Stranger Things Just Achieved An Unwanted First For Netflix As Season 5 Is Review Bombed

Stranger Things has consistently broken records and achieved a number of milestones over the course of the series, and season 5 has delivered big for the streamer in terms of viewership and impact. The positive, unfortunately, comes with a new negative, as Stranger Things and Netflix have experienced an unwanted first for the series after season 5 was review-bombed.

To this point in the show’s history, Stranger Things has never been review-bombed on Rotten Tomatoes or anywhere else, and it has enjoyed a higher audience score for seasons 1 through 4 as a result. Earlier this week, the audience score was lower than preview seasons, but it was still at 73%. That’s all changed thanks to a host of 0.5 and 1-star reviews, which have pulled that score all the way down to the show’s first Rotten rating at 56%.

Why Is Stranger Things Season 5 Getting Review Bombed?

Looking through the 0.5 and 1-star reviews, a few things become clear. Terms like propaganda, gender, ideology, political agenda, and yes, woke, are used throughout, and that’s followed by other reviews that call out specific moments that tie to Will and Robin and the exploring of their identity and relationships throughout the season.

There are criticisms that are aimed at the story or the utilization of new characters over original characters, but the majority of the 0.5 and 1-star reviews are taking issue with Will’s story in particular. Will has gone through quite the journey over the course of the past 4 seasons, but season 5 really spotlights Will and his understanding of who he is, and while some fans (including myself) have loved Will getting so much development in season 5, others aren’t fans of it.

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Unfortunately, this is now a regular occurrence when a show or film dips into topics of politics or sexual and gender identity. Sometimes it’s not even that a project is focusing on those topics, but if they exist within the framework of the show or film, that can be enough to draw the ire of a group, and that’s when things get review-bombed and a sudden influx of 1-star reviews.

The Stranger Things series finale will stream on Netflix on New Year’s Eve.

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