Hi there! Welcome to I’m So Glad My Suffering Amuses You,
the number one blog among demi-gorgons with a median annual income between
$50,000 to $75,000. I’m Dave-El and I’m not upside-down. It’s the rest of the
world that’s upside-down and the sooner you accept that, the better.
Man, I hate Stranger Things. I hate stupid Netflix and the
stupid Duffer Brothers and their stupid show about stupid… stupid…
ARGH! I CAN’T BELIEVE THERE ARE ONLY 8 EPISODES!!!!
My daughter introduced my wife and I to the show and we’ve
been rationing it out at 2 episodes a week. Tomorrow, we will watch the last
two episodes of Stranger Things and then, I’ll be done with this stupid thing!
Stupid show.
…
Man, I don’t want it to end!
Of course, I’m behind the 8-ball here. Everybody binged
these episodes on Netflix back in the summer and now, everywhere I turn there’s
Stranger Things references. This past weekend, Saturday Night Live did a sketch
looking ahead to Stranger Things Season 2 which addresses the biggest
unanswered questions from Season 1: where the hell are the black kid’s parents?
By the way, the part of Dustin was played by the Tony award winning creator of
Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda. So you can see the trajectory of his career since
in left the show back in July. Poor guy,
maybe he can get his job back or something?
So I had to watch Stranger Things just so I would know what
the hell everyone is talking about. I do try to be pop culture savvy, even
about things I have not personally experienced. It’s my pathetic effort to
fight off the ravages of age by appearing smart and relevant. But Stranger
Things has permeated so much of our pop culture consciousness that a mere “I am
aware of it” was not going to carry the day. I needed to actually experience
Stranger Things.
Last week saw the coils of the plot twist tighter as Chief
Hopper breaks into the super duper secret quasi-governmental agency that’s
exploring a dimensional portal that goes through a Cthulhu cosplayer. Hopper
knows the truth about Will’s dead body and he’s tired of this shit so he’s
barging in looking for answers. Hopper might be fly and all that but he’s
outnumbered. But instead of getting killed, they dump in back home where it
looks Hopper has gone through another bender of pills and alcohol. Hopper knows
the truth but has no proof. So he turns to the one person who is in the same
fix: Joyce, Will’s mother.
Also on the outside looking in is Jonathan and Nancy. Nancy’s
friend Barb is still missing and Nancy has had encounter with a creature in the
woods, a creature that looks suspiciously like the one Joyce described to
Jonathan. And appears in the background of a photo that Jonathan took of Barb.
So Jonathan and Nancy go monster hunting. They’re an oil and water combo but
with more in common than they realize, more than just the mystery and the
horror that has drawn them together. While in the woods, Nancy finds a portal
through a tree which she follows into a strange and horrifying world. We’ve
seen this before, from Barb’s perspective. It looks like the world we know but
a dark and sinister reflection of it. Nancy narrowly escapes, an event that
leaves her traumatized. Jonathan takes her back home and Nancy insists that
Jonathan stay with her. Meanwhile, guess who sees all this and gets the wrong
idea? Yep, Steve. You know, we’ve been on the fence about Steve. On one hand,
he seemed like a smarmy guy just trying to work his way into a girl’s panties;
on the other hand, he really does seem to be concerned for Nancy’s welfare.
Well, that went all the way the hell out the window last week.
Meanwhile, our three boy adventurers and the girl named
Eleven with the super mental powers are on the trail of their “dead” friend
Will. They too have heard Will on the other side of wherever he is which the
boys call “The Upside Down”. But knowing that Will is still alive is not the
bonding experience you would think. Dustin has figured out that their compasses
are wonky and may lead to the gateway into the Upside Down. Eleven is not keen
on this and uses her powers to manipulate the compasses to keep them away from
the gate. Well, this pisses off Lucas who never trusted Eleven to begin with
and Mike has had his trust in her shattered. All this tension leads to a brawl
between Mike and Lucas. After she uses her powers to stop the fight, Eleven
vanishes and Lucas has had enough of this shit. Lucas is searching for Will on
his own when he makes a connection that causes him to realize he and his
friends are being watched. After a fortuitous reunion with Eleven, Mike and
Dustin take her back to Mike’s house and yep, they’re being watched. The
mystery agency at the heart of this mess knows where Eleven is.
And… roll credits.
God, I hate this show!
Once more, while the core supernatural puzzle remains
intriguing, the real fascination I have with this series is watching the people
as they unravel into despair and then, find some kind of hope, no matter how
slim, to hang on to.
That’s not to say the most recent episodes didn’t have a few
flaws. Chief Hopper seems to be clutching the idiot ball real tight when he
breaks into the Hawkins facility. Yeah, he looks all bad ass letting nothing
stand in his way but for a man as smart as he is, you would think he would have
an exit strategy. He should know there’s only so far he can get into that
secret lab before he can’t get back out again. Maybe he’s driven by desperation
but still… Meanwhile, Jonathan knows
that the creature his mother saw is real. Nancy saw it too and he has a
picture. But he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to clue her in right now because…
reasons? She’s flipping out, determined her son is alive yet self-aware enough
to know she sounds crazy. What Jonathan knows can help her to realize she’s not
alone in this. But no. Maybe he doesn’t want mom horning in on his unexpected
alone time with Nancy? I don’t know.
But even analyzing these perceived flaws only underscores my
interest in this show. And now there are only two more episodes to go?
Damn, how I hate Stranger Things!
Thanks for dropping by. I'll be back with another post tomorrow. Until then, remember to be good to one another.
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