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“Stranger Things”: a review

“Let’s go back to Indiana, circa 1983″: this is how Millie Bobby Brown, the 17 year old worldwide famous actress, introduced the renowed Netflix original tv series Stranger Things.

The show, created and directed by the Duffer Brothers, premiered in 2016 and has now 3 seasons, with a fourth one on the way. Since its release, the series has recieved much praise from both the critics and the media, and it has launched many young careers.

The plot

Will’s disappearance

The story takes place in the town of Hawinks, Indiana, on November 6th 1983. A first short scene shows some kind of laboratory with flickering lights and blaring alarms, where a scientist is trying to run away from something. He gets in an elevator, thinking that he’s safe, but a low growl fills the atmosphere, the man screams and the shot quickly changes. Meanwhile, in the Wheeler’s basement, Mike and his friends Will, Dustin and Lucas are focused on a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Mike, in the role of the Dungeon Master, narrates the game, while his three friends try to complete their quests. But there’s a problem: Mike announces that a Demogorgon (a vicious monster) is out to get them, and Will decides to shoot a fireball against the creature. He rolls the dice and it’s a 7, meaning that the Demogorgon got Will.

pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/684336105873900765/)

After Mike’s mom, Karen, forces the kids to put an end to the campaign, they leave and ride home on their bikes. Dustin and Will ride together for a while, but they soon part ways. The camera follows Will, who crosses a dark and foggy forest on the side of the road, showing also some kind of metallic fence with signs that label that as a governative area. All of a sudden, a dark shadow appears in front of him and Will falls off the bike. Hearing a low growl, he runs to his home, that he finds empty. He hides in the barn and gets an old rifle to defend himself. The light bulb starts to give out blinding light, and when it stops Will is gone.

Search party

The next morning, Will’s mom and Jonathan, his brother, can’t seem to find him. After some calls, they establish that he’s not at any of his friends’ houses, so they decide to warn the police.

Here the viewer meets chief Jim Hopper, the scruffy and gruff police officer who conducts the search for young Will Byers. During said search, in which take part also Will’s three friends despite the lack of permission from their parents, Mike, Dustin and Lucas find a strange girl. She’s small and scrawny, with a shaved head and a tattoo of the number 11, and she’s wearing an hospital gown.

pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/697776536001394009/)

Eleven, as they begin calling her, has also been given hospitality from a local diner owner. When he calls the social services to report that he found an abandoned minor, a woman shows up and shoots him. She runs away and gets to the forest, where she’s rescued by the party.

The boys decide to let her stay in Mike’s basement, and they soon discover that she has psychokinetic abilities.

She’s our friend and she’s crazy!

Dustin Henderson, Stranger Things

Just like that, an unlikely group is formed: Mike, Dustin and Lucas team up with their new friend Eleven, Nancy (Mike’s older sister), Steve (Nancy’s boyfriend), Jonathan (Will’s older brother), Joyce (Will’s mom) and Hopper. The group is determined to save Will, while also trying to solve Barb (Nancy’s best friend)’s disappearence, fight dangerous monsters and uncover Hawkins’ secrets, which all lead to the strange governative energy laboratory.

Cast and characters

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

Joyce Byers is a single mother of two, who struggles between educating her sons and earning enough to keep going. She works at a supermarket in town, and she’s devorced from her ex husband, Lonnie Byers, as she goes through some troubled relationships. Despite what the autorities say, she believes that her son didn’t run away and that he’s been someway captured and dragged into an alternative dimension. She also creates a way to comunicate with Will through Christmas lights.

Maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m out of my mind! But God help me, I will keep these lights up until the day I die if I think there’s a chance that Will’s still out there!

Joyce Byers, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667663)
David Harbour as Chief Jim Hopper

This 40-something year old policeman may look disinterested to his job, but when Will desappears he quickly swings into action. At first hesitant to believe Joyce’s theory, he then realises that the case is not as it seems, so he begins investigating on his own. With the weight of a sorrowful past on his shoulders, will Chief Hopper be able to uncover all of Hawkins’ dark secrets?

Mornings are for coffee and contemplation.

Jim Hopper, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/215328425917237375/)
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

Perhaps the most mysterious character of the whole series, Eleven is a fan favourite. She may appear small and vulnerable, but her dark past has made her strong and capable of adapting to dangerous situations. She immidiately trusts Mike, and a strong bond forms between the two of them. El wants to help the party find Will with her psychokinetic abilities, but at the same time she unintentionally draws unwanted attention to the group. She’s determined to keep her friends safe, while also finding out more about human interactions and how “normal” people live.

Friends don’t lie.

Eleven, Stranger Things.
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667685/)
Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

Mike is the middle child of the Wheeler’s family, goes to Hawkins Middle School, and his basment is often used by him and his friends for intense D&D campaigns. He’s a natural leader and a loyal friend, determined to save Will and help Eleven in the best way he can. He soon teams up with his older sister Nancy, improving their relationship.

If anyone asks where I am, I’ve left the country.

Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667687/)
Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

Tiny and fragile, Will gets soon abducted by some kind of monster. His mom is looking for him, along his brother and his freinds. He seems to be communicating through his home’s lights and the telephone, but Joyce is the only one who notices it at first. Is he still alive? What took him? Where is he? Will his friends and family be able to rescue him before it’s too late?

The demogorgon… it got me.

Will Byers, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667707/)
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

Dustin is a positive and optimistic kid, who often plays the role of the mediator in the group. He’s affected by cleidocranial dysplasia, a genetic condition that implies the late growth of bones, especially visible because of his missing teeth. He has a strong passion for science and he’s the smartest and nerdiest of the gruop, despite his love for fantasy and sci-fi.

Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?

Dustin Henderson, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667692/)
 Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair

Skeptical and pragmatic, Lucas has trouble trusting El. He desperately wants to find his freind Will, and thinks that the new girl is dangerous and is slowing them down. But when he understands that she genuinely wants to help them, he gives in and they become friends.

Firts of all, it’s a wrist rocket.

Lucas Sinclair, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667701/)
Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

Smart and shy, Nancy Wheeler comes off as the perfect girl with the perfect life. She starts dating Steve Harrington, the most popular boy in school, and all is going well until her best friend Barb vanishes during a pool party at Steve’s house. She unlikely teams up with Jonathan Byers to help him find his vrother, hoping to uncover Barb’s mysterious disappearance as well.

My mom was young. My dad was older, but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family.

Nancy Wheeler, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667715/)
Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Will’s older brother and Joyce’s son, Jonathan Byers is the stereotype of the social outcast. He comes from a troubled and poor home, in fact he doesn’t attend Hawkins High School as the rest of people his age. He’s a caring brother, and he has a passion for photography. His hobby also results in him teaming up with Nancy, as he casually snapped a picture of Barb seconds before she went missing.

You shouldn’t like things just because people tell you you’re supposed to.

Jonathan Byers, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667733/)
Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Steve is popular in High School, and everyone loves him. He starts dating Nancy Wheeler, a girl from a year below his, but when her friend Barb goes missing their relationship gets worse. He thinks that Nancy’s cheating on him with Jonathan, and this leads him to get in trouble and act up. But he realises his mistakes and becomes some kind of babysitter as he teams up with Nancy and Jonathan first, and Mike, Dustin, Lucas and El later.

I’m stealthy, like a ninja.

Steve Harrington, Stranger Things
pic from Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.it/pin/631770653978667725/)

Conclusion

In conclusion, Stranger Things is a great series that touches on sensitive topics such as toxic relationships and human experiments, but always recovers with funny dialogues and interactions.

It’s compelling both to kids and adults, as kids can relate to the protagonists, while adults can relive the nostalgic era of the 80s.

10

she/her - liceo classico - bookworm, chaotic redhead, writer

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