Obey your Stranger Things

When all seemed lost, the Duffer Bros turned things around with their monster hit. Bring on Season 5 says CONSTANTINOS PSILLIDES

When season 3 of Stranger Things dropped so did my heart. I have been here before, I have seen this again. A show getting off to a great first season, only to steadily decline as time goes by; the storylines are unimaginative, the cast expanding to include new characters that end up doing nothing and everything that made the show great to begin with done ad nauseam, like playing your favourite song over and over until you get sick of it.

There’s a reason for that decline of course. The main one is that creators – usually newcomers like the Duffer Bros – don’t plan ahead. Their concern is to get a fantastic first season to get studios to go along with their idea and fund them. So, they pull out all the stops. They use every trick they have up their sleeve to make sure they succeed. The problem is that once they do, there are no more arrows in their creativity quiver. No more surprises. So the creators end up repeating themselves or being forced to come up with ideas practically on the spot, which any student who stayed up late to finish a school report can tell you, never ends well.

Adding to the unimaginative mix are the studio execs and their constant notes. It goes without saying that if the creator is not an established name, they are far, far more acceptable to studio notes, willing to jeopardise their vision just so they don’t clash with the men upstairs. And let us never, ever forget that upon receiving the script for Back to the Future, a top studio exec sent Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis a memo saying that the title is too confusing, suggesting they rename the movie Spaceman from Pluto. I’m not joking. Google it. It’s a hilarious story.

Everything was against the Duffer Bros. Their show’s slow demise an almost certainty. All hope seemed lost.

Yet, somehow, they pulled through.

Season 4 of Stranger Things is by far the show’s best so far. More expensive, far better VFX and an antagonist that is not just a faceless creature, but a malicious entity with a plan and backstory. Season 4 took everything that made the show a success in the first place and doubled down; they weren’t concerned with letting people know that they were paying homage to their favourite horror movies from their youth. They were loud and proud of it! I mean, having a villain that attacks people in dreams and casting Robert Englund (famous for playing Freddie Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series) for a minor role is not exactly subtle.

The Duffer Bros also gave their already numerous cast a chance to grow. Stranger Things is a coming-of-age story and characters in this season are forced to face their demons. Literally and figuratively.

Don’t get me wrong. The show is not perfect. Not even close. There are numerous problems (sorry chief, but the whole Russian prison thing could have been cut and it wouldn’t matter to the plot not one single bit) but you have to realise that Stranger Things is not a healthy, balanced meal at an expensive restaurant. It’s comfort food you eat at 2 o’clock in the morning. Bad for you but makes you feel good.

Going back to the characters, the ones introduced this season work perfectly. The lovable stoner Argyle is exactly what you picture, and D&D nerd and metal fan Eddie Munson ended up being the most talked-about character in the series, given an epic scene that ended up being the highlight of the whole season.

This brings us to the final point. Stranger Things’s main selling point, like it or not, is nostalgia. People watch the series and in their minds they see themselves as those kids, memories of a happier childhood come flooding in. And what better way to trigger memories of a bygone era than to use music? Running up that Hill by Kate Bush exploded back on the scene, Metallica’s early work with Master of Puppets and Journey’s Worlds Apart are only a few of the hits that take centre stage and take you on a trip down memory lane. Actually, more than 70 songs have featured so far in Stranger Things. If you are looking for a playlist that has them all, I got you covered! Here you go: Stranger Things Full Playlist on Spotify.

Season 4 was a pleasant surprise. The Duffer Bros delivered their best work yet and I can’t wait for the final season.