I wanted to do them as like them in the epilogue and got sad from thinking about how Kali and El could’ve had another chance to live happily for once 😭.
Also didn’t bother to actually find the references of the characters so i drew them from memory again and only looked for a ref of a good trio pose.
Up next will be the baby sitters!! Feel like adding in Vickie too cause fuck the duffers
This season was a lot of convenient over explanation in preparation for the end, and I don't know if this is the general opinion, but I didn't feel like a lot of it was necessary? Like redefining the upside down lore at the last minute. I thought the wormhole thing was interesting, but it just felt like a lot of last-minute information when the time could have been better spent elsewhere.
The military/government have always been half of the whole antagonistic force, but this season they felt comical. There was no real sense of threat from them.
El was done so dirty. I don't know if it was a writing or acting issue, but I was getting nothing from her the majority of this season. Her relationship with Mike felt barely present until the very end, and her reasoning for sacrificing herself, while understandable in the moment, doesn't hold up under scrutiny. If the government was the actual threat it used to be, then it wouldn't matter whether El was part of the equation or not. The whole party knows way too much to ever be left alone, and many of them have actively killed or assaulted high-ranking officers. They all should be dead or at the least enemies of the state and international fugitives. Hell, last season the entire Byers family was being hunted! The fact that they couldn't even commit to having her sacrifice herself was such a cop out. I think they left things up to interpretation to appease as many people as possible, particularly shippers, but will end up just pissing everyone off instead.
Also, this is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but I absolutely detest time skips. I think they're so lazy. Jumping from the climax to a point in the future where everyone is healed and living their best life is the worst way to show growth because you aren't actually showing it! I want to see how the characters get from point A to point B. I want to see the aftermath! How did Hopper explain that he wasn't dead? How was he just allowed to become chief again? How was Max graduating with everyone else when she was in a coma for two years? How did they explain what happened to the kids? How have the kids not blabbed to everyone about what happened? How has Tina not gone to the police about Erica drugging her family and knocking her unconscious?
I was so excited when they brought Kali back but so disappointed with where her character went. And in how Hopper reacted to her! Like, what was his beef with this random kid? He hated her so fucking much that it was ridiculous. He literally left her to die, like, who tf was that cause it wasn't Jim!? And when she was listening to Hop trying to talk El into living, I felt so bad because you could see in her eyes that she wanted someone to care about her that much, but literally no one gave a fuck about her, and now she's joined the list of characters that die because they don't have anyone that loves them. Rip Kali, have fun hanging with Billy and Barb.
I don't know if it's because the death was so hyped up that I was overprepared, or if we were all just tricked, but it all felt very anticlimactic. They got me a couple of times, especially with Steve's fake out, but the big battle with Vecna and the Mindflayer felt way too easy. No one even got hurt? They had that shit locked down, and good for them, but also, really? This was what we've been building up to? That's it?
There were some things I liked about the ending. I liked that they didn't redeem Henry. I was worried they were going to with Will's cheesy speech trying to appeal to him, and when Henry shut that down by owning his own choices, I was pleasantly surprised. I also liked how Henry and the Mindflayer were connected. Their symbiotic relationship was cool. Very Venom-esque.
I liked Max's epilogue look. It felt like a little homage to Billy with some inspiration from her season 3 look. Robin's look also reminded me of Billy with the long earing and hair, but I think they were going for more of a Stevie Nicks free-spirited hippie vibe.
I loved that Steve and Nancy didn't get back together and that they both said what I've been screaming into the void since last season. Nancy is not a housewife. Steve is a natural dad. They are not compatible. Steve's character has been a real highlight for me this season, not that they've done anything different with him, he's just remained consistent, which I greatly appreciated.
There were other moments throughout the season that I enjoyed. Will's powers were sick af, and this is the first season since maybe the first one where I've enjoyed Mike. He was still a total idiot for not picking up on Will basically confessing to having a crush on him during the coming out scene, but he's really shined as a big brother.
Overall, though, this has definitely been the weakest season, and I'm a bit disappointed that this is how things end.
Also, Kali passed away today. I was so happy to have a few days with Jasper, but when i came back home, Kali had passed. =/
I'm not really having the best week, but maybe things will get a little better... I'm not taking her death as badly as I thought I would, but I just don't think it's hit me yet that she's gone.
Please wish her a good passage to the Summerlands or Heaven or whatever you believe in, if you believe in the afterlife. <3 I'm going to miss my little girl sooooo much.
