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Just finished Stranger Things Season 4, after taking a long hiatus following season 3. I had assumed the law of diminishing returns would apply but was presently surprised that 4, imo, was the strongest season since the first. Taking things in a more horror inspired direction seemed to be just the right move to reinvigorate things while still developing in an organic way from the original premise. I've heard season 5 isn't great; should I end on a high note?
Watching S5 right after S4 is probably the best way to consume it; I wouldn't Episode 2 yourself just because 3 isn't as good.
The problem with S5 is fundamentally that the script is what it would look like if you had ChatGPTre-write S1 by prompting it to continue S4. And I mean that in every sense of the word; it's safe for kids, the villain has returned to being a stock character, the main characters regressed to pre-S1 levels of plot development, and the new developments make zero sense in context.
I would suggest that when watching, the instant you realize you're losing interest in what happens, go straight to the finale and don't watch any of the other episodes. You couldn't do this if you were watching at release and you're not also waiting on S5, which are the 2 dynamics that people who dislike S5 are usually ignoring when they say it ruined the show for them.
It needed to develop into a "tales of" sort of thing, much like FNAF did (and quite successfully, I might add). S4/S5 would have worked well as a one-shot with a new set of kid actors, and the parts of S5 that involve said actors are still half-decent for that reason. But there wasn't as much required foresight in this case to pull that off, and they were kind of chained to using the old cast far beyond the point it made sense(which completely destroys Will's characterization in particular) . But you'll find that out as you watch.
We did the first two episodes of S5 last night. So far I quite like it; I'll try to maintain momentum and finish strong. I definitely know what you mean about the actors. It's not so bad with the older kids, but it can be hard to suspend disbelief when you're watching someone whose in their twenties notionally playing a high school sophomore
Look at it as a layer of unintentional meta-authenticity. This is the most 1980's thing the series has ever done.
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