Stranger Things Is Ending! Why Does It Feel So Personal?

Stranger Things is ending! Yes, the show that has lived with us for almost a decade is having its finale. That sinking feeling is rare. Can a show fixate you so deeply that you feel it running in your

system? Stranger Things did. One of the flagship shows of Netflix was not just instrumental in cementing the OTT platform globally, it even won for its very unique idea. So now, when I repeat, Stranger Things is ending, it pinches harder. The reason isn't just an attachment, but way more. Stranger Things Season 5, episode 8, The Rightside Up, as goes the title, promises everything will end right. But the thought of, at what expense, how many sacrifices, tears and a personal nostalgia jolts even before the finale premiers.

About fitting in and finding one's powers

I'll be honest. I was pushed by friends to watch Stranger Things way back. The idea of having a group of young nerds holding the entire plot and the story being told primarily from their point of view, didn't excite me. I belong to a generation of comic books with larger-than-life superheroes having huge powers to kill demons and villains with a simple blow. How can some boys and a girl save an entire town of Hawkins? A few episodes into its Season 1, and the Duffer Brothers quashed my idea. My entire belief came crashing down, because what I rejected initially, was exactly the strength of this show: a group of school kids emerging unsung heroes.

Not for kids, featuring kids

It took the Duffer Brothers a really long time to ensure their idea of Stranger Things (initially called Montauk), gathered steam. When Stranger Things finally debuted on Netflix in 2016, it slowly found its audience, until things blew up. What hit the bull's eye was the show breaking the clutter and tweaking a genre well kept for "grown ups" so far. This was a show NOT for kids, but with kids! It was a supernatural horror, and not even belonging to the modern age. But then, we cinephiles are hungry for bending genres.

Pop-culture everything!

Stranger Things can trigger any pop-culture-obsessed 1980-90s kid. It hits all the right nostalgia chords. Elements about the show pushes us to go for a retrospection. From loud costumes to outlandish hairdos, and from cassette players to skateboards, this show is loaded with everything we've done, or seen our elders do.When Covid hit the world, Stranger Things was launching its Season 3. The sit-at-home became a huge advantage to find new audience. OTT blasted, and Netflix subscriptions reached every household. While on one hand, digital platforms were booming, on the other, shows like Stranger Things were finding a loyal fanbase.

Stranger Things connect

So why did Stranger Things resonate? Was it about its look, or performances, or the basic premise? Yes, there was something about the entire colour grade and tonality of the show, but I'd say it was more about the innocence of their friendships and the small town vibes that got me in. These 11-12 year old nerds, and some teenagers (siblings) struggling to fit in, and taking on demonic forces to prove their worth had a deep undertone.The story on surface was touching. A little boy goes missing and the entire town searches for him. But the implications not just lay in the garb of a science lab undertaking unauthorised experiments, it even took us to an alternate dimension, the Upside Down. We had Demogorgons, Mind Flayer and ultimately Vecna.

Cast, and audience grew up together

Young cast of Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin had not yet reached puberty. They were all around 10. And we, on the audience side were probably in our 20s, if not older. Over the next five seasons and nine years, the actors turned into young adults. And so did we. Infact, many of us got grey hair. But just like the cast that claims they grew up on the set, we grew up with them. Infact such was its impact that it pushed Netflix to keep renewing it. It even made Steve Harington (Joe Keery) a main cast member. Fans kept praying for his well-being season after season. How can one not find a personal connect?

A piece of our growing up years

Today, its first season feels like a dream, like a crisp autumn leaf falling off the branch. The lingering childlike mood still fantasises about the bygone era. It pokes our cultural and emotional sensibilities. And then you think what Will Byers must've felt through on a dark November night when he went missing. The Dungeons & Dragons and Star Wars references are for the keeps. Even if the show marks its cinematic finale (good-bad-ugly), we shall remember it as a brush of cool breeze that once wiped off our senses. Even if it brought dust that pricked, we refused to rub it off. Stranger Things came in our lives, and we all grew up around it. Thank you Duffers!