Featured image: Netflix

Action, drama, comedy, and a strong 80s aesthetic: Stranger Things is something of a modern classic and, for Gen Z, a familiar piece of contemporary media that seems to transcend age. My first taste of legendary bands such as New Order and Echo & The Bunnymen came from those first couple of seasons – it felt new while still carrying all the familiarity of my mum’s photo box.

Season 5 follows the gang stuck in Hawkins, kept like fugitives behind a wall of iron, cameras and military personnel. The focus surrounds Will Byers this season, a welcome return from an otherwise outcast character who often seemed to exist solely for the occasional zoomed-in neck-touch shot that has become synonymous with the brand. Sadie Sink’s character, Max Mayfield, also comes to the forefront, tasked with escaping the control of Vecna.

This season, however, feels a little late. SLATE’s Sam Adams notes the show’s refusal to grow with its actors, while Variety’s Alison Herman suggests the introduction of new characters such as Derek, played by Jake Connelly, feels like a frosty attempt to reintroduce an air of cuteness that has long since faded from the core group, particularly now that actors like Finn Wolfhard are fully grown adults. I don’t think it is too far out to suggest the series may have felt slightly more cohesive had it embraced the actor’s real ages. How cool would it have been to see the actors play the exact age they are at the time of filming, giving the story a genuine sense of timeliness? But no. Instead, it feels almost disturbing, watching these literal adults attempt to play doe-eyed teens. Not evenStranger Things‘ monstrous budget can hide that.

From a nerdier point of view, the Escape Pod Podcast put it rather simply, asking to ‘power scale the Demogorgon’s properly.’

Seriously. In the first volume, while one of Vecna’s slimy recruits is slashed and driven back by a wine-bottle wielding Karen Wheeler, another Demogorgon is able to brush off hundreds of military-grade shells with ease, all while decimating the entire camp. I get it – main characters get that extra boost. I mean, c’mon, The Walking Dead would have been half a season if Rick Grimes didn’t have the ability to avoid getting bitten every single time he encountered a walker. And in another instance, it seems as if the Upside Down, once considered a mystical hellscape, is now treated more-like a militant outpost.

The true gear-grinder, however, is the schedule. While I appreciate the enormous scale and budget Stranger Things commands – with this season reportedly well over the $400m mark – the release structure feels extremely forced. Innovation has always been at the forefront of the series: the casting, the outlandish scenes, the movie-worthy budgets, the music. You could write a whole article about the Kate Bush craze sparked by season 4, which pushed the artist back to the top of the charts for the first time since the mid-80s. But the staggered schedule, designed to create excitement, instead breeds boredom that leaves the audience mellow, rather than elated.

And yes, the cliffhanger is just about enough to keep me coming back, but the stop-start of the release makes this volume feel rushed – as if they need to simply get past these first four episodes to get to the real nitty gritty. For example, previously mentioned Jake Connelly’s character, Derek, goes from chubby playground bully to loveable rose-cheeked squeaker within a single episode. For a series once celebrated for slowly developing its characters over episodes and seasons – creating a true sense of family for its audience – such a rapid personality shift feels distinctly un-Stranger Things-like.

Still, it’s not all bad. With actors like Millie Bobby Brown and Winona Ryder, there are genuine flashes of that blockbuster energy the Strange Things fandom has come not only to enjoy but expect. And it would be wrong not to mention Gaten Matarazzo, whose lovable character undergoes a coming-of-age style shift that feels earned and true to Dustin’s heart-leading charm.

There’s a lot to expect for these new episodes – and plenty of cliffhangers that need tying up. The question is: will it get better?

Volume two is set to be released at Christmas, with the final two-hour episode released on New Year’s Eve.