Stranger Things – Season 1 Review 🧇🧇

Since Season 5 is releasing soon in 3 parts, I thought I’d re-tackle the first 4 seasons to ride the hype.


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🎬 Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers, shall we?

Also here’s the iconic opening theme song.

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Since season 5 has officially arrived, I decided to revisit the previous 4 seasons going through each season 5 parts come out, so come with me and take this ride down nostalgia train.

📖 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview
So this season is well dark. It opens with a young kid named Will Byers going missing after a night of playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard), Dustin, and Lucas. Set in the 1980s (yup, confirmed), it kicks off a town-wide mystery that slowly unravels into something far more sinister. Will’s mother, Joyce Byers, spirals into desperation trying to find him, while Police Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) initially thinks it’s just a runaway case… until the weirdness kicks in.

Meanwhile, the boys meet a mysterious girl with a shaved head named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who clearly has powers—and just as clearly, no idea how the world works. Think E.T. but with telekinesis and nosebleeds. There’s a hidden lab, shadowy government agents, dimension-hopping monsters, and a whole lot of love for D&D nerds and 80s sci-fi horror.


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🧍 Character Rundown

Will Byers – The missing kid with secrets.

Joyce Byers – His frantic, determined mom played by Winona Ryder.

Mike, Dustin, and Lucas – The core trio who take Eleven under their wing.

Eleven – Has powers, loves Eggos, basically trauma in a dress.

Chief Hopper – The grumpy cop who evolves into the MVP of the series.

Nancy Wheeler – Mike’s older sister.

Jonathan Byers – Will’s older brother, emotionally wrecked and awkward.

Steve Harrington – Nancy’s douchey boyfriend (more on him in the cons).

Dr. Brenner – AKA Papa, a morally bankrupt government scientist.

The Demogorgon – The creature of the season. No eyes. All teeth.



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🕰️ Pacing / Episode Flow
Only 8 episodes, but not a single one is wasted. It’s lean, emotional, creepy, and nostalgic in all the right ways. The tension builds with each chapter, bouncing between horror, comedy, and emotional drama effortlessly.


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👍 Pros

It’s a perfect love letter to 80s genre fans—sci-fi, horror, Spielberg vibes, E.T., Stand by Me, The Goonies, you name it.

The kids are genuinely great actors, especially Millie Bobby Brown.

Hopper’s arc is already strong out of the gate.

Excellent creature design for the Demogorgon.

That Christmas-light communication with Will? Iconic.

Episode 7 bike chase and Eleven flipping the van = chef’s kiss.



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👎 Cons
Only con I have? Steve Harrington is such a dick this season. Seriously. He acts like the classic 80s popular kid cliché—rude to nerds, possessive of Nancy, and overall just smug as hell. He literally breaks Jonathan’s camera and mocks him for being poor and weird. His redemption arc in later seasons is great, but Season 1 Steve is the kind of guy you hope gets eaten by a Demogorgon. Spoiler: he doesn’t.

Con: Poor Barb… more symbol than character 🥴
Let’s be real. Barbara Holland (aka Barb) never got the justice she deserved — not just in the show, but in how the fandom latched onto her as a meme. Her death hits hard, but not because the show lets it. It barely mourns her. Barb isn’t treated like a genuine victim; she’s treated like a narrative tool — a plot device to raise stakes for Nancy’s guilt. And thanks to the internet, she got flattened into a punchline. “Justice for Barb” became more of a meme than a movement. She didn’t even get a funeral scene. Just a quick mention and then poof, she’s a cautionary tale about not ditching your friend at a party. 👻🍷


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🧠 Final Thoughts
Season 1 is emotional, creepy, nostalgic, and surprisingly heartfelt. The world-building is excellent, the performances are killer, and the tone never feels forced. For a show about a faceless alien flower monster and a telekinetic girl, it manages to feel grounded and genuine. Easily one of the strongest starts to a modern genre show.


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⭐ Rating: 10/10


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🚨 Spoiler Warning — Full Spoilers Below
Will is actually trapped in an alternate dimension called the Upside Down, a dark mirror of our world. The creature that took him is the Demogorgon, a faceless predator attracted to blood and telepathic energy. Eleven, we learn, was experimented on in the Hawkins lab and accidentally opened the gate to the Upside Down while using her powers. Hopper and Joyce eventually break into the lab and rescue Will. Meanwhile, Nancy and Jonathan attempt to trap and kill the Demogorgon themselves, and surprisingly, Steve decides to help—finally doing something useful.

Eleven sacrifices herself to kill the Demogorgon by vaporizing it with her powers, seemingly dying in the process. But the last scene shows Hopper leaving Eggo waffles in a hidden box in the woods—hinting she might still be alive. Will returns home, but he coughs up a slug and briefly sees the Upside Down in his reflection—implying the story’s not over.

On a side note did any y’all get E.T vibes from this season? It was 100% intentional, its why this show resonated with all of us.


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🎥 And here’s the trailer to Season 5…
Stranger Things Season 5 – Teaser Trailer