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[Stranger Things] The Rollerskate Of Justice (Season 4 OPEN SPOILERS)

MelksterMelkster Registered User regular
edited July 2022 in Debate and/or Discourse
I went in totally blind, and I highly recommend that you do the same. The less you know about the show the better. It'll surprise you, and you'll be delighted with every second.

Wish I could go back to Friday and start it over again.

It's very, very good.

Non-spoilery intro follows here. Putting it in spoilers because even the campaign poster -- though cool -- gives a few things away. If you're at all curious about the show, open a new tab, go to www.netflix.com, close every other tab, and come back after at least the first episode. :P
strangerthingsposter.jpg

New show on Netflix, came out 15 July 2016

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/07/16/drop-what-youre-doing-and-watch-stranger-things-on-netflix-right-now
Here's the setup: Stranger Things is set in Hawkins, Indiana in the mid-'80s. It revolves around the sudden and inexplicable disappearance of a local boy named Will, who vanishes into thin air one night after seeing something strange in the woods. The very next morning, a terrified young girl in a hospital gown stumbles into town. Unable to speak and seemingly baffled by everything around her, this girl (who we'll come to know as "Eleven") joins forces with Will's pals to help track their friend down and find out where she came from.
Stranger Things cherry-picks the best of both King and Spielberg with dizzyingly awesome results. It's expertly-plotted, stylishly-directed, creepy, funny, touching, and a million other things. I don't know who the Duffer brothers are, but I'm enormously impressed with what they've done here, and I'm here today to give their show my strongest recommendation. Carve out eight hours or so for Stranger Things, the best show to hit Netflix in some time, and I'm almost positive you'll thank me for it.

Bogart on
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Posts

  • MelksterMelkster Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Okay.

    Anyone else seen the whole thing yet?

    Full season spoiler questions follow--

    ONLY CLICK THIS IF YOU'VE SEEN THE WHOLE THING >:(
    Wait, so Ell is alive?! What the heck is going on at the end there?! It seems heavily implied that the cop knows Ell is alive and is leaving food for her in the forest? Or maybe he just... leaving food like someone laves flowers at a grave? But why the hell would she be in the forest?

    The Demogorgon -- What was the deal with that monster exactly? Characters seemed to insinuate it was like a bear, and it did seem attracted to blood for some reason. But it clearly wasn't like a normal predator... It didn't immediately devour Will or Barb. It brought them back to its lair, the school swimming pool it looked like. And then seemed to implant them with something. Maybe its form of reproduction? If so, then what were the egg things?

    If it is some kind of reproduction... Will is in trouble. I guess things aren't over for him -- seemed like in the bathroom there, that he wasn't 100% in the real world, somehow?

    Melkster on
  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Some completely random speculation. (full season spoilers)
    The implications seemed to be that it lived in an empty void, though I have no idea what it would feed on there, if it actually needed to eat.

    Then El touched it, which made it aware of our dimension or something and it opened the portal... which made the Upside Down start to take the shape of our dimension.

    Getting facehugged and surviving seems to connect you to the Upside Down, which clearly can't be a Good Thing.

    Also, I love that name. The Upside Down.

  • MelksterMelkster Registered User regular
    Echo wrote: »
    Some completely random speculation. (full season spoilers)
    The implications seemed to be that it lived in an empty void, though I have no idea what it would feed on there, if it actually needed to eat.

    Then El touched it, which made it aware of our dimension or something and it opened the portal... which made the Upside Down start to take the shape of our dimension.

    Getting facehugged and surviving seems to connect you to the Upside Down, which clearly can't be a Good Thing.

    Also, I love that name. The Upside Down.

    Full season spoilers
    Totally agree, loved the name of the Upside Down. In fact, the realization that she was trying to describe an alternate dimension when she flipped over the game board in an earlier scene was fucking brilliant. Nearly fell out of my couch. There was tons of that in the show -- little hints that it would drop you prior to a full reveal. Kinda makes me want to watch the first couple of eps again.

    Re: Being touched by the Demo. Maybe it goes both ways. You touch something living in the other world, then you get connected. The Demogorgon got touched by El, allowing it get here, and Will got touched by it, and now he can go there?

    Re: The Demo's natural habitat. I don't think El had direct access to The Upside Down. She was a flea that wasn't quite able to fully cross over to another side. What she could do was enter some kind of in-between state -- the water-filled world -- where she could hone in on other individuals if she focused on them. I suspect that the Demo's natural habitat was the one we saw -- a variation of our world where something had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Like the science teacher said -- infinite dimensions, right? Infinite variations on all the worlds that exist. El touched a dimension where the Demogorgon had come into being. Maybe there, crazy scientists came up with some kind of biological super predator, and it got out of hand on their world and ate everyone. It just so happened that El got distracted while spying on Russians, saw this crazy thing from another dimension, and ... led to the events of the show.

  • WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    The show was absolutely amazing. Favorite show Netflix has made by far.

    Full Season Spoilers. Seriously
    I would be happy with them continuing the story in season 2, but for some reason I was kind of thinking it was going to be a Fargo or True Detective where they just go to a new small town and tell a whole new story with other supernatural stuff. And then the final portions of the last episode definitely implied some more pretty dark things for that town. Good lord.

    It seems to implied to me that El is alive, but I'm curious where she is. Maybe shes living in a (hopefully somewhat changed Upside Down) and makes jaunts to get food in the regular world. Or maybe shes completely incorporeal now.

    Also the Sheriff seems to have something up with him. I'm thinking maybe ex goverment/military spook or something? He got in that car with people the people at the end like he knew them. He said SOMETHING to the goons of the Hawkins Institute that made them believe and trust him about El's location, he seemed pretty good at disarming and beating up trained spooks, and he seemed pretty damn comfortable holding that gun while in Upside Down.

  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    Ah good there's a thread.

    Was worried I was gonna start derailing the Netflix thread.

    I haven't finished the series yet, but
    this show's got some of the most oblivious parents.

    People coming in and out of the house. People living in their house. They're none the wiser.

  • MelksterMelkster Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Full season spoilers

    Rewatching the beginning of the first episode

    Ohhh, I'm dumb. For some reason I thought "The Basement" in the Dept. of Energy building was itself part of the Upside Down. But it's not -- it's just a basement. The portal itself is a hole in the side of the basement.

    I also didn't fully appreciate the timeline. Eleven discovering the Demo and opening a portal into the Upside Down and escaping all happened at the same time, and it happened the night that Will encountered the Demo.

    Also, I think some of the goo we see in the Dept of Energy in Episode One is the result of a firefight with the monster... Definitely didn't get that before.

    One thing that seems weird--how the hell did Will, a little boy, fight off the demo? Maybe he was able to shoot it? Ah yeah, the rifle isn't in the shed. He must've shot it. And yeah, the government guys did find some monster residue on the ceiling of the shack.

    So I'm guessing he got pulled into the other side, shot the demo, and then he was able to successfully hide from it. From there he was able to talk to his mom, until lack of food and the toxic environment of the Upside Down wore him down, and he hid in his fort until later in the season.

    Okay cool. Don't think I figured all that out til now...

    Melkster on
  • ZampanovZampanov You May Not Go Home Until Tonight Has Been MagicalRegistered User regular
    RE: the end
    I'd really like to think that him leaving the eggos means El's okay but I dunno how that would be explained exactly.

    r4zgei8pcfod.gif
    PSN/XBL: Zampanov -- Steam: Zampanov
  • KetBraKetBra Dressed Ridiculously Registered User regular
    I just started watching this

    Wow this is good!

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  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Just finished

    It wasn't without flaw, but I really enjoyed the whole series. I hope they make more.

    The title "Stranger Things" sounds like anthology to me. It's not really tied to any of the characters, the setting, or even the plot. Sort of like "The Twilight Zone", or "The Outer Limits". To that end, I don't think this story necessarily needs a continuation. I would be just as happy with a completely new story of similar or better quality for season 2.

    RT800 on
  • Wraith260Wraith260 Happiest Goomba! Registered User regular
    i went into this intending to take it slow, watching one episode a day and really savouring it, almost like it was a proper 80s sci-fi series. that lasted all of a day and after watching the first ep on friday i binged the rest last night. really, really enjoyed it. whatever they do next i'm definitely on board for it.

  • Bliss 101Bliss 101 Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    I was in love with the show within the first 15 minutes, and finished it in two sittings. Now I feel sad because I want more. Is it too much to call Stranger Things a masterpiece? No, I think I'll call it a masterpiece. The actors were great. The pacing was flawless. I loved the music. I loved the geeky kids and how easy it was to imagine young me as one of them. I even loved Winona Ryder, and I was never a fan when she was an A list star.

    Random comments about (mostly) the finale:
    Throughout the season it felt very natural how people gradually learned about the Upside Down and the monster, and then all decided to hunt it down and save Will. And that the kids were the first to figure it all out and the most eager to go after the monster. I felt it was very believable and I liked that the showrunners just let it all play out kind of organically without, say, having Nancy give a big speech about why she feels obligated to rescue Barbara. This show trusts its viewers to fill in the blanks, and is much better because of it. It actually reminds me of Fury Road in that respect.

    I loved the kids' courage and attitude in the finale. I laughed out loud at them screaming "eat shit!" at the soldiers, and I couldn't help cheering when they were cornered by the monster and mounted a fierce defense - with slingshots and rocks.

    Regarding El, my reading of the ending is that she's now in the Upside Down by herself, which is kind of horrifying. And just like the monster was drawn to our world by blood, El is able to cross over in search of Eggos? Or, maybe that's just what Chief Hopper thinks/hopes/fears is the case. I dunno.

    Bliss 101 on
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  • CrayonCrayon Sleeps in the wrong bed. TejasRegistered User regular
    Damn, that might be the largest pool of kid talent since Stand By Me and the casting all around was superb. We finished it up last night and it was pretty damn amazing. I need that soundtrack in my life. Suspenseful, engaging, well acted and most of all it was just fun.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Saw the raving in the Netflix thread, then that it got a separate thread, so I watched the first episode while the kiddo was napping.

    I hope she stays asleep a while longer because I couldn't help but keep watching. This is damn good.

    Edit: she stayed down through episode 2!

    Shadowfire on
    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Season finale mild spoilers.
    Yay the kiss! I was glad to see that they broke the awkward "like like" thing that's so common. Good for Steve coming back and helping. The little bat twirl at the end was hilarious. Plus he and Nancy bought a new camera. So, hopefully the events changed the two of them for the better. Hard to overlook the whole lost friend thing though.

    DasUberEdward on
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  • WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    Season finale mild spoilers.
    Yay the kiss! I was glad to see that they broke the awkward "like like" thing that's so common. Good for Steve coming back and helping. The little bat twirl at the end was hilarious. Plus he and Nancy bought a new camera. So, hopefully the events changed the two of them for the better. Hard to overlook the whole lost friend thing though.

    Also mild finale spoilers
    I'm also glad they avoided the "we had a traumatic event together and have been talking for three days so I'm with you now instead of the guy I've liked forever" trope from the 80s with the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan group

  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    Finale:
    Yeah, if this had been made in the 80s then Steve would have had Monster Food written on his forehead. Kind of hated on Steve for a bit but he redeemed himself.

  • EchoEcho ski-bap ba-dapModerator mod
    edited July 2016
    Also, speculation on future season(s):
    Definitely feels like more of a Twilight Zone/True Detective setup going on. Same set of kids having new monster troubles would be silly, especially now that a fair bunch of other people are also aware of the Upside Down. Unless they really want to raise the stakes.

    So I'm guessing we might see a different small town with sudden monster problems, and El showing up again as the common thread.

    But there was also Will coughing up that thingie that went down the drain...

    Echo on
  • KetBraKetBra Dressed Ridiculously Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Ok, one little thing that is bugging me in this show.

    As a non-American, I am used to seeing the American flag backwards on law enforcement/military uniforms

    Is there a reason why they are not in this series?

    KetBra on
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  • metaghostmetaghost An intriguing odor A delicate touchRegistered User regular
    Echo wrote: »
    Also, speculation on future season(s):
    Definitely feels like more of a Twilight Zone/True Detective setup going on. Same set of kids having new monster troubles would be silly, especially now that a fair bunch of other people are also aware of the Upside Down. Unless they really want to raise the stakes.

    So I'm guessing we might see a different small town with sudden monster problems, and El showing up again as the common thread.

    But there was also Will coughing up that thingie that went down the drain...

    Not-really-a-spoiler Season Spoiler:
    Like I said in the Netflix thread, it felt like the finale was hurt ever so slightly by them trying to leave things in a position from which they could pursue either direction for a follow-up.

    I agree with the sentiment expressed by you and others that it feels like it would be better off as an anthology series. I'd be a little concerned with whether it's possible to maintain this degree of 80's homage without it become a burden for a series to maintain, but I do think it would be sort of interesting to see them try to explore an alternate history in which this sort of dimensional overlay is a factor, but not necessarily something that results in frequently dealing with blood-thirsty monsters.

  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Steve's hair is the real villain of this show.

    Seriously kid, get a haircut.

    ...an' get off my lawn.

    RT800 on
  • WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    Re: anthology vs picking up from the ending, a quote from one of the creators

    http://screencrush.com/netflix-stranger-things-season-2-sequel/
    Now, we don’t answer all the questions by the end of the season - there are definitely some dangling threads. The hope is that it feels satisfying but that we left room and that if people respond to it we can go back into this world. But if we do get to go back, it’s not a second season as much as a sequel.

    That sounds like 'Anthology with connecting threads' to me

    Wassermelone on
  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    edited July 2016
    the chief knows kung fu canonically fyi

    also WHY ARE YOU KEEPING THIS CURIOSITY DOOR CLOSED

    surrealitycheck on
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  • NogsNogs Crap, crap, mega crap. Crap, crap, mega crap.Registered User regular
  • RT800RT800 Registered User regular
    Heh, I could see those kids asking Mr. Clarke weird questions at all hours being kind of a running gag throughout the series...

    "Mr. Clarke, what kind of side effects would you expect if you were to accidentally ingest several psychotropic drugs?"

    "Mr. Clarke, how would you unsummon a demonic presence? Theoretically."

    "Mr. Clarke, do you know anything about time loops? Specifically how to break them?"

  • Apothe0sisApothe0sis Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? Registered User regular
    I liked the music very well.

  • surrealitychecksurrealitycheck lonely, but not unloved dreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered User regular
    Apothe0sis wrote: »
    I liked the music very well.

    nononono

    you liked the music very gooderino pls decline accurately

    i finished show it was fun but felt ending was a little anticlimactic but was overall good

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  • DasUberEdwardDasUberEdward Registered User regular
    Apothe0sis wrote: »
    I liked the music very well.

    nononono

    you liked the music very gooderino pls decline accurately

    i finished show it was fun but felt ending was a little anticlimactic but was overall good

    i kind of liked the anticlimax

    like rent this from your local video store and show your friends. maybe there will be a sequel one day. it completed the feel.

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  • MazzyxMazzyx Comedy Gold Registered User regular
    So I just binged this show in one sitting. Partially because I wasn't feeling good so I didn't really go anywhere. And partially because it was so good. Jesus it was good.

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  • MelksterMelkster Registered User regular
    Full season spoilers.
    I would be okay with them leaving the season as it is honestly. There are a few dangling questions but it's okay I think. It's not a complete cliffhanger -- just sort of a spooky reminder that what they went through had consequences.

    I would be 100% okay with a True Detective style anthology, where we see a totally different part of the country in perhaps a whole different time period.

    Or heck I would be okay with this being a one season deal and giving the show runners mountains of cash to make literally whatever they want next.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Why the fuck did I watch episode three? I have to go to bed like an hour ago to get up for work, but I just want to watch more! :(

    WiiU: Windrunner ; Guild Wars 2: Shadowfire.3940 ; PSN: Bradcopter
  • Apothe0sisApothe0sis Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    I did not like the ending wherein
    The kids, in particular helmet hair-ed baby William fitchner more or less get totally over the fact that Eleven has entirely disappeared. Whether they think she is dead or missing they are entirely too sanguine about it all

    Apothe0sis on
  • ZampanovZampanov You May Not Go Home Until Tonight Has Been MagicalRegistered User regular
    edited July 2016
    RT800 wrote: »
    Steve's hair is the real villain of this show.

    Seriously kid, get a haircut.

    ...an' get off my lawn.

    he has 80s version of Jean-Ralphio hair

    edit: and face, kind of

    Zampanov on
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    PSN/XBL: Zampanov -- Steam: Zampanov
  • themightypuckthemightypuck MontanaRegistered User regular
    Apothe0sis wrote: »
    I did not like the ending wherein
    The kids, in particular helmet hair-ed baby William fitchner more or less get totally over the fact that Eleven has entirely disappeared. Whether they think she is dead or missing they are entirely too sanguine about it all

    Agree on the one hand but on the other, that is the trope.
    world goes back to normal but with some interesting glitches

    “Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
    ― Marcus Aurelius

    Path of Exile: themightypuck
  • CabezoneCabezone Registered User regular
    Apothe0sis wrote: »
    I did not like the ending wherein
    The kids, in particular helmet hair-ed baby William fitchner more or less get totally over the fact that Eleven has entirely disappeared. Whether they think she is dead or missing they are entirely too sanguine about it all

    It is a month later.

  • CabezoneCabezone Registered User regular
    edited July 2016
    KetBra wrote: »
    Ok, one little thing that is bugging me in this show.

    As a non-American, I am used to seeing the American flag backwards on law enforcement/military uniforms

    Is there a reason why they are not in this series?

    I didn't notice but which shoulder were they on? The stars are always forward, so it mimics a flag flying, left and right arm patches are different although it should look "backwards" in both cases.

    Most likely the wardrobe folks just got it wrong.


    EDIT: Oh on the sheriff uniform....police frequently wear the flag that way. The always moving forward thing is one of those kinda dumb military reasons for the way something is.

    Cabezone on
  • ZampanovZampanov You May Not Go Home Until Tonight Has Been MagicalRegistered User regular
    Apothe0sis wrote: »
    I did not like the ending wherein
    The kids, in particular helmet hair-ed baby William fitchner more or less get totally over the fact that Eleven has entirely disappeared. Whether they think she is dead or missing they are entirely too sanguine about it all
    nah he's thinking about it even when they're having fun with their game

    staring all sadly at her previous fortbed which he has clearly kept up

    he probably sleeps in there every night thinking about her puhleeze it's first love yo

    r4zgei8pcfod.gif
    PSN/XBL: Zampanov -- Steam: Zampanov
  • NorgothNorgoth cardiffRegistered User regular
    This was great.

    I really loved how
    That it's really obvious that the writers are DnD players for real. Not only is the upside down described using the Vale of Shadows/Shadowfell, by the way it appears in the show is consistent with its tabletop portral. The demogorgan, obviously has its name, but it physically looks like a Babau, with some alterations to the face

  • Atlas in ChainsAtlas in Chains Registered User regular
    That finale was horrifying.
    El seems to be holding the gate closed from the other side. Hop feeds her, but what a shitty existence.

    Will is trying to hide his pregnancy. Nothing good can come of this.

    Steve's hair didn't get sent back to the Upside Down where it clearly belongs.

    I get why everyone says this needs to be an anthology, but these things will haunt me forever if this is how it's left.

  • AntoshkaAntoshka Miauen Oil Change LazarusRegistered User regular
    So, yeah, this was really, really good.
    I shouldn't have watched it in one sitting, but Netflix tried to kick me off.
    You can't tell me what to do!

    Ending:
    So, Will is being spectacularly stupid not telling anyone about that, right?
    I mean, I'm guessing if there is a follow up, this does not end well for him.

    Also, side note: the music selection for this is great. I want to find somewhere with the Peter Gabriel cover of Heroes for sale, certainly.

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  • metaghostmetaghost An intriguing odor A delicate touchRegistered User regular
    Antoshka wrote: »
    Also, side note: the music selection for this is great. I want to find somewhere with the Peter Gabriel cover of Heroes for sale, certainly.

    It's from his relatively recent album of covers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_My_Back

    Shouldn't be too hard to find.

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