So I've been thinking about Stranger Things

[conuly]

and I think the end of the season made one very critical error, namely, the fact they obviously set it up so that season 5 will start approximately 20 in-world minutes after season 4 ended.

Except all those kids are now older than their roles, and the "older teens", who were always older, are quite visibly older.

They ought to have set it up like a happy ending and then did a time skip. Then the younger actors could be playing kids their own actual age, or at least close to it, the older ones would be ever-so-slightly closer to their acted age - plus, we'd get all the added angst that comes of them finally having had some time to breathe and really believe it was all over before it all starts up again.

Nope, they screwed it up.

Comments

[sabotabby]

Some of the kids really look like they're older than me at this point. It's a problem.

[conuly]

Mmm. A time jump wouldn't entirely fix it, but it would at least fix it for the core cast. This season was their freshman year, well, make next season their senior year. End of senior year. That gives them 3 years and change to have gotten used to the idea that they wouldn't be traumatized by eldritch horrors ever again, plus their faces would match their roles a little better once more.

[senmut]

I agree.

[brokenallbroken]

More like COVID screwed it up. Given how intensive their FX needs are, IDK how possible it would have been to rewrite the last two episodes to make an inter-season time jump happen.

[conuly]

Simple enough. Cut after the scene with the aid center, either end it entirely then OR put up a title "Three years later...."

[gwydion]

I agree.

[lilysea]

I suspect they wanted to make it as cliff-hanger-y as possible because they were worried that they were in danger of not getting renewed.

A lot of shows - even popular shows - aren't getting renewed at the moment.