Stranger Things S1E1

Having heard a plethora of good things about the Netflix Original series, Stranger Things, I decided to give it a go this week. It’s always difficult going into a show that you have heard a lot about with an unbiased mind but I will try to give my honest opinion throughout.

Chapter 1: The Vanishing of Will Byers

The episode begins by directing us to its setting, informing us that we are in Hawkins, Indiana on November 6, 1983. The episode’s main events are that of young Will Byers’ disappearance on his way home from a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends and the ensuing investigation by his friends, family and local authorities. We are also introduced to a young, female character who appears to have escaped from a government lab and is now being hunted by those who work there.

Chapter One is very much an introductory episode, setting the scene and introducing crucial themes and characters for the series as a whole. The programme begins as (I hope) it means to go on, with an immediate tense and fast-paced scene, immediately opening up lots of questions for the audience as an unknown worker at a government facility runs in terror from a mysterious being. This prologue of sorts immediately introduces the theme of the supernatural and leaves us yearning for answers.

We are then transported to young Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) house as he plays an intense game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends (Will, Dustin and Lucas). This scene introduces us to the general vibe of the television how – a mix of horror with comedy, not unlike that seen in the most recent adaption of Stephen King’s It (a film that Finn Wolfhard also stars in, playing a very similar character).

As young Will Byers travels home from this encounter with his friends, we are catapulted with questions resembling Why the f**k is this kid cycling home alone in the dark? and, once he makes it home, Why the f**k aren’t his parents in to greet him?

We are then introduced to the programme’s title sequence, something that is aesthetically pleasing and apt for the show as the design ties into the theme of the supernatural as well as evoking the time period.

Next is an introduction to Will’s mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), and his brother, Jonathan and answers to the previous expletive-filled questions. There is an immediate vibe of desperation from this family as they appear to be struggling financially, with both characters being at work when young Will disappeared. Jonathan even admits that he should have been home but chose to take on extra hours in order to earn some extra cash. We are, however, greeted with the mystery of the missing father figure as it is clear that Jonathan is trying to fulfil that role despite still being a young adult himself.

Following this, we are introduced to the character of Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and can immediately deduce that he is a damaged man, perhaps a drunkard, who may not be equipped to deal with anything as serious as a missing child. For instance, the first case he is made aware of upon entering the office is that of stolen gnomes. Furthermore, once he hears of the missing Will, he replies with an offhand “Mornings are for coffee and contemplation, Flo”, not the finding of missing children – an endeavour he only begins due to the child’s mother being there to push for it.

In the interaction between Hopper and Joyce, we learn that Lonnie (most likely Will’s father) used to say Will was “queer”, “called him a fag” and now hasn’t been heard from for over a year. This augments the idea of Will coming from a broken and dysfunctional home that could be argued to have facilitated his disappearance. We also learn that nothing bad ever happens in Hawkins, with the worst thing happening in the last four years being the attack of a woman’s head by an owl because it believed it to be a nest (another example of comedy in a horrific situation). This acts as a form of foreshadowing, since Hopper believes nothing bad ever happens in Hawkins, it is suggested that he is about to be proved wrong by the occurrence of something truly terrible.

The episode then cuts back to the research centre, which is being evacuated and quarantined, which immediately evokes the idea that those working there know about the supernatural being and that it has perhaps escaped from this facility. While searching the quarantined area, they do not react with shock to the paranormal scene and someone declares “this is where it came from”, proving that they know about the existence of this “it”. This is also where we are introduced to “the Girl” (Millie Bobby Brown) who we meet in the proceeding scene as she enters a diner wearing only a hospital gown and sporting a shaved head. We also learn that she is defined by a number, pointing to her “011” tattoo and then to herself. Does this mean she is merely one in a list of things to be analysed and investigated, not a human being with a name and a personality?

Upon finding Will’s bike abandoned, the Chief appears to take the situation more seriously, uttering that a “bike like this is like a cadillac to these kids”, meaning Will would leave it only if he was in real trouble. Interestingly, the Chief becomes even more worried after entering Will’s shed alone (not knowing that this is, in fact, the site of his disappearance) and scrutinising the sound of unexplained squelching from the corner of the outhouse. He moves at a faster pace after leaving the shed and orders a search party to the surprise of his officers who ask, “we got a problem?” Does this mean that the Chief is aware of the existence of the supernatural and knows that the case of Will’s disappearance is now one of great importance?

This idea returns when we discover that the Chief’s daughter died a few years ago, though he states that she lives with her mum in the city. It may be too early to be taking guestimations like this but, could the Girl be said daughter? Her existence is shrouded in mystery and the episode in the shed suggests the Chief has some knowledge of paranormal events…

Though I have not mentioned them too much in this review, Will’s friends are crucial to the plot of Stranger Things and will, I assume, become more prevalent throughout the episodes. One of the most important scenes for them in this instalment was that of their decision to go looking for Will despite the insistence of their parents and the police that they do not. Mike reminisces over their game of Dungeons and Dragons at the beginning of the programme and uses Will’s actions in that game as evidence as to why they should search for him: “He put himself in danger to help the party.” This adheres to a key theme in the show so far, that of fantasy verses reality. Mike uses the playing of a game to support what he believes should be done in real life, which links back to the boys being told earlier in the episode that “this isn’t some Lord of the Rings book.” The irony is that the young boys’ seemingly naive and childish idea of reality is actually more fitting in this case than that of the adults, supposedly grounded in the real world. Furthermore, the boys’ searching for Will at the expense of their own safety enhances our idea of the strong friendship they share, which, I assume, will be important in the ensuing episodes. There is a strong contrast between family and friendship in this programme, with ties between friends seeming stronger than those between relatives due to the dysfunctional nature of the families we have been introduced to so far – interestingly, this was also a dominant notion in It with all of the children coming from damaging homes but flourishing through the friendship they shared.

Music becomes an important addition to this programme in the scene in which we learn that the government is eager to recover the Girl, killing the innocent diner owner in an effort to do so. (Just a thought, but this could be because she appears to possess supernatural powers, stopping a fan with her mind and taking down two government officials with guns in order to escape). The track that plays in this scene is Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit, with the final line “feed your head” echoing out into the night that the Girl escapes into. The song details the effects of drug taking but, most importantly, the author of the song, Grace Slick, states that it is about “following your curiosity”, something that the government officials and the Girl are both doing: the government being curious about the Girl’s powers and, perhaps, how they can be utilised and the girl being interested in a life beyond the facility. Furthermore, Slick also revealed that the song was intended to criticise parents who read tales like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to their children and then wondered why they experimented with drugs in later life. This idea of the effects of bad parenting on impressionable children is something that also seems to be being explored in Stranger Things, with the previously mentioned flawed families and their children’s rebellious natures. This is further enhanced by Joyce and Jonathan’s guilt surrounding the disappearance of Will as they believe their negligent care for him contributed to the event.

The episode ends with the Girl revealing herself to Mike, Lucas and Dustin as they search for Will. Though she has been timid and uncertain throughout the episode, she makes a clear decision to show herself to the boys, rather than hide from them. This suggests she trusts them for some reason – perhaps their age? Or maybe their beliefs? Whatever the reason, I assume their friendship will blossom in the coming episodes and be a critical part of the programme.

Questions To Be Answered

• Who is ‘the Girl? Where did she come from? What is she? Why is she defined by a number? Is she the Chief’s daughter?
• Where is Lonnie and why did he leave their family?
• What is the government facility? What do they study there? How long have they known about the supernatural? Why is the Girl so important to them?
• And the most important question (one I suspect we will not receive an answer to until the end of the season), where is Will Byers?