‘Stranger Things’ dominates Netflix and leaves everyone wanting more

On July 15, 2016, Netflix released an original series that swept the nation, instantly becoming a common obsession in America: Stranger Things. It was a story about a 12-year-old boy named Will Byers who went missing as well as the lengths his friends and family went to find him and the place to which he disappeared. The eight-episode season was certainly binge worthy, which I can confirm, as I watched it in its entirety in three days. By the end of the season, I was almost angry because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. “What happened with Eleven?!” “Why did they take Barb?!” “What even was that in the last scene with Will?! Is he a part of the Upside Down forever?”

Characters Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Eleven are all children, making this very impressive. We have Noah Schnapp playing Will Byers, who may not be in a lot of the episodes, but is what the entire series revolves around, as the Upside Down wouldn’t have been discovered without him. Schnapps really channels a fear on camera, making the whole situation scarier and makes the viewers want to find Will just as much as the characters do. Portraying Mike is Finn Wolfhard, who really does a great job at making us feel like the whole plot is real, with his passion to find his missing best friend. He also is the love interest of Eleven, who is played by Millie Bobby Brown, a British actress who completely nails Eleven’s mysterious yet selfless personality.  Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin,) who is also one of Will’s best friends, and takes a while to warm up to the random girl who is now joining them to find him. Of course, we can’t forget Gaten Matarazzo, who portrays the last of the bunch, Dustin. Dustin is the goofiest out of all the friends, but he is very serious in finding his good friend Will. Something else great about Matarazzo is that his real-life disease, cleidocranial dysplasia- affecting his bone and teeth growth, is also pointed out in the show and raises awareness for it. Stranger Things would not be the same with any other actors, and chasing these five was the best decision the show made.

The show is dark, which would usually only attract viewers who like suspenseful or scary things, yet it managed to grasp so many audiences in such a short time. Will’s mother is being thought of as crazy for discovering how to communicate with her son, and the detective who helps her doesn’t give up due to a personal experience he had. Will’s brother works on his own and with Mike’s sister, Nancy, to find Will and get to the bottom of the Upside Down. Steve, Nancy’s love interest who just makes everything harder to discover with his games, Stranger Things has several varieties of a plot to obtain any kind of viewer.

The best news about Stranger Things is that season two is coming, and it’s coming on Halloween of this year! The news of this came in the form of a Super Bowl commercial, which practically broke Twitter- and everyone’s minds. It looks like we may get answers, which is all anyone can hope for now! While it may be a few more months before we figure out the destiny of Eleven, Will, and everyone else, the confirmation of when it will happen is enough. This, in my opinion, is the best Netflix original ever made, and I will highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. I also suggest watching it before season two- I know I’ll be watching it again to prepare for then!

Have you seen Stranger Things and do you agree with me and have more to add, or do you disagree and think I’m crazy for praising it? Please feel free to let me know in the comments!