"Back in my time, you see, '80s nostalgia was a relatively new phenomenon, and Matt and Ross Duffer approached the period and the pop culture that defined it-Steven Spielberg's suburban mythmaking, Stephen King's tales of small-town horror-with such reverence and attention to detail that it felt at times as if someone had discovered the episodes in the back of an abandoned Blockbuster."
"Watching Stranger Things' fifth and final season, it's hard to remember that this earlier show ever existed. The series' massive success has given the Duffers practically unlimited resources-the new season, by some reports, cost as much as $480 million, 10 times the cost of the first, and more than any Avengers movie-but they've increased its scale while narrowing its scope."
Matt and Ross Duffer initially approached 1980s pop culture with reverence and meticulous detail, channeling Spielberg's suburban mythmaking and King's small-town horror to evoke children's crumbling innocence. Early seasons balanced fresh-faced tween protagonists and weary parents, foregrounding the terrors that blur childhood into adulthood. The fifth season dramatically increases scale and budget, reportedly up to $480 million, ten times the cost of the first season, yet narrows emotional scope. Hawkins is quarantined under a military pretext while Vecna-spawned earthquakes tear a red rift through town. The show now feels sealed in an airless bubble of stagnant characters, snarled lore, and diminished intimacy.
Read at Slate Magazine
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