It is not always that a series with children as main characters gives as well and pleases the general population. But this is exactly what Stranger Things has conquered. With a history that makes explicit reference to the reality of the 80s, the series also touches on themes and discussions that were part of that decade, but which have been forgotten in our times.
Replacing smartphones with walkie-talkies, state-of-the-art video games by video arcades, MP3s on cassette tapes, and even current films by Ghostbusters, Stranger Things makes us go back in time to a world where kids played on the street and friendship was their most important achievement .
And this is the most forgotten theme of today’s times: friendship. Which movies from the last years that have friendship as a goal? It is difficult to list or remember many. However, thinking about 80’s movies that have this theme, the list grows: Goonies, E.T. the Extraterrestrial, Enjoying the Dying Life, In Search of the Enchanted Valley, or even Ghostbusters own this dimension, just to name a few. And now Stranger Things, which is heavily influenced by Stephen King’s 1986 horror book It’s A Thing, does the same. And success shows that the public appreciates.
Even so, the second season starts with some problems. The brothers Duffer, their creators, had years to write the first season, which tells the story of Will Byers, a boy who disappears mysteriously in the gloomy reality of the World-Head-Down. His friends then go on an entertaining adventure against scary and dangerous creatures to save Will, who is played by Noah Schnapp. Featuring funny characters and experienced actors like Winona Ryder (Will’s mother), the series also brings us back to our childhoods, where loyalty to friends and the pursuit of first love are part of everyday life (even though the ” first love “in question is the Eleven, a girl of unusual name and with special powers).
With such complexity, care and care, the work entered the heart of the fans. However, with market pressures and the need to bring the second season into shorter time for Netflix, the creators of the series had less time to write, and this is visible, especially in the early episodes. For example, the first episode is quite anticlimactic and slow. After a first season that ended with an exciting end and promised a second adventure without equal, this may even leave some bored. There is a great wait until something fun happens.
But after the fourth episode, it’s as if the Duffer brothers remembered their own formula and Stranger Things is once again the exciting and fun series they all know. In addition, new and entertaining characters are introduced, helping the series, which can now focus on the discovery of personal secrets of their most mysterious characters, such as the girl Eleven. The last episode is equally exciting and brings more secrets, indicating a new and exciting third season.
(article translated from the original version in portuguese, by Google Translate)