This Season Wasnât for Everyone And That Was the Point
â ď¸Season 5, Vol2 Spoilersâ ď¸
By the way, I was a bit surprised to see that some of the things I mentioned in my post turned out to be accurate. You can read my predictions in here.
I feel like I might be one of the few people who genuinely enjoyed most of the narrative turns the Duffers made in Vol2. And if we take in account that they said that Stranger Things isnât really aimed at the general audience (GA), but at a more specific kind of viewer, it finally clicked for me.
A lot of the backlash seems to be about ships. Which I get, shipping is emotional.
But if you zoom out a little, thereâs so much going on here that clearly isnât written to please everyone.
This season leans hard into ideas, symbolism, science fiction, and mythic structures. It feels like a mix of Coraline, Alice in Wonderland, A Wrinkle in Time, Peter Pan, and even Naruto, which are stories about fate, identity, alternate paths, and growing up too fast.
If the show were really trying to satisfy the GA, the safest option wouldâve been obvious. Jancy is popular, itâs familiar and has being a thing since S1.
But then deciding for them to break-up.
Thatâs not exactly mass-appeal, and I kind of love that!!
And yet⌠they decided to go that route. And we get something so much messier and bittersweet. That alone tells me the intent isnât fanservice.
Itâs part of what the story wants to convey, and I have being saying this for a long time now.
Take Byler, for example. I still believe itâs very likely canon, but not necessarily in a neat, explicit 100% at the end of the series. The Duffers loves open endings and metaphors. I can easily imagine something bittersweet like Will ending up with someone else while Mike grieves El, if she dies. A kind of young Jopper situation (from âThe First Shadowâ) separated by circumstances, trauma, and timing, with the quiet implication that maybe, in another life, they could find their way back to each other. You donât need a kiss to make that legible, the show has never been subtle about Mikeâs feelings toward Will, it just refuses to rush them into a fairytale resolution, that is my take.
What also makes sense now is the structure of the final episodes. With around 40 min epilogue, some arcs are already basically resolved. Lumax is done, Jopper is almost there, honestly, all they need is that Enzoâs date. Steve and Dustinâs relationship is solid again, so narratively, theyâre free to explore other dynamics.
That leaves the emotional core still in motion: Will, Mike, El, Nancy, Robin, Jonathan, Steve, and yes, Dustin, but in a different way.
And this is where things get really interesting to me.
Jancyâs breakup in ep 6 feels intentional in how specific it is. They donât just drift apart, they decide to open.
They deny door 2 (Accept your fate) and chose door 3 (Escape).
And as I said before in others post, like this one, this one and one:
Jonathanâs interrupted confession in ep 6 was likely about the fact that his S1 photos of Nancy were never really about Nancy in the first place.
I have talked about it here.
Nancy canât stand Jonathanâs MUSIC, while Jonathan explicitly says he hates PINK.
Thatâs such a strange detail to include unless itâs doing narrative work.
Because Robin loves pink (and nurses and girls with dreams).
One of her defining songs is âPretty in Pinkâ, which she literally dedicates to Vickie. Thatâs not accidental, thatâs on purpose.
WOW the accident, again!! As pointed out by @bylerlipglances and @strange-anni in this post: âAccidents donât happen, they are causedâ.
They both are amazing at analyzing the show please check their posts, you wonât regret it!!!
Picture from @bylerlipglances amazing post!! And the fact that they decided to include that in THIS sceneâŚ
In the same way, Nancy saying she hates âThe Clashâ feels like itâs pointing somewhere else. Music has always been emotional connection in this show, especially for Max, Will, Holly and Jonathan. These arenât random dislikes, theyâre foreshadowing, same as with the pink.
Steve and âThe Clashâ clothes
I also donât think itâs a coincidence that Rovickie and Jancy mirror each other so closely. Like the way Vickie thinks Robin takes drugs to not stay with her is almost the same argument as when Jonathan and Nancy talk about drugs and alcohol in ep 6, they donât have dates anymore. And chooses to lie and distance themselves, even after Robin telling her everything she chooses to sit next to Nancy!!
Love language: Jonathan and Steve mirroring each other.
And the lingering and delicate touchâŚ
Loving someone doesnât mean you work together!!
Sometimes the most mature thing is ending something before it turns into resentment. Thatâs exactly what Jonathan and Nancy do, and it wouldnât shock me if Robin and Vickie end up in a similar place. Loving each other, but choosing to let go. It is healthy and the best decision they could have taken!!
Now, if someone dies, I honestly donât think itâll be one of the core kids. Vickie feels far more narratively vulnerable, or maybe she doesnât die but I feel she and Robin could break up in a way that mirrors Jancy. Either way, the symmetry is there.
And thatâs really what this season feels like to me, parallels, metaphors, rhymes⌠not answers shouted at the audience, but subtext has always being a thing here.
This isnât a story trying to please everyone.
Itâs a story that trusts some of us will recognize what itâs doing and actually enjoy it. You donât have to love every choice or outcome, especially if it doesnât match what you hoped for, and thatâs completely fair. But a lot of the elements people are criticizing now have been part of the show since the very beginning, even if they werenât always obvious at first. For me, seeing how everything finally connects makes the writing feel intentional and consistent rather than messy.
It might not work for everyone, but it does make sense, and thatâs why it works for me.
Byler, Ronance and Stonathan:
And Steve and Nancy has feelings for Jonathan and Robin. As I analyzed here.
Jonathanâs almost confession in ep 6 also mirrors Robin one.
And whatever this wasâŚđ
I can hear Robin âsignsâ from here. The look, the touchâŚ
Will: "How did you know Vickie wanted to date?"
Robin: "...Y'know there were, like, signals. Like a brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow and a shared look.â
This works for all of them, Byler, Ronance, Stonathan, Lumax and Jopper.
Please check this amazing Ronance post about this made by @bl00dofgrapes, here. And this other by @dyermenace, here
It could also mean that he is versatile because he wears it around his neck (there are two interpretations as you see, either âfemale partâ or versatile), but the point is that it is part of the Handkerchief Code.
Source: https://www.thesaintfoundation.org/community/hanky-code-bob-damrons-address-book
And Stonathan is a lot like Jopper as I analized here!!
To Joyce: âYes, he's a brute, I know. Probably reminds you of a bad relationship, and gosh, youâd really like a nice man to settle down with (...).â So Steve reminds Jonathan of Nancy and their bad relationship. And Steve trying different relationships to find the right person and thinking of his future perfect family with 6 kids.
To Hopper: âAnd you! HA! Well, you're just a big man-baby whoâd rather act tough, than show his true feelings (âŚ)â So Jonathan suddenly being kind of a dick to Steve. Jonathan always lying to Nancy and avoiding his own feelings.
I also analized Coltraneâs song here if you are interested!!
The version Murray gives Jonathan only can be seen parts 1 and 2 (the other 2 parts are on the back of the tape (this is side 1), but this are the two we see):
Acknowledgement and Resolution.Â
In other words, Jonathan hasnât fully acknowledged his feelings for Steve yet, and the deeper struggle and prayer are left open. The show might leave this entirely ambiguous, similar to how it handled young Jopper.
Interestingly, Murray literally says he knows Jonathan doesnât like jazz, but maybe that could change.Â
He also seems somewhat confused by Jonathanâs indecision about Nancy, which adds another layer, is Murray aware of the subtext between Jonathan and Steve, or is he just responding to the practical problem of helping Jonathan and Nancy?? Either way, the scene leaves it wide open.
So first things first, Jonathan is basically developing the first two âpartsâ of his emotional journey before ending the season.Â
The remaining two parts, Pursuance and Psalm, remain unwritten, waiting to unfold at their own pace.Â
Meanwhile, the ring, quietly tucked inside a jazz tape, becomes both a literal and symbolic marker of Jonathanâs path.
The fate laid out for him vs. the desires he has yet to admit.
