TV REVIEW: Stranger Things (Season 1)

8 Things I Like

8. ‘Tis the Season

The Christmas lights and other assorted lights Joyce uses to communicate with Will seemed stupid to me at first. But they wound up leading to a couple of awesome moments.

They first start to pay off when Will manages to tell her that he’s alive but NOT safe, which is creepy as hell. And then, he tells her he’s right there — which, of course, she doesn’t understand at the time — and that she needs to run.

Then the lights help Jonathan, Nancy, and Steve battle the Demogorgon in one of the best scenes of the season.

7. Redeeming Steve

I was hard on Steve in the beginning. And deservedly so. He was douchey.

But I like the redemption story, even if it’s predictable. Once he gets his ass kicked, I’m glad he realizes his “friends” suck, and that he had no right to treat Nancy the way he did — even if she was dating Jonathan (which she really wasn’t).

Now that he’s been brought into the fold, I imagine he’ll be a part of the “team” with the boys, Nancy, and Jonathan (and El whenever she gets back). I’m excited to see what that looks like.

6. Everyone’s Favorite Teacher

I love Mr. Clarke. Every kid should have a teacher like him.

Some teachers come in early or stay late to make sure you understand the material and give you extra help.

But the best teachers will take a phone call from a student on a Saturday night while in the middle of a hot date and pause the movie they’re watching to walk him through how to build a sensory deprivation tank.

Or he’ll get his students a radio that lets them communicate with Australia.

Or he’ll explain the theory of parallel universes without a hint of judgment because he also knows what the Shadow Vale in D&D is.

Bring this man into the fold too. Let him battle monsters and travel to the Upside Down.

5. Next Season on Stranger Things…

I love the way the finale sets up Season 2 with two major developments. I wouldn’t call them cliffhangers, but we see some indication that Eleven might not be dead after all (I mean, come on — she’s not dead) and that Hopper is leaving waffles in the woods for her.

And even more intriguing, Will is puking up slugs and hallucinating about the Upside Down. He’s been emotionally traumatized — but also physically infected. And somehow, I have to think it’s a bad thing that he’s brought a piece of the Upside Down back into the real world.

4. Puppy Love

For the most part, Mike and Eleven are adorable together.

I’m not a fan of him screaming “what’s wrong with you?!” at her a couple of times when he gets mad at her. That’s a horrible thing to say to anyone, no matter how angry you are with them.

But I can chalk it up to him only being a middle-school kid who’s dealing with some “highly unusual” circumstances.

So putting that aside, his combination of awkwardness and tenderness is really sweet. And so is El’s innocence — especially the way she has no idea what he’s trying to stammer out until he kisses her.

3. Home — but Not Really

What makes the Upside Down so terrifying is its familiarity.

It’s HOME — but not really.

It’s this corrosive, decaying, perverse version of the places you love, where you spend time with family and friends.

It’s cool how they dragged it out throughout the season, leaving breadcrumbs so we could learn more about it little by little.

Seeing it for real the first time when Nancy stumbles upon a small entrance is thrilling. But they wait until the season finale to really let us spend a good amount of time in the place, and it doesn’t disappoint.

I can’t wait to see how and why these guys find their way back.

2. Nerd Nostalgia

This show is a vibe. There’s no better way I can put it.

I was a kid in the 80’s, and I remember being allowed to be out on my bike all day, riding over to friends’ houses.

I wasn’t into all the things they love. (I’m not sure what it says about me that I got a lot more into nerdy stuff as an adult — I just try not to think about it too much.)

But the references to Lord of the Rings, Poltergeist, The Evil Dead, Star Wars — and the HEAVY leaning on Dungeons & Dragons — come fast and furious, making it so much fun to watch.

1. All About the Kids

A show like this could’ve gone badly. But the kids are all great in their own way.

I’m especially partial to Dustin because he’s hilarious.

Will has this combination of appearing weak, but also having a zest for the things he loves, and an earnestness above and beyond the rest of the group. So he’s the perfect choice to be the one who disappears, and who you can’t help but want to protect.

Mike is the natural leader of the group. And his chemistry with El once she shows up adds a new dynamic.

Everything about El is so innocent, from the shaved head, to the quizzical looks when she doesn’t understand the real world, to her screams and sobs in the flashbacks. And it’s all juxtaposed with her wielding immense power, and actually being willing to use it to protect herself and her friends.

And Lucas is the unsung hero of the group. He’s a dick for a lot of the season, until he finally sees what kind of danger El had been in all along and he comes around. But it’s important to have someone who questions all the craziness around them, instead of blindly accepting a “weirdo” they run into in the woods in the middle of a storm.

Put them all together, and the acting, the chemistry, and the banter are all far better than you’d ever have a right to expect from such young kids.

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3 Things I’m Mixed On

3. Desperate Mom

I’ve liked Wynona Ryder in plenty of movies over the years. And I suspect she’s giving exactly the performance she’s going for here. But something about it doesn’t work for me. It’s not bad. She’s as distraught as she should be under the circumstances. Even the way she neglects Jonathan and her own mental health while figuring out how to get Will back makes sense.

But as someone who was billed as the star of the show, she’s not as memorable as many other characters. And maybe it’s a good thing that she doesn’t overshadow the kids. But she’s a character I barely wrote about all season and never got fully on board with, even though I don’t dislike her.

2. Love Triangle

Well here’s something I did write about a number of times.

The situation with Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan is fine. It’s cliché. And I feel like any time there’s a love triangle in a show or movie, the main question is which of the two other people will the third one end up with.

There are two issues with that here:

First is that, even though I like Nancy, she’s not so compelling that I need to know which guy she’s going to choose…

And second, Nancy is a strong enough character on her own that she doesn’t need to be defined by which guy she’s dating.

I still have seasons to go, of course. And I have no idea what happens with her relationship. But I would’ve preferred if she ended this season single, instead of back with Steve. Even though Steve has the nice redemption arc, her willingness to stand on her own would’ve said a lot about her.

1. Paranoia Gets the Best of the Badass

Hopper starts out so badass when he begins investigating Will’s disappearance. You quickly realize he’s not some incompetent small-town cop. They even mention he used to work in the “big city.”

As he starts to unravel the conspiracy around the lab, he goes to greater lengths to find the truth, and he’s so easy to root for. He’s breaking into labs, punching people out…

Then after he’s captured and drugged, he becomes totally paranoid. It’s understandable, but far less interesting.

I enjoy his time on screen so much more in the first half of the season.

And it still doesn’t sit well with me that he sells out Eleven in the finale — even if it is so he and Joyce can go into the Upside Down to rescue Will

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5 Things I Don’t Like

5. So Long, Barb

It was so disappointing to find out Barb dies so early in the season. We don’t get confirmation until later, but she gets taken at the end of the second episode, and we see glimpses of her fighting for her life in the Upside Down in episode three — and that’s it.

I’ve said before, I was surprised because she was one of the breakouts of Season One. Even having never watched the show before, I knew the name Barb, and the look, when the show first debuted. So I always assumed she was a bigger deal.

It doesn’t really hurt the show that she’s not there, considering the investigation and the looming terror of the Upside Down. But she would’ve been fun to have around.

4. Murder Spree

I’ve joked about El dropping so many bodies, in flashbacks and in the present. And I get why she does it — it’s always to protect herself or her friends.

Considering what she’s been put through, she’s justified.

But they still never wrestle with what this must do to her.

Is it a tough choice to kill people with her powers — even in self-defense?

Is she traumatized by murdering?

It’s obvious she’s traumatized in general, but that seems to have more to do with the tests and torture she’s been put through.

There’s no question she’s a hero, but there’s so much to explore in terms of what it must be like to have to make these choices and use your power over people, especially as a child. And they just gloss over it.

3. Forgettable Villain

I was never crazy about Brenner the whole season.

He’s fine… it always feels sleazy when he acts like “papa” to Eleven.

But he’s not an overly charismatic villain. He’s not fun to root against. And as evil as what he’s done to her is, it’s not portrayed in a way that elicits strong emotion from me.

I’m glad he gets killed in the finale, because I didn’t want him to be a multi-season villain. (And hopefully they don’t find some weird, supernatural way to bring him back.)

2. Bullies

I harped on Troy and the other kid all season. They just felt like the biggest clichés. It’s nothing against the actors. But in a show where a lot of fringe characters are fleshed out nicely — like Mr. Clarke and even Benny — these two are no different than all the middle-school bullies we’ve seen in movies and TV over the years.

1. Will’s “Body”

I hate the way this is portrayed. They pull “Will” out of the lake, but when Hopper breaks into the morgue and cuts him open, he’s stuffed with fluff?

Where did they get a replica of his body from? Do companies make those? How does any of this make sense?