‘Stranger Things’ fans left searching for familiar thrills following Volume 2 release

As Stranger Things nears its end, the show’s team has encountered an unexpected impediment which they simply must resolve in record time — poor reception.

The series entered its final stages with the release of three new episodes, labelled as Volume 2, on Christmas Day.

With its season finale, and the series conclusion altogether, scheduled to drop on New Year’s Eve, the show has left its devoted audiences wanting for more — but not in a good way.

The latest episodes of Stranger Things left a huge gap between what the fans expected and what was delivered. With more talk and less action, filler storylines, and a tiresome plot, the show has hit an unsharpened hedge in the road to its conclusion.

Co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer get a single shot at providing a finish worthy of a series running for nearly a decade — will it be achieved?

Low scores

The fifth season of Stranger Things has received historically low ratings since the series began, with even Volume 1 losing momentum with the fans.

Per THR, the audience score for the first four episodes of season five “was reportedly in the 70s,” after its previous seasons fared at an average of “86 percent or higher.”

While the show’s penultimate episode, the latest season’s seventh overall, The Bridge has become its “lowest-rated episode on IMDb.”

Poor writing

The show united audiences of different ideological backgrounds on one point — its poor writing.

While Will Byers coming out to his family and friends in the last episode of Volume 2 was a pivotal moment in the character’s arc, many felt that it was reduced to a farcical outcome given the dire circumstances around the plotline.

The drawn-out monologue delivered by Noah Schnapp as Will came just before the Hawkins gang were about to embark on a face-off with Vecna, which is expected to be screened as part of the series’ upcoming final episode.

Notably, to most loyal fans of the show, Will’s sexuality has been simultaneously apparent and speculated since the show’s debut in 2016. It was the timing which threw everyone off and made the moment a cringe-worthy addition, rather than a poignant one.

“The forcing of everyone into a room to sit and be quiet then listen to every awkward word that came out of Will’s mouth when most already knew and didn’t give a f*** because they are trying to save the world,” a user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

On the other hand, the usual suspects dissenting from the plotline altogether were the right-wing brigade, crying “woke”.

“It’s completely unnecessary and forced on an audience that just wants to enjoy some basic science fiction,” Elon Musk had also shared on the social media platform he now owns.

What’s left

The newly released episodes of Stranger Things have left its legacy hanging by a thread — the show absolutely has to pack its biggest punch yet to make up for the lackluster release just ahead of its grand finale.

What the audience can expect for now is a final showdown between the show’s longtime antagonist, Vecna/Henry, and its main players.

While shocks and surprises may range from prominent character deaths to new allegiances, alongside the conclusion to questions long left unanswered by the heavily spinning vortex of several complex storylines.