Leofric Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 41 minutes ago, Talleyrand said: The older teenagers on Halloween also call him Zombie boy before he gets knocked to the ground and goes to the Upside Down. Yeah several people called him Zombie Boy. I took Will dancing with the girl as accepting that he is Zombie Boy, kind of like Tyrion's advice to Jon Snow in the The Game of Thrones " Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour, and it can never be used to hurt you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bard of Banefort Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Looking back now, I think the most disappointing thing about this season for me was how they couldn't figure out a way to spread the plot evenly among the characters. Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Steve were all fleshed out more this season, which was a plus, but at the same time Mike spent most of the season brooding, Nancy came up with some contrived government take-down plan that shouldn't have worked, and Jonathan drove everyone around town. (That last one was the real kicker for me. Jonathan was one of the characters that I found the most interesting in season one, so the fact that he got to do essentially nothing aside from being Hawkins' designated driver this year was a real let-down for me). The last two episodes brought everyone together, but that was after seven episodes of treading water. Max and Billy both have the potential to be great characters, but nothing they did this season had much influence on the overall plot. I'm also worried that the Stranger Things fandom is going to end up turning Steve into the new Barb. It's only been two weeks since the season dropped, and I'm already tired of all the mom/dad/babysitter/baseball bat memes. I don't mean to make this sound like I didn't like season two, because I did. But at the same time, there were certainly flaws that stuck out to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetyrPunkinhead Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 4 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said: ...Max and Billy both have the potential to be great characters, but nothing they did this season had much influence on the overall plot... I disagree about their lack of importance. Max is a full fledged member of the group, (Zoomer!) she inspired change in Lucas, and was the focus of a whole jealousy emotional conflict for both Dustin and Jane-11. On 11/6/2017 at 10:56 AM, S John said: We'll see where they go with it in Season 3 (if anywhere) but I definitely got some "Billy is gay" vibes. Maybe they won't actually get into it, which I would be fine with, but I do think the show was hinting at it. I felt like there were undertones and innuendo about Billy, too. His anger and hyper-masculinity/sexuality likely comes from how his father treats him. I don't think the Duffers had his dad drop the "f-bomb" on Billy by accident either. Billy's desire to usurp/dominate Steve could likely stem from an inner conflict Billy has with being both attracted to Steve and the need to be "alpha male" at the high school in order to to fulfill what his father believes a "man" should be. It would certainly make for a more complex and round character in ST3 if that was the case for Billy and he wasn't just all douchey and abusive because his dad got remarried and moved states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeping Sore Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Episode 7 was really very bad. Kali's character was one-dimensional (+ wouldn't she have an American accent by now?) and her companions were just a collection of bad costumes/ hairstyles. Also, why bother putting on masks to commit crimes if you're going to have distinctive hair allowing you to be identified from a mile away? Everything the episode was trying to do was put into the dialogue very on-the-nose. It just didn't succeed. Better to skip 207 rather than try to imbue it with purpose/quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Kilmore Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 On 10/31/2017 at 6:05 PM, Kalbear said: That's one of the best ones for getting an adventure going. Hmm. If we're going for truly iconic but somewhat obscure things...maybe the Eye and Hand of Vecna? That'd be a way to bring Brenner into it a bit, too - have him be 'saved' by welding parts of Demogorgon onto him, and them talking about him being a Lich like Vecna. On 10/31/2017 at 6:08 PM, Gertrude said: Not so obscure to D&D fans these days, I'm thinking. Do you watch Critcal Role? Good idea Kal, I like it and I had the same thought Gertrude. It makes me wonder if the Duffers are fans, I know some other film and theater types are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fez Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 21 hours ago, Talleyrand said: The older teenagers on Halloween also call him Zombie boy before he gets knocked to the ground and goes to the Upside Down. Ah, my bad. I forgot about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 3 hours ago, Weeping Sore said: Episode 7 was really very bad. Kali's character was one-dimensional (+ wouldn't she have an American accent by now?) and her companions were just a collection of bad costumes/ hairstyles. Also, why bother putting on masks to commit crimes if you're going to have distinctive hair allowing you to be identified from a mile away? Everything the episode was trying to do was put into the dialogue very on-the-nose. It just didn't succeed. Better to skip 207 rather than try to imbue it with purpose/quality. It's so weird how Netflix on my computer automatically skipped episode 7. I took a break after watching episode 6 and when I came back Netflix started me on episode 8 and I didn't even notice. After episode 9 ended I thought maybe I had missed something so I wasn't surprised when I learned I had missed an episode but when I went back and watched it, I didn't hate it but I felt I could have never watched it and still got as much out of season 2 as I did having seen it. Just weird it was that episode that got skipped. Also, with episode 7 I kind of smell backdoor pilot, and those more often than not are jarring episodes within their main series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I fell asleep twice watching episode seven. It was just terrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawkcabi Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Holy shit, they can sing too! "The 'Stranger Things' Kids Were Nearly A Motown Super Group" High school garage band maybe in season 3 or 4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slurktan Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 1 hour ago, drawkcabi said: Holy shit, they can sing too! "The 'Stranger Things' Kids Were Nearly A Motown Super Group" High school garage band maybe in season 3 or 4? Well Finn Wolfhard clearly can't, or dance lol but whatever awesome actor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumHam Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 A nice touch that I never would have noticed: https://www.avclub.com/theres-a-tiny-excruciatingly-sad-detail-connecting-hop-1820337899 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 On 11/11/2017 at 7:06 AM, RumHam said: A nice touch that I never would have noticed: https://www.avclub.com/theres-a-tiny-excruciatingly-sad-detail-connecting-hop-1820337899 OMG that is so beautiful! I've FINALLY managed to watch it all. Seriously, Samwise Gamgee is just an all-out champion person. So devastated when the mop handle landed on the floor, I just knew he was done for when that happened. And poor Steve. He began the series with the pretty girlfriend, happy at school and close friends. I haven't forgotten his unforgivable "slut-shaming" of Nancy, which I cannot understand why she overlooked, but I still feel bad he is now effectively losing all of his social status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krishtotter Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 An unpopular opinion, probably akin to popular culture heresy...but I just don't like "Stranger Things". I watched the first four episodes of season 1 and it didn't grip me in the compulsive binge-watch fashion that it has many other people I know, such that I was left wondering what all the hype was about. I didn't watch to the end of the season but presumably the monster gets defeated and the missing boy returns home from the other dimension (RIP Barb). It struck me as a rather uninspired re-telling of the 1982 movie Poltergeist in which the youngest child of a family is sucked through a portal in her closet into another dimension inhabited by malevolent entities, the family realizing that she has been taken when they hear her voice emanating from the television set. There's a desperate mother trying to communicate like Winona Ryder's character, a concerned sibling...the difference, I suppose, is the nefarious government experiment on children aspect to Stranger Things. Don't get me wrong, the child actors were superb and the character interactions generally well written. But the nostalgia trip just didn't work on me and moreover I have a pathological hatred for creepy horrors set in small-town locations next to secret government installations where children are abducted for experiments. I definitely wouldn't rate it as highly as the first four seasons of GoT, with its intricate fantasy power politics and epic scale. But as I said, I'm sure that makes me a heretic as it seems to garner rave reviews and accolades.... Each to their own, eh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rippounet Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Krishtotter said: I watched the first four episodes of season 1 and it didn't grip me in the compulsive binge-watch fashion that it has many other people I know, such that I was left wondering what all the hype was about. I didn't watch to the end of the season but presumably the monster gets defeated and the missing boy returns home from the other dimension (RIP Barb). It struck me as a rather uninspired re-telling of the 1982 movie Poltergeist You seem to have missed the point of the series. It's meant a homage to 1980s movie-making. It's not meant to be particularly original ; on the contrary it aims to follow 1980s tropes as clearly as possible. It's basically a show for people with some sense of nostalgia for the 1980s. Most of them because they were kids back then. The plot of Stranger Things itself is rather mediocre indeed. The writing and acting are pretty good though. I wouldn't rate it very high as far as TV shows go. It's entertaining (well written and well acted) with an interesting premise, but not exactly groundbreaking. On the other hand, the last two seasons of GoT were so poorly written that I'm not sure I would necessarily rate GoT better, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krishtotter Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 39 minutes ago, Rippounet said: You seem to have missed the point of the series. It's meant a homage to 1980s movie-making. It's not meant to be particularly original ; on the contrary it aims to follow 1980s tropes as clearly as possible. It's basically a show for people with some sense of nostalgia for the 1980s. Most of them because they were kids back then. The plot of Stranger Things itself is rather mediocre indeed. The writing and acting are pretty good though. I wouldn't rate it very high as far as TV shows go. It's entertaining (well written and well acted) with an interesting premise, but not exactly groundbreaking. On the other hand, the last two seasons of GoT were so poorly written that I'm not sure I would necessarily rate GoT better, so... Ah but note what I actually said: "I definitely wouldn't rate it as highly as the first four seasons of GoT, with its intricate fantasy power politics and epic scale"....the qualifier is important here, my words were carefully and deliberately chosen In its prime, when it had GRRM's material to work with, GoT strikes me as having been (from my POV at least) a more entertaining and compulsive-watch than Stranger Things in its prime in Season 1. I'm not comparing it with GoT as we have it now but in their respective primes they were/are both fantasy-type shows, so I think comparisons and contrasts can be drawn. That said, as a child of the '90s and 2000s perhaps I just don't have that much of an affinity for the '80s decade. The characters were engaging and well-acted I admit but the plot just didn't hold me and the nostalgia is quite lost on me. Also, I'm British and our 1980s was a rather hellish period under Mrs. Thatcher (if you happen to share my political beliefs) - so I'm probably biased against it for that reason too! It brings to mind for me images of miners striking and the Iron Lady not being for turning.....oh and IRA bombings. Doesn't quite give me the warm fuzzies..... But good acting and dialogue, yes Stranger Things has that imho, unfortunately I just couldn't get invested in the plot and setting - the latter of which seems to be a particular draw for many, especially amongst Americans no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrist Simon Steele Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 3 hours ago, Krishtotter said: An unpopular opinion, probably akin to popular culture heresy...but I just don't like "Stranger Things". I watched the first four episodes of season 1 and it didn't grip me in the compulsive binge-watch fashion that it has many other people I know, such that I was left wondering what all the hype was about. I didn't watch to the end of the season but presumably the monster gets defeated and the missing boy returns home from the other dimension (RIP Barb). It struck me as a rather uninspired re-telling of the 1982 movie Poltergeist in which the youngest child of a family is sucked through a portal in her closet into another dimension inhabited by malevolent entities, the family realizing that she has been taken when they hear her voice emanating from the television set. There's a desperate mother trying to communicate like Winona Ryder's character, a concerned sibling...the difference, I suppose, is the nefarious government experiment on children aspect to Stranger Things. Don't get me wrong, the child actors were superb and the character interactions generally well written. But the nostalgia trip just didn't work on me and moreover I have a pathological hatred for creepy horrors set in small-town locations next to secret government installations where children are abducted for experiments. I definitely wouldn't rate it as highly as the first four seasons of GoT, with its intricate fantasy power politics and epic scale. But as I said, I'm sure that makes me a heretic as it seems to garner rave reviews and accolades.... Each to their own, eh. Guys, guys--I get it. This is doing what Stranger Things is doing. Kind of like Max's whole "it's derivative in parts" line! This is a "I don't get it" critic homage. Or something. Not particularly original, but hitting all the tropes we've seen before from this kind of write up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukle Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 9 hours ago, Krishtotter said: An unpopular opinion, probably akin to popular culture heresy...but I just don't like "Stranger Things". I watched the first four episodes of season 1 and it didn't grip me in the compulsive binge-watch fashion that it has many other people I know, such that I was left wondering what all the hype was about. I didn't watch to the end of the season but presumably the monster gets defeated and the missing boy returns home from the other dimension (RIP Barb). ... Each to their own, eh. I understand this point of view. I don't agree, but I know why you would. You articulated it well. I haven't really any counter-claims to explain why I do like it, it's just subjective, as you say. I do like horror in general, though, that could be a factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaldanya Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 On 11/10/2017 at 8:06 PM, RumHam said: A nice touch that I never would have noticed: https://www.avclub.com/theres-a-tiny-excruciatingly-sad-detail-connecting-hop-1820337899 I'm not crying, you're crying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 The Stranger Things kids can act a hell of a lot better than the first few seasons GoT kids though. Apart from Kali, not sure what happened there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slurktan Posted November 14, 2017 Share Posted November 14, 2017 3 hours ago, john said: The Stranger Things kids can act a hell of a lot better than the first few seasons GoT kids though. Apart from Kali, not sure what happened there. The actress who plays Kali is 24. Their record on kids is intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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