Review: The Libertarianism of Stranger Things

The final season of the Netflix show delivers a message about moral responsibility.

Stranger Things' fifth season delivered an epic conclusion to one of Netflix's most popular shows. In the process, the Duffer brothers, creators and showrunners, communicated a libertarian message about moral responsibility.

The protagonists learn that the show's archvillain, Vecna, was traumatized as a little boy: While exploring a mine, he was shot by and felt compelled to kill a paranoid man carrying a piece of the Mind Flayer, an extraterrestrial evil. In light of this revelation, the characters entertain the possibility that Vecna isn't really evil but was simply enslaved by the Mind Flayer. They urge Vecna to resist the being's influence. But he balks at the suggestion he's enthralled. He shares the Mind Flayer's will and goals, he insists.

If Vecna truly lacked agency, he wouldn't be responsible for his actions. But circumstance didn't create Vecna; he did so himself by willfully embracing evil. Accordingly, the heroes mercilessly dispatch the evildoer, bringing peace to their beleaguered hometown of Hawkins once and for all.

Comments

[mad.casual]

Mercilessly dispatched Vecna, again, bringing peace and peace to their bleaguered hometown of Hawkins once and for all, again.

And that's the best, or most fair, review I can give it.

[Spiritus Mundi]

One could say they went to war against an evil ideology.

[MasterThief]

That was probably the only good thing the entire season. The dialogue, pacing, and plot made no sense and dragged on too long. It sucked.
As for a review, this is on par with the final season: devoid of meaning and connection. I see no libertarian themes in it and asserting "moral responsibility" in considering an enemy's childhood trauma certainly isn't an example.

[JesseAz (RIP CK)]

So reason finally agrees. Sometimes invading somewhere to kill an evil entity is good.

[Bertram Guilfoyle]

And without even asking congress!

[Spiritus Mundi]

Would have expected Robby to write this, you know, because of Will.

[Sandra (formerly OBL)]

More satisfying series finale than Game of Thrones IMO.

[mad.casual]

I haven't seen GOT but, as a man in his late 40s, 22-yr.-old Milly Bobby Brown's portrayal of a battle-hardened, psychically-enhanced teenager running an obstacle course made me feel bad for women. Made 50-something Queen Latifah look credible in her role in The Equalizer.

[Sandra (formerly OBL)]

Eh, it works because Eleven's powers are supernatural. They don't have her beating up 200 pound soldiers in pure hand-to-hand combat.

Anyway the GoT comparison was more about tying up story and character arcs. I won't spoil it, but one of the main questions of GoT was Who will occupy the Iron Throne? The show's answer to that was ......... underwhelming.

[NoVaNick]

First two seasons are the best IMO, it got too cheesy after that but was still entertaining. The last season kinda sucked.

[MasterThief]

Eddie and Robin were good additions to a cast that felt stale. Unfortunately they killed the one and turned the other into just a token lesbian. We struggled through the last season. The final episode was especially bad with a drawn out epilogue and lengthy "emotional" conversations that destroyed any sense of urgency and threat

[Scooter]

Yep.

Season 3, IMO, really derailed things with the whole "massive Russian base under the Mall" and they way they nerfed Hopper and some other characters.

They tried to pull things back together in S4, but still had too many plot lines going on. The S5 wrap wasn't terrible, but also not great.

[Use the Schwartz]

The weird Lord of the Rings homage ending was too much for me. I mean the entire show was "meant to be retro" i.e. derivative. But pick your decade FFS.

Also I didn't care enough about the characters to learn how everything turned out. I was hoping for an '80's style subtitle ending under each character "wanted by CIA after massive swinger sting." "Double Russian agent prevents WWIII." Or maybe a freeze-frame of Will fisting the air like Bender (heh-heh).

And as for Libertarian content - there were guns and free-range kids.