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Stranger Things [SPOILER THREAD] We're All Fleas Now

Hah I agree here. I think people are so conditioned by most modern TV shows to always searching for connections of seemingly meaningless things because so many shows like Breaking Bad did that and were so successful at it that other shapes copied that. Its great for a lot of shows but I find it also makes watching them a chore if everything might be Chekov's Gun. One of my favorite things about Stranger Things is how straight forward and up front it is with the story. Its just trying to weave a good tale, not a convoluted one full of twists, turns and unexpected events.

That stuff has happened in media well before Breaking Bad. You may just be referencing something recent and if so, no worries, but it's a common storytelling tactic.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
If we remember what Mr. Clarke said about creating a gateway to the other side it takes a tremendous amount of energy so when El used her powers to their full potential it's possible she killed the monster and accidentally transported herself to the Upside Down. I seem to remember a blue fire erupting from the monsters chest, which seemed more like El was killing it than taking it back to the Upside Down.

It'd be depressing if all she did was transport the both of them to the Upside Down and she is living in constant fear being hunted by that thing.

I kinda took it as her opening a portal within the monster itself, ripping it apart and then it swallowed them both.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
That stuff has happened in media well before Breaking Bad. You may just be referencing something recent and if so, no worries, but it's a common storytelling tactic.

Yes I realize, I just used Breaking Bad as an example. Lost probably started the worst of the rampant speculation based on a couple of suspicious things. I just find that everyone is always looking for that secret something or that hidden message or hint at a future season.

Also my big point is that if everything is a possible Chekov's Gun, the whole idea kind of just falls apart.
 
Yes I realize, I just used Breaking Bad as an example. Lost probably started the worst of the rampant speculation based on a couple of suspicious things. I just find that everyone is always looking for that secret something or that hidden message or hint at a future season.

Also my big point is that if everything is a possible Chekov's Gun, the whole idea kind of just falls apart.

Well it's Sci Fi. Twists and reveals are especially common in the genre.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Well it's Sci Fi. Twists and reveals are especially common in the genre.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I enjoyed this being a more passive experience where I was just watching a well told story with good acting, interesting and lovable characters, good scares, a great atmosphere etc. Sometimes I feel like TV took the wrong lessons from Brecht's ideas on theater and just ran with them and the audiences followed suit because that was everyone was doing and it just became expected.
 
I guess what I'm trying to say is I enjoyed this being a more passive experience where I was just watching a well told story with good acting, interesting and lovable characters, good scares, a great atmosphere etc. Sometimes I feel like TV took the wrong lessons from Brecht's ideas on theater and just ran with them and the audiences followed suit because that was everyone was doing and it just became expected.

Sure. I get what you're saying and I agree that the story is straight forward and that aspect of it is enjoyable.

In the end though I understand that people are going to look for stuff like that in this show especially due to the genre. It would be more grating if it was a crime drama or something where it's not commonly used at all.
 

Matty77

Member
Well the one thing about it is as much as the speculation is not necessary it says something about how this resonated that people are doing it.

For both threads to keep floating at the top for a couple days as a show that came out of nowhere, a position usually held by shows like GOT or the biggest movies, right now GB says a lot about how good the show is. This is the one Netflix really has to double down on and avoid the sophomore slump.
 
So there is an article posted at the police Christmas party at the end of the last episode that has some interesting info in it. It appears Joyce doesn't keep quiet about the government experiment. More importantly Brenner is referenced as not making comments to the media for legal reasons. Ives is also referenced, but that is not clear if it would be El's aunt or mother (if she snapped out of the state she was in).
 
So there is an article posted at the police Christmas party at the end of the last episode that has some interesting info in it. It appears Joyce doesn't keep quiet about the government experiment. More importantly Brenner is referenced as not making comments to the media for legal reasons. Ives is also referenced, but that is not clear if it would be El's aunt or mother (if she snapped out of the state she was in).

Oh, that is interesting. Good catch!
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
So there is an article posted at the police Christmas party at the end of the last episode that has some interesting info in it. It appears Joyce doesn't keep quiet about the government experiment. More importantly Brenner is referenced as not making comments to the media for legal reasons. Ives is also referenced, but that is not clear if it would be El's aunt or mother (if she snapped out of the state she was in).

Didn't Brenner get eaten?
 
Loved this scene and though it may not be hundred percent true. Its spot on.


https://gfycat.com/DeadMessyLamprey

I was like...
KOcFCGe.gif


On the flipside when we get a quick cut to Nancy and Steve on the crouch at the end of the finale episode. I saw her contemplating something, maybe it was just her thinking about barbara or thinking about what john said or both either way steve is content.
 

Sulik2

Member
Haven't seen anyone mention it but the biggest thread for a season two is the giant portal open at the research facility that seemed to be growing. Hopper and wills mom made it back out of the upside down through it, but there is no reason to think its closed.

Also, I liked how animalistic the monster felt. It wasn't just killing it was eating and procreating? With Will and the slugs. It had a hunting pattern and didn't really start just killing in mass until it was attacked and injured.
 

Matty77

Member
Didn't Brenner get eaten?
Seemed so but maybe something else happened. More likely he did but considering they faked a corpse and "dissapeared" a missing girl it could be a ruse so "all is normal".

It would be harder to discredit Joyce if their director went missing/dead at the same time. Smartest move is use legalese to say he can't talk to the public than later on quietly say he has been replaced.
 
Haven't seen anyone mention it but the biggest thread for a season two is the giant portal open at the research facility that seemed to be growing. Hopper and wills mom made it back out of the upside down through it, but there is no reason to think its closed.

It was indeed growing pretty fast.
 
The tear was opened in the lab by El when she freaked out when Brenner made her make contact. Perfect for the story.

As for El being Hops daughter that makes no sense. He was married with his own kid who died. I don't think he would forget or miss impregnating a women who went on to be a lab rat who claimed her kid was stolen who he did not know when they looked her up all at the same general time he was married and having a kid by the general timeline of everyone's age.


I don't get where all these theories are coming from, not everything is convulted it was a pretty straightforward story. And this is not specifically aimed at who I quoted but as more people finish I keep seeing posts speculating answers for questions that either were answered or not asked in the first place.
I think its just fun to speculate that there may be more twists.
I said "somehow" El was his daughter and who knows if she's really the womans daughter.
I know how the tear was opened, I was just saying it would be interesting if the tear isn't another dimension, but another time. And that these dark things come from a future earth. So el opened up a tear to the future. a future in which Cern opened up a tear to another dimension, just adds another element.
 

Matty77

Member
Great article, couple takeaways:sounds like that was the only monster, it was a practical animatronic, the Steve Nancy thing changed because of the actor and in the end they felt it was more real life honest which I agree with.
 

HiiiLife

Member
They just had to give Steve his redemption moment lol.

I guess people would expect Nancy to go to Jonathan so that was a surprise.
 

Matty77

Member
I think its just fun to speculate that there may be more twists.
It may be fun but it's just setting up dissapointment. It's a pretty straightforward story with some clear answers backed up with interviews with the brothers like the variety article just posted. And there are actual questions that can be speculated on such as

What's going on with will, is that happening or in his head, will it get worse, is he now an anchor keeping things from being closed?

Is El alive, does hopper know or is he just hoping, is it guilt over Landoing her?

What about the tear in the lab, and who is actually in control there anyway, what happened when Hop got in the car, is he working with them?

So many discussions could be had with the material that is there is all.
 

Sheroking

Member
They just had to give Steve his redemption moment lol.

I guess people would expect Nancy to go to Jonathan so that was a surprise.

I took it as a bit of a Pretty in Pink reference.

She winds up with the dude she has feelings for, not the guy who maybe "deserves" her more. It's a nice little way to subvert the trope and make what could have been a one-dimensional character more interesting.

But dear god, give that actor a new haircut. That thing was more frightening than the monster.
 

Burt

Member
Just discovered this Variety article: http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/str...uffer-brothers-interview-season-2-1201816664/

It gives a good idea of where season 2 will go and covers some interesting things that were changed in production (the Steve/Nancy arc).

Was there an inspiration for Eleven’s look and conception?

Matt: That came very quickly. For some reason we decided she was going to emerge from the woods in this dirty hospital gown and her hair was going to be buzzed. The trick was no little girls wanted to buzz their hair, it’s not something either them or their parents are into. Even with Millie there was a lot of talk about it. They were hesitant because it was like, “Is this gonna cost her roles?”

Fortunately, it was the time that the “Mad Max: Fury Road” marketing was really ramping up. We showed Millie a picture of Charlize [Theron] as Furiosa and said, “Does she not look badass?” She was like, “Yeah.” We said, “You’re gonna look badass, exactly like Charlize.” She’s like, “OK, let’s do it.” Thank God for “Mad Max.” We shaved it off within 10 minutes. Her dad ran out crying, but within a week her entire family all loved it.
Awesome article. Would love to see that 30 page document on the upside down.
 

kurahador

Member
She winds up with the dude she has feelings for, not the guy who maybe "deserves" her more. It's a nice little way to subvert the trope and make what could have been a one-dimensional character more interesting.

Of all the tropes they decides to subvert. Also, Jonathan is the single most useless character in this.
 

SmugFox

Member
So I think that that worm thing that was feeding off of Will was what came out of the egg. As if it needed to feed off of things to develop into the mommy monster. Barb had the slugs coming out of her mouth too, but either the monster or the worm thing had already finished feeding off of her.

Cool show. Hope they make another season.
 

mm04

Member
Just discovered this Variety article: http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/str...uffer-brothers-interview-season-2-1201816664/

It gives a good idea of where season 2 will go and covers some interesting things that were changed in production (the Steve/Nancy arc).

Loved the article. They completely nailed their intent with me at least. Especially making characters not feel safe and feeling like the stakes were high. I knew Barb was a goner, but after granny blasted Cleary from the Knick in the diner, I was truly afraid that Hopper was a dead man after busting into the facility initially. And then I thought Mr. Clarke might be done for as well when granny came to visit. By the end, I was just hoping that characters I liked would survive. I was happy when granny met her end, though. Such a well done show. I really hope we see a second season.
 
No way? Visually, the monster's CGI was the only thing that bothered me.

Edit: Pretty great that there was an actual suit used as well. I will have to rewatch.

Hmm, I clearly saw an actual suit there in a lot of the scenes. Of course most of them were completely CGI though what with all the wall stuff.
 

Seesaw15

Member
I know the budgets tight netflix but you could have paid some struggling actors sag minimum to play Lucas and Toothless's parents for half a second. We even got a scene with Barbs mother for god sake.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I know the budgets tight netflix but you could have paid some struggling actors sag minimum to play Lucas and Toothless's parents for half a second. We even got a scene with Barbs mother for god sake.

Does it matter? We also only see Barb's mother for a single scene. They weren't important to the story unlike Joyce and Hob and the couple other adults who are actively involved in the situation.
 

Nickovic

Member
I loved how much I hated Mike's dad. I'm completely sure that's how I was meant to feel too. Such well done minor character.
 

LakeEarth

Member
No way? Visually, the monster's CGI was the only thing that bothered me.

Edit: Pretty great that there was an actual suit used as well. I will have to rewatch.

That's the one thing that bothered me about this show. Despite all their effort to make it as 80s as possible, they went with a CGI monster. While a little CGI would be okay, if they really wanted to be 80s-like the monster should have been a guy in a suit.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I loved how much I hated Mike's dad. I'm completely sure that's how I was meant to feel too. Such well done minor character.

What did I dooooooo?

That's the one thing that bothered me about this show. Despite all their effort to make it as 80s as possible, they went with a CGI monster. While a little CGI would be okay, if they really wanted to be 80s-like the monster should have been a guy in a suit.

Apparently the monster was mostly practical effects and a guy in a suit enhanced with CGI.
 

Bad_Boy

time to take my meds
I loved how much I hated Mike's dad. I'm completely sure that's how I was meant to feel too. Such well done minor character.

Couldn't agree more. But his character made sense.

I had an ex gf's whose dad was like that. He was the breadwinner and his wife was a stay at home wife.. He was always oblivious on how to handle his kid's issues.
 
Didn't Brenner get eaten?
I feel like that the show doesn't really clarify if he is eaten for sure. We know get gets lunged at by the creature but what happens to him is unclear. If you recall when Barbara gets jumped in the pool in a very similar way she gets thrown into the upside down, then killed there. Maybe when the beast shallows a person they end up on the otherside.
I'm interested on what others think about how Barb and Will get pulled to the upside down after they are attacked.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I feel like that the show doesn't really clarify if he is eaten for sure. We know get gets lunged at by the creature but what happens to him is unclear. If you recall when Barbara gets jumped in the pool in a very similar way she gets thrown into the upside down, then killed there. Maybe when the beast shallows a person they end up on the otherside.
I'm interested on what others think about how Barb and Will get pulled to the upside down after they are attacked.

I mean it seemed fairly final is all. He gets leapt on and even if that means he just sent to the otherwise that's still basically a death sentence. They did make a point to reiterate how the transfer between world has something to do with water namely with the huge water tank involved in the opening of the tear and Barb's blood hitting the pool water and seemingly alerting the creature of her. Doesn't seem like it matters overall as it can seemingly just tear through a solid object into our world but water did seem somewhat important.
 

Calcium

Banned
I mean it seemed fairly final is all. He gets leapt on and even if that means he just sent to the otherwise that's still basically a death sentence. They did make a point to reiterate how the transfer between world has something to do with water namely with the huge water tank involved in the opening of the tear and Barb's blood hitting the pool water and seemingly alerting the creature of her. Doesn't seem like it matters overall as it can seemingly just tear through a solid object into our world but water did seem somewhat important.

I'm not sure if water plays the key role you think it does. Sure it was needed for the sensory deprivation tank in order to make contact, but I don't think Barb's blood hitting water had any significance. The monster was just attracted to blood. If water played a key role in transferring between our world and the Upside Down I think the smaller gateways would have been near water sources, but of the ones I remember (The Byers' shed and walls, the forest) had nothing to do with water.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I'm not sure if water plays the key role you think it does. Sure it was needed for the sensory deprivation tank in order to make contact, but I don't think Barb's blood hitting water had any significance. The monster was just attracted to blood. If water played a key role in transferring between our world and the Upside Down I think the smaller gateways would have been near water sources, but of the ones I remember (The Byers' shed and walls, the forest) had nothing to do with water.

Its just a possibility and I believe even Brenner comments on it. There is also a distinct lack of water in the Upside Down though that could mean nothing at all.
 

Sadist

Member
Man, no wonder I kept thinking about Silent Hill when the Upside Down was featured. Awesome.

Great show btw. Binged it in two days and loved every second of it. Child actors were pretty damn cool too! As for mysteries...

- Like others I keep wondering if there weren't more creatures around. The creature killed by Eleven didn't have any visible wounds while fighting the MP and Brenner. Or the monster had some kind of healing factor. He took a few shots to the face by Nancy, but when he attacked Johnathan he seemed unharmed. Hmmm. Or those funky slugs/parasites are the first stage of those monsters, feeding off of their hosts.
- I don't think Will is turning into a monster. Him telling he's fine after barfing up the slug and shifting in and out of the Upsidedown seems more to protect his mom and brother. But you've got to ask yourself... did that fleshy tube fill him up with slugs that gave him the abillity to see the Upsidedown?
- Plus, I think the slugs live of the dead, not the living. Barb's slug was way bigger when it crawled out of her mouth. Will was dead, that's why the creature shoved the flesh tube down his throat, right?
- I think Hopper isn't done with the government. Maybe he work's for them now? Sort off.

But amazing show. Love the eighties vibe. Feels like Goonies meets the Twilight Zone, sprinkled with a little bit of John Carpenter.
 

Calcium

Banned
Its just a possibility and I believe even Brenner comments on it. There is also a distinct lack of water in the Upside Down though that could mean nothing at all.

The lack of water is interesting, I hadn't thought of that. Might be a problem for El if there isn't any water over there.

- Like others I keep wondering if there weren't more creatures around. The creature killed by Eleven didn't have any visible wounds while fighting the MP and Brenner. Or the monster had some kind of healing factor. He took a few shots to the face by Nancy, but when he attacked Johnathan he seemed unharmed. Hmmm. Or those funky slugs/parasites are the first stage of those monsters, feeding off of their hosts.

The multiple creatures idea really does seem likely. The teenagers did a pretty significant amount of damage to it and it shows up later seemingly unharmed. Perhaps that Egg was meant to represent the fact that there were multiple creatures and the slugs go through some sort of metamorphosis to become the bigger monster.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I'd love to see something even worse than the Demagorgon in season 2. Like something that eats them like they eat humans.
 

water_wendi

Water is not wet!
Loved it. Didnt expect to watch it all in one sitting but thats how it went.

Why wasn't there a bear trap in the upside-down world? The monster should have still been stuck in the trap if it switched dimensions?

Just a nitpick since it was a fantastic show.

The Upside Down really reminded me of World of Darkness cosmology (the Penumbra in particular).
 
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