Support NeoGAF

[kinoki]

Ok, so I finished it. I'm really conflicted. I love the premise and the story but... there's so much bad that I don't know how I feel. The camera work and direction is some of the sloppiest and uninspired I've seen for a long time. The acting is all over the place. The casting is all across the spectrum, from inspired to paint-drying-bland. Overall it felt like they started out from the wrong point "we want to make a Carpenter/King-tribute series set in the 80s and ... how do we go about that?" instead of having a story first and setting later. But I like the limited scope of the story and setting. I like that all characters have arcs.

In the end I think I'd settle on that I liked it and I'm expecting more from the second season.

 

[Maengun1]

I was sure it was going to turn out that 11 was Chief's "dead" daughter. At first I thought I was clever for figuring it out, then I thought it was getting way TOO obvious....then it didn't happen, lol.

I really really really enjoyed this show, but I'm in the camp who wishes this would be an anthology series with a new story for season 2. For one thing, we deserve an American Horror Story that's actually good. Besides that though, despite several loose-ish ends, I kinda feel like this works as a complete story as is and I'm afraid of it going off the rails.

I'll be there for whatever though, awesome summer binge season.

 

[HStallion]

Ok, so I finished it. I'm really conflicted. I love the premise and the story but... there's so much bad that I don't know how I feel. The camera work and direction is some of the sloppiest and uninspired I've seen for a long time. The acting is all over the place. The casting is all across the spectrum, from inspired to paint-drying-bland. Overall it felt like they started out from the wrong point "we want to make a Carpenter/King-tribute series set in the 80s and ... how do we go about that?" instead of having a story first and setting later. But I like the limited scope of the story and setting. I like that all characters have arcs.

In the end I think I'd settle on that I liked it and I'm expecting more from the second season.

Damn name me one show with a child and teenager cast as spot on as this one int the last 5 years, even 10 years. The Wire is about all I can come to mind. Even the adults were all pretty damn spot on though Winona seems divisive. Also the direction and camera is sloppy and uninspired? The fuck you talking about.

 

[Arkeband]

Damn name me one show with a child and teenager cast as spot on as this one int the last 5 years, even 10 years. The Wire is about all I can come to mind. Even the adults were all pretty damn spot on though Winona seems divisive. Also the direction and camera is sloppy and uninspired? The fuck you talking about.

The camera work was great, I thought. There were some shots, especially in the earlier episodes when they're setting off into the woods and during the search parties, where the framing is excellent, and there's so much natural detail that really pops in 1080p, with the contrasting fall colors.

The only kid whose acting was suspect was the black kid's, but that might have just been the script. He seemed to just be dialed up to 11 the entire time, calling bullshit and being a general hindrance to everything they were doing despite befriending someone with literal super powers. The other two kids acted how I'd expect them to act, but his reactions were just completely unbelievable to me, especially as they're all D&D nerds.

 

[HStallion]

The camera work was great, I thought. There were some shots, especially in the earlier episodes when they're setting off into the woods and during the search parties, where the framing is excellent, and there's so much natural detail that really pops in 1080p, with the contrasting fall colors.

The only kid whose acting was suspect was the black kid's, but that might have just been the script. He seemed to just be dialed up to 11 the entire time, calling bullshit and being a general hindrance to everything they were doing despite befriending someone with literal super powers. The other two kids acted how I'd expect them to act, but his reactions were just completely unbelievable to me, especially as they're all D&D nerds.

I think that was his personality but the show does go out of its way to give a reasoning to why he acts like he does. Dustin is like the groups therapists since he is constantly pointing this stuff out in a fairly level headed manner haha.

 

[Zabka]

The camera work was great, I thought. There were some shots, especially in the earlier episodes when they're setting off into the woods and during the search parties, where the framing is excellent, and there's so much natural detail that really pops in 1080p, with the contrasting fall colors.

There's a lot of outdoor scenes shot with deep focus (I think that's the right term) that look amazing in 4k.

 

[Nose Master]

My only real complaint was how passive Brenner was. I wanted an actual threatening villain, not this wishy washy turd. He didn't do a damn thing the entire season.

El and the Sheriff have threads that interest me much more than Will, also. I really don't want Will to transform into a superhero from being in the Upside Down for so long.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Just finished the first season. I fucking loved it.

I agree with the comments that Brenner was a really lack luster villain though. He had no depth what so ever and his death wasn't even significantly shown either. That was the only disappointing aspect of this season for me.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

I really really really loved the show and I think episodes 6 and 7 were probably the strongest points as far as drama and exciting stuff happening. The atmosphere in this was absolutely incredible, the sound track was so incredibly on point it blew my mind every time, and the acting was really good considering how inexperienced so much of the cast was. The CGI on the monster could have used a lot of work or maybe just a guy in a rubber suit would have been better though.

However the final episode was kind of a mixed bag, the spliced in background of the chief's daughter and the sudden "11 has to disappear to kill the monster" was just kind of, not ass pully but close to it especially given how the only real reason for those things to happen are.. well i don't really know why, the chief is clearly already invested enough into this whole situation so why does he need to have additional drama behind his motivations? 11 could have just as easily passed out for a few hours and lost her powers forever instead of making her vanish (because she's so painfully obviously not dead), it would have been nice to get a scene of her and will waking up in the hospital together and both of them recognizing each other and him whispering or mouthing a "thank you" to her or something. We could have then gotten the shot of will being swarmed by his friends and 11 just laying there alone until the gang brings her into the group hug.

The show would have closed out with all of its loose ends tied up and everyone just kind of going back to routine. Instead we got a ton of "BUT THERE COULD BE A PART 2" hints that were so painfully sign posted that it kind of sucked a lot of the weight out of the resolution. Will having PTSD flashbacks and barfing up some of the monster was weirdly placed though I felt like the show implied will was special a few times (monster was drawn to him with no blood shed, mike commented on will using the fireball spell as if he knew something was up and i think there was one more example), however making Will into something special feels really unnecessary. I feel like the show could have really benefited from 1 more episode or something to really round things out.

We got some good info about things surrounding the lab like what they did with 11, how little they understood about anything they were working on, 11's backstory and enough hints about what the upside down was to kind of form our own opinion on it. But considering the PTSD thing at the end and that Will pukes up monster bits a month later it just seems like the show was trying to toe the line between being mysterious and ambiguous enough for the viewers to form their own opinions and explaining enough so we knew what was going on but kind of stayed too far on the mystery sides. We know enough but it left us with so many questions that the answer can only really be "wait for the second season". Hell the show barely even gave us much insight on the people who ran the place which made them really weak antagonists other than "yeah they're kind of dicks". The real antagonists felt like all the people who wouldn't believe them lol.

But I would still 100% recommend this, and honestly I think I'm gonna binge watch it again this weekend.

 

[Cabbagehead]

I really really really loved the show and I think episodes 6 and 7 were probably the strongest points as far as drama and exciting stuff happening. The atmosphere in this was absolutely incredible, the sound track was so incredibly on point it blew my mind every time, and the acting was really good considering how inexperienced so much of the cast was. The CGI on the monster could have used a lot of work or maybe just a guy in a rubber suit would have been better though.

However the final episode was kind of a mixed bag, the spliced in background of the chief's daughter and the sudden "11 has to disappear to kill the monster" was just kind of, not ass pully but close to it especially given how the only real reason for those things to happen are.. well i don't really know why, the chief is clearly already invested enough into this whole situation so why does he need to have additional drama behind his motivations? 11 could have just as easily passed out for a few hours and lost her powers forever instead of making her vanish (because she's so painfully obviously not dead), it would have been nice to get a scene of her and will waking up in the hospital together and both of them recognizing each other and him whispering or mouthing a "thank you" to her or something. We could have then gotten the shot of will being swarmed by his friends and 11 just laying there alone until the gang brings her into the group hug.

The show would have closed out with all of its loose ends tied up and everyone just kind of going back to routine. Instead we got a ton of "BUT THERE COULD BE A PART 2" hints that were so painfully sign posted that it kind of sucked a lot of the weight out of the resolution. Will having PTSD flashbacks and barfing up some of the monster was weirdly placed though I felt like the show implied will was special a few times (monster was drawn to him with no blood shed, mike commented on will using the fireball spell as if he knew something was up and i think there was one more example), however making Will into something special feels really unnecessary. I feel like the show could have really benefited from 1 more episode or something to really round things out.

We got some good info about things surrounding the lab like what they did with 11, how little they understood about anything they were working on, 11's backstory and enough hints about what the upside down was to kind of form our own opinion on it. But considering the PTSD thing at the end and that Will pukes up monster bits a month later it just seems like the show was trying to toe the line between being mysterious and ambiguous enough for the viewers to form their own opinions and explaining enough so we knew what was going on but kind of stayed too far on the mystery sides. We know enough but it left us with so many questions that the answer can only really be "wait for the second season". Hell the show barely even gave us much insight on the people who ran the place which made them really weak antagonists other than "yeah they're kind of dicks". The real antagonists felt like all the people who wouldn't believe them lol.

But I would still 100% recommend this, and honestly I think I'm gonna binge watch it again this weekend.

We have no idea if she could have or not. She seems pretty well tired of all the shit that was happening and wanted that monster gone and i don't think that. Eleven knew what was going to happen exactly but that creature was near impossible to stop and because of her being used to bring the thing to their world. She feels responsible and that was most likely the best solution.

But i can see why you'd think that the opposite as its typical but typical isn't bad.


With Will we have no idea if he will be special or have powers per say. Most likely will just be a conduct of sorts between the two realms. In my mind anyway. Don't think he'll develop any telekinesis or whatever. But it might be a different type of development. Also with the foreshadowing for a part 2, i mean its not like they were being all sneaky about it that stuff was pretty
upfront.

One more thing i really don't think that story was trying to create a head in stone antagonist (it was more the monster then anything and the elements of the experiment itself) and i felt that he wasn't going to last very long. Given his dialogue and scenes, even if the the show portrayed him as the mastermind. The game is much bigger then him now, plus he already messed up once in the past...writing on the wall.

 

[Cabbagehead]

double p ugh

 

[Quote]

The camera work was great, I thought. There were some shots, especially in the earlier episodes when they're setting off into the woods and during the search parties, where the framing is excellent, and there's so much natural detail that really pops in 1080p, with the contrasting fall colors.

The only kid whose acting was suspect was the black kid's, but that might have just been the script. He seemed to just be dialed up to 11 the entire time, calling bullshit and being a general hindrance to everything they were doing despite befriending someone with literal super powers. The other two kids acted how I'd expect them to act, but his reactions were just completely unbelievable to me, especially as they're all D&D nerds.

hehehe

 

[Thug Waffle]

Nancy picked the wrong dude in the end.

 

[Quote]

Nancy picked the wrong dude in the end.

I agree, but I think they were trying to escape cliches and/or needed to string Steve's story along for something in S2.

 

[Thug Waffle]

I agree, but I think they were trying to escape cliches and/or needed to string Steve's story along for something in S2.

Yeah, I respect them for trying to avoid that cliche. It was laid out to end like that, but Steve redeemed himself. It wasn't a total slap in the face to anyone who shipped Nancy/Jonathan.

They're keeping the same characters/world for season 2 (if they get one), so there's still hope.

 

[Trike]

I loved this show. I just marathoned the entire season.

 

[HStallion]

Yeah, I respect them for trying to avoid that cliche. It was laid out to end like that, but Steve redeemed himself. It wasn't a total slap in the face to anyone who shipped Nancy/Jonathan.

They're keeping the same characters/world for season 2 (if they get one), so there's still hope.

I enjoyed Steve just for his freak out before coming in swinging. That whole sequence was great.

 

[partime]

I loved this show,

It really seemed the Duffer's nailed having the point of view from the child's perspective. From Mike saying being friends means to hide secrets from parents, to Nancy's mom more concerned that she had sex than her friend being missing. I loved how Mike abbreviated Eleven to L, and because of everything that's happened, he was allowed to watch a rated-R flick just this one time.

For people that dislike Winona, I think she added so much to the series. The way she held the Christmas light bundle in the cabinet was a beautifully done, and her crazy reaction calling it her son made it all the more appealing and real for her character.

My back still hurts from jolting in my seat when the monster came for the final showdown in the house.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Why are you spoiler tagging in the spoiler thread?

 

[partime]

Why are you spoiler tagging in the spoiler thread?

Apparently I need another cup of coffee this morning.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

Nancy picked the wrong dude in the end.

She did but I think the intent was to show that Steve had redeemed himself. Also I am guessing it's another set up for season 2.

 

[HStallion]

She did but I think the intent was to show that Steve had redeemed himself. Also I am guessing it's another set up for season 2.

All I'm hoping for from Steve in Season 2 is that we get a scene where he pulls a baseball bat out of his hair like Ice Tea pulls one out of his Afro in Leprechaun in the Hood.

 

[Fritz]

Jonathan is too much of a River Phoenix look alike btw. He should have switched roles with Steve.

 

[Talka]

Guys Dustin is the real hero of this show.

Coming up Swedish alibis, extinguishing freak fires, noticing electromagnetic disturbances, keeping his gang of friends together... kid's on point the whole series.

#TeamDustin

Spoiler

also #TeamSteve

 

[Fritz]

Guys Dustin is the real hero of this show.

Extinguishing freak fires, noticing electromagnetic disturbances, keeping his gang of friends together... kid's on point the whole series.

#TeamDustin

Spoiler

also #TeamSteve

Dustin was my favorite of the 4 boys thats for sure.

 

[scabro]

his speech to the science teacher about the doors of curiosity was great

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Oh no not Alien male pregnancy body horror, not with a kid pulling out that tube, bleeeeeugh.

 

[Akim]

I really liked the show. Just a couple of small things bothered me.

Why is the Sheriff such a monster badass? He takes out so many people with ease. Aren't the bad men suppose to be trained? He's like some superhuman in this.

Why can a girl that never shot a gun before shoot one with such ease? Even a small handgun would at least have a little kick.

edit: also it seemed no one gave a shit about Barb

 

[Ensirius]

Just finished watching this.
I gotta say this show alone justified my subscription to Netflix.
What a FANTASTIC piece of entertainment.

 

[Will the Thrill]

edit: also it seemed no one gave a shit about Barb

I felt that too, barb got the short end of the stick. How did Will manage to stay alive while Barb died even though she was taken later?

Overall I enjoyed the show a lot, I'm actually not that interested in them continuing it into a season 2 and would much rather have a whole new story (Maybe same universe though?)

The villain was a bit of a dud though.

Spoiler

Also my name in real life is Will so you can understand how it felt that the missing kids name was Will haha

 

[Ragnaroz]

Finished the show in 2 days and I really loved it, but that doesn't mean there weren't problems.

For example, the bad men were incredibly inconsistent in the way they acted. They straight up murdered that diner guy just for talking to 11 for a few hours, but they didn't kill the sheriff after he figured out Will's body was a fake and subsequently broke into their facility (twice)? That is a tough pill to swallow, at least for me.

 

[Escape Goat]

Finished the show in 2 days and I really loved it, but that doesn't mean there weren't problems.

For example, the bad men were incredibly inconsistent in the way they acted. They straight up murdered that diner guy just for talking to 11 for a few hours, but they didn't kill the sheriff after he figured out Will's body was a fake and subsequently broke into their facility (twice)? That is a tough pill to swallow, at least for me.

Why did they even need to kill the diner guy? They didnt even try to learn what he knew. Seemed really sloppy of them.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I felt that too, barb got the short end of the stick. How did Will manage to stay alive while Barb died even though she was taken later?

All Barb did all day was study. Will had his DnD experience to fall back on.

 

[Jakabok]

Just finished it. Loved it although it did feel a bit like 'spot the reference' sometimes. Especially Under the Skin as previously mentioned. Did the monster feeding on the deer remind anyone else of Voldemort drinking the unicorn blood from the first Harry Potter?

Plenty of scope for a continuation / sequel here. Wonder what happened to numbers 1 through 10?

 

[Insane Metal]

Oh no not Alien male pregnancy body horror, not with a kid pulling out that tube, bleeeeeugh.

After Will throws up that specimen in the end, I guess it's safe to say that he's not 100% him anymore? I mean, you vomit a piece of alien and you don't do or say anything? What? Also what he saw. He knew that wasn't normal, yet he acted like everything was just fine.

 

[Spiritwalker]

Steve's redemption was great. Totally expected him to die.

Overall a very good show with some glaring flaws.

 

[Mike Works]

My favorite character was the little girl. Either that, or my favorite scenes were the dinner table conversations with the clueless and disinterested dad, the little girl's reactions... man those were great.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

My favorite character was the little girl. Either that, or my favorite scenes were the dinner table conversations with the clueless and disinterested dad, the little girl's reactions... man those were great.

The dad is my favorite character. The only time he gets mildly excited is when he thinks the girl might be a Russian.

 

[HStallion]

Finished the show in 2 days and I really loved it, but that doesn't mean there weren't problems.

For example, the bad men were incredibly inconsistent in the way they acted. They straight up murdered that diner guy just for talking to 11 for a few hours, but they didn't kill the sheriff after he figured out Will's body was a fake and subsequently broke into their facility (twice)? That is a tough pill to swallow, at least for me.

Actually that seemed to be the women. She was gung ho to just clean up loose ends instead of letting them get away. Brenner seems to have to interject or be there in person to stop her otherwise she takes the most extreme action possible. She's basically his attack dog and one he needs to keep on a short lease.

Brenner a complete sociopath but he's pragmatic and that's why he lets the Sheriff go. Not only would it be incredibly suspicious if the Sheriff just all of a sudden ends up dead after everything else that has happened that he was directly involved in. Not only that but they had bugged his apartment and were most likely hoping he'd be a source of info on finding El.

You can see Brenner is always looking for the best out of even a bad situation because he's all about getting the job done and the job is all about El. Even the monster is secondary to getting her back. That's why he lets Hobb and Joyce take the suits and walk through the gate into the Upside Down. It takes them out of the picture and he thought they would die there and Hobb tells him where Eleven is hiding and everything else he needs to know. Or that was my suspicion.

Why did they even need to kill the diner guy? They didnt even try to learn what he knew. Seemed really sloppy of them.

She was sloppy. I have a feeling Brenner doesn't send that grey haired women out much because she tends to go for the easiest most final solution first.

 

[Talka]

I really liked the show. Just a couple of small things bothered me.

Why is the Sheriff such a monster badass? He takes out so many people with ease. Aren't the bad men suppose to be trained? He's like some superhuman in this.

Why can a girl that never shot a gun before shoot one with such ease? Even a small handgun would at least have a little kick.

edit: also it seemed no one gave a shit about Barb

The Sheriff's a big guy. I didn't get the sense he was some monster badass, just a big guy who punched a few people.

The gun stuff didn't bother me at all. She shot a can from a reasonable distance. Whatever.

And Nancy was freaking out about finding Barb like every episode. Everyone else in town thought she ran away.

How did Will manage to stay alive while Barb died even though she was taken later?

They mentioned Will was good at hiding.

 

[Escape Goat]

The Sheriff's a big guy. I didn't get the sense he was some monster badass, just a big guy who punched a few people.

The gun stuff didn't bother me at all. She shot a can from a reasonable distance. Whatever.

And Nancy was freaking out about finding Barb like every episode. Everyone else in town thought she ran away.



They mentioned Will was good at hiding.

How can you be good at hiding? Is that how Im good at eating cereal?

 

[HStallion]

How can you be good at hiding? Is that how Im good at eating cereal?

You are small and look for places most people wouldn't even think about? I mean some people are better at hide and seek as kids than others. I know my cousin would do stuff like crawl into air ducts when we used to play as kids lol

 

[JasonUresti]

Yeah, plus Will got pulled into the Upside Down around his house and the woods that he knew very well and knew all the good spots to hide. Plus he saw the monster before and knew he was in trouble.

Barb came to disoriented in a strange place inside an empty swimming pool. She never had a chance, really.

 

[SchrodingerC]

I do hope Netflix eventually announces a season 2 because all of the intriguing plot threads, like the weird Alien-ish slug and Will's ability to jump between both worlds. Also, if Eleven is gone for good or her body simply evaporated.

 

[mm04]

Actually that seemed to be the women. She was gung ho to just clean up loose ends instead of letting them get away. Brenner seems to have to interject or be there in person to stop her otherwise she takes the most extreme action possible. She's basically his attack dog and one he needs to keep on a short lease.

Brenner a complete sociopath but he's pragmatic and that's why he lets the Sheriff go. Not only would it be incredibly suspicious if the Sheriff just all of a sudden ends up dead after everything else that has happened that he was directly involved in. Not only that but they had bugged his apartment and were most likely hoping he'd be a source of info on finding El.

You can see Brenner is always looking for the best out of even a bad situation because he's all about getting the job done and the job is all about El. Even the monster is secondary to getting her back. That's why he lets Hobb and Joyce take the suits and walk through the gate into the Upside Down. It takes them out of the picture and he thought they would die there and Hobb tells him where Eleven is hiding and everything else he needs to know. Or that was my suspicion.

She was sloppy. I have a feeling Brenner doesn't send that grey haired women out much because she tends to go for the easiest most final solution first.

I agree with you. Also, in the article posted earlier, the creators wanted to put the thought into the viewers minds that the stakes were high and that Brenner's team wasn't f'ing around early on. It was effective for me, because I thought Hopper was a damn dead man when he busted into the facility or when grandma visited the science teacher, I thought he was about to eat a bullet.

 

[JABEE]

Winona was awesome.

I'm happy they didn't go with the cliche' of Jonathan ending up with Nancy.

The kids were great. They were written as kids.

The scene when Hopper beats up all the agents and enters the bus reminded me of Harrison Ford (Han Solo/Indiana Jones). It was a pretty funny/pulpy way to enter the scene as a hero.

Hopper trading away all the other kids in the city for Will and the three boys was a pretty brutal decision. I guess it was his only chance. Either that or the overdose.

Show reminded me of the old cartoon Halloween special based on Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree. It was narrated by Leonard Nemoy.

Three kids travel back in time looking looking for their sick friend who is already dead from appendicitis. The scene of Will being retrieved from the quarry reminds me of the scene in The Halloween Tree of the friend in The Halloween Tree being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

It's very rare for shows to place child characters in real danger. Children characters are also rarely given roles with real concepts like grief over losing a friend/not having control of your life.

 

[JABEE]

his speech to the science teacher about the doors of curiosity was great

And then the science teacher is just gives him all the ingredients and instructions to make a sensory deprivation chamber on a Saturday night.

 

[JABEE]

Why did they even need to kill the diner guy? They didnt even try to learn what he knew. Seemed really sloppy of them.

And I'm pretty sure the diner guy would have given the girl over to the lady. She seemed like a social services employee. She probably could have told him that she was a runaway or something.

 

[Matty77]

And I'm pretty sure the diner guy would have given the girl over to the lady. She seemed like a social services employee. She probably could have told him that she was a runaway or something.

I agree, but she was a loose cannon, and was definitely portrayed as wanting to solve everything violently and butted heads with Brenner more than once over it. It's actually one of the reasons I think we are going to find out hop is working for them. He can clean things up quietly, half of their issues and why things unraveled cover up wise was because of her loose cannon behavior.

 

[EBreda]

My theory for Will surviving while Barb didn't make it is connected to the Byers Castle. He had a sign on it saying All Friends Welcome or something similar.

So, in my mind, the monster could not enter his castle, and that's why it didn't kill him. Barb on the other hand had nothing to defend herself.

I think my theory is supported by what seemed like the monster blowing his castle instead of invading it, cause the sign prevented him from doing it.

Anyway, I felt Will acted normally at Xmas, it was probably not his first trip to other side after his comeback. He's just afraid to tell his family that something is still off. He seemed like a group/family boy so we would not want to drag everyone along for the ride again.

El is obviously alive (probably trapped on the upside down) and I agree with the theory that says Hop was contacted by the MIB to keep an eye on her. He sees it as a way to rekindle his love for his daughter, obviously.

What else? Let me see. I binge watched it and really enjoyed it. Not a masterpiece, but sure was good. Cgi could've been toned down a little, monster should've been kept under more wraps, make it more Alien than Alien 3, so to say.

Other than that, it was really good!