This is what everyone says, that it wasn’t the fact that there was a semi-standalone non-Hawkins episode but that it was poorly executed. But most or the complaints about the episode single it out for criticism for things that the typical on-model episode gets a pass for from the same type of fans. The “cartoonish…

The fan base might not demand perfection but they are incredibly narrow-minded in what they expect from the show as evidenced by the reaction to the one episode of the show that tried anything different (which, yes, I”m an apologist for)

They literally put up chyron saying it was supposed to be Dallas.

“The base nature of the show offends me.” Wow. I bet you have a lot of friends.

So . . .I liked this episode. It’s certainly not the strongest ep of the season, nor is it one I’d recommend to someone who wanted to see what Stranger Things was like. It may be the weakest ep in the run of the series so far, but not at all by a wide margin. To say that it was a total failure is ridiculous hyperbole.

…

Not really. People from Northwest Indiana, or “the Region” as they would call it, consider themselves to basically be part of the Chicagoland suburbs but have absolutely nothing to do with Indianapolis. The show definitely doesn’t feel like it’s in “the Region”. It feels more like Southern Indiana, in which case the…

Tippecanoe is the name of a real river in Northern Indiana. I don’t know about the other place names. As someone who grew up in Indiana this show is weird in that sometimes it uses real Indiana place and city names and sometimes not. There’s also been no effort really to locate Hawkins within Indiana which is maybe…

So you don’t think it’s worth discussing whether fiction is successful at telling a good story that doesn’t seem contrived and ridiculous then? This isn’t a nitpick. That scene was some Three’s Company level shit. For it to work better there should’ve been some build up of El being worried about Will talking to other…

I agree with the OP here. I’ve watched the first four eps and so far I think the dude is just far too malevolent and brutal compared to the usual teenage world of Stranger Things. I mean, the teenage baddie from the first season, Jean-Ralphio dude, was nowhere near this menacing and has ended up being a quasi-good…

I think he might mean a metaphorical “PG”. This show as it a tricky line where it’s kind of family viewing but has some hardcore horror/violence elements as well as some fairly raw depictions of teenage sex etc. so oftentimes things are dealt with inconsistently. Like I know people who watch this with their fairly…

Foxy Knoxy!? Big fan. I mean, not of the murdering and all, but . . .

It struck me as sounding anachronistic as well. I don’t remember anyone using the word stalker in normal conversation until the 90s. And this says the earliest usage in the sense we’re talking about was 1991: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/248632/what-were-stalkers-called-before-they-were-called-stalkers

Bullshit dude. I was born in 1973, which I believe means I experienced 1983 and 1984 at exactly the same age as the 4 boys and this is the most accurate, most true to life depiction of the era I grew up in I’ve ever seen. Yes, I am talking a lot about the art direction, music cues etc. but it goes deeper than that. It…

I don’t think “selfish” is exactly right. It can’t be fun for him to be stuck babysitting a traumatized tween secretly in some drafty cabin in the middle of nowhere. He’s just more of a stubborn typical male that thinks he’s always right and he’s the only one that can protect others etc. and is really bad at listening…

Yeah I was the exact same age at the same time as the four boys and I thought Mr. Mom was hilarious

I watched the first season MONTHS after it was released and I did really enjoy seeing it that way well after the super intense part of the hype cycle. However seeing the Season 2 right in the midst of all the advertising and hype has been enjoyable in its own way as well.

Barb was forgotten. It’s just that the Duffer Brothers and the rest of the creative team saw what a viral sensation she became and then wrote Season 2 like she was a bigger deal to the other characters. It’s almost a retcon.

It was bad but you’ve seen very little television if that’s the case

Are you suggesting to actually watch it live as it airs?

I didn’t get the cocaine thing. It seemed like one quirk too many for me.