Last year’s trip out of the setting of Hawkins, Indiana, to the big city was roundly panned by fans and critics alike. And finally, it seems like this message has sunk in, just in time for the pre-teen protagonists who populate its cast to go through their own maturation process. However, the biggest lesson “Stranger Things” needed to learn over the last two seasons was in fact that no one can please everyone all the time. In fact, women across the board are given more agency and screen time this season, pushing the story forward, demanding their space and fighting back against the assumptions of the men around them. But this year, recognizing the objections to this choice, Eleven is finally front and center of her own story. Season two attempted to negate this problem by keeping her separated from the rest of the group, allowing the original emotional premise to proceed unmolested. Women across the board are given more agency and screen time this season, pushing the story forward, demanding their space and fighting back against the assumptions of the men around them. Unhappy at how heterosexual the show has been so far? Welcome Robin (Maya Hawke), the show’s first queer character. Did you want more time with adults Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder)? Don’t worry, they have their own road trip this year. Did you dislike season two’s jock-jerk Billy (Dacre Montgomery), added after original antagonist Steve Harrington was rewritten? You’ll be very pleased to learn Montgomery is not only given a far more nuanced role to play this time, but a touching redemption arc as well. Season two was rewritten (almost wholesale) after fan and critical reaction made the show creators, the Duffer Brothers, rethink entire plotlines, recalculating the system to produce maximum enjoyment.ĭid you complain that having the two young female protagonists Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Max (Sadie Sink) fight over boys traded on sexist tropes? Good news, the entire second episode is predicated on those two becoming the literal best of friends after kicking those boys to the curb. The show was basically rewritten to fit the cast. The first season’s script was, by its own admission, full of stock characters with personalities hijacked from other, better films. Want more articles like this? Sign up for the THINK newsletter to get updates on the week's most important cultural analysis
It’s also a show built on the algorithms of those around it. Think “It” but sweet, or “The Goonies” with an edge. Just as “The Crown” recalls a PBS show and “House of Cards” imitated something easily found on HBO, “Stranger Things” was classic Stephen King meets vintage Steven Spielberg.
Like so many of Netflix’s series, there’s a deliberate familiarity to the show’s rhythms. “Stranger Things” was not originally meant to become Netflix’s flagship show, but it has nonetheless defined the streaming service.
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