How Stranger Things 4 Saved the Show

[Music] so stranger things 4 released the other week and it made me love the series once again now i wasn't really in a rush to check out stranger things for and it wasn't because i like really hated the series or anything it was more like i was burnt out on stranger things and that's weird because the last time we got a season was with stranger things three and that came out almost three years ago and i wasn't really like alone in this opinion there have been other people who themselves weren't too keen or excited about this season maybe it was due to the circles i found myself in but i didn't really hear anyone being hyped about stranger things 4 on the onset of its release some may argue that the lack of hype was due to the fact that it had been three years since the last season and people just simply moved on which could be a decent argument but if i'm being honest it's more complex than that i think the problem came that the show wasn't as special as it was when it first came out in 2016. let me go through all the seasons real quick and how the hype died and how stranger things 4 brought it back so let's talk about 1980s nostalgia there is truly no other decade that has been so oversaturated in its aesthetic and in its regurgitation i can see that now because although stranger things wasn't exactly the first piece of media to glorify the 80s i would definitely say it was a catalyst to everything that came after except when stranger things did it in 2016 they did it fairly well you can say anything you want about nostalgia baiting but when it's done well it is truly incredible the first season of stranger things in this regard was special i don't know maybe we were all a little more optimistic back then like we were just like oh hell yeah man i love the 1980s for stranger things the 1980s was really just a backdrop over a story that was honestly incredibly engaging here we have a group of kids coming together in a coming-of-age story in a season that is tightly written and it all felt just so complete by the end of its first season and yes this was done intentionally originally stranger things was going to become an anthology series one that would bring in new characters with each season and a new set of stories like who knows maybe they would have done different decades like the 1990s or 1960s knowing the duffer brothers and how good they are at writing i believe they would have excelled in this proposition besides that everyone fell in love with season one of stranger things it was just frequently consistent with its humor its music its shift in tone whenever it wanted to change there were no like random quips or anything from like the kids that felt like awkward or just forced so when stranger things 2 had an ad during the super ball of 2017 people were hyped people were excited to get back to hawkins and then they watched stranger things too and it was definitely a season alright listen i don't really hate stranger things too i think it has a lot of good actually and i think about that throughout the entire series of stranger things really i think a lot of the good outweighs any of the annoyances or grievances i have i mean stranger things too is true to its name it's basically more stranger things except not as consistent as the first season the characters are fleshed out more becoming more complex than just 80 stereotypes and i do like the addition of bob and max although bob has a brief appearance on the show he makes for a real well-rounded character probably my favorite character introduced in season 2 though is murray especially because he has like the best joke in the entire series so jonathan that was the pull out the sofa oh yeah yeah it was good i bet [Music] but there are things about season two that me and a lot of the audience just don't like that makes this entire season inconsistent as ladies and gentlemen let me introduce to you season two episode 7 of stranger things also known as the lost sister it's not that good essentially 11 had a sister and they were trying to do like this x-men type of like plot line that 11 isn't the only one with all these special powers and although they do continue with that plotline in stranger things 4 i would argue it's done differently and better people had problems when this came out like real major issues with this episode and it's no wonder that they ditched this plotline never to return to it even after all these years later it just feels like really awkward when you re-watch the show and get to that episode of the season knowing that none of this goes anywhere and maybe i'll be eating my own words maybe the duffer brothers will bring back this plotline but i doubt it apparently its purpose was to introduce this backdoor pilot that would follow number eight but since no one liked it it didn't end up becoming a show at this point i started to fall out a little bit from stranger things i was still eager with that cliffhanger at the end of season 2 but at this point i was just like eh it'll come out when it comes out [Music] cut to july 4th 2019 let me just say something although i really like stranger things 4 it is nothing compared to the marketing of stranger things 3. it's just the colors the music and everything around it made that summer seem so vibrant they really took advantage of that 4th of july theming similar to how stranger things 2 released right before halloween and takes place right before halloween which is missing from stranger things four i thought they would rely on another holiday with that being said stranger things three was chaotic and dumb but oh my god it was so fun and a huge step up from stranger things too i mean we all remember alexi he was pretty epic that man in there i know he doesn't look it but he is one of the most dangerous men in the world he's uh murdered many children the russians some people are mixed on personally i find that entire plot line hilarious and i like the type of parody of like a terminator type of like action film the entirety of the season with that being said the 80s stuff started to be a little jarring like there's this new coke scene which serves as like an advertisement of some sorts to be like hey it's 1985 this is what was going on another thing i'd like to mention and you know as much as i love back to the future i mean it's my favorite movie of all time it's kind of foreseen to be just implemented into stranger things three without any like real purpose whatsoever and maybe stranger things was always this way maybe by the time i reached the third season i just became sick of it the entire glorification of the 1980s without like any real purpose to it personally in season one when they use the song should i stay or should i go it was met with deeper meaning as it connected with will and jonathan it didn't feel forced at all because its purpose was while serving for the entire plot and for knowing our characters it doesn't upset me seeing back to the future on the screen it just feels like a little just like yeah i get it it's the 80s and don't get me wrong i know that setting is important and i appreciate the fashion and all the details they put in to make it seem like it is the 1980s but when it's so like over the top it kind of gets like in the way and really distracts the individual it should really be an add-on not the overall focus if that makes any sense despite all of this i still thought stranger things 3 was pretty good and most people did as well the problem was that it came out and then people stopped talking about it and this may be one of the biggest hindrances when it comes to stranger things it is on netflix and on netflix usually when a show comes out the entire season comes out on the same day people binge and watch it and there's no chance to discuss or have any conversation about it because it's over so quickly you know it is what it is it's just like it'll be like a week later after its release and i totally forgot what happened in stranger things 3 because i finished the entire thing in like 8 hours to compare and don't worry i'm not going to spoil this i've been watching better call saul's final season on a weekly basis i mean this is how i've been watching better call saw for its entirety of its run with each new episode there's time to discuss what happened on like forums or whatever with your friends and i believe it makes for a much more entertaining experience theorizing what will happen next and zooming into scenes much more closely being like oh that one scene was awesome because so and so did this things are more digested or more analyzed the entire media in general has a deeper understanding and a much more thorough lifespan i would argue that this contributed to the hype of stranger things just simply fizzling out people already got the entire 80 stick and people were less likely to talk about it for a long time once it all released on one day i mean that's something i would argue other streaming services do way better they know how to market tv shows [Music] by the time stranger things four came out i was only pushed to watch it after seeing so many tick tock trends about it so i checked it out and it was it was pretty good it was probably either the second best season or first best it really depends how the rest of the season plays out because unlike stranger things three they didn't release every single episode at once thank god yeah there may be two more episodes left of the season but like that doesn't stop us from theorizing now it doesn't stop us from wondering hey what's gonna happen next not only that but once again the show is just really consistent the writing has gotten way better since the past two seasons and that's not to say season two and three were like terrible because they weren't they were pretty good what i'm trying to say here is that season 4 takes the best attributes of all these seasons and combines it into one the horror aspect of the show it's to new heights this season is bloody really bloody and honestly the scariest one out of the four the dramas these characters get into feel really real i connect to the characters more as they're growing the new characters introduced are also pretty epic like argyle or eddie i'm a pretty big eddie fan if something happens to him in the next two episodes i am going to be very very sad spoilers i mean i don't know if why you're watching this because they're spoilers up to the most recent episode of stranger things but as we've seen in the past once a likable character comes in they end up like dying off in the show like in the very same season so duffer brothers eddie will be okay right right the music used in stranger things 4 is what i would argue the best in the entire series and yeah that running up the hill scene that is pure art it's so good it is in this regard that i think the duffer brothers have realized that we all already get that it's the 1980s and that they really use it as a backdrop they don't rely on the 1980s anymore to like get some sense of like nostalgia or whatever they have become very smart they now use the 80s and the culture surrounding it as more of a tool to help build the characters which is similar to how it was in stranger things one it isn't like hey look this is when this movie came out check it out guys it's 1985. it's more natural as opposed to what it was also i'm really impressed because when it comes to the russian storyline i thought i would get pretty tired of it but it's actually been pretty entertaining especially with the latest new character yuri who i personally think is a little underrated when it comes to looking at season 4. basically what i'm trying to get at is that stranger things is exciting once again i'm actually actively looking forward to what's coming up next which is a lot to say because this hasn't happened in a long long time i have the utmost confidence in the duffer brothers on landing a terrific ending in season 4 and also delivering a fantastic season 5. unless they mess it up in the last two episodes then this entire video is all for naught okay anyway subscribe love you bye [Music]

Channel: Zeepsterd

Views: 982,013

Keywords: stranger things 4, video essay

Id: AuifMQp_fKc

Length: 11min 13sec (673 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 12 2022