#strangerthingsanalysis

[archer7714]

Roll for Empathy — An Introduction

An introduction to a Stranger Things meta series about difference, fandom, and a fight for empathy.

Sometimes it's hard being part of the Stranger Things fandom.

On one side, there's excitement and community; people sharing theories, edits, fan art, and that electric sense of belonging. On the other, there's a current of anger that's become impossible to not see. Comment sections overflow with hostility between "Mileven" and "Byler" fans, often spilling into harassment of actors, creators, and each other.

I've been thinking about why this happens, and what it says about both the show and us. Because Stranger Things has always been about difference — about how people who don't fit are treated as monsters until someone finally sees them.

This is going to be a series of posts. The following posts are not a debate. They're a conversation about forced conformity — how it operates in the show, in the characters, and in the fandom itself.

Here's what to expect:

Part 1 — Forced Conformity: That's the Real Monster How fandom behaviour mirrors the show's central theme.

Part 2 — What Mileven Teaches Us About Expectation Exploring Mike and Eleven's relationship as a story about pressure and performance.

Part 3 — Why Mileven and Byler Need Each Other How the two relationships work together to tell a story about repression and authenticity.

Part 4 — Don't Close the Gate Reflecting on empathy, conversation, and how fandoms can learn to talk instead of fight.

You don't have to agree with every interpretation. You don't even have to ship anyone. My hope is that, by the end, we all remember the heart of Stranger Things: the real monster isn't difference — it's the fear of it.

Roll for Empathy (Wisdom check, DC: humanity).

Posts in this series:

Part 1 — Forced Conformity: That's the Real Monster

Part 2 — Mileven on a Pedestal

[connect-dots7]

Stranger Things VS Labyrinth: Toy Symbolism (The Teddy Bear)(long)

(This analysis is part of a larger theory which you can read here. Skip to the end if you just want to see my prediction about The Return of The Teddy Bear™)

Both Labyrinth and Stranger Things utilize toys to foreshadow characters and monsters the will appear later:

but thats just a surface level observation. Now lets examine the purpose of toys within their respective narratives, because they both fall under a shared theme:

TOY SYMBOLISM

Sarah's journey through The Labyrinth is an allegory for growing up, with a focus on puberty and the discovery of her sexuality:

When her step-mom implies that she should "have dates" by now, it causes her to angrily storm up to her room which is filled with toys.

This shows how in the beginning, Sarah doesn't want to become an adult by letting go of her childhood. This changes by the end of the movie, as represented by her departure from toys and her decision to finally "grow up".

For Mike, toys also represent his evolving outlook as to what it means to "grow up" throughout the seasons.

In season 1: Mike is still a child, meaning that he can enjoy D&D and play with his toys without shame.

In season 2: Mike starts being told that he needs to conform and "grow up" by society. This is illustrated by his attachment to toys, and the conversation surrounding them at dinner.

Mike's parents want him to get rid of his toys, despite Mike still liking them. Only because adults/authority don't recognize their value, is Mike forced to get rid of them.

Sarah on the other hand, refuses to get rid of any toys, which is why her room is still cluttered with them as a teenager. It's implied that this will change after the movie ends, because making her way through The Labyrinth forces her to come to terms with growing up by accepting the harsh realities of life.

Sarah's flaw was that she refused to "grow up", whereas Mike's flaw is that he tries to force himself to:

season 3:

Mike's attempt at "growing up" in s3 by "moving on" from D&D is proven to be inauthentic by his return to D&D in s4:

The fact that Mike was putting up a facade in s3 is further illustrated by his initial excitement over Christmas and the idea of playing with toys. But because Mike is with El, he immediately feels ashamed by the admission and tries to hide his true feelings.

Only after El tells him that she likes presents too, does he admit to still liking them.

Deep down, Mike still wants to play games like D&D and Nintendo. He wants to sit in his basement and play games with Will for the rest of his life, but he doesn't think that it's realistic. To him, growing up also means growing out of those feelings because the alternative is not socially acceptable. He HAS to have a girlfriend, and he HAS tell her he loves her, because it's something "OLD PEOPLE" inevitably say and do.

He struggles to say the word "love" to El because its not true. Friends aren't supposed to lie. Trying to "grow up" by conforming is what prevents Mike from becoming his true self, thus completing his character arc. Unlike the movie Labyrinth, Stranger Things is about the power of love and friendship. His character doesn't have to "grow up" and learn that "life isn't fair" like Sarah did. What Mike needs to do is accept every part of himself even if society doesn't. In the end, Mike needs to embrace his "childish" and "nerdy" interests, as well as his sexuality.

Stranger Things 5 will be about Mike's path to acceptance of his sexuality and inner child. In the end, Mike will choose to play D&D and Nintendo together with his childhood bestie forever, despite also "growing up".

Unlike Mike, Sarah's refusal to conform is framed as a flaw because it prevents her from moving on from her mother's death. She can't become her true self until she lets go of her childhood and toys.

This is why the resolution of Sarah's internal conflict, is also the inciting incident of Mike's. In the end, Sarah must get rid of her toys.

When Sarah becomes trapped in her fantasy, she forgets her mission. The Junk Lady tries to take advantage of her memory loss. She tries to distract her by piling toys into her hands:

But in this moment, Sarah actually remembers her purpose. She no longer cares about her toys, and is able to realize that "it's all just junk"

Sarah's journey takes her down a different path but ultimately leads her to the same conclusion. For her, growing up is what leads to accepting herself, thus growing as a person.

Despite "growing up" in the end, the characters from her fantasy still reappear in the last few minutes. This shows us that Sarah can both grow up and be herself at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive:

The Teddy Bear:

(I think this movie might be why the writers specifically introduced Teddy Bear Symbolism in stranger things. If that makes me delusional, so be it)

Sarah's teddy bear, Lancelot, is what sets the movie's entire conflict into motion.

After realizing that her teddy bear was missing, she finds it in her baby brother Toby's room:

THIS MAKES HER FUCKING LIVID. For some reason she blames the literal BABY and wishes for him to be taken by Goblin's.

and then when he actually is, she has the audacity to be ungrateful!?

You might be wondering why this teddy bear was so important to her. It's because the teddy bear is a symbol of Sarah's childhood, as well as a person (her dead ass mother).

In Stranger Things, a teddy bear is ALSO a symbol of childhood, and a person (Will)

(@beepboop358 300+ Byler Proof Slides)

At the end of season 3, Mike grabs The Teddy Bear(Will) out from INSIDE THE CLOSET and gives it to Eleven.

Then El confesses her love and Mike still can't say it back. When she kisses him, The Teddy Bear(Will) is literally BETWEEN THEM and his eyes stay open the entire time.

As she walks away with a look of excitement, Mike's face is in stark contrast. He's framed directly in front of the open closet as a look of realization crosses his face. This is when Mike realized that he's gay. Eleven then takes the Teddy Bear(Will) away from Mike, and with her to California.

She's also taking away with her A TOY, which is symbol of Mike's childhood innocence/naïvety. Why? because Mike just fully realized his sexuality. (and it’s confirmed that the s3 monster represented puberty)

At the end of the movie, Sarah gives the Teddy Bear to her baby brother Toby. This action also carries a lot of meaning, as it shows that she's moved passed her animosity/jealousy of Toby. It also represents her moving on from childhood. Toby is the physical embodiment of her younger self, and the teddy bear represents the memory of her mother/her childhood innocence. By giving the teddy bear to Toby, she is both letting go of and holding on to her childhood and mother's memory.

hmmm. So what if this scene were to be paralleled somehow in s5? What if the Stranger Things Teddy Bear Symbolism™ makes a return in the final season....maybe something related to time travel, with Sarah being s5 Mike, the Teddy Bear being Will/childhood, and the baby being s1 Mike? But i digress....lets move on to another potential parallel,

Forgotten Teddy Bear Parallel

Right after Sarah escapes from her fantasy of the ball, she falls down a black void.

idk maybe Stranger Things could reference this in season 5? something something about Whiterabbitgate and how the Sarah's fall is a reference to Alice in Wonderland

she lands in a junkyard, but still can't remember anything

I'm guessing that Mike will have his memories stolen/altered at some point because of Birthdaygate.

The ONE THING Sarah can remember is The Teddy Bear

In Stranger Things ,The Teddy Bear=Will. So maybe this scene will be referenced in s5 because THE ONE THING Mike will be able to remember is Will. The line: "i can remember standing by the wall" is in Heroes. This could refer to when Mike REMEMBERS the moment Will admitted "it was a 7"? because they were standing by a wall during that? hahah idk that was a reaaaaach.

[fruitydemogorgon]

Okay so here's my proper analysis for the new promos we've gotten!

(I'll probably think of more things later)

Waking up to new Stranger Things content is a tumultuous experience- I giggled, I cried, I almost screamed but didn't want to awaken my sister. This morning we were gifted with four new promo images, and most social media platforms have been bombarded with the tag; stranger things season 4.

Despite the wait- it's becoming easier to fathom the idea of 3 years between seasons. With double the episodes, and over a year and a half worth of filming, one can understand the struggle. Especially amidst a global pandemic. But, it's coming. On May 27th, Volume 1. Season 4 of Stranger Things will be bestowed upon the public, and us nerds will finally get the satisfaction we have been waiting for!

I'll start by reviewing the first promo image we received (I believe).

001; Russia. Getting the band back together. Bring a jacket.

From the statement "Getting the band back together", it's obvious that Joyce and Murray are the ones standing beside Hopper. The three are standing in a snowy courtyard, presumably inside a Russian base. There's blood splattered across the ground, and bits of debris as if some sort of explosion happened. As in all the other promo images, a portal to the upside-down looms in the centre frame, with the characters walking towards it.

It seems as if Hopper is either looking at Joyce or looking behind himself, possibly hinting that they're being followed (which would make sense considering they're most definitely not supposed to be here/escaping). Hopper's shadow is covered by the season 4 logo, and Joyce and Murray's are right beside it.

002. The Lab. Every story starts somewhere.

:"Every ending has a beginning."

I think it's finally safe to assume that this season we will be revisiting the earlier moments of Stranger Things. Discovering more about Eleven's past, The Lab, Brenner, etc. This is super exciting, and as I stated in my earlier post I cannot wait to see Eleven uncover the depths of her past.

There are multiple pieces of evidence that point towards the place in the image being Hawkin's Lab. However, she was captured in California (explained in my analysis here), so it doesn't make much sense how she's ended up in Hawkin's Lab (unless she was taken there by her capturers). But if that were the case, I don't understand why they would be working in such poor conditions. Maybe, Eleven is the reason the place looks demolished? (More on that later). Just a theory, but I'm not sure.

We also know that the room at the end of the hallway is the rainbow room; the layout of the hallway is same to that of the trailer, the rainbows either side the screen, etc. If that's the case, then Eleven's room is at the opposite end of the hall, where Eleven is walking from. Meaning she may have just been in her room. :O

Anyways, there's blood everywhere, and pieces of paper and shattered glass litter the floor. In the distance it also looks like there is cardboard or something.

Below I'll outline the few significant things I notice, then discuss them;

-Eleven's reflection in the mirror

-The rainbow room

-The Coca-Cola can

-The broken light switch

-Headset thing

-The door number

I've brightened up the image so that we can actually get a good look at what's going on:

Eleven's reflection in the Mirror

In the mirror, we see Eleven's younger self in the reflection.

It makes sense that this is hinting towards El revisiting her past. And the shattered glass could be a metaphor for her 'broken past', and how she's coming to put the pieces back together to uncover who she truly is.

The Rainbow Room

In the furthest door at the end of the hall there is a rainbow. We know that this is the Rainbow Room from the trailer 'Eleven, are you listening?' The rainbow could also be (and this is just me throwing out ideas) to show that on the other side of the Upside Down sits the answers and clarification Eleven's been searching for. That after all the strife she's endured, she will find some kind of serenity (and even if that not what this means, I hope it still happens).

The Coca-Cola Can

On the bottom left of the image, at the entrance to the first door on the left, is the Coca-Cola Can. For Eleven, this is a symbol of her powers. When she crushes the can with her mind, it is one of the very early times we see her using her powers. It's also one of the items she uses to practise control. At the moment, Eleven has lost control of her powers, and this could be hinting that at Hawkin's Lab she will regain control. This also leads me to theorise that she may be the on who 'demolished' the place.

The Headset Thingy mabob

Eleven's mind control headset is on the bottom right corner of the image, I've developed a theory for this that I will elaborate on later.

The door number

I'm almost certain it says 11

(I've zoomed in and signs (my impeccable vision) point to yes)

(Also in bottom right corner)

My Theory:

From gathering all the things I just mentioned, I have developed a theory. I believe Eleven was in her room, and, overwhelmed by the memories, had her powers come back to her in a strike of emotion where she threw all the objects around her out of her room (explaining the headset, door number, coca-cola can).

The Broken Light

I've established that this poster has many references to season 1, but I've found something that links back to the first five minutes of the series. To when the Demogorgon was the biggest, scariest threat. I know the lights were flickering, rather than completely broken, but I like to think of it as at least something. Probably isn't anything, but it's a little detail I think could be quite cool. Especially if this season is about the past/origins of Stranger Things.

--

This poster had a lot to unpack, and I think the next few have quite a lot too!

003. Creel House. Tick-tock.

Again, this poster is only further confirming that we will be learning more about the history of Hawkins, The Lab, The Upside Down, etc. 'Tick-tock', reinforces that too. I think for this promo it'll be best to sort my observations into qualitative observations and what I infer from that.

Qualitative

Composition of Characters;

The seven characters, arranged in sets of two, three, then two, are standing centre frame. Max and Lucas are closest to us viewers, and Lucas is looking to Max whereas Max is looking back. She is also wearing headphones. In the middle row stand Steve, Dustin, and Erica. Dustin and Erica are looking forwards, and Steve is looking to his right. In the final row, closest to the portal, are Nancy and Robin, heads tilted towards one another.

Inferences

Composition of Characters;

First of all, I've seen many theories that this season Max and Lucas will be breaking up. Eleven and Mike's composition in the s3 poster resemble Lucas and Max's in this one, and in s3 Eleven 'dumped' Mike. I've also seen theories that Max is experiencing depression in this season, and is going through grief/trauma after what happened at Starcourt (understandably). She's been seen wearing darker/flatter coloured clothes, wearing headphones a lot, and the released 'audition' of the Hawkin's School Counsellor 'talking to her' emphasises on this as well.

She's also the only one looking back, and in the 003 teaser trailer, she was standing at the front of the group. In the s3 poster, Eleven was also looking back, and throughout the season Billy kept trying to contact her. Maybe this season Billy is trying to contact Max, and she responds to him in 'Dear Billy'. I've also seen a speculation that the headphones are symbolising her trying to 'block out the voices', i.e., Billy.

In the next row stands Steve, Dustin, and Erica. On this poster, Steve is in a similar position to Will in the s3 poster. He's turned slightly to his right, possibly looking down at Dustin. Honestly, I haven't seen many other connections between Steve and Will so I don't know what this could mean. Maybe he's going to be able to sense the Mind Flayer? I can't really see that happening. Unless it's hinting at Steve going through some of the trauma Will experienced (or something along the lines of that). I know some people have found lots of evidence suggesting that Steve will die this season, so it could relate to that.

Finally, we have Nancy and Robin standing in the final row, closest to the portal. This is interesting, because Nancy seems to be one of the characters that has experienced most of the supernatural monsters first-hand. Whereas Robin experienced the full-extent of the Russian (human) side of things. Nancy 'fell?' into the Upside Down, and was practically chased by the Demogorgon. She was also chased by the Mind Flayer and it's prey. Robin was drugged and beaten by the Russians underneath Starcourt. And aside from Steve, none of the others in 003 have really experienced (what I will call the full-extent) of the supernatural (and natural) world.

The two are looking at one another, which I kind of hope means they develop a friendship this season (however I will also happily accept it if they end up being lesbians in love- now that I've said that I think I should clarify that I do not ship ronance, because I personally do not see much evidence (suffice to say, I haven't searched for any), but I would not mind seeing two attractive ladies in love on this show that I already love- but, enough of that).

Qualitative

Settings/Surroundings;

The seven are standing in an aging room, with a grandfather clock at the end of it. I've brightened up the image so that we can actually get a good look at what's going on.

What I see:

-Cobwebs

-Chair

-Boxes

-Fan

-Chair

-Wheelchair

-Chair

-Weird tall thing next to chair

Inferences

Settings/Surroundings;

We can definitely assume that they're standing in the attic of Creel House. Most of the items we can see are just general attic-items. 'Tick-tock', and the big grandfather clock both point towards the Creel House having to do with the history of Stranger Things (most of the posters are about the history of ST). I saw a post about how on the other side of the room to the wheelchair was a bassinet (this may just be in the trailer, and not the poster), however I cannot see that now. The only thing I'm curious about is the tall item next to the first pole on the left (in between the fan, chair, and pole)

--

004. California. Hold onto your butts, brochachos.

Neither 001 or 004 have any 'references' to time or the past, like 002 and 003 do. Which makes me wonder what their storylines for this season are going to be about. I'm not sure really how to go about analysing this poster, so I guess I'll start by stating what I see.

This promo is a pain in the ass because there aren't many items or such to look into, and obviously I want to build the tension before jumping straight into what I actually want to say!

In saying this, I realised something. This whole town, lighting, and setting reminds me so much of the Goldfinch. Like. Maybe not exactly the 004 teaser trailer, but this poster specifically is giving me the same vibes. (The part I'm talking about specifically is when Theo is in Las Vegas with Boris-who, I should mention, is played by Finn Wolfhard, and is in love with his best friend).

Anyways, it's always possible that was an intentional action of the Duffer Brother's, but probably not.

There are only three possibly significant objects/items I can see in this image.

The Surfer Boys Pizza Truck

The bike

The car

--

Honestly, I don't think this has any deeper meaning, I feel like the truck is probably more there to show that it's going to be an important vehicle in the season (I know that's so lame for someone who's meant to be analysing everything but i dOnT cArE).

THE bike. Now. I've seen a ton of stuff about this. Is it relating to the Smalltown boy theory? Is it the same bike from the s1 poster? We don't really know, but I saw someone get pretty pissed over another person assuming it to be from the Smalltown boy theory- so I won't go too far into that. Pretty much, the post was pondering why Nancy didn't come with Mike to California. And speculating if Mike had went to Cali himself, i.e. the Smalltown boy theory.

Finally, the car in the very distance (parked in the 3d house down on the left). It looks very similar to Lonnie's car from when Jonathan visited him in s1.

I apologise to those reading this, because at this point when I'm writing I start to just feel off. I really want to finish this now, so I'll keep going, but excuse me if the tone of my writing becomes less formal.

I'm pretty sure this is the first Byler poster with only them (out of the party), so that could mean this will be our first season we see something more than friendship with them (there's also double the episodes! so everyone who was worrying there wouldn't be enough time for them to have a good romantic developmenttt wooowee)

Also like- the 004 teaser trailer completely DOOFED us. like mike and el went from literally holding one another's hands in the other poster, to being in cOMpletely different posterss bruv (yes, i get that they have seperate storylines but aahh).

ALSO, in the s3 poster, El and Will were both looking back at us. Mike was looking at El, who was to his left, and the two were holding hands. In this poster, Will has replaced El, and is standing to Mike's right. The two are also both looking at each other. Was the s3 poster hinting that Will would be replacing El? There may have been a double-meaning to it.

ALSO. JUST. aah

they're looking at each other. last season we barely got anything between them, and now they're looking AT EACH OTHER!!!

(sorry i'm going crazy over such a little thing- but i KNOW you all are too).

Last of all, I saw someone else say something about this and I think it's really interesting. Maybe the cracks aren't going towards Will and Mike, but they're coming from them. Or from Will, at least. I like this theory a lot, that somehow Will is connecting to the Upside Down again after all this time (I don't want him to get hurt-but I also love watching my comfort characters go thru shit- i dunno what it is don't judge).

--

Rightio, I have one final point to make about the last poster.

Lots of people noticed that in this poster, Mike and Will have been shifted. At first, many people were stressing that they were further apart, and that something (maybe Jonathan and Argyle) was going to come between them. Most, through, assumed it was just for composition. I've seen another theory, though.

To El's right are Joyce and Hopper. To El's left are Will and Jonathan. The composition has been arranged so that she is surrounded by her family. We may be seeing it as Mike being moved further from Will, but what if we saw it as Mike being moved further from El.

--

Okay! I think this is one of the biggest analyses that I've written! This is also the first season 4 promo that I've seen upon release, rather than a couple of months later, which is really exciting!

Since this has gone on a while, I'll make a separate post analysing the social-media aspect of these promos!

Hope you're well, and happy stranger things watching (it's almost here!!) <33

[fruitydemogorgon]

Update on Stranger Things Social Media Content

Okay, so at this point we all know about David Harbour's 3 os, and how they signified 3 days, well I've found quite a few more os littered amongst the myriad of posts we've gotten recently.

Here's David's original clue:

Along with the 001 poster, he also posted the group poster with the caption...

That's 7 os, posted yesterday.

Meanwhile, Netflix's current description is this:

4 os, probably updated a day or so ago too.

So far, that's (possibly) something in 7 days and 4 days...

Caleb Mclaughlin captioned this post with 'Tick-tock 🕷'. The 'Tick-tock' makes sense, but why the spider? Stranger Things has never had any kind of relation to spiders, except for the slight resemblance between spiders and the Shadow-Monster.

Maybe, if the characters do end up going back in time, they're each revisiting a certain part of ST, and Lucas is going to the time when the Shadow-Monster was relevant.

Every comment made by actors/tv crew would be highly monitored, so we can't simply ignore anything.

Stranger Things also commented this on Caleb Mclaughlin's post, saying 'time is TICKING alright'. The phrase 'time is ticking', is generally to say there is not much time left for something to happen. I'm not sure what this could mean, but maybe Stranger Things is releasing something soon, and they're working on the final edits of it (henceforth, time is ticking because they have a planned release date- I think in either 4 or 7 days).

Overall, I think it's very likely we're getting more content soon!

There's also this interaction...

As I stated earlier, neither Noah nor Finn would be allowed to post anything Stranger Things related without it being reviewed by their managers and the ST crew.

The 4L makes sense; 'Brochachos 4L', but the three crossed fingers do not. Caleb and Noah have both used quite confusing emojis. Fingers crossed like that usually symbolise wishing for something. Noah posted, 4L, followed by three wishing emojis. Could this be linking to Byler (i.e. ____ for life)?

In Mike and Will's goodbye scene, the conversation goes like this:

How this could have been rephrased:

MIKE

Woah. Dude, that's the donation box.

WILL

I know. I'll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if you still wanna be friends?

MIKE

Yeah, but what if you find another best friend (Brochacho)?

WILL

Never. (We're best friends - Brochachos - for life)

It's almost telling us that Mike and Will are going to be best friends for life. And that Will wishes nothing will ever come between them.

It's also similar to the crazy together scene.

This interaction really just feels like a bond that will last forever. A promise that will be unbreakable.

The two have already hinted about Byler in fanmios, so doing it in a comment section wouldn't be too surprising.

Anyways, in general I'm pretty sure we're going to get something in within the next week- hopefully the proper trailer!

As always, hope you're doing well! And happy stranger things watching :)

[elyalovi]

Stranger Things: Entre la primera temporada (2016) y la segunda (2017) no pasó mucho tiempo en los tiempos de producción: la serie avanzó rápido, aprovechando el éxito inmediato y el tamaño aún manejable de la historia. Sin embargo, a partir de la tercera temporada (2019), las demoras comenzaron a hacerse evidentes y cada nueva entrega tardó más en llegar que la anterior. Entre la cuarta y la quinta hay tres años de hiatus. Los retrasos se debieron a la pandemia, la carrera de sus propios actores y hasta al propio Netflix.