LogFAQs > #966332903

Great finale episode (ep 8 really just setup so was a real "ok guess we needed that one" episode)

Though agree w/ comments on pacing issues, like you can tell the Duffer bros. are getting free reign here so there's more than a few bloated or padded-out scenes, really feels like this season could get trimmed a fair bit.

Like if there was a S4 fan-edit that was purely Hawkins-focused and cut out California and Russia storylines entirely other than in the finale (and even then, abridged therein) I'd take that. In the meantime, in doing a quick rewatch of vol. 1 before vol. 2, there was a whole lot of fast-forwarding going on...

Also disagree w/ critiques on not having guts to kill Max, I've been of the mind all along they'd never kill any of the kid characters so only ones on the table are adults and maybe the older teens, but we'll see what happens in Season 5. I think the gimmick with Max is the 4 deaths (3 + Max) were the justification to open the gate in Hawkins, so Max's soul/consciousness/whatever is part of what's keeping it open so you get the double whammy of fixing her also closing the gate/resolving the Hawkins threat. Though it's still a question of what part 2 of Vecna's plan is.

Also I'm still expecting (S5 speculation) Chernobyl accident to come into play here somehow, as the Russians trying to open their own gate on home turf rather than in Hawkins, though it's around a month or two after the events of Season 4 and they need to do some kind of time skip so unless it's the S5 opener or prologue or something, I guess not...

UltimaterializerX posted...

I understand that but it gets ludicrous. The dude realistically should not have survived Dig Dug all the way back in season 2. Now hes a mixture of a Navy SEAL, a Green Beret, Big Boss, and King Leonidas. Its terrible writing and realism should matter at least a little. None of these characters have been under any true threat whatsoever since midway through season 2.

I like to chalk it up as the Demogorgon being super-weak due to being flame-roasted and the hivemind being in a totally messed-up state during their fight. Like the fire "softened" it up enough to the point that melee weapons which would ordinarily not cut through it, could cut through, and it also messed with like.... its depth perception and whatnot, as far as it misjudging its strikes against Hopper

Maybe mind-canon but the only way I can really rationalize that scene.. though it also doesn't explain someone with zero sword experience being able to wield it so efficiently, ok it was just a fan service moment, damn