My main fear with this show is that it goes like Lost where the creators haven’t planned far enough ahead so they start pulling stuff out of their asses on the fly. They eventually write themselves into a corner that is impossible to get out of so we get a crash landing.
I’m rewatching Succession and I’m picking up a ton of stuff I missed before. Little stuff like the headlines in the background and under the breath one liners. Show is just phenomenal.
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Had been seeing lots of Stranger Things headlines and memes so I’ve stayed away from this thread and other possible spoiler sources until I watched, which I just did. So, I didn’t know that it was getting bad reviews. My thoughts:
It was bloated and plodding. Watching it felt like work. And how was that an ending?
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I really didn’t like the last 2 episodes of Stranger Things. Ready for Season 5 to finish everything out, getting tired of the characters/story at this point.
2nd to last episode: Wow that was diappointing. 90 minutes of filler/set-up so finale will be good at least?
Last episode: But nahhhh here’s more setup for Season 5, no resolution at all.
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I thought Stranger Things was fine, but I’m not looking for much more than a big budget homage to 80s horror movies. Last episode had big Dreamscape vibes as well as a nod to Carrie.
Stranger Things Questions:
- Is Vecna the Mindflayer or are they two different entities?
- When Eleven is in the pizza place, the others refer to ‘Vecna’, but I thought that they hadn’t decided to call it 001/Henry Vecna untill after Mike left for California. Am I just remembering that wrong.
#1 - The Mindflayer is a creation/extension of Vecna I think. Not separate entities.
Thanks. What about that big black smoke thing that Vecna “discovers” in the upside down. Does that have a name? I thought that might be the Mindflayer, but I have a hard time keeping the details from past seasons straight.
Finally got to binge Obi-Wan. I liked it. Lil Leia is adorable and I find the Third Sister to be a compelling and likable character.
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You can do a whole watch through never focusing on the person talking (except in extreme close ups obv). There’s always amusing business going on in the background of the shots.
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They are two different entities. The Mindflayer already existed in the Upside Down before Vecna got there. He simply harnessed it for his own use.
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You’re probably remembering that wrong, but it’s not important.
The tough thing about a lot of these new seasons this year is that so many shows had such a long layoff because of COVID that it’s hard to remember what happened. I’ve had trouble catching up with Better Call Saul and The Umbrella Academy, for instance (fortunately, I’ve been rewatching BCS with my son, so that’s helped a ton). Even with Stranger Things, one of my favorite shows and one that I’m actually IN, I’ve had trouble remembering some things that happened.
The shot where young boy Vecna draws the Mindflayer made me think it was something he had dreamed about and created in the Upside Down. I think the raw materials were already there though?
re: Stranger things
agree that the show is really about taking a bath in the 80s and nothing more and going into this season on that basis helped me enjoy it for the most part.
I did find myself losing interest a lot though, and there was a ton of really boring storylines particularly the Russian one.
This show also suffers from like Dr. Who/deus ex machina syndrome where there’s no real stakes to anything because there’s no commitment to any internal logic. Anything can be changed or resuscitated or beaten or whatever at anytime without constraints so who really cares to even try to understand it? Vecna/mindflayer/particles/russian gates/El’s powers etc. will all just shift into whatever amorphous blob they need to string this along while it’s still popular.
Bit the bullet and got a subscription to HBOMax. Catching up on Curb and resuming Succession. Both so good.
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I have a beef with mad men. How the hell is Don Draper ripped throughout while drinking constantly, I know from personal experience this is not possible!
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i was scrolling hulu looking for something new and landed on The Dropout because it’s got amanda seyfried in it and i loved her in twin peaks season 3, and this is an all-timer. lots of great actors doing small parts and everybody’s great. seyfried is fantastic throughout. so much better than a movie. fuck movies. if they made a movie of this, there would be so much less good shit.
but as it is, 5 bags of popcorn
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I remember having a similar thought cross my mind when I watched it. I’m not sure I’d say he was ripped, but he was in great shape for someone who drinks so much.
Two factors: High fructose corn syrup wasn’t in common use yet in the 1960s, and maintaining a regular exercise routine of fucking everything in sight is a great way to burn off those excess calories.
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I had this problem with the lieutenant in The Wire, dude was ridiculously ripped.
Who? Daniels? I don’t remember him drinking nearly as much as Don Draper. I haven’t seen the wire in a long time though.