Stranger Things’ fifth and final season is rolling out on Netflix, and it’s true, something certainly seems stranger than in previous seasons this time around. Viewers of the long-running supernatural coming-of-age drama are arguing that the show’s writing has taken a massive nosedive, and even as someone who isn’t actively watching the series, I feel like some of the clips popping up on my social media feeds are not flattering. Fans think a Netflix initiative might be to blame.
Take, for example, these two clips of Noah Schnapp and Finn Wolfhard delivering extremely simple, flavorless dialogue with a seriousness and gravitas the language doesn’t earn. Some folks attribute the awkwardness of these scenes to the actors’ performances, but others point out that it’s not just the self-serious delivery that’s the problem; it’s that it’s mixed with dialogue so straightforward that it reads like a mandated plot summary for those who haven’t been paying attention.
This dumbing down of dialogue is just one part of the issue; some are also criticizing the uptick in obnoxious quip-driven writing. Some fans are quick to point out that teenagers might believably say cheesy stuff like the kids do in Stranger Things, however, so that’s more of an ongoing debate. The pushback hasn’t stopped people from making parodies of the latest season, likening its banter to cringe TikTok speak or MCUisms.
Fans have a theory that this decline in writing quality may have come from a Netflix mandate. In January, N+1 ran a story that detailed initiatives within the streaming company which told creatives to essentially treat the service’s original programming as if viewers are going to be on their phones scrolling through social media as they watch it. This means dialogue is dumbed down, basic plot points are repeated unnaturally in spoken exchanges, and ideally someone can follow what’s going on, even if the show doesn’t have their undivided attention.
It’s a real shame that Stranger Things might be falling into this trap in its final season, as fans have been waiting nearly a decade for this show to wrap up. Hopefully, the second set of episodes and the eventual finale will fare better when they’re released on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Also, let’s hope that this doesn’t end up bleeding into all of the upcoming Warner Bros. projects if Netflix’s merger goes through.
