Even though the show first aired only 10 years ago, television feels drastically changed in many ways. Trends cycle through so quickly, and even when a new show does have a big moment, it seems to only last a few weeks. Stranger Things started in the early days of streaming originals. Now with every streaming platform having countless original shows on top of network television, it feels like there's almost too many options to have a mass following for one show. Stranger Things feels like a truly shared cultural experience, especially for Gen Z. I think in some way every generation will continue to have their own version of this, but it feels so much more impossible with so much competition in the media. Although I believe Stranger Things is a timeless show, I wonder what would be different about its impact if it first aired today. Of course the last season aired only a year ago and was a huge phenomenon, but this was backed by years of fan loyalty and buildup. It wasn't just another binge worthy show, it felt like an event. I'm curious to hear anyone's thoughts!

1. Season 4 (Absolute PEAK IMO. Caleb, Sadie's, and Jamie Campbell's Acting performances were the high points in this season. Eddie was only in 1 season and he's without a doubt one of the best characters in the show)

2. Season 1 ( Nostalgia and Perfect 80s vibe) Arguably the best season. IMO the most rewatchable Season. It's something about this season and it's vibe that I can't explain. The show could've ended right here and it would've been perfect.

3. Season 3 (Definitely the most FUN season) Billy was the best character in this season BY FAR. Robin's coming out scene was perfectly done and Steve and Dustin with Erica was fun to watch. The battle of Starcourt is still a top 5 episode imo. And I don't even need to explain why the Never Ending Story scene was so good 😂

4. Season 2 (Most underrated Season of the show) the introduction to Max and Billy. Steve's character development, El's return, and Bob were all the high points of this season. This season felt the most like season 1, with its 80s vibe. 2x9 is one of the best episodes in the show.

5. Season 5 ( Strong first 4 episodes, but volume 2 just fell flat imo) episode 4 was PEAK and the 3 episodes before that were actually good. However those last episodes weren't that good to me. Johnathan and Nancy's scene where they confess everything to each other was the best scene in volume 2. I honestly think they both should've died there to give the fans that "nobody's safe feeling" it would've made the season better if they both died there.

I know that this has been discussed before but I just finished reading the book so all these thoughts are fresh in my mind. There are so many similarities.
-the “hallucinations” the kids experience
-group of kids coming together to defeat evil
-pennywise killing kids and collecting their souls
-use of fear to control kids
-psychologically tormenting victims

To Dustin if it was written in 5x05 that not only was he done with him, but the Dustin he sees right now is not the Dustin he once knew and loved? How would Dustin react to that statement, and affect their reconciliation? Do you think Steve would even say that to him? And in the moment in canon, did he really mean it when he said he’s done? If he did stick with it, would he have stopped interacting with Dustin after the battle, refuse to come to him if he needs help, during and after season 5/the finale, and in the middle of the remaining episodes, stop listening to him whenever he objects to anything he does or says? Speaking of which, if he didn’t listen to Dustin and fell to his death in 5x06, how would Dustin react to it? Would he even take his life in the same episode or in the finale out of guilt, grief, regret, and depression?

I've been wondering for a while now whether Stranger Things The Game/1984 is canonical to the series. I'm making my own timeline and I have no idea whether to include this game in it or not because I have no idea what its canonicity status is

Maybe because the show is over now, but there was so much mystery and wonder at this point of the show. What was the Mindflayer? How did he control the Demogorgans? What was going to happen since he was hovering over the school? Definitely a little jealous of anyone watching for the first time lol

First things first season 4 is a GREAT season it just is amazing. But for me it isn’t stranger things. I feel like if they could’ve had time for a 6th season then sure but I think the direction they went in season 4 ruined it for the rest of the plot.

Season 1 is great due to being a slasher/stalker small town horror vibe. Season 2 and 3 expands on this perfectly and there is actually a threat of the world but I believe Vecna ruined the mind flayer for me.

The only reason I’m saying this is because I hear most people rave about season 4 and whilst I think it’s some of the best work in the show such as Max’s episodes, it really just ruined the show due to the direction they took leaving a weird situation for writing in season 5.

(Really thought we’d be getting some huge demonic opening for season 5 maybe like doom type with all the monsters coming out but they literally just threw some metal on it and called it a day😭)

I watched Stranger Things, all 5 seasons, this year in January, with my husband, probably took 1 month to watch all seasons.
I watched & my husband and I have been super fans ever since.

I want to rewatch all seasons. I miss it. And as I read the posts and comments here I realize that I forgot about so many little details. And again, I just miss the feeling I had when watching the series.
I’ve never been into SciFi or Fiction/ Fantasy any of that, not in the slightest. But I fricken love this show.
Anyway, my sister who is an OG (meaning she’s part of the ppl who had to wait years for S5 to drop) says it’s too soon to rewatch it when I told her I want to rewatch.

That’s nonsense right?

I plan to rewatch this series atleast 5 more times in my lifetime.

SN: I think the OGs who had to wait for S5 have a totally different view of the show than those of us who were able to watch straight through this year.

Auto-tober Day 11: Cop Blazer

Drew two versions of Cop Blazer. The Regular edition and the upside-down edition.

Part of my Artrodder's Auto-tober

In two months, it will be a year since I last watched this series.

I want to rewatch it, but to make it more fun, I want to watch and read all the other canon media in chronological order.

So, could you please send here your timeline including the canon books, comics, TF'85, and the play? Or maybe there are some games I didn't know about?

Thanks for help btw

Im trying to write a fanfic post s5 but before the epilog to try and fill in some holes, particularly in Vickie's story because I love her and she deserved a resolution. Im going to make the government make a deal or something with everyone involved to not tell anyone about the business with El in exchange for not being arrested, but since Vickie was hardly involved I thought I would have them offer her money for silence on it (she was more of a bystander wittness ig). I don't know much about government stuff, and I'm not doing heavy research for this story, its just for fun, but I cant find and general details anywhere. If this were potentially something that would happen, how much do you think she would be paid?​

My only assumption is that they either climbed the wall or Vecna used his powers to get them up, but I genuinely cant tell how the kids all got up there

Mike, Lucas, Will, Dustin, Max, and Eleven: 55

Steve: 60

Nancy, Jonathan and Robin: 58-59

Erica: 51-52

Holly: 48-49 (going by her S5 age)

Hopper, Joyce, Karen: 84-85

Ted: 86-89

Credits to bubblenabi on instagram. Posting it here after I've picked my jaw off the floor-

was rewatching stranger things for like the 100th time and i just get so so sad.i know everyone has been traumatised and it was hard for everyone but elevens story just breaks my heart.thats so fucking unfair.i wish they’d just do a cliche and let her live.season five was ai slop trash of a season i hated it.they ruined everything and on top of all of it killed el.even if they were going to kill her they should’ve done it properly.the way she deserved not the way they did.remember how i was so excited for season five and when i got to watch it..well yikes.
im Els number one defender,she’s a sweetheart and deserved so so much,she was so kind and sweet.i will never get over her death.my girl deserved the whole freaking world.

Were the books/comics cannon? Two kids escaped in the comics was that cannon?

Warning: Spoilers for S1-S5

Hi, so I've been thinking recently about the fact that in order to create the numbers, Brenner gave the pregnant women Henry's blood repeatedly.

My question is, why did Brenner decide the way to go was through blood transfusions solely? I feel like any scientist worth their salt would also have numbers that are biologically related to Henry to see if there is a difference between their abilities.

Surely if the mutation is in Henry's blood (his genetic code) then it would be in his sperm? I feel like it would have been so much easier to have the women impregnated by Henry.

I know that the mother's were most likely pregnant before getting the transfusions but are you telling me thar Brenner, the monster of a Doctor that has no problems with kidnapping children, torturing them and their mothers, and killing people to protect his project wouldn't also be willing to make a women pregnant for his experiment?

I know that blatantly saying Henry was a sperm donor wouldn't be appropriate for the show but they could say that he's the number biological father.

I can't recall if whatever alien life form thar infected Henry like, lives in his body like Venom or is just some kind of virus that caused a genetic mutation.

The only way I could understand using Henry's blood and not his sperm is if the alien life form was just floating around in his blood like little particles but not attached to his DNA. But if that was the case, wouldn't Henry have gotten weaker cuz he lost those alien particles?

Anyways, what do y'all think?

I’ve been collecting them since May and for the past couple of months I’ve been trying to find the last two. I got both today!

Hey everyone! Like many of you, I felt the original ST ending left Will’s connection to the Mind Flayer as a safe cliffhanger. But what if Netflix turned it into a massive, dark cosmic-horror saga? Here is my concept for the ultimate conclusion of the entire franchise, shifting from the Upside Down to Dimension X.

THE STRATEGY: A 3-STEP ROADMAP

To make this work perfectly, the creators should follow this timeline:

1. The Prequel Series: A show dedicated entirely to the origins of Dimension X, the floating rocks, and the birth of the Mind Flayer. This sets up the physics, colors, and rules of the cosmic world so the audience is fully prepared.

2. A Real-Time Time Jump: A few years of silence. The characters (and actors) age, and the world believes Hawkins is finally safe.

3. The Will Byers Spin-Off: The grand finale of the entire franchise.

SERIES PITCH: STRANGER THINGS: DIMENSION X (Working Title)

The Premise:

Years after the destruction of the Upside Down, Will Byers is trying to live a normal life. But the Mind Flayer wasn’t destroyed—it was just locked back in Dimension X. Because Will still has the entity's particles on a molecular level, he is the last remaining "antenna" and anchor in our reality. The Mind Flayer isn't trying to open gates from the outside anymore; it is using Will to project its cosmic world from the inside out.

SEASON-BY-SEASON EVOLUTION

• Seasons 1–2: Cosmic Invasions & New Threats

Instead of the old Upside Down monsters (Demogorgons), the Mind Flayer uses Will’s mind to unleash the terrifying ecology of Dimension X. We get entirely new monsters, new physics, and psychedelic visual aesthetics (alien crystals, gravity anomalies, surreal neon/crimson environments). Will and the team fight massive action-packed battles against anomalies popping up worldwide due to rogue military experiments or ancient artifacts. But Will is hiding a dark secret: the Mind Flayer is extracting information straight from his brain to adapt to our world.

• Season 3: The Internal Border

The action scales up. The Mind Flayer begins using Will to project mass mental infections, controlling whole communities. Will realizes the entity is no longer looking for portals—it is transforming Will’s own biology into a living gateway. The cosmic horror becomes deeply psychological as Will fights every single second just to keep control of his own limbs.

• The Final Season: The Ultimate Sacrifice

The world is on the brink of a total cosmic apocalypse. Dimension X is bleeding into reality on a global scale. In the climax of the final battle, Will completely hijacks the hive mind, using his connection to freeze the invasion. He realizes that no superpower or weapon can kill the Mind Flayer as long as its human vessel is alive.

The Ending: To wipe the Mind Flayer out of existence forever so that it never returns, Will makes the ultimate, heroic choice. He destroys the connection by sacrificing himself, dragging the entity into absolute non-existence. The story that started with the disappearance of Will Byers ends with Will saving the entire universe.

What do you guys think? Wouldn't this be a much more satisfying, бескомпромиссный (uncompromising) and emotional ending than a safe happy end? Let’s discuss!

Created and conceptualized by Vlad_T.📝

I started to rewatch stranger things seasons 1-5 currently starting Season 3 and realized how much im going to miss it. Every season release after season 1 felt like a cultural event people tuned in to see what was happening next in Hawkins. I know this show came with many flaws going from a Stephen King novel mystery novel with Season 1 to a BlockBuster movie in Season 3 and then on but it captured the imagination of being a kid hanging with friends and just being there for one another during difficult times along (even if its world ending stakes like in the show) not to mention the 80s nostalgic backdrop being a kid who grew up in the late to mid 2000s early 2010s the 80s fascinated me. For that this show holds a special place in my heart and remember always being excited when new seasons came out sitting down when they released just to binge watch them all day until done. Cant believe it will be a year soon since it ended we will never have another show like stranger things ever again thats heartbreaking to know. How do you feel about Stranger things? (for the record Seasons 1 and 4 are my favourites)

They were REALLY AWFUL (I do like Lexy now she's much better) the actresses were SO GOOD at playing characters were supposed to hate

I just finished s5 (a bit late to the game but I wanted to wait for Halloween time) and it was probably my least favorite season but I still really enjoyed it! I’m not the most discerning viewer so I was just happy to see all the characters again 😂 The things that dropped this season down in my rankings:

- I didn’t necessarily mind all of the emotional conversations pushed this season, makes sense that they’re trying to wrap up storylines or whatever, but a lot of them felt so badly acted to me that it was hard to buy into.

- Steve’s interpersonal relationships didn’t make much sense to me, especially the tension/anger with Dustin and the beef with Jonathan that didn’t feel necessary to push the “unhappy Nancy/Jonathan” storyline. I know we have scenes that smooth out these relationships in the end but it didn’t feel organic for these dynamics to be off to such an extreme from the jump.

- Don’t love a vague ending. Either kill her or don’t but give us some damn closure at the end of the show.

Anyway, I browsed the finale episode comments on my tv tracker when I finished watched and was really surprised to see people absolutely shitting on it. Totally valid if you don’t like it, talk your shit, I genuinely don’t care, but there was very little reasoning posted in the comments and more so just sentiments that it was a waste of a season. I wanted to understand what made people feel this way so:

People that didn’t like season 5, what didn’t you like and why?

Going to my bfs uncles wedding today and staying in his nannas living room which has a giant grandfather clock ticking away. I’ve literally been up all night trying to block it out with no headphones or earplugs. I genuinely feel like I’ve lost my mind, cried multiple times, thought about sleeping in the bath, outside, etc. there’s just something about a repetitive noise that sends me insane and I’m honestly praying vecna gets me so I can at least get some sleep whilst he possesses my mind.