When “Stranger Things” first dropped in 2016, I was in fifth grade and was hooked immediately. I found season one really intriguing with the mystery of Will’s disappearance.
Everyone was talking about it, dressing up as Eleven for Halloween and arguing who the best character was. It had the perfect combination of mystery, friendship and weirdness that pulled you in right away. Even though I never grew up in the 80s, it made me wish I had.
Now I’m in college, rewatching the show almost ten years later, and I can’t help wondering if “Stranger Things” is still as iconic as I thought, or if it’s just something I hold onto because of what it meant when I was younger.
I find season one to be a perfect story and could’ve ended right there and been remembered forever as one of the best one-season shows. This season is the strongest of the show because it doesn’t give away too much.
Watchers don’t really understand what the Upside Down is, and that’s what makes it scary.
The story is mysterious but simple and there is a good balance between three perspectives: the kids discovering Eleven, the teenagers (Johnathan and Nancy) figuring out what’s going on with the Demogorgon, and Joyce and Hopper teaming up to find Will.
When all of these storylines finally collide, it feels earned, a true team effort that gives the finale its emotional payoff. Hawkins seems safe again but, then Will coughs up that slug in the sink, hinting that something darker still lingers.
It’s the perfect ending; it wraps up the story while leaving just enough unease to keep you thinking about it.
Season two doesn’t get enough credit. It’s honestly one of my favorites since it continues the story without losing what made the first season stand out. It had a cozy and fall vibe, with the Halloween episode, the darker tone, and the sense that the characters are still recovering from everything that happened.
The focus on Will is what makes it a good season, seeing how the Upside Down still affects him adds real emotion and gives the season more depth. We’re also introduced to new characters but my favorite additions are Max and Bob. Max fits in the group naturally and adds a new dynamic, especially with Lucas. Bob is just genuinely a good person who brings a little happiness into Joyce’s life, which makes his death hit even harder.
The only part that to this day doesn’t work for me is the episode where Eleven meets her “sister.” It feels disconnected from the rest of the season and doesn’t go anywhere.
While rewatching the third season, this is where things start to fall apart. When it first came out in 2019, I loved it, everyone did. It was fun, colorful, and full of that mall-core 80s vibe. The Starcourt Mall setting, the music, the outfits, the friendship moments, it all looked amazing.
I remember when people would post their cherry slushies and change their profile pictures to Alexei. It really felt like the show had taken over the internet again.
Rewatching it now, it doesn’t hold up for me. The tone shift from just rewatching season two the day before was jarring. It shifted from mystery to a marvel action movie. Suddenly, there’s a secret Russian base under the mall, a monster made of melted bodies, and constant explosions.
It looks cool but it feels like a totally different show that lost the heart that made the first two seasons special.
The characters themselves change too, and not in a good way. Hopper becomes this angry, over-the-top version of himself instead of the grumpy and serious leader we knew before.
Even Eleven and Mike are annoying, their relationship feels way too dramatic and it felt like every character turned into a stereotype of who they used to be.
I still get why people loved season three at the time, the aesthetic and nostalgia were strong, but rewatching it now, it just feels off. It’s entertaining, but it doesn’t hurt emotionally anymore.
Season four hits differently on a rewatch. It’s definitely better than season three, but it still doesn’t feel like the same “Stranger Things” I became hooked on. The horror vibe finally comes back with Vecna’s creepy voice, the floating bodies, and the eerie music.
Watching it now, I can appreciate how good the production looks and how big the world has gotten, but it also feels like a totally different show.
The whole Russia plot became even more ridiculous with Hopper fighting demogorgons like he’s in Gladiator but it makes me laugh because of how unserious the show has become.
Eddie’s storyline also didn’t hit as hard for me the second time. He’s a good character but from the first episode, you can kind of tell where it’s going, so his death doesn’t really land, and the show runners have a habit of introducing new likable characters and killing them off at the end, so this pattern became predictable.
Rewatching it now, I think “Stranger Things” is still iconic, but for different reasons than before. It was a cultural phenomenon that changed Netflix and defined an entire era of TV, but now it feels more nostalgic than genuinely great, especially in the later seasons.
It’s not the same show it once was, yet it still holds that special place because of what it represented and the impact it had when it first came out.
