Stranger Things re-review: Season 1 episode 1 and 2 rewatch and my deep dive on Netflix hit
Join me in taking a trip back to Hawkins, Indiana as we rewatch Stranger Things from the start 📺
- Stranger Things will conclude later in 2025.
- Before the final trips to Hawkins, let's go back to the beginning.
- Join me on a full week-by-week rewatch of Stranger Things.
It is hard to believe but in a little over five months time, Stranger Things will be finishing up for good. Netflix’s signature show and calling card has recently celebrated nine years since its debut - if you can believe it.
In the near decade since it first burst onto our screens, The Duffer Brothers’ 80s-themed sci-fi/horror adventure has ballooned into the kind of blockbuster you only see once, or maybe twice, a decade. The fifth and final season is bound to be an event unlike any in the history of Netflix.
But since more than three years have passed since the monster-length fourth season finale was released, you might (like me) be considering rewatching the show ahead of its conclusion. After all, you may want to jog your memory and relive the biggest moments once more.
So I decided to put together a Stranger Things re-watch schedule, covering the months between now and the first part of season five on November 26 (in the UK). I will be watching and re-reviewing two episodes every Thursday starting today (July 24), and you can join me.
For the first week of our Stranger Things rewatch club, we are going all the way back to the beginning. Let’s take a look at the first two episodes of series one - que the theme music.
Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers
Synopsis: On his way home from a friend’s house, young Will sees something terrifying. Nearby, a sinister secret lurks in the depths of a government lab.
It might be hard to imagine, given what Stranger Things has become, but the show initially arrived as just another 80s-inspired show back in the summer of 2016. Yet going back to the first episode, it is no surprise that it quickly became an absolute word-of-mouth juggernaut.
Right from the opening sequence, it has an air of extreme confidence and trust in its audience. Perhaps it is a lack of budget, but the restraint (something that can’t be said for future seasons) is really impressive.
The opening sequence sets the tone so completely in just a few moments - an unnamed scientist running for his life, scared of something the audience can’t see, before being grabbed by whatever was hunting him. As a scene, it is tense and spooky, but most importantly it leaves you desperate to know more.
Truth be told, the whole opening episode is like that. It quickly gets its hooks into you in a way that not all pilots do. I remember back when most American shows had 22 episodes a season, the rule of thumb would be to give a show at least three episodes before deciding whether to continue or stop.
Stranger Things does not need that. We get a real feel for the core characters in just this 50-minute episode - the dynamic of Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas is beautifully set up through the opening D&D game.
It drops enough breadcrumbs about the adult characters like Joyce, Hopper and the teens, to leave you wanting to find out more. And we start to get a sense of geography and place about Hawkins.
The restraint shown in the opening sequence at the lab is maintained during the scene in which Will disappears. Like the chase with the scientist, we do not see whatever it is that is hunting him - just ominous sounds and flickering lights.
It really does capture the vibe of reading a Stephen King novel on a chilly autumn night. I found myself wishing I had a blanket I could pull up to my chin during this scene.
The elements that would go on to define Stranger Things are already present in this first episode. Shady government agents, unnatural goings on, references to Dungeons and Dragons and of course that pumping synth score.
I am very glad that I could instantly hit play on the next episode.
Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street
Synopsis: Lucas, Mike and Dustin try to talk to the girl they found in the woods. Hopper questions an anxious Jouce about an unsettling phone call.
Oh Barb, we hardly knew ye! If you weren’t around in the early days of Stranger Things, you will not believe me when I say that the fandom around this extremely minor character was enormous.
People started hashtags about Barb and there was a campaign called ‘Justice for Barb’ - which ended up influencing a part of season two. Think pieces were penned about the character, and what better time to bring that up than in her big moment.
After the confident opening episode, chapter two is dealt the task of actually making Stranger Things into a proper television series. Will has disappeared, the plot has begun, the vibe of the show has been established, but how will it look episode by episode?
Fortunately, The Weirdo on Maple Street picks up the baton and really runs with it. The trio of Mike, Dustin and Lucas (as well as Will) were so well introduced in the first episode - it was time for the rest of the cast to be expanded upon.
This is the episode where Eleven starts to become a character and not just some piece in the mystery. Sure, there are lots of questions about her powers and who she is - but we get the feel of her as someone who is looking for a place to belong and a flashback to what she is running from.
Eleven’s blossoming friendship with Mike (in particular) and the slapstick-esque moments when the boys are trying to keep her hidden are a highlight. The injection of levity really does help the show to maintain that 80s Spielberg adventure vibe - to counter the horror.
This plotline also starts to introduce some of the wider ‘mythology’ of the show. It is the first time we get a reference to the Upside Down - as El recognises Will in a photo and uses D&D figures to explain where he is and what took him: the demogorgon.
David Harbour continues to add deeper shades to Hopper, who could be simply a clichéd tortured detective figure. You can feel his grief and his feeling of being lost.
But it is really Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) who get the most to do in this episode. A lot is asked of both characters - and if the actors didn’t absolutely nail the assignment, it could sink the whole show.
Winona Ryder manages to keep Joyce from slipping into being a one-note hysterical caricature. Charlie Heaton also imbues Jonathan with a deep sense of melancholy that counters the more ‘creepy’ stalker vibes that the character can give off - the whole sneakily taking pictures thing is not it, chief.
Steve and Nancy are yet to really step up and become the fan favourites they inevitably will - and they feel like the weakest part at this point. Although Nancy’s friendship with the soon-to-be-doomed Barb does work well in this episode, the actors manage to imbue it with a sense of history.
You can feel Barb’s sadness as she worries about losing Nancy now that she is entering the “cool” circle. It is a human moment that perhaps goes a long way to explain why people latched onto it so quickly back in 2016.
This earlier moment foreshadows the end of the episode, when Barb is left alone outside by the pool after being dragged to a ‘party’ at Steve’s by Nancy. Alone and dejected, she drips blood from a wound into the pool and is snatched away.
It is another tantalising cliff-hanger and concludes an episode that is just as strong as the premiere. Stranger Things really does come out swinging and makes one seriously good first impression on viewers.
Now I have to resist the urge to hit play next. See you all next week.
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