Stranger Things Season 1: Review!

I’ve never done a post like this before because I run a mostly exclusive book blog, but I’m actually thinking of stretching out my blog to be more lifestyle/different types of media as well as literary. More details to come, but I wanted to share my thoughts on this new show that’s literally sweeping social media.

If you didn’t know, STRANGER THINGS is a science fiction supernatural horror drama series, an original series from Netflix, following the disappearance of a young boy named Will and the creepy supernatural shenanigans that follow. I usually don’t love horror or paranormal and all that because I rarely read that genre in terms of books, but I have a weird fascination with shows like these (i.e. THE WALKING DEAD, AMERICAN HORROR STORY). I digress. STRANGER THINGS only has eight episodes in its first season, but I adooooooored this.

Disclaimer: I’m not going to make this a recap post because you can just find the summaries on Wikipedia or whatever. Also, there’s a few spoilers.

So. STRANGER THINGS was pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted in a horror show. I know lots of y’all are huge fans of AHS but sometimes it can get super weird, which I’m not that into (that’s why I’ve only watched like, two seasons). I find STRANGER THINGS to be a bit different because of how connected I was to the characters and everything that was going on. I’m aware that this is a television show, so it does play out differently than a book does, but nonetheless, this show wasn’t too scary (not as scary as AHS: Asylum) but definitely hooked me. 

The plot of the first season is pretty intricate, yet easy to follow. Will goes missing and his friends and family all try to find him. There’s this whole conspiracy behind the whole disappearance, and throughout the episodes, there were flashbacks and hints leading up to it, which I thought was incredibly well done. I loved learning more about each of the characters, especially El, throughout the episodes.

I also adored the characters; they were probably my favorite part of this whole series. If you need a refresher, here’s a picture of the adorable friend group, consisting of Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and El below (minus Will 😦 ).

I have to say, I’m super impressed by the cast of child actors. In other series, a twenty-year-old might play an eleven-year-old. I’m exaggerating, but still; this show does not fool around. I loooooved all of these characters. Except for the bad guys, though. Even throughout the seriousness of the situation, there’s still light-hearted moments and little quirks and jokes. Most of the cute moments come from one of my favorite characters, Dustin! I loved him so much; he was so adorable and pure and lovely. (He’s the one with the hat in the photo, if you don’t watch this show.) I also really enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t too much romance. There was Nancy and Steve, which was more of an official romance, but there was also a bit of lovely romantic tension, some of which included one of my other children, Jonathan.

From the way that the season ended, it wasn’t completely conclusive. Yes, it was partly happy and such, but there were still a few loose ends to tie up. I’m incredibly excited for the second season!! Overall, this was a very intriguing new show. There were lots of suspense and a few funny moments, but most of all, I loved how creative the casting was, circling around mostly child actors. There also weren’t major ship wars, so if that doesn’t make you want to watch this show, then I don’t know what will. It can be a bit scary and creepy, but I totally recommend this show to everyone!

Have you watched this show? Are you planning to watch STRANGER THINGS?

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