Chapter Five: Shock Jock

Am I crazy or did this episode just feel extremely... off? From the jumpy editing, to the sound effects, to a lot of the character dialogue itself... It honestly felt like a bad CW show at points. It was only a month ago, but I don't recall the first part of the season feeling THIS disjointed and stitched together. Add on top of that the things I was already iffy about like the badly green-screened Upside Down that poses no threat anymore, and characters like Joyce who feel like an empty shell of themselves... There were things I enjoyed about this episode during its climactic moments, and definitely some reveals that will be important for the rest of the show, but man, I did not leave this episode with high hopes. I really hope this episode was a fluke for the season, and that the rest of the series doesn't feel as awkward.

After reading negative reviews, I set my expectations very low and was even afraid it would be dragging, slow, and filled with bad acting.

But I actually enjoyed it. I understand where people are coming from, and especially in the first episode the school scenes feel a bit forced. That also has to do with the fact that the actors are now clearly adults who still have to portray teenagers.

That aside, I had no issue with the pacing. I like how the show switches between action and emotional moment, and sometimes even some light hearted, humor. If you truly care about these characters more than just the action, some of the dialogue will definitely move you.

On the other hand, I think another problem is that the internet has set the stakes so incredibly high that for most people it would be impossible for the season to live up to their expectations. I personally don't think this is the best season, and is it the perfect final season? Probably not. But how does one create a perfect season to this epic series?

I do think it's still a solid and enjoyable season that balances tension-building, action scenes, and emotional moments quite well.

If you're looking for a purely action-driven season that lives up to the highest of your expectations, it might not fully satisfy you-but if you're still invested in the characters, it's definitely worth watching.

A lot of slow this episodes with longer conversations especially the ones with Robin and Will/ Max and Holly. But there is a lot of good that comes out of those scenes. I love learning about each character and getting to hear them more and more as the season progresses. The Max/Holly scenes of them jumping from memory to memory had me on the edge of my seat and intrigued. I love the Steve and Dustin dynamic as well. That convo between the two of them in the lab was needed and made me a little sad. We are starting to run out of time to answer questions and let characters finish arcs so i'm getting nervous. However, I am excited and hope the Duffers can land the plane.

This felt wheel-spinny. It's the endgame but the endgame is just feeling very drawn-out, and not all that exciting. People move slowly because this season has to be a season for whatever reason, everyone is over-explaining everything, and there are too many characters with so many of them feeling similar to one another. I am not really feeling this, but it's too close to the end to abandon ship at this point.

I hope they fix this problem with steve and dustin AS SOON AS POSSIBLE what are they doing to my favorite friendship. It just seems so out of character for steve to say that. Other than that not the worst ep but a bit of a slower one not full of much, a good buildup for the rest of the vol though on to it.