One my good friend's and his wife usually do a cookout and have a little party for every season of Stranger Things. He asked if I would be going this year and I said no. He actually has gotten tired of the show but his wife still wants to watch. I thought the second season was worse but still didn't annoy me until the third season. I have reached a point of being so tired of the "girls who are much better than men" trope that is in everything and to top it off, they have the "insert unnecessary lgbt character"
I remember reading that she was supposed to be added as a romantic subplot for the reformed jock (makes sense for a show paying homage to the 80s) but then they decided to subvert expectations. So I would imagine the next season the four original boys will be background characters so the girls can shine. Also, that little sister was annoying, but of course the critics raved and said that lesbian character was the best one.
What I'm getting at is that what the writers believed was evil wasn't actually what actual people agree is evil.
A man providing for his family isn't evil, but to a woke it's the evil patriarchy.
They set out to see how evil they could make him, but they actually found out how tragically heroic they could make him. Does he make even a single decision out of malice? I can't think of any - until season 5. Walt isn't even the same character in S1-S4 and S5, and there's no explanation for it other than the show ending.