Just finished the first four episodes and they were fine. In particular, the story arc is very good. But something seems off with the acting, some of the dialogue doesn't hit and the chemistry the between the actors seems lacking. I think the 3 1/2 year gap between S4 and S5 is the reason. The characters are so much older and it is difficult for me to fully suspend disbelief and (in my mind) just pick up the show from where it left off. I think it was noticeably hard for the core young actors also, who have all matured and moved on to other things (and some are not good actors as adults). TLDR: The "magic" is gone but I still enjoyed the episodes and believe the story arc will ramp to a high level on Christmas and New Year's Eve.
In my opinion the best acted part so far is the girl who plays Holly Wheeler. And the guy who plays Henry Creel.
I enjoyed the first batch of episodes, I've forgotten so much of what happened, and didn't re-watch any before this season, so I'm kind of along for the ride. The special effects are great and I want to see how this ends, but I don't really care anymore. The demogorgan has lost all suspense to me. They just appear, open their faces, roar, and attack. Rinse and repeat.
Expected new varieties of grunts and generals......the Demo-dogs and Demo-bats were a nice distraction.
