Stranger Things is suffering from reviews after its final episode of season five received lower audience ratings than the Netflix series has typically seen. But some fans are hitting back with 5-star reviews in an attempt to reverse the trend.
Warning! Stranger Things season 5 spoilers:
While the fifth and final season of Stranger Things drew complaints from some fans about an overstuffed script, varying quality of acting, and plot armor that some of its characters seem to enjoy, the seventh episode, titled “The Bridge,” became the center of a high-profile debate that escalated into review websites.
Will Byers' coming out scene seems to have caused an explosion in the review. In it, Will, played by Noah Schnapp, gives a long monologue in which he tells the assembled characters that he “doesn't like girls.” The scene, which takes place as supervillain Vecna completes his master plan for world domination, ends with an emotional Will being consoled by his friends.
The fifth season has a rating of 56% on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter.meaning that 56% of users rated the season 3.5 stars or higher. This is the lowest figure for the entire time of the year presented on the site. Meanwhile, Episode 7 currently has a user review rating of 5.4 on IMDBwith most user reviews rated 1/10 or 10/10.
One of 1/10 IMDb user reviews calls Will's coming out scene “the worst thing I've ever seen in movie history, which is saying something because I'm a sucker for terrible movies and shows.” “Worst episode ever,” another viewer complained. “Stranger Things left me seriously disappointed with the way it handled Will's storyline, and it honestly made me angry. After seasons of careful build-up, emotional trauma, and quiet character development, the show suddenly forced Will to explain his feelings in a way that felt forced and unnecessary, as if the writers stopped trusting the audience to understand the nuanced narrative. Instead of exploring his deep pain at being obsessed, ignored, and emotionally left behind, they flattened the entire his storyline to one dull moment and moved on as if nothing else about it mattered. It felt lazy, rushed and poorly written, more like a checklist than real character growth. Will deserved a thoughtful, meaningful storyline, not something that robbed him of depth and turned years of buildup into a superficial and disappointing reveal.”
Stranger Things is now the site of a review bomb battle taking place on aggregator websites as fan groups try to combat 1/10 and 1 star reviews with their own super positive reviews.
“Don't believe the review bombers,” reads one user review on IMDb, with a rating of 10 out of 10. “Many will say the coming out scene was unnecessary, but when have the Duffer Brothers ever added anything that wasn't continued? It'll come up in the finale, TRUST. Not only did they explain why Will needed to come out, but they gave the moment the gravitas it did.” deserves it. The fact that so many are unhappy with it (and have already called it unrealistic for a show full of monsters and other worlds) really makes me wonder about the fan base of this show.”
“Great show. For nerds,” says one five-star review on Rotten Tomatoes. “For those who can manage their expectations and enjoy the world of Stranger Things. Two or three scenes that could have been improved or acted better does not take away from the entire series. People need to relax and stop expecting perfection.”
From another five-star review: “If you put down your phone and actually watch and listen, you'll enjoy 90% of the episodes (there are still some problems, but they're not that deep). The entire story is literally written out for the audience to understand (and they still complain about it, even though they don't get the most basic clues anyway). Don't read the reviews, don't rely on them – just watch (really watch) and decide for yourself.”
And one more response to the review bombardment in the form of a 5-star review: “People criticize this movie for no other reason than that they can't handle character development and character arcs without a lot of carnage. If you want to watch Game of Thrones, go watch Game of Thrones. Season 5 wrapped up so many stories beautifully and we learned so much about the upside down with great action and emotional scenes. The acting is incredible, esp. by Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Gaten Matarazzo.
Meanwhile, some have speculated that the review sparked by Will's coming out scene has to do with homophobia rather than the quality of the writing or acting. And after that, some critics say they shouldn't be immediately accused of homophobia simply because they have problems with the writing of season five and Noah's coming out scene.
Despite the criticism, the fifth season of Stranger Things is still enjoying great interest. To date, Seasons 1-4 have amassed over 1.2 billion views on Netflix, with Season 5 Vol. 1 reached 102.6 million views worldwide.
The season finale is set for 5:00 pm PT on New Year's Eve and will conclude the ten-year series with a two-hour episode streaming on Netflix and showing in theaters. The Duffer Brothers Tell Fans Not to Expect a Game of Thrones-style Bloodbatheven though there are big questions regarding who might die in the final episode.
Wesley is IGN's News Director. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
