**WARNING – This article will be full of spoilers.**

No, really. Spoilers galore! ALL THE SPOILERS! Can’t say I didn’t warn you…

Welcome to The Attic, we have plenty of Eggos.

What do you get when you take Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and add in a dash of X-Files government cover-ups set to a synthesizer-infused 1980s soundtrack? You get beauty, fear, wonderment, suspense, raw childhood joy and heartbreak, and a story surrounding a cast of characters that will stick with you for a long time after you finish binge-watching Stranger Things. Not since LOST have I been so truly mesmerized and transfixed on a television show. Not since then have I felt so utterly compelled to see more that I didn’t care about sleep or normal life or anything else. All I cared about was powering through so that the story wouldn’t be ruined online and, most importantly, I could have some closure.

After finishing the eight-episode first season of Netflix’s most recent original series I am left with a mark. It sits somewhere between the loss you feel after finishing a great book and the joy of discovering something magical. Every once in awhile we are lucky enough to have a fictional piece of work truly affect us in the greatest way. I can’t begin to describe how I feel. It’s almost nostalgic.

Yes, it’s nostalgia. Nostalgia for the first time I watched Stand By Me as a teenager and was so emotionally moved by this band of misfit friends that stuck together in a way only children seem to accomplish. The first time I watched Carrie slam doors and flip a car with her mind and the way her revengeful expression sent chills down my spine as I still managed to sympathize with her. Nostalgic for the first time I saw Elliott cry while saying goodbye to E.T, who, despite being a complete alien literally and figuratively, he accepted as his friend wholeheartedly. The first time I cheered watched the Losers’ Club defeat IT, and then cringed, knowing it wasn’t over. The first time I watched Poltergeist and thought about what “the other side” is, while wondering if there was a middle ground that we could enter and return alive. The first time I watched the X-Files in 1998 and began to truly believe that the government could really cover up anything they want. The many, many times I have heard an epic 1980s soundtrack.

I feel nostalgic because Stranger Things conjures up so many memories and feelings of so many things I have loved for years and years, and yet it stands as one of the most original television shows I have ever seen. I don’t see a point in explaining the whole story here for a few reasons. You can read the synopsis anywhere, and I want to focus more on what I loved about it instead of just writing a shortened version of this season that won’t entirely showcase the brilliance behind it. But most importantly, you need to be watching it. You need to see this show and all its perfection BEFORE reading about it online. So with that all being said, let’s get into it.

The cast for Stranger Things is one of the first things that really hooked me, and blew me away. Winona Ryder is almost unrecognizable as the mother, Joyce Byers, of the missing boy, Will. I have always been a fan of hers since I watched Beetlejuice as a child, and while she certainly hasn’t taken a break from acting, I haven’t seen her in anything new for years. She truly stands out in a way that I have never seen before. Her performance of a mother desperate to do, and believe, anything in order to save her son’s life was so incredibly powerful. I felt her desperation and fell in love with her character. The police Chief Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour, is so likable and relatable, despite having his own demons from his personal life. Watching his character transform from your standard gruff police Chief into this amazing hero that would do anything for these people in his town was nothing short of beautiful. Hopper’s back story was perfectly woven to explain why he would be so willing to do anything to save a child’s life, and be instantly sympathetic to Joyce.

Will’s friends, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) were all phenomenal. Mike was so wonderfully willing to help Eleven (more on her in a minute) despite the possibility of her being dangerous or deceitful, and I really liked him from start to finish. It was the kind of faith from the very start that only kids seem to have. Let’s be honest here, Dustin stole the show countless times with his hilarious delivery of one-liners. He was the much-needed comic relief in a show so filled with tension. But despite that, he remained a truly likable character who stands by his friends no matter what. Lucas was both a voice of reason and a great example of how most people would initially react to this “weird girl.” I really liked how, over time, he not only grew to care about Eleven, but also to trust her.

That brings me to Eleven, played flawlessly by Millie Bobby Brown. Eleven, or Elle as the boys begin to call her, is such a sympathetic character, and yet remains a hero who is also a complete badass. She has been hurt so much for the gifts that she has, and has not been given the normal life she deserves. She was used and basically tortured by the government who wanted to use her as a tool. While she is clearly still hurt by what she has gone through, she knows right from wrong, and she uses her powers to hurt only when the need really arises. Only once did I cringe at her for doing something, but it was a slip, and one she clearly regrets. Elle was reminiscent of E.T. as she explored the Wheelers’ house while home alone. Her wonderment of the world around her was so cool to see, and it made me so sad for her and the life that had been robbed from her thusfar. Elle lended herself to some of my favorite moments in the show, and when she flipped that van I cried out “hooooooly shit!” The anger in her eyes when she crushed those bad guys’ heads from the inside was riveting. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it here: Eleven was one of my favorite characters in years.

Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Will’s older brother, and Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Mike’s older sister and friend of the also-missing Barb, come together to form a team I didn’t see coming, yet adored. I was actually shipping them to come together as a couple in the end, but it was really nice seeing Steve (Joe Keery) join them after coming to apologize for his shitty friends’ behavior towards them. He certainly didn’t come to join their fight, but once he stumbled into it and was given the chance to leave, he stuck with them and for that, he won me over. Both Nancy and Jonathan were brave and determined to help their siblings and her friend, and I admired their characters so much.

Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine), gave me serious chills in this show, when the monster leapt at him I was screaming inside for this creepy prick to be gone already. There are so many other characters I would love to get into, but this already-long article must move on to the creators, the Duffer Brothers. These brothers directed, wrote, and produced much of the season, and they are seriously talented. Despite being newer to Hollywood, these guys were incredible at conjuring up 1980s nostalgia, including nods to fantastic songs, movies, Dungeons & Dragons, and creating a unique and fresh story that has captured the world’s attention and imagination. This show isn’t just set in the 80s, it feels like it was filmed in the decade, and that is a feat. Even the opening title’s grainy Stephen King-like font of an intro makes it feel like you’re discovering a classic for the first time. Stranger Things has many elements, and one is that of pure horror. Certain scenes really sent chills down my spine, like when Will can be heard singing “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” over their Walkie Talkies. And when we see the first glimpse of the monster early on in the season.

Not to be overlooked is the FANTASTIC score composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, who both have only Stranger Things credited to their names. This soundtrack was so fitting for the nostalgia-fueled series you would think these guys had been plucked right out of the 80s, and is an instant classic. Both Dixon and Stein deserve major appreciation for adding the perfect tone to Stranger Things.

At first, I think most of us assumed this would be a self-contained miniseries of sorts, but now both Matthew Modine and the Duffer Brothers have said in interviews for French website Premiere (reported here in English by Digital Trends) and Variety that there is certainly a possibility of this story continuing for at least another season. So that brings me to the last topic here: The questions that remain.

In the finale we see Eleven seemingly sacrifice herself to rid the world of the monster for good. But did she close the rift completely or can it still be accessed? We saw both a monster in the school and the one Jonathan, Nancy and Steve were fighting, so is there more than one? If so, did Eleven banish them all?

A month after being rescued by Chief Hopper and his Mom, Will excuses himself from the dining room table. He goes to the bathroom and coughs up a parasite and in a flash is seen in the Upside-Down. Does this mean he’s been permanently changed by the events? Will anyone else find out, and is there a way to help him?

Perhaps the most gripping question for me is that of Eleven’s apparent demise. She tearfully said her goodbye to a helpless Mike before she disappears into nothing. But then we see Chief Hopper leave a holiday party with some cookies. He drives out to the snow-covered woods and in a small wooden box leaves the cookies, as well as a couple of Eggos, Eleven’s favorite. So is she alive after all? Is Hopper simply hoping for the best? Does he know more than we do? He certainly seems to. When he is forced to get into the car with those agents, what happened in that conversation? Was he told that she is, in fact, alive?

There are so many other questions that we all have, and I have high hopes this isn’t the end for these beloved characters. Even if we never get answers to all of these questions, I was more than impressed with how it turned out. I never once felt like I had the security of being able to predict who was going to live or die, or how it was all going to turn out. As I write this I feel equally content, and a desire for more. Stranger Things is one of my favorite things I have ever watched on TV, and I am so thankful it came together the way it did. This is nothing short of magic.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess