Not sure Stranger Things is pulling in the right direction 🇸🇪

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Actually, I should be overjoyed to hear that the final fifth season of Stranger Things seems to be epic on a level all its own. And actually, I think everything so far has been good, possibly that I could have been without the emo-Eleven in season two (was it huh). But... Still, something is chafing.

What made Stranger Things so exciting was precisely that it was the story of these young people. They played role-playing games and they hung out together, surviving against all odds in a supernatural story that was almost directly taken from the dramaturgy of the 80s. And that's pretty much how it has stayed, but by season four, the mythology of the series had become so big that the kids had gotten a little overlooked, and also started to get so old that it was hard to buy their story when they were going to play much younger than they are.

I'm not trying to nag at all, but will be glued when Stranger Things returns, but a season with eight feature-like episodes where the kids are just over 20 years old and the whole world is about to end – feels a bit too much like the Cliff Bleszinski motto from Gears of War 2; "Bigger, better and more badass".

It worked for Gears of War 2, but isn't always a formula that renders a better product. It wasn't because the whole world was threatened that it was so exciting to follow Will Byers' struggle in Upside Down, but precisely because it was a matter of life and death for a person who didn't have a good chance of defending himself and surviving all the horrific trials.

We'll just see. Of course, the series will end with a real bang, and I'm really looking forward to it. But I think I already miss the stripped-down role-playing in the boys' room, rather than the fact that the whole world is threatened and the American military (I guess) has to be called in.