Latest / The K.B. Radio Network / Stranger Things Seasons 1 - 4 Recap
Transcript
- 0:12Hello boys and girls and welcome to movie goodness where we examine life through cinema here on the KB radio network.
- 0:21I am your host Kevin Reed and today we travel to the upside down.
- 0:27Today we go over the first.
- 0:30four seasons of the show that built netflix if it if it wasn't for this show we wouldn't have the netflix that we have today and it is stranger things we are going over the first four seasons the uh a
- 0:46show that i was close or not was but i am close to deeming my all-time favorite show and i say close because it has to stick the landing
- 1:00it has to stick the landing and we're gonna find out beginning on thanksgiving day and we're gonna find out how we wrap up this epic conclusion to this just
- 1:15gigantic show i i can't think of an adjective to give this show justice and how much i adore this show this show speaks to me it speaks to
- 1:30Of course,
- 1:30millions of others around the world,
- 1:33just like you and me.
- 1:34But for me personally,
- 1:36it just hit every single button.
- 1:41It really,
- 1:43really tugged on my heartstrings.
- 1:45Because I am an
- 1:4680s baby.
- 1:48And 80s are my favorite decade.
- 1:50That's my favorite decade of my short time on this planet.
- 1:55And this show is a showcase of that.
- 1:59decade this is everything that i loved about the
- 2:0380s wrapped up in one gigantic ball of adventure and i have enjoyed every single season now there's one out of the four there's one that i didn't love as much as the others but i can still pick moments
- 2:24in that season where i enjoyed it so much you know I still
- 2:29enjoyed it but that was just one and it just the reason it's a little weak is because it wasn't as strong as the other episodes i mean well episodes but other seasons but it was still a good season nonetheless but
- 2:46it just everything that i love as far as pop culture is concerned everything that i loved about the
- 2:5380s is in this show whether it's films you know they touch in on Goonies.
- 2:59they touch in on um stand by me they touch in on terminator they touch in on the freddy cougar films they touch in on everything about that you know and every season has a theme and every season is
- 3:14like that portion of my life you know there was a section in my life where i just focused on this one thing and that's how the show is kind of condensed to uh season by season
- 3:29So it's just been fun to watch.
- 3:31And it's been fun to watch these kids grow up.
- 3:35You know,
- 3:35when we first started watching this show,
- 3:38when you had Will and Lucas and Mike and Dustin,
- 3:43and later we had Eleven,
- 3:45they were little babies.
- 3:47You know,
- 3:49they were just out of toddler age,
- 3:52if you look at them.
- 3:54But now they're adults.
- 3:56I mean,
- 3:57Millie Bobby.
- 3:58Bobby Brown is married with a kid now and we're going into season five you know uh Finn
- 4:07Wolfhard who plays Mike on the show the dude is about seven feet tall now all of these all of these kids aren't kids anymore and it's it's it's just been fun you know it feels like you're part of the family in a sense because you literally watch them grow up
- 4:28in front of your eyes and it's just been a joy to watch man and it's going to be painful painful come new year's day when it all comes to an end yes this final season season
- 4:43five of stranger things will wrap up in three volumes for the remainder of this year starting on thanksgiving it is all stranger things there's nothing
- 4:56else to think about.
- 4:57There's nothing else to look forward to.
- 4:59At least...
- 5:00in my eyes but stranger things we get volume one on thanksgiving we get volume two christmas we get the final volume volume volume three on new year's eve and
- 5:16that's how we wrap up the year as we close out this chapter of history this chapter of our lives and man it's going to be heartbreaking i cried like a baby
- 5:30when the trailer for season 5 dropped i watched it at least 30 times since it dropped i just can't get enough of it because i know this is it this is it when you watch a movie trailer or you go watch a film per se and it's a part of a franchise there's always a little hope that maybe you
- 5:51know you get a sequel to that movie you know it still has an impact but you might get a sequel here we know this is it
- 5:59now they may do spinoffs i think they announced that they're doing uh some spinoffs maybe i think there's an animated uh series or movie that's coming out and stuff like that but as far as this core as far as this story is gonna wrap up then
- 6:15it's gonna be heartbreaking because i've enjoyed this this is a family thing in my house we get together whenever the season uh drops on Netflix.
- 6:26That's it for us.
- 6:27That weekend.
- 6:28that is it we are we are bunkered down and we're watching it throughout with no no breaks all gas we are watching the show uh no matter how late it is no matter what we had planned those those plans are canceled we are all in on uh a stranger thing so i can only imagine for the next two months how
- 6:52it's going to be in the reed household we are uh netflix up
- 6:58for the next two months but uh it actually started early because re-watched the first four seasons re-watched the first four seasons in preparation for season five and uh i did it and then my wife turned around and did it too i didn't tell her she's
- 7:17gonna find out when she listened to this if she do but she'll find out did that i re-watched it first and she came back and rewatched it is,
- 7:26you're like,
- 7:26oh,
- 7:26you want this?
- 7:27you want to watch i'm like oh no i got some things tied up i'm good you know i didn't i didn't tell her that i already did it but uh she did she got all caught up and refreshed and this is a way that i'm
- 7:42doing this show this is a way that uh for those of you who don't have the time you may don't have the time to sit down and watch all four seasons before thanksgiving day and so i'm gonna
- 7:56attempt to wrap it up in one episode of movie goodness as we recap seasons one two three and four as we prepare for the epic conclusion to stranger things season
- 8:12five which drops november the
- 8:1626th and so we have a lot to get through so there's no point prolonging it let's jump right in season one of stranger things premiered
- 8:26on netflix on july the 15th 2016 can you believe that 2016 is when this show premiered and it's hard for me to believe that it's been close to 10 years nine and a half years since
- 8:42this show has been uh a part of our lives and a part of the world the pop pop culture uh uh zeitgeist for that amount of time.
- 8:55It premiered in July of 2016.
- 8:58In case you don't know,
- 8:59and you've been living under a rock for 10 years,
- 9:03Stranger Things is set in the
- 9:0580s. The series centers on residents in the fictional town of Hawkins,
- 9:10Indiana,
- 9:11after a young girl with,
- 9:14what's it called,
- 9:15psychokinetic powers opens a gateway between Earth and the horizontal alternative dimension known.
- 9:25as the upside down.
- 9:27The show stars
- 9:29Renona Ryder,
- 9:30David Harver,
- 9:31Trent Wolfhard,
- 9:33Millie Bobby Brown,
- 9:35Gatton
- 9:36Matarazzo,
- 9:38Caleb
- 9:39McLaughlin,
- 9:40Natalia Dreyer,
- 9:42Charlie
- 9:43Heaton,
- 9:45Matthew Mordeen,
- 9:46Noah Shep,
- 9:48Sadie Sink,
- 9:49Joe
- 9:50Curie, and a countless other supporting cast.
- 9:54And And.
- 9:55pop-ups that we that are iconic
- 9:5980 uh 80s figures who pop up as guest stars throughout the series
- 10:05the show is created by the duffer brothers who developed the show uh stranger things actually as a mix of uh investigative drama and supernatural elements portrayed uh with horror and childhood situation or childlike sensibilities i should say and
- 10:26it is infusing influences from pop culture of the 80s like i mentioned before there's several dramatic uh
- 10:35Tones or elements were inspired by Steven Spielberg,
- 10:39John Carpenter,
- 10:40Stephen King,
- 10:43Wes Craven,
- 10:44H.P.
- 10:45Lovecraft,
- 10:46things of that nature.
- 10:47And they also took inspiration from the experiments conducted during the Cold War and conspiracy theories involving secret government programs.
- 10:58And so they took all of that,
- 11:01mashed it all together,
- 11:02and gave us...
- 11:04pure 80s nostalgia this this show has just been um praised by critics throughout its four seasons thus far for his acting for uh the atmosphere the direction the writing uh so many elements uh throughout this show so
- 11:26season one season one begins well at least it's set in november of 1983
- 11:33And this is where we find Will Byers,
- 11:36where he is abducted by a creature from the Upside Down.
- 11:40His mother,
- 11:41Joyce,
- 11:41who is played by Winona Ryder,
- 11:44and the police chief,
- 11:46Jim Hopper,
- 11:47who is played by David Harbour,
- 11:50and a group of volunteers search for him.
- 11:52A young,
- 11:53psychokinetic girl named Eleven escapes from this laboratory and finds the friends of Will,
- 12:02who are
- 12:03Also searching for their friend Will.
- 12:06But in the course of that,
- 12:07they began to form a friendship with Eleven,
- 12:11who assists them in their efforts to find their best friend.
- 12:16Season one was a great introduction to this show.
- 12:21And you knew off the bat that this was something different.
- 12:25This wasn't going to be your run-of-the-mill TV show,
- 12:28where it checked all the boxes of your...
- 12:32standard shows where the the jock is the the the villain you know especially in the 80s your typical
- 12:4180s tropes weren't the actual tropes you know joe uh uh kiri who uh started off as the prototypical
- 12:5580s jock meathead got the girl but loses the girl and all this here
- 13:01You thought that he would die in season one.
- 13:04You thought that that was going to be it for him,
- 13:07you know,
- 13:08because he he he was that character only for later on.
- 13:14You know,
- 13:14as we travel through these four seasons,
- 13:17he's one of the most beloved characters,
- 13:19you know,
- 13:19especially with regards to the relationship or the friendship,
- 13:23I should say,
- 13:24between him and
- 13:26Dustin. The dad grows throughout the season or through.
- 13:31seasons um we get the dungeons and dragons reference and for those of you who didn't grow up in the 80s and didn't know how controversial dungeons and dragons was that
- 13:46was it was it was it was banned in homes it wasn't banned in my home i really had no interest in dungeons and dragons
- 13:59One,
- 13:59you had to have a group,
- 14:01and I wasn't in a group.
- 14:03I had friends,
- 14:04but they all had different sensibilities.
- 14:08So,
- 14:09nobody could come together to play Dungeons & Dragons.
- 14:12So,
- 14:12I never really gave it much thought to play.
- 14:16But,
- 14:16in a lot of households,
- 14:18parents did not want their children playing
- 14:22Dungeons & Dragons because it was a big brouhaha about the...
- 14:28magical elements or the spiritual elements in which leads to satan it's in that's what was that was the narrative about uh dungeons and dragons playing that is uh a path to satan so
- 14:46it didn't play i mean good god i would hate to see if uh gta was around in the 80s
- 14:54Oh my goodness They were banned They were banned
- 14:57Burn!
- 14:58those games and in in piles in demonstrations in the street and so uh yeah that was a big thing and to have that showcase to be the center point of the show you know off the bat that
- 15:14we're in for something different it was it wasn't just following the kids around either it was more to it than that because when when you think about
- 15:2480s movies and dealing with a group of
- 15:27kids whether it's goonies whether it's stand by me uh movies of that such the adults if they even show up in the movie played zero factor there was no adult influence in the films you know it was all about the kids you know and their adventures what they're going through or whatever the case may be and
- 15:51so when we get in this show we don't just follow kids and we have a
- 15:56adults that you actually like just to go back to the movies go back to those films that i mentioned when we do see adults in those films they were the villains the the adults were always the villains you know you rarely saw good adults in
- 16:15those movies and so when we get to this film yeah they're a villainous adults in the show but uh uh renona
- 16:25writer's character as will's mom you like her jim hopper you like him you know these are heroes they are helping the kids you know they're not shoo-shooing the kids away like oh you're just kids oh y'all playing too much dungeon and dragon get out my face stop playing that game it
- 16:47wasn't none of that they really went on board with the kids and that was a cool element
- 16:52of this show uh in this introduction in season one uh that that made it different that made it fresh that made it uh of super super interesting um the elements of the investigation with
- 17:08the kids uh going going through these little trials and tribulations to find out exactly where is will what what what is going on with will
- 17:23We get the iconic scene with the alphabet written on the wall.
- 17:29And Joyce's mom is communicating with Will,
- 17:32who's in the Upside Down,
- 17:33through these Christmas lights that are set up around the alphabet.
- 17:37And I'm like,
- 17:39man,
- 17:39this is nice.
- 17:40This is unique.
- 17:41This is a cool way to show that Will is still alive.
- 17:45A cool way to keep the adults engaged and keep them.
- 17:52grounded in the story not not believing that the uh kids are just making this up or using their imagination no this is really is really something wrong it's really something wrong with
- 18:10uh with hawkins and so one of i gotta touch on this because it's been blaring in my mind since i started recording so i might as well get it out now one of the
- 18:22biggest not flaws but biggest gripes about stranger things is the one element that took place in season one that has yet to be resolved actually it was resolved but i think a lot of people including me are
- 18:41just not satisfied with the resolution and that is hashtag justice for barb out of all of the characters
- 18:51In every season who has come and has left the show,
- 18:57died off the show,
- 18:59Barb's exit is probably the most debated.
- 19:06And everybody,
- 19:08and we're going to touch in on the other deaths in the other seasons,
- 19:11but those deaths
- 19:13I think had more weight than Barb's.
- 19:17But everybody is upset about the Barb.
- 19:21Barb being
- 19:2386th in the first season was so heartbreaking for everybody that nobody has gotten over it.
- 19:33I think the most disturbing thing for me is the fact that Barb's parents,
- 19:38mom,
- 19:39dad,
- 19:39whoever,
- 19:40have yet to pop up on this show.
- 19:43Question,
- 19:44where is their daughter?
- 19:47You know,
- 19:48we've been through four seasons,
- 19:49going into a fifth.
- 19:51And nobody has asked,
- 19:53where is
- 19:54Barb?
- 19:55You know,
- 19:56we've addressed other deaths.
- 19:59it's been lasting effects throughout these seasons but except for barb it's amazing to me it is super super amazing the fact that there's
- 20:13been no justice for poor barb and it was a cool little she was a cool little character man you know uh and she was nancy's best friend who was mike's sister and uh it just
- 20:28went nowhere went nowhere she went missing we all know what happened to her she died uh i think in season two or something we we saw a body a dead body in the upside down but it doesn't need to hear that it could have been uh season one i'm getting mixed up with it now but either way she's gone she's gone but a lot of people frustrated with it understandably so i
- 20:51i uh wish we would have got justice for her yeah i really do
- 20:57But that wasn't the main one that really cut deep for me.
- 21:00And I'm going to let y'all know when I get to it.
- 21:03But season two,
- 21:04I mean,
- 21:05season one was so good.
- 21:07And my most memorable moment from season one has to be when Eleven laid up there and saved Mike and the boys from being jumped by those kids.
- 21:22And she just came and wrecked shop.
- 21:24She tore them up.
- 21:26uh telepathically it was it was the most satisfying scene i've ever seen on this show i just love it it is it just sticks in my head and it had some really good moments in season one i think that got me hooked in and into the point that where i am now with the show but that sticks out to me that has always stuck out to me i went back and watched that episode i remember when it back
- 21:54in uh 2016
- 21:56I went back just to watch that episode several times because I just loved that scene.
- 22:03That scene just worked for me.
- 22:04It clicked for me to see
- 22:07Eleven go beast mode in that moment because
- 22:10I didn't know at the time what we would get going forward.
- 22:14But,
- 22:15yeah,
- 22:16that was really cool.
- 22:17Super,
- 22:18super enjoyed it.
- 22:20Season one was a joy.
- 22:23And it was...
- 22:25i mean look at the impact it made eggos their stock went up eggos i didn't eat eggos i've never was a waffle person but i started eating them after that my
- 22:42girls ate eggos but i never ate them i started eating them i started eating eggos because of stranger things yes i'm gonna give them their credit because i can't pinpoint why i started eating them
- 22:55other than the fact i saw 11 chomping them down in season one of stranger things but it it made an impact on uh the culture on society society and of course on netflix uh this this was a monster hit uh that quickly led to a season two of the show season
- 23:18two the themes of this show now season one
- 23:23It was more of a mosh pit,
- 23:28a gumbo pot of
- 23:3080s nostalgia.
- 23:31You know,
- 23:31we got the E.T.
- 23:34reference,
- 23:34you know,
- 23:35with the with the chase at the end,
- 23:37when the kids were on the bicycles running from the government,
- 23:40just like an E.T.
- 23:42And we get the shot with the with the van flipping over the kids on the bike and stuff like that,
- 23:48as opposed to
- 23:50E.T. when
- 23:52E.T. made the bites.
- 23:53float levitate over those government cars and vehicles and stuff like that so it was a good oh good good little twist there with that but we we got a lot of spielberg references in season one that was kind of the theme of season one you know close encounters we
- 24:13we got a lot of that element in season one season two theme was ghostbusters season two theme
- 24:23really leaned into the Ghostbuster element of it and it also touched in on a lot of other
- 24:3080s references but Ghostbusters was the thing and once again another favorite from that decade of mine uh Ghostbusters changed horror comedy special effects and didn't know you can mix all that up in one movie and Ghostbusters broke the mold with that so
- 24:50we get this in season two
- 24:53Will is safe from the upside down.
- 24:55After being saved at the end of season one,
- 24:58the boys reunited.
- 25:00This is based around Halloween.
- 25:04with uh now i'm talking about the holiday where you know the kids all four of them dress up as ghostbusters being as though they all fit the bill you get the token black kid you got the other you got the other elements
- 25:20of ghostbusters yeah they were the perfect uh ghostbuster team and so uh hopper has uh adopted 11 i guess you could say uh she's staying with hopper
- 25:33Season 2 is when we get the introduction to a new character by the name of Max who is played by Sadie Sink and this was a great addiction to the show.
- 25:46This was the love interest of Lucas.
- 25:50And that was also odd because he's the one black kid in the group.
- 25:59It was odd because...
- 26:02I didn't expect
- 26:04Lucas to get a story arc.
- 26:07I'm going to be 100%
- 26:08transparent with you.
- 26:10Because the black kid,
- 26:12or the token black kid,
- 26:14never gets a story in these movies.
- 26:18And it's sad,
- 26:19but it's true.
- 26:20Go back and watch it.
- 26:22You know,
- 26:22they don't have a backstory.
- 26:24Just go back to Ghostbusters.
- 26:26Since we are in the Ghostbuster era of this show.
- 26:31Eddie Hudson.
- 26:33or ernie hudson his character was the least developed character of the ghostbusters still is even in the sequels the he was never truly developed this character nobody knows his backstory nobody knows uh what he's all about you know he just came there looking for a job and he got the job everybody
- 26:54else were scientists he was just there and it's the same thing with lucas you know lucas is just part of the clique
- 27:02You know,
- 27:02he's he's the guy that is not about being a token.
- 27:07He's just the guy that was just there,
- 27:09you know.
- 27:10And this season we started to get an actual story with him.
- 27:15He gets his own arc along with Max,
- 27:19who has her own baggage,
- 27:21you know,
- 27:21coming from this troubled home that she's in with a stepbrother.
- 27:26And,
- 27:26you know,
- 27:27all those elements.
- 27:28as being the new kid in town and all this here so there's a lot going on there and so i thought that was a nice little uh monkey wrench to throw into this storybook you know this fairy tale that we're telling now
- 27:47that's the element of this season i like remember when i mentioned that not all of them hit home with me it was one season that i didn't care for too much
- 27:58and that was this season season two season two even though it had some awesome elements to it like i said it's enjoyed you can find enjoyable parts throughout this season but the one part of this season that just irritated me to
- 28:16no end were the others the the the other superpowered individuals uh well not superpowered geez it's not a marvel show but the
- 28:27other individuals who were at that government facility being experimented on along with 11 they who escaped and they link up you know the leader of the little clique here uh i think her name was carly or collie and
- 28:44her her little crew i didn't like that i didn't i didn't because it went nowhere and it still has it we we've yet to see him again now they can pop up in season five coming up.
- 28:57That'll be cool,
- 28:57but as far as,
- 29:00even in season two,
- 29:02they played no role in the main story.
- 29:06You know,
- 29:07they would just dare to,
- 29:11I guess,
- 29:11shepherd
- 29:13Eleven along or something.
- 29:16I just don't get it,
- 29:17and I watched it,
- 29:18like I said,
- 29:19recently,
- 29:20and it still didn't click.
- 29:21Nothing about it clicked.
- 29:24I like the...
- 29:25demo dogs in here you know i like that element of the show uh she does return back to hopper you know she only left because her and hopper uh had a little disagreement or whatever the case may be and yeah that that whole storyline
- 29:45just didn't work it didn't mesh with me the storyline it did work of course max her stepbrother billy who plays a big role
- 29:55In the show.
- 29:56the developing friendship between steve and dustin that was an element i didn't see coming it was it was a nice touch it was a nice touch to this season but it season two it was set 11 wink
- 30:12wink 11 months after season one in october of 1984 uh will has been rescued he begins to have
- 30:22about the fall of hawkins caused by a creature in the upside down uh when it's discovered that will is still being possessed by an entity from the upside down his friends and family learn that there is a larger threat to
- 30:39their world and that's the best way to sum up season two uh it it it was good it was fine it was fine uh it was just a couple of episodes in that season that i felt were throwaways
- 30:52And that's a rarity for Stranger Things because there are no throwaway episodes in this show.
- 31:00The heartbreaking,
- 31:01the heartbreaker of this season has to be hands down
- 31:09Bob.
- 31:12Bob played by Sean Ashton,
- 31:14who coincidentally plays Mike in
- 31:18The Goonies.
- 31:20And he's a grown adult.
- 31:22in this field and i'll be in this show once again perfect homage um to the 80s and his death still still hurts i'm not even gonna lie man re-watching
- 31:38it it still bothered me i'm i was still upset by the death of bob man because he made the ultimate sacrifice to save the kids and joyce and
- 31:50You know,
- 31:51their relationship,
- 31:52because Bob was just a sweetheart,
- 31:54man.
- 31:54Bob was just an all-around good guy who didn't deserve to go out like that,
- 32:03being ripped apart by demidogs.
- 32:07But this season concludes with the dance at the,
- 32:10what is it,
- 32:11the snowball?
- 32:12At the school where
- 32:14Mike danced with Eleven,
- 32:17you get Lucas dancing with Max,
- 32:19and
- 32:20we get kiss the epic kiss of from mike and 11 that sets up their uh friendship graduating to a relationship uh the lucas max kiss felt the most felt like the most forced kiss on god's green earth it felt like kiss would
- 32:42they just kiss to i don't know man i guess the fit something of
- 32:49I don't get it.
- 32:50the set in the future that they're in a relationship or whatever the case but they didn't need to kiss it just felt forced and um if you watched interviews with them uh after that they were like oh yeah that was our first kiss you know it wasn't even written it was just something that happened on
- 33:08the set they said okay now y'all kiss you know these kids so it didn't it didn't it didn't play well on screen but
- 33:18I give them an A for effort,
- 33:20but it just did not work.
- 33:24But that's how the season wraps up.
- 33:26So we move on to season three,
- 33:29and it's set nine months after the end of season two.
- 33:35And in days leading up to the Fourth of July celebration in 1985,
- 33:44they have a new element of this show.
- 33:47And that is.
- 33:48the mall the mall was the centerpiece of season three and what a perfect perfect nucleus to this season um this was the center of attention for hawkins the mall was just built the star court uh
- 34:08just built in hawkins and um is putting the majority of other local businesses out of business
- 34:15due to the mall's popularity which a lot of malls did around that time uh i know that not so much because we malls used to be the thing uh kids of kids
- 34:30kids now don't know the impact of a mall a mall was like i don't know how to describe it it's something that you oh man how can i put it words.
- 34:44I got like...
- 34:4450 words jumbled up trying to come out at the same time.
- 34:48It was describing a mall,
- 34:49people.
- 34:50A mall.
- 34:51But that's just how...
- 34:53much of an impact a mall was they we had malls at least in the new orleans area we had malls for different occasions we'll go to the mall in kenner and that was for certain things we'll go to the mall in new orleans east for a certain thing they
- 35:12all had similar stores but it was different elements like we'll go to the mall in the east for the girls we'll go to the mall in
- 35:21and for the good stuff we'll go to the mall and you know it was just we went to malls for different things and the mall had everything every store you can think of every food restaurant you could think of every the arcades were there i mean it was a it was a a
- 35:39utopia for kids in that era now kids don't have nowhere to go kids hang around walmart all day they don't have nowhere to go
- 35:50and it's sad man it is so sad it hurts me to my heart my kids my girls didn't experience malls like we did now they went to the malls still malls around they go to the malls but it's not like a hangout spot saturdays we spend our entire saturday in
- 36:09the mall summer during the summertime every day everything and that's when we don't have money it don't matter we just hang out at the mall
- 36:20It was something about the mall and this season,
- 36:24season three really captured that element.
- 36:29It felt like that for me and they did an excellent job of capturing the importance of the mall for young adults,
- 36:40for preteens or teenagers.
- 36:43And for that reason alone,
- 36:45season three was excellent,
- 36:47but there was so much more.
- 36:49You know,
- 36:51Hopper,
- 36:52he becomes increasingly concerned about Eleven and Mike's relationship.
- 36:58You know,
- 37:00the season opens up with
- 37:02Eleven and Mike in her room and the doors close and Hopper's freaking out.
- 37:08He's like,
- 37:09don't close any doors.
- 37:10Don't close doors in here.
- 37:13He's become super protective because she's his daughter now.
- 37:18you know is official to them um unbeknownst to the town we have a secret element that is also popped up in hawk it's not just the mall but a secret soviet laboratory underneath the mall which
- 37:35seeks to open the gateway to the upside down and so now we're introducing elements of this Soviet conflict,
- 37:46this Cold War.
- 37:47conflict that was brewing in the
- 37:5080s and so we got that and this season really leaned into terminator we had a terminator type character this rushing uh agent or assassin or whatever he was and
- 38:06he was just an unstoppable force man and when him and hopper linked up that was that was cool at the end of this season.
- 38:17Another character that was introduced that met his untimely demise this season was the character of Yuri,
- 38:26who was just a believable character.
- 38:28And he ended up dying in this season.
- 38:32But it was also interesting that we got a new element to this upside down when we got the mind flayer who uses mind control.
- 38:44And he mainly used it on.
- 38:46Billy who is the older stepbrother of Max to do his bidding and
- 38:53Billy was a character that you hated but you love to hate him you liked Billy at least I did I liked Billy but Billy was a was a douche he was I couldn't stand him because
- 39:09I know Billy's
- 39:11I've grown up around Billy's and so I know that guy
- 39:16but dyker montgomery who plays billy does such a good job of making him a sympathetic figure uh a relay of a relatable figure in the show uh character in the show that man
- 39:34it really hurt when he died at the end it really hurt when he died this episode man because he was so so much of a of a a horrible step
- 39:45brother to Max and for him to make that sacrifice for Max you know
- 39:53It was so crushing,
- 39:54man.
- 39:55You know,
- 39:55because he was under mind control most of the season,
- 39:58and things that he was doing wasn't him.
- 40:04It wasn't him.
- 40:06Even though he was an idiot before,
- 40:08but he was a redeemable idiot.
- 40:10Now he just turned pure evil because of the mind flare,
- 40:15but he broke free enough to make that sacrifice and save the day for the kids.
- 40:22at that mall,
- 40:24another,
- 40:25uh,
- 40:25uh,
- 40:26guest star who was in season two.
- 40:28I think he,
- 40:29yeah,
- 40:29it was season two,
- 40:30uh,
- 40:31where he was introduced.
- 40:32And that was Paul Reiser,
- 40:34Paul Reiser,
- 40:36um,
- 40:36who cut his teeth in the eighties.
- 40:39You know,
- 40:40we first saw him in aliens,
- 40:42the,
- 40:43uh,
- 40:43James Cameron aliens.
- 40:45Uh,
- 40:46that's where we first saw him.
- 40:47So it was good homage to him,
- 40:51to that.
- 40:51movie i should say uh to have him on the show and he also rolled over into season uh four i don't think he was in the third season but i i wanted to uh mention that i skipped over that for some strange reason we were introduced to another character as well a new character and that was robin who
- 41:12is portrayed on the show by maya hawk and if you don't know who maya hawk is she's a Apple baby banana
- 41:20a real nepo baby she she really can act uh she is so good on this show such a perfect addition to the show uh maya hawke who famous parents are ethan hawke her father and uma thurman her mother yes kill bill uma thurman that's
- 41:39her mom and you shouldn't have to ask that because she looks just like her mom actually she looked sometimes she looked like a dad sometimes she looked like a mom
- 41:50it's weird like certain facial expressions she'll switch between the two and i'm like oh my god but people say that about my daughter too they're like oh she look like your your wife or there's like oh no she look like you it's just certain things your kids
- 42:07do uh but uh yeah she she is awesome on this show and we find out on the show we thought that this was a potential love interest early on
- 42:20for steve but it comes out that she's actually a lesbian uh the character that is she's a lesbian and uh her and steve are just real close friends and i thought that was great that's great writing that's
- 42:35great writing because the cliche is thing to do is to just give him a love interest because steve is such a beloved character you know especially coming from where his character
- 42:50started in season one but to become one of the most beloved characters on the show it had been nice to give him a love interest but they really focused it's mainly about his friendship with dustin and
- 43:06once again great writing because i i super appreciate that but this was a awesome season a real good bounce back season from season two which was a little week
- 43:19This was a jolt of adrenaline into this show.
- 43:23Got it back on track.
- 43:25Thankfully,
- 43:27yeah,
- 43:28season three was a banger.
- 43:30Absolute banger.
- 43:32Loved everything about it.
- 43:33Nothing missed for me.
- 43:35Nothing missed in season three for me.
- 43:38That leads us to season four.
- 43:41Season four takes place eight months later in
- 43:46March of 1986.
- 43:49Now we see that Joyce,
- 43:51Will,
- 43:52Eleven,
- 43:52and Jonathan,
- 43:53they have decided to leave Hawkins.
- 43:56They move to California for a fresh start.
- 43:59In California,
- 44:00Eleven struggles with the loss of her powers due to the end of Season 3 when she battled the Mind Flayer.
- 44:11Oh,
- 44:11but speaking of that,
- 44:12I didn't tell you my favorite,
- 44:15my favorite,
- 44:17my favorite part.
- 44:19of season three i don't know why but this this sticks with me i i don't i don't understand it because there are so so many other great elements of season three but this always sticks out it
- 44:37was dustin and his girlfriend who is uh uh a girl she's in canada you you know you hear that trope all the have.
- 44:48Oh,
- 44:48I have a girlfriend.
- 44:48She lives in Canada.
- 44:50And that was the running gag throughout the entire season.
- 44:54Nobody believed that he had a girlfriend.
- 44:57And it comes to find out,
- 44:59it comes to find out that it's true,
- 45:01that he has a girlfriend.
- 45:03And so at the end of the season,
- 45:08when they're trying to,
- 45:09because they met at this camp and they sing.
- 45:13So the girl,
- 45:16the girl tells Dustin,
- 45:17like,
- 45:17I'll help you.
- 45:19I'll help you if you see,
- 45:20if we sing whatever together.
- 45:23This is over the walkie talkie.
- 45:26And he finally agrees,
- 45:29you know,
- 45:30after trying not to do it because it's embarrassing because everybody's listening.
- 45:35And he finally does.
- 45:36He starts singing.
- 45:38And that's not the part that got me.
- 45:40The part that got me was David Harbour.
- 45:47David Harbour's just like,
- 45:50are you kidding me?
- 45:52Look,
- 45:53when they're waiting to get.
- 45:55inside of the facility where uh where the russians are underneath the ball or whatever and and that look i don't know what it was it's it's so subtle but it's the most hilarious thing it
- 46:13sticks with me it sticks with me one of my favorite moments throughout the series because we were in the most dire of situations and
- 46:24they just dropped that comedy gold dead smack in the middle of it you can't you can't write that better but anyway going back to season four in season four uh yes 11 had lost the powers she begins to get bullied at school uh
- 46:44meanwhile hawkins on the other hand back at home there there's a new being from the upside down and it's called vex
- 46:54Vecna begins killing residents in Hawkins and in while doing so opening new gates between the new world or the two worlds in the process.
- 47:06And
- 47:07Vecna is the main baddie.
- 47:11He is the main villain in this show.
- 47:15And this season leaned into the nightmare on Elm Street trope.
- 47:22This was.
- 47:23homage to
- 47:2580s horror season four it checked every box for me this was such an homage to freddy krueger because vechner was basically freddy krueger that robert england himself who plays freddy krueger in the nightmare on elm street films has
- 47:46a has a part in this show has has has a guest star in this season
- 47:52this was excellent season four it was like nothing was off limits nothing was off limits uh people were dying left and right and it didn't matter it just didn't matter uh
- 48:08the stakes were higher it felt like the stakes were definitely higher this season uh vechna looked like an unstoppable force we got introduced to eddie this season eddie played by joseph quinn
- 48:22who has gone on to be a big star in hollywood you know he was just in fantastic four as johnny storm uh amongst other films he was in uh a quiet place he was in uh gladiator 2 and countless other films but he his star just took off after this and once again another character that was set up to be kind
- 48:47of an antagonist not so much the villain but the antagonist
- 48:51antagonist and turned out to be a hero once again sacrificing himself it's it's funny how somebody sacrifices themselves every season that's why this upcoming season i think there's going to be a huge sacrifice it is going not going to come from a guest star is
- 49:10going to come from one of our mains but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it but this is one of the best seasons of the show All right.
- 49:21I want to say the best season of the show but it's
- 49:26I don't know I don't think that's fair because none of them really better than the other other than the fact that one three and four are better than two but one three and four are pretty equal and how great they are you know they're
- 49:42just great um but I enjoyed season four so much
- 49:47I guess because I'm a horror nut especially
- 49:4980s horror
- 49:51And this was the season that they paid homage to that.
- 49:54And,
- 49:55uh,
- 49:55it,
- 49:57They checked all the boxes there.
- 49:59Vecna really was a force of nature.
- 50:02He was frightening.
- 50:04He was everything that you can recall from
- 50:08Freddy Krueger.
- 50:09I'm talking early
- 50:10Freddy Krueger.
- 50:11The first three films in the franchise,
- 50:14as opposed to fourth on where he became a joke.
- 50:19You know,
- 50:20he was more of a comedian cracking jokes and all this other stuff.
- 50:24But.
- 50:25The first three films in the Friday,
- 50:27not Friday the 13th,
- 50:28but the
- 50:30Nightmare on Elm Street franchise,
- 50:32Freddy Krueger was frightening.
- 50:34He was really frightening.
- 50:35So they captured that element and put it in
- 50:39Vecna. The scene of this season for me,
- 50:44hands down,
- 50:46Sadie Sink at the cemetery being taken over by Vecna,
- 50:52and we get the iconic cake.
- 50:54bush uh running running up the hill that was that was the scene that was that was that was to talk about uh cinema man absolute cinema it was every emotion just
- 51:10running up the hill it was every emotion at play at during that scene the frantic nature of lucas and uh dustin and who else was at that site.
- 51:24I forgot who else was there,
- 51:25but
- 51:27Dare Dare trying to get,
- 51:31I was about to say Sadie Sink,
- 51:32but
- 51:33Max to snap out of this trance and couldn't.
- 51:38And the only way was to play that song.
- 51:40And while she's in the Upside Down,
- 51:42you hear the song playing and her trying to get out and running as everything around her is crumbling and everything.
- 51:49And she's literally running up a hill while the song is playing.
- 51:53I mean,
- 51:54come on.
- 51:55It was absolute cinema.
- 51:58That was the scene that defined the season for me.
- 52:02But this was also an awesome season in regards to Hopper,
- 52:08who we thought died at the end of season three,
- 52:13but it was spoiled in the trailers,
- 52:15which that's the only thing they did wrong leading up into season four.
- 52:21They spoiled that
- 52:22Hopper was alive.
- 52:24Because that was the big cliffhanger.
- 52:26That was the big bugaboo.
- 52:28Because Hopper looked like he made the ultimate sacrifice at the end,
- 52:35being sucked into the upside down.
- 52:37But in actuality,
- 52:39he ended up being pulled through that rushing base into Russia,
- 52:45the other end of that portal,
- 52:47if you will.
- 52:49And he was under,
- 52:52well,
- 52:52captured.
- 52:54in this little work camp prison type deal in russia so uh we got his escape and all that uh playing out that season everything was just fire man all of the all of the plots everybody was separated everybody was in different parts of the world literally
- 53:14hopper in russia you had a will in 11 in california everybody else was in hawkins
- 53:23It was just,
- 53:25I mean,
- 53:26it was pure madness.
- 53:27Even though Mike was in Hawkins,
- 53:30they were trying to do a long-distance relationship thing.
- 53:35Everybody was spread from hell and gone,
- 53:37but they managed to make it all mesh together.
- 53:41And when they got together at the end to kind of vanquish
- 53:46Vecna in the fight to get back to Hawkins after escaping,
- 53:52quote-unquote hawkings was also a cool element of this season season four was probably just by a smidge my favorite season thus far i really enjoyed season four of stranger things but that's
- 54:09my little quick little recap of the four seasons uh super excited for the fifth and final season and this go around just to give you a little preview
- 54:22of what's to come the fifth and final season is set in the fall of 1987 and the group seek to find and kill vechna after the rifts that opened up at the end of season four uh
- 54:38open up in hawkins which causes the government to uh quarantine the town and so the mission becomes complicated when the military set up shop in Hawkins and began hunting
- 54:5111
- 54:52So nearing the anniversary of Will's disappearance,
- 54:55the group must stay together one last time for the final battle and face something more powerful and deadlier.
- 55:05than ever before if you watch the trailer leading up to this season for the final season of the show you know that it's going to be literally all hell is going to break loose in hawkins and
- 55:22for them to split this up into three volumes and from what i'm understanding from what i read that like every episode is two hours
- 55:34Is it?
- 55:36And I think we're only getting like in the volumes is like three episodes of volume.
- 55:41I could be off on that.
- 55:43Actually,
- 55:44yeah,
- 55:44I am because there's eight episodes remaining.
- 55:47I think the first volume is four episodes.
- 55:51Yeah,
- 55:51the first volume is for the second volume is three.
- 55:55And then we get the big finale on
- 55:58New Year's Eve.
- 55:59And I believe they're releasing that in theaters.
- 56:03And guess what?
- 56:05i'm going to see it in the theater yeah i can watch it at home for well not for free because i'm paying for netflix but you you get what i'm saying but i'm going to the theater i'm going to the theater there's nothing there's nothing to talk about there's no debate in it yeah they got my money oh
- 56:23but uh this is going to be an exciting conclusion to this story i i just hope they stick the landing that's all they don't have to do anything special they don't have to go over the Top in.
- 56:35do too much just stick with what brought you here dance with the one that brought you you don't have to you don't have to go all all out with it but uh i'm excited i'm excited i think that um
- 56:51if i had any predictions on who's gonna survive who's not i think oh the easy prediction would be
- 57:0111 i think 11 makes the...
- 57:04ultimate sacrifice at the end that's the easy prediction but this show has never been easy this show has always made the difficult difficult choice and so i don't think it's 11 it may be will and
- 57:19because going by the trailers and once again this can be classified as easy too we know that will is where it all began and it could be will where it all ends will could make
- 57:33the ultimate sacrifice at the end but i really do think one of our core kids and i put that in heavy quotations because they're not kids anymore but kids on the show are
- 57:50going to make a sacrifice and uh it's gonna tear us apart but hey i'm here for it i can't wait
- 58:02Volume 1 drops November the 26th,
- 58:05Volume 2 drops December 25th,
- 58:08Christmas Day,
- 58:09and the ultimate finale of Stranger Things drops December
- 58:1731st. Oh boy,
- 58:21I am psyched,
- 58:22man.
- 58:22I am so psyched for the remainder of this year.
- 58:25Like I said to start off this episode,
- 58:30this is it.
- 58:31This is it.
- 58:31Yes,
- 58:32there will be other shows here on the KB Radio Network,
- 58:35but my main focus from here on out is Stranger Things for the rest of 2025.
- 58:44they have my undivided attention but i would like to know are you excited for season five are you planning on watching all four seasons before the
- 58:5626th whenever this episode comes out here uh i don't know i don't know if you're gonna have time but hey you may carve out enough time you can watch netflix on your phone and stuff so you probably can sit in your office and sneak and watch it you do
- 59:11Why are you at work and stuff?
- 59:13Hey,
- 59:13I ain't advocating it.
- 59:14I don't want you to get fired.
- 59:15Like,
- 59:16oh,
- 59:16you got me fired.
- 59:17No,
- 59:18wait till you get home,
- 59:19people.
- 59:19But anyways,
- 59:20are you planning on watching these and get caught up?
- 59:24Or are you already caught up and super excited like me for season five?
- 59:30Let me know.
- 59:30Email the show,
- 59:31kbradiopodcast at gmail.com.
- 59:34You can also search for the show on all social media platforms.
- 59:38Just search for the KB Radio.
- 59:40network also don't forget about youtube subscribe to the kb radio network channel and like this video if you don't mind don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify iheart radio wherever you
- 59:56are currently listening to movie goodness here on the kb radio network everybody thank you for joining me on this recap of stranger things season one
- 1:00:10through for anticipating the epic conclusion on netflix throughout this holiday season for the remainder of 2025 i want you all to know that i love you continue
- 1:00:26to love everyone and until we speak again you all be blessed