eggowaffles11

[eggowaffles11]

Chapter Seven & Eight

Season one is wrapping up. These two episodes contain some of my favorite writing in television. Chapter Seven starts with a suspenseful chase scene, concluded with Eleven flipping a van over her, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. Yes, she actually uses her mind to flip a moving van. This scene has an uncanny resemblance to ET when ET and Elliot rode on the bike together. Flipping the van is similar to the iconic scene in ET where the boys are being chased and suddenly their bikes fly. It shows the ability for people and supernatural beings to protect each other, and to have relationships. 

After this epic moment of heroism, the kids drive to the abandoned junk yard. It is here that Lucas says to Eleven, “everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff... I was wrong. I’m sorry”. 

That kid has more maturity than the majority of the world’s adult population. This scene is so important in the show, because it perfectly encompasses how important friendship is to the kids. Throughout the show the boys emphasize the fact that “friends don’t lie”, and various other standards of being a good friend. This scene shows that these kids are willing to admit that they are wrong, which is arguably the most important aspect of their “party”. 

Following this escape, the people from Hawkins Lab essentially conduct a witch hunt for Eleven. However, finally team Nancy and Johnathan, and team Hopper and Joyce join up in their efforts and help protect the kids against the men from Hawkins lab. 

This episode is so satisfying because throughout the season there are three groups of people who think that they are the only ones who know about the Upside Down, and the demogorgan- but in this episode they all come together.

Chapter Eight, the season finale, is insane. It contains everything a good season finale should, action scenes, tying together relationships, a happy ending, a sad ending, and more. 

Nancy and Johnathan decide that they are going to trap the demogorgon, and Steve suddenly gets himself involved resulting in Nancy threatening to shoot him, like the true badass she is. The demogorgon arrives, and Steve’s reaction is one of the most comical scenes in the season. His character makes a total 180, slowly turning into one of the most loved characters on the show.

Hopper and Joyce make a deal with Hawkins lab and go through the portal into the Upside Down to find Will. 

The most anticipated scene of the season also occurs which is when Mike kisses Eleven. He asks her to the Snow Ball dance, and tries to explain that you take someone who isn’t a friend, but... and then he kisses her. However, the people from the lab show up. 

The season ending is bitter-sweet. Everyone’s favorite supernatural freak disappears which is a heartbreaker, but also Will is found. Life seems to go back to normal after that. The boys are back to playing Dungeons and Dragons, and no one is worrying about alternate dimensions, or flesh eating monsters. That is until, Will goes to the bathroom and throws up something vile which leads him to flashback to The Upside Down. 

Going back to our first post, it is worthwhile to reiterate the true inspiration behind the show. Although there are some moments in the show that are undoubtedly inspired from 80′s entertainment, the show’s true inspiration comes from the Montauk Projects. Thrillist goes into details behind the different experiments and conspiracy theories that inspired the show- It is said that at Camp Hero, or The Montauk Air Force Station psychological warfare experiments were conducted on children for over forty years. This was legitimized when President Nichols recounted the Montauk experiments in one of his books. It also connects to the Philadelphia experiments where The Upside Down idea comes from. It wast here that the government made a battleship disappear on Nazi radars. It is thought that battleships went to a world similar to that of The Upside Down, never to be seen again. You can see where the inspiration behind Eleven’s character, Hawkins Lab, and the alternative dimension come from. 

The demogorgon also relates to these projects. The Montauk projects supposedly released a monster of the subconscious. In 2008, an unidentifiable animal was actually found on the beaches of Long Island. The “Montauk Monster”, as it is called, resembles a javalina pig, a rhinoceros, and a raccoon. It is suspected that this animal came from Plum Island, an island off the shore of Long Island where biological weapons were experimented on livestock throughout the Cold War. The monster was written off as a raccoon, but was quickly taken away, and the site of inspection was never revealed. This seems pretty similar to Will’s fake body autopsy...

The Stranger Things plot is carefully crafted to be a shrine of 80′s culture, and a representation of American paranoia over hidden governmental projects. 

What makes Stranger Things so special is the characters. In this show the bad guys are bad-guys, and good-guys are good-guys, regardless of first impressions. The show is about friendship, protecting each other, and beating the odds. The cast is fantastic because they actually casted kids to play kids. And the writing is great because it gives the characters a lot of color, and makes viewers develop some serious emotional attachment. 

[eggowaffles11]

Chapters Five and Six

[eggowaffles11]

Hopper and Joyce find the truth about the lab’s experiments. After their fight, the boys look for the missing Eleven.

Stranger Things (Chapter Six: The Monster)

[eggowaffles11]

Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat

[eggowaffles11]

stranger things rewatch ☰ chapter five: the flea and the acrobat

                                Science is neat, but I’m afraid it’s not very forgiving.

[eggowaffles11]

Chapters One and Two

What many fans don’t know about the Stranger Things series is the inspiration behind it. Although the show certainly takes elements from 80s sci-fi/horror classics such as The Goonies, ET, It, and Poltergeist, the sinister events that took place in Montauk, New York is the true inspiration behind Stranger Things. Legend has it, young men were kidnapped for top-secret government funded experiments that brainwashed the victims and trained them to combat “commies” during the Cold War. The original title actually was Montauk, but the Duffer Brothers ultimately decided to set the series in the fictional town Hawkins, Indiana. 

Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers sets the stage with a wide shot of Hawkins Laboratory on November 6th, 1983 (The Lab is based on Brookhaven Laboratory on Long Island that was shut down due to illegal activity and allegedly has an underground tunnel that leads to Montauk.) 

The opening scene sets the tone with a man in a white lab coat running for his life down a flickering hallway, is swept up into the ceiling and vanishes. Who or what was chasing him?! The first of many questions. 

The main characters, aka motley crew of 12 year olds, are first introduced during their heated campaign of Dungeons and Dragons (which perfectly showcases their collective nerdiness). Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) bear a striking resemblance to The Goonies crew with their 80s attire and playful character dynamic. Their bikes with headlights are a wink at ET, and several pop-culture references are made (Xmen comics, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars). 

On his way home, Will is chased by a shadowy figure that is unknown to the audience and they both vanish without a trace, thus coining the title The Vanishing of Will Byers. His disappearance becomes the driving plot line of the series and leaves the characters (and viewers) wondering where is Will Byers?

The characters begin to launch their own investigations. Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) Will’s mom (who is already a strung-out mess) seeks the help of the disinterested and self-medicating townie chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) Will’s older brother begins his own little search as he struggles to navigate through high school (he’s the outcast suffer-in-silence type). He sheepishly watches his crush Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) fall for the stereotypical high school jock Steve Harrington (Joe Keery). 

In the meantime, the lab is revisited and that flickering hallway is now a dark abyss. There’s something very strange happening behind the scenes in Hawkins. 

A new character is introduced- a mystery girl with a shocking appearance (barefoot, tattered hospital gown, shaved head). Who is she? Did she escape from the lab? How is she connected?

Meanwhile, the boys are going about their typical day at Hawkins Middle when the school bullies (ah, classic 80s bullies) force Dustin to “do the arm thing.” Dustin’s character is very similar to Chunk in the goonies, who is forced to “do the truffle shuffle.”

The plot lines intersect when the boys begin their search for Will in the woods, but they accidentally find the mystery girl instead (this scene is very similar to when Elliot finds ET) and the episode wraps.

Chapter Two: The Wierdo On Maple Street opens with the boys berating the mystery girl with questions in Mike’s basement (to which, she replies with a blank stare). Dustin and Lucas want nothing to do with her, but Mike shows her kindness and compassion. 

Mike’s relationship with “El” (The nickname he gave her when he saw “11″ tattooed on her arm) is very much like Elliot and ET’s relationship. He is protective, hides her, feeds her, and teaches her. While El is exploring, she points out Will from a picture. This leaves Mike and viewers wondering How does she know what Will looks like? Is she connected to all of this?

When Dustin and Lucas return to find Mike is still hiding El, they think he is insane. Mike is convinced she knows where Will is, and Dustin is curious, while Lucas remains skeptical. (Lucas is the voice of logic and reason that the show needs because the audience can’t easily believe any of this sci-fi stuff is true, and he isn’t too quick to think so either. Lucas thinks and says out loud what the skeptic inside everyone is internally thinking). A big aha moment in this scene is when El slams the door shut and locks it with her mind. She’s telekinetic! (And her nose bleeds, what’s up with that?)

Now that she has the boy’s (and viewer’s) attention, Mike asks her if she knows where Will is. El, a girl of few words, demonstrates by flipping the Dungeons and Dragons board upside down. She then places a figure onto the center of the board (representing Will) and says “hiding.” When Mike asks “from what?” she places another figure (the demogorgan) beside him. This is the first real hint at where Will might be and what might have taken him. If you look back to the beginning of episode one, there’s a major foreshadow. Will admits to Mike, “The roll.. it was a seven.. the demogorgan.. it got me.” 

More sci-fi elements come into play when Joyce is home alone and the lights begin flickering, she receives mysterious phone calls, and the stereo beings blasting Should I Stay Or Should I Go? (This is inspired by Poltergeist where people in another dimension communicate through the TV, this episode even blatantly refers to the movie Poltergeist).

Meanwhile, Jonathan is out searching for Will in the woods when he comes across a party at Steve’s house. He begins photographing Nancy and Barb who is sitting off by herself (kind of creepy, kind of romantic?) This is the first time the supposed “demogorgan” is seen by the audience. Barb and the creature vanish, and the episode wraps.

[eggowaffles11]

Chapter 3 &4 Thoughts and Recap

In the wake of Chapters 1 and 2, which left viewers feeling confused about Will’s disappearance and Eleven, Chapter 3 is a little more revealing, providing viewers with a field day of conspiracy theories. 

Clue Number 1: At the end of chapter 2, Barb is seen being caught in a similar situation as Will when he went missing at Steve’s “party”. Chapter 3 begins by showing Barb in what seems to be an ulterior dimension. She is showed in Steve’s pool, but it is empty, and covered with weird vines, and everything has an eery, purple hue. 

Theory: The experience that both Barb, and Will had are very similar. Each situation consisted of flickering lights, and strange creatures. It seems undeniable that Barb and Will are in the same place. However, what remains a big question mark is what is this place. It is the town of Hawkins, but different. Is it an alternative dimension, and if so why does it exist, and how is it possible that people are able to go there? Perhaps there is a hole in time, and the world that Barb and Will have been thrown into is a future post-apocalyptic Hawkins. 

Clue Number 2: The episode is jam-packed with flashbacks to Eleven at the lab. Since the boys’ realization of her powers, the show has been portraying her in various experiments. The first shows her crushing a Coca-Cola can with her mind. Then the men ask her to kill a bunny, and her humane instincts cause her to refuse, sending her into a punishment room. Her distress over this leads her to use her powers to kill the men taking her there. It is the first time the show reveals the magnitude of her abilities. It’s also the first time the show confirms that Eleven could, in fact, be dangerous. It also legitimizes why Hawkins Lab lied to Hopper about their security footage from the day Will went missing, as it was the same day Eleven escaped. 

Theory: Eleven’s risk of being potentially dangerous is huge, and more information about her life at the lab makes us viewers put her into question. Prior to this episode she seemed like an abused child in need of help, and now she seems like a weapon. Her escape of Hawkins Lab on the day that Will disappeared may not be a coincidence. Could Eleven be in cahoots with the shadowy creature that is also known as the Demogorgon? Could eleven be the Demogorgon, and be responsible for the terrorizing events that have taken place in the town? It definitely doesn’t seem impossible. 

The star of the episode is hands-down Joyce. In the first two chapters, she seems like a distracted mother who lightly neglects her kids as a result of trying to make ends meet. However, this episode shows her love and dedication to protecting her kids. Her character emerges as a fierce force. The episode’s title is called “Holly Jolly” because Joyce has found her own method of communicating with Will; through the lights. It is this type of “insane” behavior that leads her to entice the Demogorgon out of the walls. It is at around that time when Will’s body is found in the quarry. 

Her upholding belief that her son is not dead is the driving force behind Chapter 4 which centers around the planning of Will’s funeral. 

As Joyce continues trying to convince people the boy that was found is not her son, and that he is alive, Eleven is working similar efforts. 

Eleven shows the boys she has ability to communicate with Will through the radio, another Poltergeist reference, which lands them in sneaking Eleven into the school’s AV room. In order to do this they dress Eleven up in a blonde wig and pink dress... ET much? She is basically dressed exactly how ET was when he was disguised as a human. 

Nancy and Johnathan are also making connections. Johnathan’s photos that he took of Nancy the night that Barb disappeared are discovered. Nancy works with him to identify a shadowy creature. They go for a witch hunt. 

The episode ends with a squirmy scene of Hopper cutting open Will’s corpse. Low and behold, it is filled with cotton. Seems Joyce isn’t losing her mind after all. 

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger Things (2016)   vs.   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger Things Prints by Thomas Humeau

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger things (set in 1983) VS The Goonies (1985) 1 - Mike/Mikey - the protagonist 2 - Dustin/Chunk - the always hungry friend 3 - Lucas/Data - the obligatory foreign guy 4 - Nancy/Andy - the sweet girl 5 - Barb/Stef - the nerdy girl 6 - Jonathan/Brand - the outcast 7 - Steve/Troy - the jerk (wants the sweet girl) 8 - Mrs Wheeler/Mrs Walsh - the mom 9 - the friends/the Goonies - 4 boys on bikes

[eggowaffles11]

[eggowaffles11]

The Clash

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger Things | Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger Things Episodes: season one [1/8]   chapter one: the vanishing of will byers

[eggowaffles11]

Stranger Things - Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers

“Something is coming. Something hungry for blood. A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here.”

[eggowaffles11]

❝ Blink once for yes, twice for no. ❞

       ↳ Stranger Things, Season one — Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly

[eggowaffles11]