“Stranger Things” was always a show that did “mood” better than lore. The series was a great recreation of the Amblin Entertainment iconography, from the soundtrack to the character archetypes and dynamics. But the more the show tried to do world building and add layers to its Upside-Down mythology, the more convoluted everything else felt — forcing the characters to split into different subplots that could each add another mystery to the story. 

The result is a fourth season that feels made up of chores, storylines forced upon the characters by the need to get to the next set piece. With so many storylines and so many characters, old and new, you’re going to have to wait a long time before seeing your favorite character again from one episode to the next.

This is par for the course in a trend that has been going on for a few years now, a trend that became most intensified when “Game of Thrones” became the biggest show on the planet. A trend wherein genre shows started trying to balance more storylines and episodes than they could handle in an episode, making them feel convoluted and overstuffed no matter how simple the premise.

Of course, the juggling of multiple stories made sense for “Game of Thrones,” as that show did have hundreds of characters living across two continents and a story that spanned years. Cutting from Ned Stark in King’s Landing to Jon Snow north of the Wall, to Daenerys across the sea could be a bit confusing to audiences, but you knew there was a method to the madness.