Stranger Things' Best Weapon Is Also Its Worst Enemy

gamespot.com:

When Stranger Things first premiered in 2016, it introduced viewers to a world where small town Indiana was somehow connected to a dark mirror dimension filled with monsters--and for some reason the ones that were destined to navigate it were a ragtag group of friends and a telekinetic girl that was essentially portrayed as a lab experiment gone wrong. Viewers fell in love with Eleven, Mike, Dustin, and the rest of the gang, as well as the universe that grew up around them.

Then, as the show continued, Stranger Things went deeper. Joyce and Hopper--the adults in the story--become more deeply involved in the plot, the Upside Down dimension became more dangerous, and the cast started to blossom further with newcomers like Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Erica (Priah Ferguson) rounding out the group. They fell right in with what made Stranger Things so engaging. The Duffers, the sibling showrunners on the series, had seemingly mastered world-building in a way that we couldn't turn away from.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Season 4 of Stranger Things.

Now in Season 4, with Season 5 already announced as the last, Stranger Things is beginning its home stretch. Of course, you wouldn't know that by watching the show. While originally, the story being told and the world constructed around it served the show well, it's not gotten out of hand as Stranger Things seemingly can't keep from expanding its lore, adding new characters and locations, and ultimately leading to a series of over-stuffed episodes that bury the most interesting stories being told.

When you have to serve this many characters, in this many different locations, the story of this group of friends banding together against a supernatural evil