No, Stranger Things 4 Volume 2 Didn't Justify Its Extreme Runtimes
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, Vol. 1 & 2
Stranger Things season 4, Vol. 2 set itself some high standards when its runtimes were released, but in the end, they really didn't need to be that long. Vol. 2 had a lot to wrap up, with Vol. 1 leaving on the cliffhanger of the Vecna/Number One/Henry Creel reveal. The complex and interwoven storyline of Vol. 1, then, made the runtimes of Vol. 2 seem fairly believable and justifiable, but they might also have been overly ambitious.
When the extreme runtimes for Stranger Things Vol. 2 were announced, there was an unambiguous hype around the finale of the season. Naturally, the runtimes spoke to a packed conclusion that had ample time to address many plot points, build on character profiles, and showcase more of the relationships between characters. Netflix original shows have never seen runtimes like Stranger Things season 4, Vol. 2, so it seemed promised that it was going to be an epic finale, but that wasn't fully the case.
Related: Everyone Who Dies In Stranger Things 4 Volume 2 (Including The Finale)
Stranger Things Vol. 2, in total, clocked in at around four hours, which spanned over a mere two episodes. Yet, despite these extreme hours, Vol. 2 didn't add on to Vol. 1 in any significant way. Vol. 2 did answer the mystery of Vecna in the Upside Down, and his part played in the Demogorgon of season 1 and the Mind Flayer, but there ws little additional information. More than this, many viewers felt that several episodes included some scenes that dragged on, some that were unneeded, and some that felt increasingly repetitious. Moments such as the Katinka scenes were arguably too long, while Steve's repeated mentions of family dreams were
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