With the confirmation of a second season in 2017, the hype over “Stranger Things” has only strengthened. Streaming on Netflix, the show brings a reminiscence of eighties culture and the thrill of the unknown to the small screen. Warning Spoilers ahead!
The story revolves around the disappearance of a boy, Will, and how his parents, and friends frantically search for him and the reason he disappeared. However, when looking for Will they find a girl named Eleven and discover she has intricate mind powers that may or may not be connected to the mysterious upside down monster. Also that a mysterious government agency raised Eleven to use her for dangerous experiments. As the search continues, Will’s mom (Winona Ryder) finds a way to communicate to Will through the lights in her home, while seeming delusional to the rest of the town. Will’s friends, Mike, Lucas and Dustin, inquire about a parallel world WIll is trapped in and Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan prepare to fight the monster that abducted Barb.
The season is full of eighties movie and other culture references that are parallels to the actual story. In the first episode when the boys are playing Dungeons and Dragons they are forced to face a Demogorgon, a terrifying monster that oddly enough sounds much like the monster from the upside down. During the game when the boys argue on which move to make they become frustrated and later in the season Lucas turns against Eleven and Mike, claiming Eleven is a traitor and really knows where Will is. Even when Hopper investigates Will’s fake body he goes through the Hawkins building and comes across the doorway to the upside down just as Dustin is explaining “The Vale of Shadows” from Dungeons and Dragons. These back and forth shots of Hopper and the kids are meant to convey a connection between the two groups. Including Jonathan and Nancy when they fight the monster, the kids, Joyce, and Hopper are all aiming for the same goal: find Will. This makes them one team, or search party, much like the gameplay of Dungeons and Dragons. Their purpose is for one entity and not just to benefit themselves.
This mixture of malleable characters makes the show unpredictable and is why it is so easy to keep watching. There is always the nag to know what is going to happen next and the feeling of not knowing is what Stranger things builds its foundation on. The fast pacing and multiple perspectives of characters only helps the story to blend and feel complete more than other mystery/thriller shows. The viewer sees each character develop off of another. Joyce seems crazy to Hopper at first but once he discovers Will’s fake body, he begins to believe Will still may be out there. Lucas becomes jealous of Mike and Eleven’s close friendship and this reveals El’s secrecy to the group and makes the boys question who she really is. In the end “Stranger Things” portrays a whole and complete story that uses its characters fully, and these two elements are the innovation from the thrillers and mysteries the show homages to.
