The following represents the opinion of the student reporter and does not represent the views of Loyola University Maryland, the Greyhound, or Loyola University’s Department of Communication.
Few shows have lasted as long as ‘Stranger Things’ within popular culture, spanning over a decade. However, despite its longevity, in hindsight ‘Stranger Things’, as a whole, failed to extend many characters past their initial archetypes.
In fact, the show specifically has a habit of specifically killing off characters who have experienced trauma or mental illness. The most notable example of this is Chrissy Cunningham, portrayed by Grace Van Dien, in the fourth season, who is depicted in a way that implies that the character has an eating disorder.
Additionally, while the characters with supportive home-lives are shown in detail, the stories of those like Steve Harrington, portrayed by Joe Keery, and Max Mayfield, portrayed by Sadie Sink, (at certain points) are not nearly as examined, besides one scene in season 2 depicting a cycle of abuse present within the households.
In addition, less conventional family styles are not as highlighted. This can be seen with Dustin Henderson, portrayed by Gaten Mattarazo, who lives in a single parent household, getting not nearly as much ‘family’ screen time compared to the traditionally structured families present in the show.
The reason for this failure to show the complexity of various household dynamics within the fifth season of ‘Stranger Things’ is due to one reason and one reason alone; the Duffer brothers like the idea of complex characters without doing any work behind the scenes to flesh them out.
The most obvious reason for this lack of complexity (in comparison to other seasons) is due to the sheer size of the cast itself. The title cast of the show has slowly expanded over the years, from 10 to almost 20 characters in the main cast.
Robin Buckly, portrayed by Maya Hawke, is the best example of character flanderization due to the story expanding beyond the creators writing abilities. She was initially depicted as a cool, if not slightly alternative, outsider with a variety of unknown talents.
Compared to season three, where Robin was initially set up as Steve’s love interest. Through her coming out story, she serves as a great example of how to defy an initial archetype to enhance the story as a whole. Steve, a traditionally macho character, even helps Robin with her own romantic endeavors. This gives him a much more well-rounded character arc through his full-support of Robin despite his initial infatuation.
Within season five, however, Robin is reduced to a quirky, stammering, nervous, persona who lacks much of the depth present within her other seasons.
When asked about Robin’s character arc in season five, Anna Vaise, a current first-year student at UMBC believes her character became hollow.
“In season three, Robin is a fully fleshed out, intelligent character, we see her crack a Russian code, as well as speak several languages fluently, while this season her intelligence is not really explored to the same capacity. She mainly acts as the mentor figure for Will, one of the only other queer characters in the show, while her own character is relegated to the background.”
Similarly, Vaise felt that the show runners failed to give closure to Robin and her queer love interest Vickie Dunne, portrayed by Amy McNulty.
“Despite the buildup in prior seasons, Robin and Vickie did not end up together. As a longtime viewer of the show it is disheartening to see the Duffer Brothers fail to give any real resolution to the only confirmed queer couples on the show,” Vaise said.
Another issue the show ran into was inhibiting character growth. Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown, is a girl with telekinetic powers. Despite having an open-ended conclusion to her story, Eleven sacrifices herself for the safety of her friends and family.
The problem with this ending? Throughout the series, Eleven regularly sacrifices her wellbeing for that of her friends and family, with this plotline going as far back as the first season where she sacrifices herself to save her friends from the demogorgon.
Dr. Kathleen Forni, a professor of English at Loyola University, assessed that Eleven’s trauma was not properly resolved.
“As a character who lacks resolution at the end of the series, this being mainly due to the fact that her trauma within the show as a survivor of both domestic and scientific abuse is not seen within the show as a whole.”
Within the show, Eleven is never seen experiencing the PTSD that would accompany being locked up and experimented on from a young age. Her ending in the show does not send the right message to survivors of abuse.
“Eleven’s ending of killing herself within the ending of the show fails to fully resolve the trauma experienced by her character. While also sending the terrible message to abuse victims that killing yourself is the only way to resolve the cycle of abuse one could easily find themselves in.” Forni said.
It is shocking and disappointing that a show which began as a deep dive into complex characters, failed to bring those stories home in a satisfying way.