Stranger Things 4: Volume One premiered on Netflix over two weeks ,ago and the whole world is still raving about it. Its seven-episode run closed out with “Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” which finally filled in the blanks as to what happened to Eleven before she came to Hawkins.
In its six years on Netflix, Stranger Things has gained a loyal cult following, starting out as simply word of mouth promotion and eventually developing into an established global phenomenon. However, even with all its glowing recommendations and substantial praise, Stranger Things fans still have some bones to pick with the Duffer Brothers. Mostly, the “Strangers” (as Stranger Things fans are collectively known) agree with one another in regards to widely held opinions, but there are some exceptions. In fact, Reddit has started its own discussion regarding “unpopular opinions” about Stranger Things.
Right away, the comments came flooding in, and unsurprisingly at that.
First of all, the Stranger Things fans seem to be in unanimous agreement as to where they stand on the Steve-Nancy-Jonathan debacle. As Stranger Things has progressed, Nancy Wheeler has made her rounds with Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers. She started out as Steve Harrington’s high-strung girlfriend, but eventually fell head over heels for the resident “stalker-weirdo” Jonathan Byers and broke it off with Steve to pursue that fling. Then, Stranger Things 4 introduced some tension between Nancy and Jonathan caused by conflicting ideals that was never explicitly stated as a “break-up,” but it goes without saying that the honeymoon phase is over. From then on, there has been heavy foreshadowing that Steve and Nancy might be getting back together. According to Reddit, that’s the exact opposite to what the Stranger Things fans want and they find the whole love triangle cliché extremely unnecessary, arguing that Steve and Nancy are no longer compatible.
On the heels of the Steve-Nancy-Jonathan debate, some Stranger Things fans believe that that romantic aspects of the series feel forced and uninteresting in comparison to heartwarming friendships and the strength behind the family-first mindset. Recently, rumors of Mike Wheeler and Will Byers becoming romantically involved have received mixed reactions from the fanbase, some of whom have shown distaste for the possibility in favor of an unbreakable BFF bond.
Additionally, the Stranger Things 4 narrative has been separated into three storylines: the trouble in Hawkins with Vecna; Jonathan, Will, Eleven, and Joyce navigating California; and Hopper trapped in the Russian prison compound. There have been conflicting opinions on the Duffer Brothers’ decision to follow this route since Volume One aired on May 27; some fans have argued that the characters work better as a collective unit, whereas others beg to differ, and find the interchangeable stories thoroughly engaging. Hopper’s Russia storyline also received a lot of hate, but Stranger Things fans suggest that the supposedly “tiresome” scenes are actually the opposite.
There seems to be an ongoing theme with the Stranger Things 2 episode “Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister,” where many fans find the whole episode tedious and irrelevant to the rest of the season. However, an unpopular opinion held by a small group of fans suggests that “The Lost Sister” doesn’t deserve all the criticism and hatred. It has even been compared to the tenth episode of the third season, titled “Fly,” from one of Netflix’s biggest hits, Breaking Bad. Due to its differing qualities from other episodes, “Fly” was considered polarizing, slow-paced and absent of action and suspense by audiences, but critics considered it one of Breaking Bad‘s best episodes ever. “The Lost Sister” seems to have received the “Fly” treatment.
In a shocking twist, newcomer Argyle has quickly become one of Stranger Things most unlikable characters. Many comments have called him “annoying” and “unnecessary,” even though he debuted with initially-favorable reactions. There have also been observations made that point to Argyle being a forced source of comedic relief, but Stranger Things fans don’t find him as funny as the Duffer Brothers intended him to be.
There are so many more unpopular Stranger Things opinions that the list could go on forever. You know what they say about opinions — everyone has one. There are certain to be even more unpopular opinions to share when Stranger Things 4 return on July 1.
