How many of you have been bombarded with Stranger Things posts while scrolling on social media this winter? I’d make a confident guess that most of you probably have, because the fanbase has been digesting this new season like a drug and spitting out internet content like there is no tomorrow. On November 26, Netflix released Volume One to the Stranger Things finale season, which has been highly anticipated for three years.
Millions of anticipating viewers around the world jumped right into Volume One, including me. My hopes were through the roof, as I’ve been a dedicated fan of this franchise for years. But after finishing Act One, I decided to rewatch it to confirm my own suspicions, which are that this release has some issues, which I would like to unfold.
DISCLAIMER: This article entails spoilers to the Stranger Things TV show, recapping events from Volume One, and many comments described are biased statements which not all will agree with.
POSITIVES
The plot line is so incredible — it is not hard to follow or whatsoever, and as a viewer, I was on my toes from beginning to end. The CGI is well done, the gore is just the right balance, and the music choices are great. All my friends started singing when “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany played.
I am also in love with the new duo, Robin and Will. They are so funny together, and their new friendship makes me smile whenever I think about it.
Then there is the broken duo: Steve and Dustin. Throughout the whole show, they have been the most iconic duo, but in Volume One, they have been separated by tension and differences. As much as I love their friendship, perhaps the abrupt change in their correspondence will eventually be brought back to normal once Volume Two is out, and once or if that happens, we can love their friendship more than ever.
As for all the other characters, they are as lovable and complex as their archetype was designed, even as they have changed throughout the series. There have also been new characters introduced, such as the most loved side character of Volume One, Derek Turnbow, and even his older sister, Tina, Erica Sinclair’s ex-bestfriend. Derek is chaotic, unfiltered, laughable, and, of course, delightful. Obviously, if this wasn’t a television show, Derek would not be receiving as much praise as he does on the show, but his uniqueness as a person in Stranger Things has added an extra spark to the series.
This Act was not predictable either — many fans including myself were intrigued by the uniqueness of where the plot was headed for Stranger Things.
NEGATIVES
Using Robin in her radio studio to explain the events that occurred when The Upside Down broke open in Hawkins was genius and entertaining, but shouldn’t there have been a rampage of problems? Miles and miles worth of Gates to the Upside Down, and yet, all it took was a bit of metal coverage and military overwatch to keep things on the low? Why are the Hawkins civilians saying nothing about the fact that their world literally tore open? Why is no one being evacuated? I just thought that the events that happened between March of 1986 to November of 1987 were underwhelming and unrealistic.
On a separate note, is no one talking about how corny some of these lines are? I caught myself cringing at how forced and, in short, weird, some of these scenes were. The social tone portrayed in Volume One did not match the rest of the series.
There is a lot going on in this Act, and this show has added so much world building, that I am worried they wont be able to wrap up everything by the time the full season is out. If anything is done wrong, the fan base is going to go ecstatic with rage.
PREDICTION FOR ACT TWO
Say it with me people: either Eleven or Will is going to die. These two characters are the core to this series, as we have followed their story since the very beginning, and they are the strongest roles. Without them, Stranger Things fanatics might just start a revolution. Which is exactly why people like the Duffer Brothers would do it — they know how torn the viewers would be with their loss. Also, how could those two characters possibly live a normal life after what they went through?
END
Stranger Things has ceased to disappoint me in the years I have spent watching this series, and as this story comes to a close, I can only hope that the Duffer Brothers wrap up the finale as this show deserves to be done.
