I try not to think about the finale, i have basically blocked out a lot of everything after EP4 and have more or less gotten over cuz it is what it is but this is just late (last) night staring off into space thoughts
I've seen a lot of people bring up how misogynistic Els arc was, and I agree with that. It actually baffles me that her whole arc was based around, to an extent, her relationship with Mike which is stupid because as far as I can remember even Millie herself has said in the past (I do not have receipts, I only have vague memory) that certain parts of the story was about El 'finding herself' so I also very naturally thought oh maybe this is the season where we finally see some character development. I do love El, but her character and arc for most parts was boring and dead. We don't see any sort of development, and the potential was there!! Why is it that her story and her 'happy ending' revolved around how her and Mike's relationship turned out, why is that when she couldn't imagine a future with Mike and 3 waterfalls she thought the only other option was death. El had so much potential as a character, and mc they didn't explore it enough nor do her justice. Her arc and character are just linked with her relationship with the men in her life eg Mike and Hopper, and whilst I did love the father-daughter relationship i don't understand why some of that screen time couldn't go into developing her as a person. Both of these characters at certain points in her life prevent her from becoming her own person. The Duffers quite literally reduced her to the lab rat with powers and boyfriend. And even her powers tie back into her relationship with men!!! the way Dr. Brenner and Henry play such a big part in the way she views herself and her powers. Personally, I think the only male relationship that would've actually done her justice would've been the relationship she has with Jonathan and Will, her brothers. If they had explored that, which they had an opportunity to do so in S4, I think it would've been a really cool way to see how she grew into her own person with the help of her brothers, the way they would've shared music, art, movies etc with her. They should've even explored her relationship with the whole Party like they did in S1/2, it would've been perfect for her to develop her personality, the way they would've shared bits of their personality and from there she could've been able to actually find out what likes and what she wants from life. But more than that, they should've explored her relationship with Max, Nancy, with Joyce!! who was basically her mum in S4, why didn't we see any of those relationships?? why wasn't she given a chance to become her own person, why was her person limited to Mike and, to an extent, Hopper. They did a disservice to both El and Millie.
Now on to Will (+byler). ohh it STILL makes me mad that they made him say 'he was just my tammy', I honestly still think it was a joke. It was disrespectful to reduce a life long love into something small, and it's not even about romantic love, the bond Mike and Will shared was bigger than platonic and romantic so wdym they just in one fell swoop shoved years of feelings and longing under the carpet by saying ' oh he just had a school girl crush on him' bs. And then they had the audacity to use Will as a way to blow some life into Mike and Eleven's relationship. like what?? that was so cruel and such a disheartening message to be putting out there, like yh you probably don't stand a chance with the love of your life so you should just shove it down and disregard your own feelings and fix everyone elses relationship. Reducing Will's love into something so small was horrible of them because wdym queer people can't have epic first loves, wdym they don't get their big happy ending. By doing that, what they've suggested and implied is that the love queer people have or feel is irrelevant or insignificant because they're 'confused' and still have to 'figure themselves out'
And now, onto Robin and Vickie, ohhh man, the fact that they made her call Vickie a 'overbearing significant other' made me mad. Cuz come on seriously?? We see how endeared and charmed Robin is by Vickies chattiness and ramblings, wdym she ends up finding her overbearing?? And look Vickie was not as bad as some people like to say she was, she had every right to be freaking out and constantly checking on Robin the way she did in S5, cuz if your partner keeps bailing out of plans ALL the time wouldn't you be a bit concerned? especially considering (im assuming based on S4) Vickie would've been a bit more vulnerable with her sexuality than Robin. and oh, and then you find out she's been fighting interdimensional monsters, and she's supposed to be chill about that?? I hate how they handled both Will and Robins' relationship the same way. They turned the people who meant the most to them, the people who they loved into idk annoying flies or something. They completed disregarded and disrespected their characters.
edit: also I hate how, like with el, they reduced Will's character to just Mike and coming to terms with how he feels about him. like yes, 100% that's a big part of his personality/life, however that's not all of who he is. they had a great opportunity to explore his other relationships, his trauma (monster and non monster one), the way he's connected to vecna, and the impact he had on him. s5 was perfect for all that, but they just let it go to waste.
stranger things x the internet
I slept on it, woke up and feel even more worse
I just dont understand, like why?? what was the point of all that subtext, what was the point of the blue and yellow, what was the point of 'how obvious' what was the point of the painting? what was the point of s4 mike wheeler?? whywhywhywhywhywhy????
why would the actors and everyone involved encourage us and give us hope that byler was ever an option. I feel like the butt of a joke that we weren't even aware was happening. It genuinely feels like someones slapped me in the face in a room full of people.
and to others we might sound crazy and petty going on and on about the painting. BUT IT IS THAT DEEP! cuz will poured his heart out, he confessed via that painting, all those beautiful things about mike, HE said them. he gave his heart to mike when he gave him that painting and what it was never adressesed? they had the audacity to show it in the epilogue??? and we didnt even get a confession scene?? like what? I can't believe the actors read that script and were like yh this is the best tv created, I can't believe noah was like yh that's a perfect ending for my gay character, like yh he can be happy, but in a far away land somewhere. like what, it actually feels like we're missing something . it's actually disgusting that they just used such a massive and vulnerable moment to boost mike and eleven's relationship. and then they added HEROES at the end, I actually flinched.
and ohh mike wheeler, my son, I am so sorry what they did to you 😭
and byler aside, something about that finale just felt flat to me. I had hope and then nothing. I wasn't as invested as I thought I was going to be, I love el but that scene did nothing for me. apart from one or two bits throughout the episode (that ending scene was so bittersweet), everything else was just meh to me. they never adressesed Henry's past, they never adressesed will and his connection to him, his powers. like I was expecting a bit more, and that fight scene was just what? and how on God's green earth was the military more of a threat than an interdimensional supernatural monster??????? and why on earth did they have that massive mileven moment at the end?? they should have built it up from the beginning, and the fact that he still couldn't say i love u to her? what?! and they don't even address that whole vecna showing will a vision thing?? what happened to show and not tell?
u invest years into something, and then they just ruin it, its actual heartbreak. it feels like I'm mourning the death of someone. How did u guys do it a million times before? can someone give me advice on how to move on from this?? I have no idea how many fics its going to take me to forget.