"Stenbeck" seems to lean heavily on identity-driven character choices, where race and gender serve as clear focal points. Several protagonists are given backstories or arcs mainly centered around their identities, often overshadowing genuine personality or skill-based development. This focus appears to come at the expense of organic storytelling and tension.

The series takes aim at traditional institutions, frequently painting concepts like family loyalty, ambition, and classical leadership in a rather negative light. Masculine traits are often portrayed as outdated or problematic, while modern ideologies are given uncritical preference. Family dynamics are reimagined in ways that align with current cultural narratives.

Stenbeck rarely features characters with genuinely traditional perspectives without casting them as either out of touch or outright antagonistic. There is little space for worldview pluralism; the show instead gravitates to a narrow set of modern assumptions as ‘default truths.’ Dissenting voices are mostly caricatured or sidelined.