I remember really getting hooked on “Stranger Things” around the time the first season was blowing up in popularity, and for a time, I would go through each new season every time they came out. But with season 4 just having released its first batch of episodes not too long ago, I think it’s time to revisit what came before and see how it holds up. And as for the first episode, I’m happy to report that it’s an excellent start.
Right off the bat, the episode wastes no time in establishing the fact that something supernatural and scary is happening; the monster is kept hidden almost entirely in shadow when it does show up, but we do know that it’s deadly, its presence makes the electricity go haywire, and it’s intent on taking the titular Will Byers. For what reason, we’re not sure yet, but it helps in sucking you in before the title sequence even starts.
Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will’s dynamic is great right off the bat, portrayed and acted as realistically-written children; they do take jabs at each other, but it’s clear that they care for and respect each other as well. It’s the kind of Buddy dynamic that I can’t get enough of, and the stellar performances from all of them only enhance it.
The main throughline is of course Will Byers getting taken by this mysterious creature and the search for him getting underway. For most of the episode, we have no idea if he’s even alive anymore, and when he does get a message out to his mom through the phone, his voice is very faint and quickly overtaken by ominous and beastly sounds around him. The fact that we know so little about the thing that took him only makes this all the creepier. Is Will actually alive and trapped somewhere, or is he dead and communicating from some kind of afterlife? By this point, we don’t know, and it’s the kind of thing that makes you want to keep going.
Speaking of Will’s family, both his mother Joyce and brother Jonathan are amazing. His mother expresses genuine concern for Will’s safety, the flashback we get with them spending time in his makeshift cabin is adorable, and her desperation in finding him just feels so real. Winona Ryder’s performance alone sells it. Meanwhile, Jonathan doesn’t express much emotion and is clearly more level-headed than his mother, but his lack of emotion makes his eventual crying over his brother being missing all the more heartbreaking. Joyce and Jonathan are basically two sides of the same coin, and we’ll get to see how their dynamic develops from here.
Beyond that, the episode also takes time to establish Mike’s sister Nancy and her relationship with her boyfriend Steve. Nancy is shown to truly love Steve, but it’s also clear that she’s not comfortable expressing it in public yet. While she does have her share of bitchy moments here, they do at least come from an understandable place given the circumstances, and she’s timid enough about her romance that it serves as a nice offset. She manages to be pretty likable in spite of how…well, “teen“ she can be at times.
There’s also Sheriff Hopper, who’s established as a rather lazy type who would rather eat his donuts than get right to work. We’re given a hint at the reason being that not much police-worthy stuff happens in Hawkins, so it does make sense why he would adopt that mindset. With the show setting up a crazy supernatural scenario, it’ll be interesting to see how he develops from there.
The big standout for me, however, is Eleven. Very little is made clear about her origins, but what little info we do get only intrigues the viewer even more. The episode makes it clear that she escaped from the same government building that was holding the monster, and that she has telekinetic abilities, but her origin as a whole is kept in mystery as of now. With what few lines she has here, Millie Bobby Brown nails the part, coming off equal parts timid and intimidating when she needs to be. Her dynamic with the diner cook, brief though it may have been, was pretty damn heartwarming too. The cook may have been gruff, but he does have a warm heart, and it makes it all the more painful to see him bite the dust so quickly.
As far as first episodes go, this is one of the better ones I’ve seen. It gives you plenty of charm and scares to pull you in and just enough mystery to want to keep going and see where it all goes. I forgot how much I love this show, and I can’t wait to revisit the rest.
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