We all have those life-altering media moments that forever remain in our brains. One of these mind-blowing experiences for me was walking into my best friend’s family room at 11 years old (for real) and locking eyes with the television screen playing the iconic Stranger Things episode, “The Monster.”
The bullies (or “mouth breathers” as El later names them) had Dustin at knife point, blackmailing defenseless, scrawny Mike to jump off a cliff. Tensions are high as he actually jumps, but, of course, is saved by the heroic Eleven, debuting her powers against evil as she suspends Mike’s fall mid-air.
To this day, I can see this dramatic visual in my mind along with so many other imaginative Duffer brothers’ scenes — probably a result of rewatching the series at least four times.
It’s hard to believe the final season is soon going to drop on Netflix and, as an official adult, I’m still completely invested and so not ready to say goodbye.
So, instead of focusing on the end of Stranger Things, let’s go back and analyze the absolute best and sometimes downright frustrating moments that have defined this era.
I hear a lot of people refer to Stranger Things as a “scary” show, but I’ve always partly rejected this categorization. For me, it’s so much more layered than that, with the horror element only being a slice of the Stranger Things pie. However, during all my re-watching sessions, I realize how intense and actually impressively scary some of the scenes really are.
Any scene with Max’s older brother, Billy, during Season 3 comes to my mind immediately, especially in “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard.” In this episode, Max’s satanic older brother creepily kills several Hawkins residents, collecting humans for an army of zombie-like creatures to please the evil Mind Flayer.
The fourth episode of Season 3, “The Sauna Test,” takes it up a notch with an epically brutal battle. El and the gang attempt to burn the demons out of Billy in the pool locker room. His veins look like they’re literally about to explode. And, on top of that, all this chaos is playing out as the Duffer bros cut to alternate scenes of fertilizer-eating Doris Driscoll, who suffers under the Mind Flayer’s control. This season made me uneasy for a full day, at least. I will admit that I even checked around for my safety when grabbing my DoorDash from the front patio.
My rewatch of Season 4 also changed my mind about how scary the series really is. It masters the task of giving viewers that pit-in-your-stomach feeling of impending doom with those godforsaken grandfather clock noises, reminding us that with every passing minute, our beloved group of Hawkins’ teens is that much closer to peril.
I specifically remember that scene in Episode 4 where we finally get some relief watching Max hug her mom. But just as we believe it’s all gonna be OK, everything suddenly goes black, and she looks up to realize that her mom is vine-covered Vecna in disguise — a major blow to any Stranger Things fan. Season 4’s cliffhanger does its job of letting the viewer know not to take a breath just yet, as our favorite Hawkin’s champions peer out onto the eerie, foreboding landscape that literally looks like hell is freezing over at an alarming rate.
Like I said, the horror element is only one piece of the puzzle for me. Stranger Things is like when you dip hot, salty fries into ice cream. Honestly, the parts of the show I love the most are the bittersweet moments. One of my favorites is when El reads Hopper’s heartfelt letter while under the impression that he’s dead, during “The Battle of Starcourt.” It never fails to get me teary-eyed when I hear Hopper’s famous line: “But, please, if you don’t mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches.”
The Duffer brothers obviously also have a real talent for portraying grief, and I think that some of the show’s best moments are found in these emotional scenes. You can bet that I weep whenever Nancy recalls moments with poor Barb, or when Joyce touchingly remembers the beloved Bob, and don’t even get me started on how crushed I felt watching Dustin break the news to Eddie’s dad at the end of the Season 4 finale. Showing the audience that our protagonists are compassionate makes us even more worried about their well-being and heightens the show’s dramatic nature.
Ok, that’s enough sappy stuff for now. And before you think that I have gone overboard and joined some Stranger Things cult, let’s talk about some of the more disappointing moments — the ones that make you roll your eyes because, as close as Stranger Things is to perfection, cringeworthy moments do exist. I am, of course, skipping over the mention of “The Lost Sister” episode of Season 2, because I think there is a consensus that this is already deemed the lowest point of the series.
Let’s instead move on and discuss Season 3 Hopper; he is extremely annoying here. For instance, when he gave Joyce an unreasonably hard time for missing their date, which isn’t cool of Joyce, but I’m pretty sure the threat of The Upside Down and the safety of her kids should have silenced his whining and oversensitivity. He was giving Joyce the same condescending treatment that El got when she first started dating Mike. Hopper’s characteristic bad attitude and Hawaiian shirts continue throughout the season, and although I mostly enjoyed it, sometimes he needed to chill. Maybe now I’m actually the one being overprotective of El and Joyce.
It also bothers me how El is always a constant savior to everyone (literally to the whole world) — all while having to deal with her bloody noses and shaved head — but it’s crickets when she’s the one in need of saving. I really noticed this during Season 4 when she’s bullied by the mean girl, Angela, in “Vecna’s Curse.” Will literally stands there, lifeless, doing nothing to stand up for her while she’s humiliated and ridiculed in front of the entire school. I mean, no worries, she’s only just lost her second dad, moved far from home, and is still recovering from saving your hometown.
The worst part of all happens later in the episode, after El is severely bullied at the skating rink. The supposedly sensitive Mike drops the ball again and rudely villainizes El at the dinner table, criticizing her for standing up for herself. Another quick critique is that it’s always questionable that Joyce and Hopper seem completely disinterested in their kids’ well-being when they are off on their adventures, but now I’m getting nitpicky.
I forgive it all!
I am counting the minutes until November 26!
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