CharleyKerfeld said:

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RightWingConspirator said:

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This show is supposed to take place during the 80s. No doubt there were gay folks around, but they sure kept it close to the vest. My high school of 3,000 plus students had one gay kid and he just came across as starved for attention. Stranger Things, a significant portion of the cast is gay and they all decide to discuss their gayness at very inopportune times. It just comes across as more in your face agenda. I can agree that it adds nothing to the show.

It's my opinion. We all have one.

(I'm not even a fan of the show. It stopped being interesting to me after season 3, but my wife and daughters like it so I watch it with them.)

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There are 3 gay characters on Stranger Things. There's been about 75 characters featured in 3+ episodes according to Wikipedia. That's 4%.

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I respectfully disagree. When dealing with the core/main characters, there seems to be a disproportionate % of gay ones...and that is without counting Henry (who is super gay in real life) as one lol. And again, no one really had a problem with that...until they started taking breaks during very urgent missions or situations (plus the world is ending) to have heart to hearts, or coming out parties.

I don't think anyone on here ever had a problem with Will being gay...or having little side discussions about it with Robin previously, we have known it for years.

But I do think Hollywood needs to be careful not to "force" issues or come off as trying too hard. That is what truly annoys people. We don't need these social justice "lectures" in a sci-fi show about kids and monsters.

With Robin and Steve, he was expressing his love for her or assuming she crushed on him or similar, and so her telling him she liked girls was more a reaction to him telling her that he loved her, and was very real in that moment. It also laid the groundwork for their extremely close friendship with zero romantic undertones that's gone on the rest of the show. It was a really good example of how the character's sexuality was a (minor) part of the plot, made a difference in the moment, and impacted the future in a way that made sense for the story.

With Will, since we didn't see the fallout of him being gay with his friends and family, there was zero stakes. It didn't matter for the plan, and it didn't really make any sense in the moment. Had we just watched an emotional Vecna-led scene of Will being rejected by everybody he loved, it might have resonated, but we didn't, so it was a classic "tell don't show" moment in the writing and felt very forced. I was watching with 3 teen girls who are very okay with LGBT+ anything and they all busted out laughing and commenting on how cringe it was. It certainly wasn't a lecture but it was definitely off-key.

That said it was a tiny part of the overall season and I don't have a problem with Will being (obviously) gay. Someone above said that Noah had asked that the scene be put in, and that would explain the awkwardness and forced sense. I did like that it closed the door on the Will/Mike crush for good, so that's no longer a distraction.

Aside from the gay agenda which we can all just agree to disagree, the worst part of this show is that god-awful Kate Bush song. That song makes men want to kick the television off the wall. Am I the only one?

RightWingConspirator said:

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Aside from the gay agenda which we can all just agree to disagree, the worst part of this show is that god-awful Kate Bush song. That song makes men want to kick the television off the wall. Am I the only one?

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I liked the song, in moderation. Then it got old. But I love all genres, with 80's being one of my fav.

fig96 said:

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What was the lecture?

You had a kid scared about not being accepted by the people he loved. He didn't say you had to accept him, or be ok with him, or even like it. He just told you how he felt.

While some may have found that off putting for whatever reason, it was probably incredibly meaningful to some kids out there watching who feel "different" for any number of reasons.

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I realize not many here will agree, but after many years of observation, I firmly believe that these types of things are put into certain shows or movies because social justice warrior directors/producers/even actors etc. believe it is basically their duty, as advocates or "allies" or whatever.

Not interested in getting into an internet debate over it, we can just agree to disagree.

To your point, I do also think one of the purposes is to make gay kids feel good about themselves, and included. But they are not just sending a message to gay kids.

I want to see Will start utilizing hip thrusts to turn the Demodogs into mangled mush. Then see the fall out on Texags. IMO it would add to the story

1981 Monte Carlo said:

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fig96 said:

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What was the lecture?

You had a kid scared about not being accepted by the people he loved. He didn't say you had to accept him, or be ok with him, or even like it. He just told you how he felt.

While some may have found that off putting for whatever reason, it was probably incredibly meaningful to some kids out there watching who feel "different" for any number of reasons.

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I realize not many here will agree, but after many years of observation, I firmly believe that these types of things are put into certain shows or movies because social justice warrior directors/producers/even actors etc. believe it is basically their duty, as advocates or "allies" or whatever.

Not interested in getting into an internet debate over it, we can just agree to disagree.

To your point, I do also think one of the purposes is to make gay kids feel good about themselves, and included. But they are not just sending a message to gay kids.

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I love that episode where that devout Catholic kid, a kid who looks inside himself and finds a faith committed to a God who made creation good, with man and woman designed to come together sexually as the foundation for all of society, and who feel different from his friends because of these beliefs he finds in himself, come out to them, and admits to being scared because he feels different, and they affirm him and love him. That was a beautiful episode.

Let's just all agree that the Kate Bush song is absolute nails on a chalkboard for anyone with any musical taste. Can I get an Amen??!!

fig96 said:

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The world is such a scary place for straight Christians.

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No one is "scared". We should be able to critique things on here in good faith without being mocked with hyperbole. Being annoyed =/ being scared.

RightWingConspirator said:

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Let's just all agree that the Kate Bush song is absolute nails on a chalkboard for anyone with any musical taste. Can I get an Amen??!!

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Nope, GREAT song, just played out by now. Happy for her.

RightWingConspirator said:

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Let's just all agree that the Kate Bush song is absolute nails on a chalkboard for anyone with any musical taste. Can I get an Amen??!!

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I was age 2-12 during the '80s and don't remember hearing it once.

When was it popular? I've wondered this since season 3(?).

Pretty solid finale

Loved that it ended like it began....thought that was a nice touch

Saved my comments until after the season finished. While I did not care for seasons 4 and 5, I thought the last episode was pretty good and the wrap up was nicely done. The D&D scene at the end including the hand off to the next generation was the highlight.

It feels a bit strange now that it is over after 9 years.

So do we believe Mike when he says El is still alive? It makes sense when you think about it power wise.

I did cry at the end, because I am a sap and it's ending after 9 years.