Anyway I think season 2 mostly still had season 1's scrappiness and didn't yet have the glossiness of Netflix's Flagship Big Budget Show. Season 2 is actually my fave. But I feel like the stuff with Will in season 2 will hit harder if you've seen what everyone went through in season 1.
February 4, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Anyway I think season 2 mostly still had season 1's scrappiness and didn't yet have the glossiness of Netflix's Flagship Big Budget Show. Season 2 is actually my fave. But I feel like the stuff with Will in season 2 will hit harder if you've seen what everyone went through in season 1.
Yeah the dynamics are way more real and complex too. The Byers family had a lot of flaws and struggles in the beginning (like their poverty and Joyce being a single mom meaning she put too much on Jonathan, the stuff with Lonnie, etc) And in later seasons all the rough edges got sanded off.
February 4, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Yeah the dynamics are way more real and complex too. The Byers family had a lot of flaws and struggles in the beginning (like their poverty and Joyce being a single mom meaning she put too much on Jonathan, the stuff with Lonnie, etc) And in later seasons all the rough edges got sanded off.
Lol her wig that season is _something_ There's a lot of good Byers family stuff in season 1 though. I think as the budget went up the characters got less grounded. But that first season they really didn't know they would be a hit and it felt more focused on character than spectacle.
February 4, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Lol her wig that season is _something_ There's a lot of good Byers family stuff in season 1 though. I think as the budget went up the characters got less grounded. But that first season they really didn't know they would be a hit and it felt more focused on character than spectacle.
Season 2 is peak byler but I personally would watch seasons 1 and 2 in order and then you can do the others however you want, but that foundation of trauma from season 1 is what season 2 is built on. (I never watch things out of order though so I realize we have different styles!)
February 4, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Season 2 is peak byler but I personally would watch seasons 1 and 2 in order and then you can do the others however you want, but that foundation of trauma from season 1 is what season 2 is built on. (I never watch things out of order though so I realize we have different styles!)
I also think vault dweller!Nancy is compelling but it would basically be the same arc she had on the show.
January 26, 2026 at 3:20 AM
I also think vault dweller!Nancy is compelling but it would basically be the same arc she had on the show.
I use freetaxusa. It has more options than a lot of the other free programs and it's easy to use. It's free for federal, but does charge for state.
January 18, 2026 at 10:16 PM
I use freetaxusa. It has more options than a lot of the other free programs and it's easy to use. It's free for federal, but does charge for state.
Yeah that's the other thing, which is that Connor is not out. So that just adds an extra layer of ick to what the "fans" are doing. But legit we were mailing each other VHS tapes back in my day 😂 (l'm not even in this fandom btw! It's just gotten so bad it ended up on fauxmoi)
January 16, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Yeah that's the other thing, which is that Connor is not out. So that just adds an extra layer of ick to what the "fans" are doing. But legit we were mailing each other VHS tapes back in my day 😂 (l'm not even in this fandom btw! It's just gotten so bad it ended up on fauxmoi)
Because they're tinhats who want Connor and Hudson to be together IRL like their characters (even though Hudson supposedly has a girlfriend). They're also bringing up the age gap but it's just an excuse to justify the tinhatting imo.
January 16, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Because they're tinhats who want Connor and Hudson to be together IRL like their characters (even though Hudson supposedly has a girlfriend). They're also bringing up the age gap but it's just an excuse to justify the tinhatting imo.
P.S. I saw a comment that said ST fans seem super ignorant of how tv production works & that seems true to me. Like I see these out of context clips from the doc (which I haven't seen yet) with people wildly misinterpreting or reading into normal tv production things
January 15, 2026 at 1:59 AM
P.S. I saw a comment that said ST fans seem super ignorant of how tv production works & that seems true to me. Like I see these out of context clips from the doc (which I haven't seen yet) with people wildly misinterpreting or reading into normal tv production things
They were always going to struggle to land the plane but it wasn't like some disaster ending imo. It was mid and that's fine? The show has always been mid with some great moments and characters? Oh well, glad I'm over here in my small steddie corner of sane olds.
January 15, 2026 at 1:51 AM
They were always going to struggle to land the plane but it wasn't like some disaster ending imo. It was mid and that's fine? The show has always been mid with some great moments and characters? Oh well, glad I'm over here in my small steddie corner of sane olds.
I feel like people are going full conspiracy on everything st related right now and I'm just like guys they were hacks long before chatgpt existed. Please stop looking for fucking clues and portents.
January 15, 2026 at 1:39 AM
I feel like people are going full conspiracy on everything st related right now and I'm just like guys they were hacks long before chatgpt existed. Please stop looking for fucking clues and portents.
Oh lol I should have read the comments before commenting but great minds!
January 15, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Oh lol I should have read the comments before commenting but great minds!