Seven points of STRANGER THINGS

I finished watching 34 episodes of STRANGER THINGS on NETFLIX. To be exact, it was not so-called binge-watching, but I have never watched TV shows so intensively in a row.

And I found several features of this and other shows on NETFLIX in general as below.

1.    Grown-ups don’t understand juveniles

I guess the theme of this show is “Grown-ups don’t understand juveniles”. This is a classic theme covered over and over on TV or in Hollywood.

Kids confronted the monsters by themselves, not because they could do without adults, but because adults didn’t understand and trust kids except Joyce and Police Chief Jim Hopper.

Scenes were elaborately built.

The fact that it is children who are fighting is what makes it so emotional. On the other hand, if it had not been for these two adults, the show would have been much less realistic.

2.    The more they get together, the stronger they become

There is nothing more necessary than to get united when fighting an overwhelming enemy. And the more you get together, the stronger you become.

In the beginning, the four boys, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will, are the main characters of this story. One day Will disappeared, and the series of events began.

Then the three boys found a girl named El who had supernatural powers and they got together to fight the evil.

After that, they got new companions one after another, such as Will’s brother Jonathan, Mike’s sister Nancy, Nancy’s boyfriend Steve, and Max, a new classmate of the boys.

Afterward, Robin, Erika, Susie, Eddy, and Argyle joined them. And with each additional member, they became stronger and stronger.

Isn't this a standard storyline for adventure stories?

3.    A united team is doomed to be divided

On the contrary, when a united team is divided for any reason, the team loses power at once.

So, filmmakers tend to separate the fighting team deliberately to make the story more exciting.

They got into a pinch when divided by miscommunication, jealousy, or someone being moved or absent.

But finally, they got together again through understanding, by using walkie-talkies, and by El’s supernatural powers. They struck back at the enemy.

This made the story more cathartic than ever.

4.    There’s no one special

You could say the characters are all vulnerable or might be a little weird. There’s no almighty superhero. There’s no one special.

Only El has supernatural powers, but her powers are still yet-to-be-fully-developed, and she lost those powers once.

The middle school boys are just nerds. Eddy, the leader of their club, is also a nerd and at the same time a drug dealer.

Jonathan is not good at socializing. And Argyle, his co-worker at the pizza shop, is nothing but a weirdo.

Nancy is the best pupil in the class, but she is head over heels in love with Steve who is a delinquent type of student. And as for Steve, though he looks so cool, he is not much of a fighter.

Some adults cooperate with the kids, but Joyce is too impulsive, and Jim Hopper is too reckless. Both are divorced.

And Murray Bauman, who joined the team in the middle of the story, is just a happy-go-lucky guy.

All these people gather and beat the monsters. It is an exceedingly riveting adventure.

5.    Nobody dies

In this story, many people were killed, but no main characters were. Some of them were thought to be dead but were found alive. Some of them were almost killed but survived.

I don't like that kind of setup, for it seems too opportunistic and lacks realism.

But there must be many viewers who don’t want to see their favorites die. Netflix is said to be always learning from their viewer’s statistics, so this story might have been written as such.

6.    Americans really detest Russians

I'm very surprised given how maliciously the Russians are portrayed in this show.

The Russians planned to open the door to the upside-down world which El closed using her supernatural powers and intended to summon monsters to attack the United States.

In this story, the Russians are savage and never smile, but strongly adore the American culture.

I wonder why this doesn’t start an international conflict. Are Russians generous people? If it were not Russia but China, I guess Americans couldn’t get away with it.

7.    At last, someone dies

I was watching the movie with these thoughts in my head, when at the very end, one of the characters dies! That's too much after having caught me off guard all this time!

Well, he had to die to end the story, I admit, but one more key person is dying at the hospital!

That's not going to happen, the show will end as it is!

And Will said, “One is still alive”. Is it true?

I heard this show would be completed in this season 4 but is it to be continued?

Wow, I can hardly wait for season 5!