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This article contains spoilers for “Stranger Things” season 5, episode 6 – “Chapter Six: Escaping Camazotz”.
There are many interesting late-game additions to the world of “Stranger Things,” and Maya Hawke’s Robin Buckley is among the best. A key Season 3 addition who befriends Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) as they move through customer service jobs together, she soon finds herself embroiled in the supernatural mysteries that plague the series. In Season 5, Robin is the resident DJ at Hawkins radio station WSQK and finally got the girl: she is now happily with her crush, Vickie Dunne (Amybeth McNulty).
Unfortunately, that happiness ends up becoming another moment in the ongoing highlight reel of “Stranger Things” Season 5, in which the show’s supporting characters pretend that everything is fine – despite a breakup with the Upside Down tearing the town in two. the end of “Stranger Things” season 4, volume 2not to mention the fact that the city is actively surrounded and patrolled by a powerful military force. In “Chapter Six: Escape from Camazotz”, Robin meets Vickie at the hospital and attempts to explain the current supernatural situation, which seems like the reasonable thing to do under the conditions they live in. However, Vickie doesn’t want to hear anything; instead, she immediately assumes that Robin is on drugs.
It’s great to see one of the the best main characters of “Stranger Things” finally reuniting his career and love life, even if it’s in a military-controlled situation where the threat of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) looms above all else. It’s just sad to see the show take the opportunity to make Vickie the latest recurring character without completely noticing that there is clearly something what’s going on in Hawkins, Indiana is very fishy.
Stranger Things is still trying to pretend its status quo hasn’t permanently changed
“Stranger Things” Season 4’s finale, “The Piggyback,” shows menacing portals tearing through Hawkins like giant sinkholes that cause untold damage and all but confirm the Upside Down’s growing influence over Hawkins? Yeah, ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Turned That Wild Cliffhanger Into a Huge Disappointment.
Aside from the military presence, the ruins and the huge metal strips that seal the chasms, Hawkins seems to be doing well in the eyes of John Q. Public. Every non-main character seems to have simply accepted the military presence and assorted quirks, and continues their day as usual. Sure, the media described these sinkholes in Season 4 as an earthquake, but somehow the townspeople – many of whom must have witnessed the extremely first-hand disturbing portals – just behave as if there is nothing wrong in the world instead of drowning yourself in worry, fear and conspiracy theories like an average person would after being subjected to such views.
On a narrative level, of course, the show’s desire to keep ordinary people largely oblivious to the horrors around them is understandable. That’s how “Stranger Things” has always worked, so why not keep the swan song season theme? Still, it’s uncomfortable to see the show turn Vickie into yet another example of a supporting character who refuses to believe a main character about the town’s supernatural predicament despite everything that’s happened. Luckily, Vickie understands the situation later in the episode, so maybe the people of Hawkins will be able to see the truth of their predicament after all… even if the main characters have to explain it to them one by one.
“Stranger Things” season 5, vol. 2 is streaming on Netflix.
