STRANGER THINGS. Is it worth waiting for the next season?

The final season of Stranger Things is coming soon. Or at least the first part of it. Or the first chapter of the first part of the final season. Who can even keep track of Netflix’s distribution gambit anymore? The important thing is: more episodes are on the way for the streaming giant’s flagship series, which are supposedly meant to wrap up the story. Nearly ten years after the premiere, Mike, Eleven, Hopper and the gang are finally getting a conclusion to their adventure – at least until some Excel spreadsheets suggest it’s time to bring them back for another mission. But before the premiere of Chapter Five of Stranger Things, it’s worth addressing the elephant in the room and asking: is it still worth waiting for new episodes?

The first season from the Duffer Brothers was a real bullseye. Perfectly aligned with the wave of ’80s nostalgia and retro vibes, it was crafted to appeal both to mass audiences and pop culture geeks with its mix of coming-of-age, young adult themes, horror, sci-fi, and genre-savvy pastiche. The debut chapter was a joy to watch – fun, engaging, and delightfully irreverent, blending unpretentious entertainment with formal self-awareness. One could even overlook its blatant capitalization on nostalgia and the marketing flood of consumer-driven content the show spawned.

The second season was a bit weaker – the formula showed signs of fatigue – but the Duffers salvaged it with some successful new characters and a simple yet satisfying extension of the original storyline. Then came a shot of adrenaline in the vibrant, campy, and spectacular third season. Had the creators and Netflix chosen to end it there – respecting the story arc and the closure offered by the third season – Stranger Things would have been a definitively iconic hit. Unfortunately, the marketing machine powered by the Duffer Brothers’ design wouldn’t stop, and three years after Season 3, we got another one (and now, three years later, yet another), which casts doubt on the quality and purpose of Stranger Things.

Split into two parts, Season Four left its mark on pop culture thanks to a few standout scenes – one of which even propelled a long-forgotten Kate Bush song back to the top of the charts. But aside from those brighter moments, it was a weak season, built on forced plotlines and completely lacking any coherent idea of what to do with most of its characters. It didn’t help that the child actors had aged, and for some, growing up painfully exposed their acting limitations. Not to mention Millie Bobby Brown, who – after the acclaim for her first-season performance – clearly started believing in her own talent and charisma, delivering increasingly mannered and self-important performances that became downright irritating by the time the show returned.

Whereas Seasons 1–3 had the Duffers’ heart and a vision that managed to shine through the aggressive retro-marketing, Season Four was an obvious cash grab meant to drive views, social buzz, and revenue – with no concern for trivial matters like artistic value or the quality of the core product.

At this point, Stranger Things – driven by an increasingly generic, lazy, and frankly uninteresting plot, demanding attention with the occasional spectacle or audience attachment to underdeveloped characters – is, on one hand, a massive brand, but on the other, a shadow of what it once was. You could say the Duffers’ show has become exactly what it once stood against – a massive corporate juggernaut chasing metrics and charts, while completely losing the love for pop culture itself. The energy and creativity are gone (not to be confused with flashy production), the boldness of Season 3 is nowhere to be found, and all that’s left is calculated fan service and safe plays tailored to predicted social media reactions.

There’s little reason to believe Season Five will change that. One can only hope the poor kids of Stranger Things won’t be forced to keep reprising their roles until their hair turns grey and their faces wrinkle.