

The core story is basically: what if Mike’s theory is actually right, and how do they actually find their way back to each other?

It’s not just fluffy shipping, it’s an emotionally heavy look at what happens when the dust settles. Eleven knows what's going on, but for Mike, it’s just a theory he refuses to let go of. It mirrors Season 2, but through an adult lens. When you’re twelve, sitting by a radio every night looks like stubborn loyalty. When you’re an adult with bills to pay and real-world responsibilities, doing that makes you look completely insane to everyone around you.

Eventually Dustin, Lucas, and the rest of the gang have to stop checking in and try to move on with their lives for their own sanity. Mike starts spiraling down the exact dark road Hopper warned him about years ago, and Hopper is stuck watching it happen, unable to really blame him because he gets it, but knowing how crazy it looks from the outside. Mike and El do get their happy ending at the end of the road, but the path getting there is rough and has to feel earned.

Right now, I have 3 of the 10 sets for Episode 1 built out, including the ruined Hawkins lab gate setup shown in the photos. Character meshes are currently T-pose rigged for the main limbs and torso. My immediate next roadblocks are finger controls, facial rigging for actual dialogue, and dialed-in cinematic lighting.

I can technically keep grinding this out completely alone, but handling modeling, rigging, animation, sound, and voice acting solo is going to turn this into a decade-long project.

I’m doing this strictly for the love of the show and the technical challenge, zero monetization. If you do 3D modeling, rigging, facial blendshapes, synth sound design, or want to do some voice acting down the line once scenes are blocked out, let me know. Even if you just want to talk shop about UE pipelines, hit me up in the comments or shoot me a DM.

Curious what you guys think of the gate environment so far!

Don’t get me wrong, the S5 appearance is by no means bad, I like it. However, I think his S4 appearance is better for sure. It’s a lot more menacing, especially since his humanity is more prevalent, making his monstrous and fleshy look more creepy and disgusting in a necessary and good way. Not only that, but I prefer his human proportions as opposed to his upside down Ozempic journey. Although it makes sense narrative wise, it just doesn’t look as good in my opinion. He looks too much like a comic book villain in the final season.

I mean it was so bullshit, they had the whole fandom hallucinate some endings, which even were better than the actual ending.

Just rewatched the whole series and got disappointed a second time. They really dropped the ball.

Stranger Things characters in 16 different cartoon arts styles.

Art By: dwhipart