How is Stranger Things Still Good?
Picture it: America, summer of 2016. COVID? I don’t know her. Political turmoil? We ain’t seen nothing yet. Things were going the best they would go for a long time.
Stranger Things Season One debuts on the 15th of July after months of ads. Three 1980’s middle school nerds needed to find their missing friend, a psychic on the run needed to escape an evil corporation, and some real Scooby-Do-Gooder teens needed to find out what was causing the mysterious disappearances all over town. Series creators the Duffer Brothers had lightning in a bottle.
And here they are, 6 years and a series of global tragedies later, and the show is STILL GOOD. I’ve been watching Netflix streaming since before they had their own shows, and a Netflix Original Series staying good across more than three seasons is RARE. You’ve got Bojack Horseman, Ozark, … Did I already say Stranger Things? You get what I’m saying. Those middle school actors are all in their early 40s by now, but somehow, it hasn’t lost its magic.
Gearing up for the Season Four Finale, I think I’ve zeroed in on a couple of the reasons this show has managed to stay relevant and interesting:
Puzzles: From the first season’s Christmas light communication puzzle, to Will’s mysterious drawings, to magnets, to a food-court specific spy cypher, the Stranger Things mysteries are creative and fun. Watching characters overcome the challenges of understanding things far outside their normal comprehension with good old fashioned problem solving has never stopped feeling satisfying to watch and guess at from home.
The Zombie Method: In any good Zombie fiction, you’ve got two threats to worry about. There’s the monstrous undead around you, who you know want you dead, and then there’s the living, who keep you guessing. Every Stranger Things season so far has had a season-long monster threat, but the shadow of humans trying to profit off of the monsters has always been there. Figuring out the rules of engagement for monsters from other directions while outrunning the mysterious organizations that want you dead for meddling has been a perfect recipe for thrills this whole time (though least of all in Season 2, which may be the reason I find it the least memorable.)
Winona Ryder. ‘Nuff said.