After watching my Twitter feed basically throw up an insane amount of Stranger Things tweets since the last season came out, I’ve decided to finally hop on this train and see what all the hype is about. I know, I know, I’m late. But in my defense, I was busy being a kid in 2016 and then all the other seasons came out and it was just too much work for me to go and watch that stuff. So yeah. It’s summer now, so I’m going to take a shot at this. Fingers crossed it lives up to all the stan tweets on my Twitter feed!
(P.S. sorry if this all seems a bit disjoined, I’m writing commentary as I go, and also there will be spoilers, but honestly if you haven’t been completely spoiled by Twitter and all other social media until now about season four then you have had a rare and peaceful life. Like me. Yay.)
Season 1 (Finished July 9th, 2022):
OK, so I’ve finished season one of the show, and I just have to commend the casting directors on this show before I write anything else. Honestly, having kids take the lead in any show is risky. Kids don’t always know what to do with themselves and often they’re too numb or wooden, or they try to overcompensate. For a show like Stranger Things that’s almost entirely kid-driven, having bad actors would have ruined it immediately for me. And I have to say, I haven’t seen many kid actors that are amazing and can carry a story alone (think McKenna Grace and Saoirse Ronan, the likes), so the show really did an amazing job casting Eleven, Lucas, and Dustin. Also Millie Bobby Brown is British?? (I’m such a sucker for kid actors doing good accents so I think I’m in love.)
And I also really like the plot so far? I enjoyed understanding nothing at all about the Upside Down and Eleven’s powers, and I like not knowing much about what happens, leaving the suspense and mystery that means the show can still be explored in other ways in the next seasons. I was worried, before I started, that this season would leave too little for the later seasons to explore, so I’m good.
Characters were fine. I think Eleven was done best, the way she goes from not talking to gradually understanding what life outside is like. I guess the two things that really bother me about character are that the boys have absolutely no problem with Eleven murdering a good half dozen adults right there in front of their faces (I don’t know I thought they would be more… squeamish about that kind of stuff), and Steve’s character arc? I mean, I just didn’t get why he was suddenly begging Nancy to be with him, but maybe I missed some stuff because I finished this at 2AM. I just think that he went from being a grade a butthole (yes, I said butthole) to being a nice, kind, boyfriend too easily.
Finally, I’d just like to say: WINONA RYDER!!!! WINONA RYDER!!!! WINONA FREAKING RYDER!!!! That’s it really. Winona Ryder. God, I’ve missed seeing her in stuff.
So yeah. Starting season 2 tomorrow, let’s see how it goes!
Season 2 (Finished July 11th, 2022):
God, I love Eleven. I don’t even care, I love her so much. And I love her and Mike together so much. And the way she gets jealous about Max? Adorable. And the way she has a sister who can do all this cool stuff with her mind? Love that. And her new all-black look (and her new overalls and curls)? Baby. Totally, utterly, baby.
Can I also just say that I love whatever it is they are doing with Jim Hopper? Like, he’s all mean and stuff, but I love that that’s the way he’s dealing with the trauma of losing his daughter. I feel like he doesn’t want to get attached to Eleven, so he treats her strictly and harshly, but he’s still looking out for her, and I just… I feel him. He’s dying inside from grief and so many other emotions, but he’s still trying so hard. But also still, he is intimidating. In a good way. I think.
I really have to mention the love triangles that go on. I mean, Dustin, Max, and Lucas? Annoying, but endearing, because they are that age when this kind of stuff starts being important to kids. Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan? Not my favorite thing in the world, but I don’t hate it.
Final thoughts: whatever is going on with Billy and Mrs. Wheeler? Not here for it. Not here for it at all. Not a fan of whatever is going on in Mrs. Wheeler’s mind, especially since he’s supposed to be a high schooler. I mean, honestly, do high schoolers look like that nowadays? No. I’m in high school, and let me tell you, no. And is Billy racist? I don’t know if I’m reading too much into it, but he’s honestly so against Lucas that I can’t help but feel like there’s a racist undertone there.
Am looking forward to season 3 and 4. Robin’s there, right? And I am really, really looking forward to developing a crush on Maya Hawke as Robin. Just saying.
Season 3 (Finished July 11th, 2022):
OK, so Eleven and Mike are so adorable that I can’t even. I will say that I have been friends with people who are absolutely obsessed with their partners and ghost their friends, so I’m not saying I love their behavior, but they are so so cute. Also, it’s only episode one and I’m already uncomfortable with whatever’s going on with Mrs. Wheeler and Billy. Like no. No thank you. No.
Also, I love Winona Ryder. I just love her. She is the best. And the way she gets first billing makes my heart happy. And Jim Hopper parenting is so cute. So cute. And I love how we have everyone just completely supporting Will and him being gay. I don’t care if he is or he isn’t, but to my mind he is (all that queer stuff and name-calling and bullying and then Mike saying “you don’t like girls”? He’s gay. Over and done.).
Also, has it occurred to anyone how much of all this crap could be solved if people just talked to one another? I mean, it’s like Jonathan and Nancy are living in completely separate dimensions from Will/Mike/Lucas who are completely in different worlds that El and Max who are then completely different from Billy and then another plot about Joyce and Hopper, and let’s not forget Dustin, Robin, and Steve. Jesus, do you people mind? JUST TALK TO ONE ANOTHER. (OK so now finally they’ve talked but it’s still the younger kids vs the older kids vs the adults).
OK, now I’ve finished the season.
I just…
I need time to process all of this.
First of all Robin is gay so I’m ecstatic. Then Billy dies after we get to understand more about him that we only got a little taste of last season, the reasons why he does what he does and why he acts the way he does. Then Jim dies, right after he finally gets a date with Joyce, and so now I’m going to go and sob myself to sleep. Why? Why did the Duffer Brothers do this to us? WHY?
Season 4 (Finished July 12th, 2022):
‘Kay, so storylines this season just so I can keep track:
Russian Adults: Joyce, Hopper, and Murray (also Russian dudes).
Finding Eleven: Mike, Will, Jonathan, and that hippie kid named Argyle (minor with Suzie and her big Mormon family).
Eleven and her schtick: Eleven (duh), Dr. Brenner, and Dr. Owens and Jamie Campbell Bower’s character.
Stoping Vecna Team: Steve, Robin, Nancy, Lucas, Eddie (he’s new), Erica, Dustin, and Max.
Five storylines in one show? Some of these storylines are just not on par with the rest. I am honestly sick of this Russian stuff. I just don’t care. And I call bull on the idea that Hopper survived. The guards rushing towards him that were further away from the explosion disintegrated.
Honestly, Finn Wolfhard is super cute and all, but he is not on par with Millie Bobby Brown in terms of acting. That scene when they’re having a heart to heart? She’s sobbing, lip quivering, and he’s just surprised Pikachu face the entire time.
And I find the whole storyline about One and what Eleven has been through interesting, I really do, it’s just I want to know why they don’t call Eight and have her help Eleven. They keep acting like Eleven is the only person who can save the world, so is Eight dead or something? And how come Two and all the others seemed to have the same powers as Eleven, just to varying degrees, but Eight has something completely different to what Eleven can do? I also feel like Eleven didn’t kill the kids and this is all some conspiracy against her, but then again she did kill like six adults without blinking an eye in season 1, so we’ll see.
Also, I think One is Jamie Campell Bower, because he’s weird and creeping me out. Also, he’s an actor I can actually name, and considering the fact that most of the actors on this show made their name from Stranger Things, I find it impossible to believe he doesn’t have a larger role. (I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW SHE WAS SET UP AND I KNEW HE WAS ONE)
Is it really bad that I agree with One? If you think about it, humans are the ultimate pest. We multiply and destroy, and everything we lay our hands on somehow turns into something that harms and kills. We have hurt the animals that we coexist with, we have damaged our planet nearly irreparably, and for what? We conform and we perform a play for no one’s eyes, just the eyes of a straight-jacket like society and its rules that WE made up and WE continue to enforce.
One’s terrible and a sociopath (I actually think he fits what an actual sociopath is like– charismatic, lack of empathy, and driven) but he isn’t entirely wrong in the way that life is repetitive and so utterly outlined by these intangible things that we limit ourselves with– expectations, norms, popularity…
Also, he’s Henry? That old man’s son? Is he the ultimate bad guy Vecna? Watch and find out (I will be doing that. This just got interesting). I WAS RIGHT I WAS RIGHT AGAIN, GOD I’M A FREAKING GENIUS!!!
I shouldn’t be laughing at Will’s gay heartbreak, but I’ve seen that photo as a meme on Twitter so many times even though I have blocked the Stranger Things tag and stuff. Meme culture is pervasive, let me tell you. (the queer in me is screaming about Robin’s love story so I’m really really excited to see how that plays out in future seasons, and because Maya Hawke looks amazing in that final outfit of hers and Robin and Vicki are so cute together.)
And finally, I just want to say: that final battle was epic. I love stories where everything ties together in the end, and that final battle tied everything together for me. They survived and fought together, and the music in the background really brought everything together, as did the tragedy. I’m speechless at the way Max maybe died. I don’t think there’s anything more heartbreaking than watching a person beg to live before they travel to that unexplored country “from whose bourn no traveler returns.” And Eddie? God I was not prepared to be so emotional about his death.
Anyway. I will be waiting for season 5 now, but I do now think I see how they can finally make season 5 connected with the rest of the seasons. At the beginning of the season I was confused, like “is this honestly just repeating the storyline of the past three seasons” but now I think I can see this show going on for one more season.
Overall, I think Stranger Things is worth the watch. It’s not the best show ever and I’m not sure it deserves all the hype and praise, but it is definitely something I would recommend to a friend if they had a lot of free time on their hands. The acting is on point, the characterization is consistent, the characters are fleshed out, the aesthetic is gorgeous, and the plots aren’t half bad. Overall, not bad at all.
Now that I’m done binging this show, time to move on to the next thing. Maybe Yellow Stone next? We'll see. Phew. Binging is tiring.
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
Happy Tuesday.
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