I was a late adopter to Netflix. Most people I know adopted the service around 2014/2015 after its shift to streaming in 2013, but it took until 2017 for me to jump on the Netflix train by sponging off my partner’s account. The only reason I even took the dip was for one show which felt as though it had been created specifically for me. A fantasy adventure set in 1980’s rural America starring kids being pursued by monsters from another dimension…I mean, the premise for Stranger Things is the ultimate mix of horror, fantasy, and 80’s cheese, so of course I was going to love it.
Whilst fans eagerly await the long awaited fourth season of the show, I’m going to take a look back at Seasons 1-3 and detail just why I love Stranger Things so much.
The sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana becomes ground zero for supernatural experiments, connecting it to the mysterious and sinister shadow world The Upside-Down. Teenagers Mike and Nancy Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard & Natalia Dyer), Will and Jonathan Byers (Noah Schnapp & Charlie Heaton), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Maxine Mayfield (Sadie Sink) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) must save their small town, and by extension the entire world, from monsters, crazy scientists, and evil Ruissians; with the help of Will & Jonathan’s mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour), and the supernaturally gifted Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Whilst fans eagerly await the long awaited fourth season of the show, I’m going to take a look back at Seasons 1-3 and detail just why I love Stranger Things so much.
The sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana becomes ground zero for supernatural experiments, connecting it to the mysterious and sinister shadow world The Upside-Down. Teenagers Mike and Nancy Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard & Natalia Dyer), Will and Jonathan Byers (Noah Schnapp & Charlie Heaton), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Maxine Mayfield (Sadie Sink) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) must save their small town, and by extension the entire world, from monsters, crazy scientists, and evil Ruissians; with the help of Will & Jonathan’s mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour), and the supernaturally gifted Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Season One of Stranger Things does an excellent job of covering three interlinking stories (Joyce & Hopper; the younger teens with Eleven; and the older teens, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan) in just eight episodes whilst providing a great amount of depth to all of them. The story at the forefront of this series is the younger teens uncovering the mystery behind Eleven, but as they progress the stories of the younger and older teens merge with Eleven’s personal story to create something grander in scale than the series initially presents, with secret government experiments and an alternate dimension, The Upside-Down. It’s handled extremely well with characters given a lot of time to grow and develop, without ignoring the fact that this is a coming-of-age story for many of the characters involved. Alongside all this supernatural horror and missing people, you’ll spend a lot of time with the kids as they struggle to navigate the perilous terrain of middle school and high school, dealing with bullies, lovers, and the pressure of classes.
Season Two is the weakest of the three current seasons of Stranger Things. This mainly falls down to it not having many new ideas to bring to the table. A lot of what happens in Season Two feels like a repeat of Season One, with Will once again being trapped in the Upside-Down, a Demogorgon terrorising Hawkins, and Eleven learning more about her traumatic past. The characters are given more development opportunities this time around, particularly with Eleven who goes off in search of her birth mother and other experiments like her (however this particular story has a disappointing conclusion with the weakest episode in the shows entire run).
I like that Steve is brought into the fold of main characters, as well as works hard on shedding his douchebag persona from Season One. Plus, the will they wont they storyline between Nancy & Jonathan is both emotionally engaging and hilarious.
Following the lukewarm reception to Season Two, Season Three not only up’s the ante considerably, but also goes for a much pulpier and light-hearted tone than the previous two series. Season Three is a lot more fun and takes itself less seriously than Season One and Two which helps the show mould the threat to equally less serious levels. With secret evil Russians and a seriously pissed off Mind Flayer, our band of heroes’ face odds unlike anything they’ve fought before. Seeing as Season Three doesn’t introduce many new characters, the majority of the time is spent developing our leads even further. Mike and Eleven’s relationship is put under the microscope, the effect of big business on small towns is covered, lots of Cold War conspiracy stuff is present too. My favourite storyline of the series centres around Dustin, Steve, Robin (Maya Hawke), and Erica (Priah Ferguson) decoding a Russian message and infiltrating a hidden base. It’s so funny, but also fits really well within the Stranger Things framework, despite being so different to what the series has tackled before. Robin is also a great character and the chemistry between Keery & Hawke is truly electric.
The final episode ties everything together so fantastically that it’ll have you screaming, laughing, and crying before the credits roll in what is arguably one of the best episodes in the entire show.
Season Two is the weakest of the three current seasons of Stranger Things. This mainly falls down to it not having many new ideas to bring to the table. A lot of what happens in Season Two feels like a repeat of Season One, with Will once again being trapped in the Upside-Down, a Demogorgon terrorising Hawkins, and Eleven learning more about her traumatic past. The characters are given more development opportunities this time around, particularly with Eleven who goes off in search of her birth mother and other experiments like her (however this particular story has a disappointing conclusion with the weakest episode in the shows entire run).
I like that Steve is brought into the fold of main characters, as well as works hard on shedding his douchebag persona from Season One. Plus, the will they wont they storyline between Nancy & Jonathan is both emotionally engaging and hilarious.
Following the lukewarm reception to Season Two, Season Three not only up’s the ante considerably, but also goes for a much pulpier and light-hearted tone than the previous two series. Season Three is a lot more fun and takes itself less seriously than Season One and Two which helps the show mould the threat to equally less serious levels. With secret evil Russians and a seriously pissed off Mind Flayer, our band of heroes’ face odds unlike anything they’ve fought before. Seeing as Season Three doesn’t introduce many new characters, the majority of the time is spent developing our leads even further. Mike and Eleven’s relationship is put under the microscope, the effect of big business on small towns is covered, lots of Cold War conspiracy stuff is present too. My favourite storyline of the series centres around Dustin, Steve, Robin (Maya Hawke), and Erica (Priah Ferguson) decoding a Russian message and infiltrating a hidden base. It’s so funny, but also fits really well within the Stranger Things framework, despite being so different to what the series has tackled before. Robin is also a great character and the chemistry between Keery & Hawke is truly electric.
The final episode ties everything together so fantastically that it’ll have you screaming, laughing, and crying before the credits roll in what is arguably one of the best episodes in the entire show.
The story of Stranger Things can appeal to a wide range of people. Whilst it certainly starts out by appealing to the 80’s nostalgic nerds with lots of references to Dungeons & Dragons, as well as homages to Stephen King novels, and classic 80’s horror films; Stranger Things quickly evolves into a coming-of-age story for almost all tastes. The horror is never too in your face, and it never takes itself too seriously.
But what really makes Stranger Things special is the cast. Everyone brings their A-Game to this show and it’s birthed some really awesome young stars such as Millie Bobby Brown, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and Finn Wolfhard. The chemistry between everybody is excellent with actors always able to bounce off one another, and when it gets serious you can really see it in their performances.
Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix original series available to watch, and I’m sure Season Four will knock it out of the park if they keep going on the same trajectory as Season Three. There’s a bit of everything in it to appeal to all kinds of audiences. Whilst some people may be put off by the horror elements, they are never pervasive enough to become truly terrifying. The show is always pulling itself back to this state of childlike wonder and coming-of-age shenanigans. It feels like something ripped straight out of the eighties, and like the greatest thing that Stephen King never wrote.
If you’ve yet to watch Stranger Things then there’s a whole lot to love about this show, and if you have watched it then it’s probably due a revisit before Season Four drops.
But what really makes Stranger Things special is the cast. Everyone brings their A-Game to this show and it’s birthed some really awesome young stars such as Millie Bobby Brown, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and Finn Wolfhard. The chemistry between everybody is excellent with actors always able to bounce off one another, and when it gets serious you can really see it in their performances.
Stranger Things is one of the best Netflix original series available to watch, and I’m sure Season Four will knock it out of the park if they keep going on the same trajectory as Season Three. There’s a bit of everything in it to appeal to all kinds of audiences. Whilst some people may be put off by the horror elements, they are never pervasive enough to become truly terrifying. The show is always pulling itself back to this state of childlike wonder and coming-of-age shenanigans. It feels like something ripped straight out of the eighties, and like the greatest thing that Stephen King never wrote.
If you’ve yet to watch Stranger Things then there’s a whole lot to love about this show, and if you have watched it then it’s probably due a revisit before Season Four drops.