Stranger Things
Episode 1.8 “Chapter Eight: The Upside Down”
Teleplay by The Duffer Brothers, Story by Paul Dichter
Directed by The Duffer Brothers
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Starring Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, Charlie Heaton, Matthew Modine, Joe Keery, John Reynolds, Joe Chrest
Netflix
Air date: Friday, July 15, 2016

If you’ve followed my reviews of this series so far, you know I am in love with it. So this review is bittersweet. To most in Hawkins, Indiana, Will Byers drowned in a quarry. He had to – they had a funeral and everything. To those who know him best, they have spent days piecing together the truth. There is some sort of monster lurking in Hawkins, that has taken Will to the Upside Down, a parallel dimension to our own. Worse, perhaps is that the government is covering this up, and the monster as well as a powerful but scared little girl, are parts of a Cold War experiment called MK Ultra. Before we get to it, let’s take a minute to review where our essential characters are:

Stranger Things
Episode 1.5 “Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat,” 1.6 “Chapter Six: The Monster,” 1.7 “Chapter Seven: The Bathtub”
Written by Alison Tatlock (1.5), Jesse Nickson-Lopez (1.6), Justin Doble (1.7)
Directed by The Duffer Brothers (1.5, 1.6, 1.7)
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Starring Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, Charlie Heaton, Matthew Modine, Joe Keery, John Reynolds, Joe Chrest
Netflix
Air date: Friday, July 15, 2016

The first half of Netflix’s new miniseries Stranger Things deals with loss – loss of loved ones, loss of sanity, loss of everything you hold true. The series, created by the Duffer Brothers (Matt & Ross), takes everything we loved about the early 80s work of Spielberg, Stephen King, and others, and puts together a wonderful and mysterious world paying homage to their many inspirations as they go along. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) disappeared when a monstrous thing followed him home and took him. His mother (Winona Ryder) is beside herself, and mysterious electrical disturbances in her home lead her to believe Will is trying to contact her. Will’s friends, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) are frantic to find their lost friend, but instead find a bizarre young girl, tattooed 011 on her wrist. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is of few words, but possesses a form of telekinesis and has mind control abilities. We see through flashbacks to her in a research facility. This facility, we know is also harboring a Lovecraftian monster with a rift or portal… to where we do not know yet.

Spoilers below.

Stranger Things
Episode 1.2 “Chapter 2: The Weirdo of Maple Street,” 1.3 “Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly,” 1.4 “Chapter 4: The Body”
Written by The Duffer Brothers (1.2), Jessica Mecklenburg (1.3), Justin Doble (1.4)
Directed by The Duffer Brothers (1.2), Shawn Levy (1.3 & 1.4)
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Starring Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, Charlie Heaton, Matthew Modine, Joe Keery, John Reynolds, Joe Chrest
Netflix
Air date: Friday, July 15, 2016

Stranger Things is the latest binge-worthy effort to hit Netflix, with all 8 episode debuting on July 15th. Check out my review of the first episode here: Chapter 1.

Hitting all the good nostalgia checkmarks, the show lets its audience know who the creators grew up with. Movie posters adorn the kids’ walls showing Jaws, The Thing, Evil Dead, etc. Stranger Things takes place in Hawkins, Indiana in the winter of 1983, where something has escaped from a Department of Energy research facility and a young boy is now missing. At the same time, a strange young girl mysteriously shows up and encounters the boy’s friends who are out desperately searching for him. There are evil government scientists, led by Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) hunting the girl and hiding some giant monster in the facility.

Spoilers below.

Stranger Things
Episode 1.1 “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers”
Written & Directed by The Duffer Brothers
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Starring Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, Charlie Heaton, Matthew Modine, Joe Keery, John Reynolds, Joe Chrest
Netflix
Air date: Friday, July 15, 2016

First off, my Facebook feed is blowing up with rave reviews from friends and critics, and even Stephen King publicly celebrated Netflix’s latest original series, Stranger Things. Before the opening credits even roll, I am totally transfixed, flooded with all the movies it reminds me of already. Goonies, Stand By Me, Explorers, E.T., Stephen King’s IT… the list goes on. In one 8-minute introduction, we know everything we need to know about what is happening and who the characters are.

Spoilers below.