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Hola amigos, buenas vibras para todos.
**Hello friends, good vibes to all.
I'd already seen the finale of the iconic Netflix series on January 1st, but it's only now that I'm getting around to talking about it. With the end of Eleven and company's story, the big red N brand loses one of its most prized titles of the last 10 years. The action in Hawkins has finally come to a halt after a disastrous battle against Vecna, leaving him as one of the weakest and most cowardly villains on television. And that's not even mentioning the absurd number of inconsistencies the Duffer brothers decided to omit for the finale. I'm sure that an aspiring filmmaker or even a die-hard fan of the series could have written something much more compelling and worthwhile.
This final season consisted of eight episodes, with the seventh being the lowest-rated of the entire series, but the fourth one of the best. And that's just how it is; this fifth season had its ups and downs. The hype surrounding the finale, starting with the Duffer brothers claiming it would be a "bloody Christmas" and that no one was prepared for what was coming, ultimately amounted to nothing. It was a drawn-out, endlessly stretched-out storyline, a plot that had entered an infinite loop: there's a problem, we make a plan, we carry it out, we fail or only half-heartedly complete it, and the cycle repeats. I don't know how many times this happened, but I can tell you it was quite a few.
Let's start with Vecna. An entity or creature that was all-powerful in past seasons, even in the first four episodes of this fifth season, it exuded considerable aura. All that build-up of a truly fearsome villain was shattered in the final battle, where it was reduced to nothing. That infinite power was suddenly gone, and only fragments of the Vecna remained. But the saddest part of all is that its end came at the hands of Joyce, a human with no power beyond her love for her son. It was a very symbolic death, yes, but no less lamentable. If we add to this that the Mind Flayer, another thing that seemed incredibly intimidating in that first season finale, was subdued with bullets and Molotov cocktails, well, there's not much more to say. Although, yes, that battle was decent.
What happened to the Russians? What happened to the military? What happened to Dr. Kay, perhaps the worst villain in the entire series? It's impossible for a plot to revolve around a character, her plans, the fact that many of the events in this fifth season were motivated by her, and then, by the end of the series, there's absolutely no mention of her fate. I'm trying to understand what happened, and I can't find any logic in it. Almost an entire season was filmed in a Russian prison for absolutely nothing. When you see things like this, the latest "scandal" makes sense: in the BTS special, you can see tabs open on computer screens with ChatGPT and Reddit. It's already known that when they started filming the last episode, the script wasn't finished. A total disaster.
The Demogorgons were conspicuously absent from the final episode; "they were out there," the Duffer brothers said. The Demonbats, yes, those that killed Eddie, were also nowhere to be seen; their purpose was null and utterly pointless. And we could go on and on, but this would be endless. The truth is that Stranger Things didn't end well because even the alternate storyline of Eleven being alive demonstrates a profound reluctance to accept the definitive death of one of its characters. There are many plot holes in a script that seems to have been written by 10-year-olds. But it's not all bad. Yes, although it may seem unbelievable, there are some highlights. Jamie Campbell Bower is a fantastic actor; the best thing about this finale was him, a charismatic guy who embodied evil and trauma like no one else could have.
Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) also stole the show, carrying a large part of the season and doing a fantastic job. I liked some of the character closures, like the one with the four older kids on the radio station rooftop (Nancy, Steve, Jonathan, and Robin). That felt like a real goodbye; it was quite emotional. And that's about it. The bottom line is that Star Trek could have ended on a high note, but instead, it gave us a very weak and incomplete finale. For some, it was a disappointment. I think the Duffer brothers didn't dare to take more risks for fear of the fandom. I was completely dissatisfied, as you can see from what I've written. For me, it was a 5.5/10. If you have a different opinion, leave it in the comments!
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Bueno amigos por hoy es todo, espero que les haya gustado. ¡Un abrazo a todos, nos leemos en la próxima!
***Well, that's all for today, folks. I hope you enjoyed it. ¡Hugs to everyone, see you next time!