Imo, yes. It made every single cast member feel equally important and everyone could have a chance to shine. (Like how Will was initially the main victim, followed by Billy and Max and then back to Will again)
Edit: The set of main characters is not exclusive to this picture, so e.g. El is obviously a main character
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This technically makes Max's family the second most "cursed" family since it's the only "main family" whose kids have all died at least once.
Edit: Forgot about Wheeler's family: It's now the most cursed because Holly's probably infected by the MF particles and the parents are on life support.
I love how you added “at least once” like dying more than once is normal.
They might be a supernatural fan
You two die more than anyone I know.
Oh my god! They killed ̶K̶e̶n̶n̶y̶ Billy, those bastards.
The main cast is literally immortal and I love it (not that there shouldn't be real stakes but just putting them in real peril is enough)
Billy died three times when he became possessed by a ancient shadow monster who can kill a average human with just his presence when he was locked in the sauna and somehow escaped and when he finally escaped being possessed Max died twice the first time (the music saved her life and by then vecna already had her in a chokehold literally) and the second time where she got into a coma because Jason the crazy highschool psychopath the brother of Garrett the hunter of supernatural who's also a psychopath and in highschool
Billy died once. Being possessed doesn’t equal being dead. I was referring to the casual comment more than counting how often Max has died.
He only died once
Max has only died once too.
Literally no one has died more than once
Yet
Could we say the same about Holly and her family? All the kids have been to the upside down, all have had to deal with a Demogorgon, and two have been inside Henry’s mind.
Technically yes, since the parents also almost got killed by a Demo, and Max's parents remained unharmed
Unharmed except for the fact that their marriage has fallen apart.
Yeah that sucks, but Neil was abusive and made Billy evil anyway
Oh yeah, it probably wasn’t a great marriage to begin with.
Can we talk about how Karen seems to be the only one who has survived an unexpectedly Demogorgon attack?
I mean Eddie, Bob, and the leads are always exposing themselves but they go prepared... Are Demogorgons allergic to wine?
😅
Everyone in the family had to deal with a Demogorgon, but i don't remember Mike going to the upside down
He didn't until this season
"until this season" implies that he did in this season, but he didn't, not yet at least
You're right it's not Mike that goes to the upside down, Steve Nancy Jonathan and Dustin do. Which they have all been there before
No justice for Barb's family?
Justice yes, but only one person in that family was slaughtered. (still super sad though)
max's mom has it worse her stepson dies then her husband leaves her then her daughter is put into a coma and she is all alone
I was sad not to see Max’s mom this season, not even once but I supposed there wasn’t time. Maybe we will see her if max wakes up.
yes I love it
Yes, I think ensemble shows like this where we’re following multiple people’s storylines and they are all important to the story are more entertaining. It’s a way to see the events through multiple perspectives and in terms of viewers, there is someone for everyone watching to relate to and root for.
Yeah, it kept evolving. Like El, Mike, Joyce and Hoppt were main characters in season 1. Then season 2 onwards almost all central characters had a story. I love it though, I love the characters and like watching what’s going on with them.
This is why it feels like a DnD campaign. Every character gets their arc developed and sometimes they get focused on for a bit but everyone is equally important to the overall story, even the newer "main" characters.
This also makes it feel like no one is safe from getting killed off (like in DnD). Since they're all "main" characters, they're all fair game.
Everyone except...Lucas whose story revolves around Max, but mostly, you're correct.
Not fully around max he had a character arc of his own in season 1.. In seasons 2 and 3 it's about max but in 3 his friendship to mike was also explored in season 4 his arc is basically about how he wants to fit in with The popular squad but he still chooses his friends. It's okay for character arcs to revolve around other characters.. just like dustin's revolves around steve and Eddie in season 3 and 4 respectively.
There are only 5 seasons, and three revolve around Max so far...a character who entered in season 2.
I love Max, but come on.
Three revolve around max? There are many other characters in the show that are being explored sure in season 4 max's plotline was the highlight but you can't just say that three seasons all revolve around her.
You don't understand, the alphabet people have priority over black people, and we all know that you can either focus on the Alphabet people or on Blacks, but not on both at the same time.
/s this is sarcasm
🤯😱! Hopefully it is, because I'm Black & I'm clueless about your hierarchy! Please elaborate if you can to this senior citizen who considers myself integrated as much as intellectually and socially since my racial civil war against the ignorant perceptions I had towards non-Blacks resulting from growing up in segregated neighborhoods in 1970.
I think they were saying tv shows often have token characters and they choose to either have a token black, or minority character OR A token L.G.B.T character who placed there just because they don’t want people complaining about the lack there of. But they aren’t really genuinely interested in telling those stories from those actual people
🏹🎯, Touché, Excellent point!
Please refer to Dave Chappelle to understand what I'm talking about https://youtu.be/PCgsWkAIEDw?si=Wcpdc5Uo7sKH-D08
Yes, but it did come at a cost, the characters who come to the closest to being the show's protagonists did get sidelined a lot (Mike, Hopper, Joyce).
totally. i was rewatching s1 and s2 and joyce was such a powerhouse (amazing acting too) and she was such a dynamic and very strong character. in s3 and s4 she was alright but it's sad to see her not having much of a role in s5
But part of that is the maturing of the younger kids. They are growing up and taking charge now.
i wanted Sinclair's sister to have a stronger role on this season .. 🥹
I'm seeing reels making fun of Joyce in season 5 and calling her unreasonable and while she is flawed as a character I feel like its indicative of lots of people forgetting that Joyce is low key the main character that got the most shit done!! Shes right every season so she better be right this one
i mean joyce being overprotective over will makes a lot of sense and is very much in line with her character. I've also seen people saying that she's a bad mother to Jonathan but in her defense only one of her sons was abducted to another dimension and has faced trauma and is at risk to be targeted and is still connected to the hive mind, while the other is a grown adult. agree with you
Two things can be true at the same time. She parentified Jonathan for sure. However, I think she still would have done the exact things she did for Will if the roles were reversed.
It makes sense though. The person who rang the alarm bells isn’t necessarily the person equipped to put out the fire.
I really wouldn't consider Hopper ever hsving been sideline. Hell they dif the whole russia plotline in s4 just to keep him around
In what world are Hopper and Joyce sidelined lol? They’ve had major plot lines in like 4 of the 5 seasons.
I think that of all the characters, for me, the one that stands out the most is eleven, but stranger things did the right thing by not choosing a main one because the story is not about a person but about a strange world
Yes 100%. That is the reason why every single scene in the series is entertaining.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I don't think this show would function so well otherwise. I'm so glad the Duffers stuck to their plans. I know every station they pitched this to wanted them to turn Hopper into the protagonist and focus mostly on his attempts to solve the case.
Which would have been good, sure, but I don't think it would have become classic like this show is.
making Hopper the main character would've turned it into a Supernatural knockoff
Yeah, or a Grimm knock-off.
Either way, it was the right choice not go down that route.
A lot of people seemed to dislike Hopper's plots in Seasons 3 and 4 (with the Russians) so the Duffer's choices basically saved the show.
Yeah, it did. And I love Hopper, but really focusing solely on him would have just turned this into another paranormal detective show. Which would have been cool, but wouldn't really have the same potential as all the different perspectives provided.
The protagonist / hero in the traditional and singular sense is Eleven.
Of course, all the main kids and teens are heroes and protagonists too, but Eleven is clearly the main main one.
I mean, it’s arguably Eleven.
If we’re going to pick anyone, it’s her story more than anyone else’s.
Saying El is the main character stings a lot of people. I wonder why.
It does and it’s really confusing. She’s clearly the main protagonist and what connects all these storylines together. It’s an ensemble show but she’s the main protagonist
it doesnt help that the duffers recently said the story was always about will, and that so many fans are way too focused on that one ship.
imo i think eleven and will the protagonists, with mike, the rest of the kids, the teens, joyce and hopper being the main characters.
eleven and will set the story forward, they made it happen, the things that happen to them always move the story, will disappearing and eleven escaping and being found by mike set the story for the upside down and the hawkins lab, we find about the mindflayer thru will’s posession, if el hadn’t spied on billy and if will handnt had his goosebumps, the rest wouldnt have realized something was wrong until nancy figured it out on her own with her limited resources, in season 4 we couldve argued that there was less protagonism for will and eleven since both were far away from hawkins and el didnt have her powers, but thanks to el getting arrested and taken to the nina project, we find more about henry and what led to the gate being opened.
sorry for the long yap
You should be sorry...long yap boils down to - Will got his story relevance only in S2....I said this somewhere else.... Everyone did their part in the story...Mike/El the most among all seasons, Joyce/Hopper in S3/S4(their subplots in Russian base/russia, Dustin/Steve/Lucas/Max in S2 etc. The duffers said,"Wills disappearance kicked of this whole story. Season 5 is about bringing everything full circle and in order to do that we needed to make will central again". Painting this line as Will is the protagonist is not it. Out of all their character development, the characters we grown to like and adore, out of the blue in S5 we just have to ACCEPT will is the main character. NAH ✋🧱
Personally because I just don’t feel like it’s true. If anything, Eleven is one of the main plot devices, aside from being one of the main characters, but I don’t feel like that makes her *THE main character. I find it to be El’s story as much as it’s Mike’s, Will’s, Lucas’s and the rest of the gang (and grant you, I like Eleven a lot)
The show could be called Jane the Eleven Experiment and it would be exactly the same show.
It would be a wildly misleading title though, implying the show is about Eleven when it’s really about an alternate dimension, monsters, and shady government being the backdrop for a story of friendship, growth, and heroism.
By that logic it could also be called ‘Kids inside D&D’ and be the same show.
Yep.
Everything started with her and she’s the character with the closest connection to the main antagonist.
Yeah, I mean I never really gave thought to it; I've always assumed El was the main character? ?
I mean El was pretty sideline in her own ploy in s2 away from the actual atory of the season until the very end. That's why i don't consider anyone in particular as being thr singular definitive protagonist because all of them have been sidelined at some point. Nancy and Hop probably are the closest to never being sidelined but i think most wouldn't consider them as the lead protagonist
Yeah I’d agree with this. She sets everything in motion. Season 2 spends a lot of time showing us her daily life and then gives her the solo Chicago side quest. Season 3 ends with Hopper’s letter to her. A good chunk of season 4 is spent watching her separated from the team and learning about her past.
It is ultimately an ensemble show but she’s got the best claim to being the lead.
Mike is the protagonist of S1. El is the protagonist of S2 and S3. S4 and S5 don’t have a singular protagonist.
So I would agree that if we had to designate one character as the series protagonist, it’s El.
Season 4 is kinda max tbh
Eleven is the protagonist
False premise.
Eleven is the main character , and quite obviously so despite others also getting the chance to shine.
Hell, the entire reason the story is happening is because she tore a hole in reality and inadvertent created Vecna. Everything that matters revolves around her.
Yes.
Though main cast is overbloated, that's why characters development like Johnathan suffers...
The show was stronger when Mike was the focus.
Yes absolutely! It realises what so many shows with one protagonists try to be there message/ essence:
Friendship is all you need.
(Yes, yes the Beatles. Love their music!)
YES - and this is the reason for its success - IMO. It's not your typical superhero story where one person has abilities and is expected to save the day. We see a collective doing the work and you can't help but root for them - for ALL OF THEM - because, despite their flaws, they are all really great characters.
There is no singular lead plotwise/ writing wise but brand wise, Eleven feels like the most important character.
While it is an ensemble show, I believe the core four and Eleven are the main characters, the whole show focuses on Will, while Jane is the face of the show.
It's Eleven though... Maybe not in the first season. But as it kept going she's clearly meant to be the primary protagonist. You can even tell by all promotional art it's always her centered
I mean Eleven is the main protagonist. It’s an ensemble show but she’s the core of the story
Hmm how about will or eleven
Oh they're main characters too. They're just not in the picture.
Will is barely in S1 and spends most of S2 in a hospital bed.
He’s a pivotal character now, but he was mostly a plot device in the first 2 seasons.
I think the initial choice to not have a single protagonist was the right one, but they went too far in the other direction and kept adding characters to the point where it was hard to give enough screentime to the original characters.
Yes, shows with singular protagonists bore me.
yesss
Mmmh, I think that El is the protagonist, but yes, the made the right choice to give other characters a lot of time to shine. I see it like this:
I don't know how to classify the villains tbh
I thought the main character was clearly Eleven. Secondary, possibly Will.
Every storyline, even the show as a whole revolves around her, or her origin, or something she has caused (such as opening the gate originally).
But I do love that each charatcter gets time to develop and have the focus on them, makes us feel we really know them
Will was a plot device in S1 and S2 and then was a secondary character in S3 and S4.
He seems to be getting more of a protagonist role in S5, but looking at the entire series, there’s no way he’s the main character.
That's why I said he's the secondary character.
Im definitely intrigued where his story arc is going though. Can't wait for the next episodes!
Yes because there’s like 8 side plots per character and it would’ve been impossible to explore this world otherwise
The only thing stranger things completely messed up on was not coming out yearly.
Will was never the main character. He was a plot device for s1. He has the most low/close to lowest screentime in every season. Just because we have 1 ep in s5 giving will powers. People will now say it was about will all along.
Didn't he become very important in S2? Also according to wiki he is a main character after S1. (I do agree he's been pretty underused in S3 and 4 though)
He was possessed and a plot device I would say. Eleven had more than double his screentime. Eliminated the main threat, came at a clutch moment to save the cast. Yes he is underused, but he wont ever be more important than Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven, Max, Steve, Hopper, Joyce, Nance. Everyone did their part all this time. El the most. Now its the WILL SHOW? NAH
There is no I in party.
I haven't heard a phrase like that in forever.
It worked incredibly well in the first season and continued to a lesser extent in following seasons but so far in season 5 its very clear that they are struggling to give everyone something to do. You can almost see the writers stalling at times to shuffle other characters to where they need to be.
I thought that was for Season 3 and 4. 5 actually concentrates on a proper and meaningful goal. (no Russians)
The goal of 5 initially is 'find Vecna and make sure he's dead'. It then becomes 'find vecna because we know he's not dead'. Its paper thin at best.
Joyce, Steve, Jonathan, Max, Lucas and Mike are all passengers this season. None of them have a meaningful part to play in the story anymore. They are just their because they have to be. The writers have no idea what to do with them.
I mean the show doesn't really happen without Eleven, so if someone has to be the main character it's her
I mean there’s plenty of shows like that
Yes, it's an ensemble show
I like that it feels like a true ensemble show.
Yes because it was done right
Yea I think more shows should do that. If a protagonist is for whatever reason not clicking as hard with the fanbase it could tank interest. But if you cycle between many different "strong" characters but none of which that are dynamic to carry a show you're more likely to keep a fan entertained (as long as most characters are fairly strongly written)
I love having an ensemble of main characters to watch and see their perspectives!
Yes! I love ensemble cast stories.
Yes. I love movies, shows, and books that do this
Yes. Some shows have a very charismatic central character. But it's refreshing to have an ensemble cast from time to time where it's sort of a rotating area of focus. Even side characters or one-off characters occasionally get the focus. And it keeps things moving along. It makes for good pacing. With a very charismatic central character, taking the focus away from them can make your mind wander as you don't care about the side characters, and you get bored when the main character isn't the focus. Instead with such an ensemble, every scene feels more connected and the pacing just flies. Even the longer episodes don't feel it, because the Duffers are masters of pacing. The way they edit shots really draws you into the next shot, and you never feel like it drags.
Even in some of my favorite shows, there's like those one scenes, or even a whole episode that just kind of drags and I want to skip to get to the meat. But with Stranger Things it's so well paced that I rarely, if ever, feel like it's dragging. I just completed another rewatch of seasons 1-4 in preparation for 5, and that observation still stands. Every single scene feels necessary, nothing really drags. The editing is tight. I also noticed they like to end a scene early. Like they could linger longer on a shot. They could sort of have a finality. Instead the end the shot right at the most interesting part, it leaves you wanting just a little more, so it pulls you along. Even in scenes where they have a sort of aha moment, they cut it off before the reveal. So it makes you want to keep watching. They save the reveal for the next scene when they come back to it. It's a nice little trick, and even when you know it's happening it still draws you in.
That tight scene execution, editing, and the ensemble cast, it all works very well for this show. The latest session has felt less tight, and some things feel strange.
Spoilers for season 5 part 1
The build up and reveal that Henry/Vecna is Mr. Whatsit was kind of silly. We ALL know it's him. Who else is invading people's minds? Holly has an imaginary friend? Yeah it's totally Vecna. Big slow reveal, HENRY. Yes yes, we know we know. Nothing was being subverted so that whole thing could have been a one shot reveal, and STILL gotten the effect across. The Duffers are great at these big epic moments. But sometimes they could pull back and use more subtlety. This was one glaring area this season.
We spent time elsewhere, and I get it, you can only do so much. But WTF happened to Derek's family? He's the only one that woke up? And then the NEXT DAY he's walking up to the military base, I kept thinking, "what about Derek's family? Are they STILL drugged?" I know it's a minor thing, and they'll probably address that in the next part. But seriously, you can't kidnap the whole family and then expect us to forget it. Geez. I feel like that would have been tighter if they only kidnapped Derek first, then his family being in the wind wouldn't matter. We would just all assume his parents are worried, and they could insert a shot of them later on after the fact to confirm.
Finally, the Will reveal. I like it, and as is, it's perfectly fine. But they pull the trick of cutting away at the climax to show this home movie thing of his memories. It kind of kills the momentum, and draws out the reveal. The way I'd fix this is instead of a hard cut, have the demogorgon attack playing out in slow motion, and from the moment Vecna walks out, it has the demogorgons coming and Robin's monologue starts playing, and every time she speaks, we get a side cutaway to a memory, then as the demogorgons are nearly there, then we get the reveal. Like, picture Hopper's flashbacks in the season 1 finale. Cut Will's memories just like that, you aren't stopping, you aren't cutting to black, you're punching up the moment in real time.
In general I dislike the really hard cut to black in the middle of the action. I didn't like that moment in season 4 either when El finally throws Vecna. But it's brief and forgivable in an otherwise epic showdown.
There were two hard cut-to-black moments in 5 that just really kills that momentum right before the moment of climax.
Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED Talk about Stranger Things editing.
I love the fact it's a group of people that work together and help each other out. The show is showing us what a strong team and friendship can do to help each other out in Many different ways to support and save each other
Perfect actually.
In comparison see Grey’s Anatomy. The only living Grey in that show isn’t a show regular anymore.
Or Imagine if the actor playing Dr House quit mid season or mid show?
It’s always better to have a big ensemble so that if one character quits the show can still continue with the same glory!
Absolutely. Just like in a DnD campaign it’s about all the party members equally facing the big bad
I mean, when the Duffer brothers went to studios to get a deal, they all shut them down cus they didn't think a TV show about a group of kids would be that popular... But what happened? Turned out that group of kids is now one of the most popular TV shows in modern culture.
The protagonist is the friends we made along the way
That's the show's main attraction so yes
Yes. I like that there are multiple protagonists.
Yes. In D&D it's about having a party of heroes, not a single one.
I’d still argue Eleven is the main protagonist but yes they did
What I don't get is why Steve and Will have still never met each other?
They have direct conversation in season 5
People keep saying this, did you miss their direct conversation in season 5. Steve "so was it through Holly's eyes or Vecna's". Will "both". The two talk during this conversation. Sure it's a group one, but that still counts.
[removed]
Let’s not forget Billy and his 5 minute hero arc saving El in season 3
100% yes
Yeah I think so
Yes (???!!!)
Yes
What do you mean, Billy is the protagonist!
They made the right choice since the gang itself is the foundation on why hawkins is still somewhat safe. They all have roles to play in protecting the town.
I think usually it doesn’t work and the show would feel like way too much is happening. However, the Duffer brothers have done an excellent job at telling their story and not overwhelming the audience.
It’s an ensemble, which helps makes the story be so intricate. I love all the little groupings every season, with their own story connected to the main plot. We wouldn’t get so much out of it, if they focused on just one person as the protagonist. That’s why I love shows like Lost.
I love how the show has/had the kids, teens, and adults all be important characters
Yeah, those moments where everyone's together fighting the same enemy are honestly some of the best moments in TV
At times El doesn't even seem like the main character. I think it's great. Will feels like the main character, at least as significant as El, when you look at the overall plot
Yes. It gives more breathing room on other character's backstory and stuff rather than them being just background characters for the show.
Yes
Ensemble cast is cool, but I think they struggle on what to do with most characters past the season they're introduced. When a characters has gone through their main arc and can't be killed, it's like they don't know what to do with them
Eleven is the main character, which is probably the biggest reason why she has the highest pay out of the entire cast
It made a mistake focusing too much on El and Hopper, when they worked better as supporting characters. Joyce and Mike were the main characters of Season 1 & 2, and the story works because it's about a mother who wants her son to be okay and a boy who meets a girl with powers and also wants to find his best friend.
in my brain Mike is STILL the primary protagonist. 5 seasons in and I still have season 1 lock brain, thinking that he is going to somehow be the missing piece to the whole puzzle in the end that erases the upside down for good.
It's not gonna happen, but subconsciously no matter how little screen time he gets I keep seeing him as the main character
Yes
Yes thats one of the reasons why i love it so much!
Yes, and it makes the ending with 11 more impactful whatever happens. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they are in it together as fully formed characters. Less chance of a Game of Thrones cluster f’ disaster ending…I’m still not over it.
Yes, because the Duffer Brothers know how to handle a big cast properly.
It also allows for a captivating structure, as we have a lot of groups to follow. This allows for many scene changes so your current scene doesnt get boring. The Duffers also know how to make every character grow, both by themselves and in relation to their current group. I also love the mix-ups and that the groups don't stay the same.
Hell yeah. It's a D&D party, every character and npc serves the story in some way.
So Will is not the singular protagonist?
Colour me surprised. (genuinely)
Yesssss! Loving the way it is.
Just set the show in 1992
I feel like ST definitely has a MC FYM?
I still think Mike is the protagonist. Even if he’s not close to the most screen time.
I would say Eleven is the main protagonist. Stranger Things is her origin story.
Yes. Ensemble dramas generally fair better over multiple seasons than ones with singular protagonists, because a singular protagonist either has to lack much character development or probably ends up risking developing in ways the audience doesn't like at some point, or just having an extended arc in a situation viewers don't like, or something. It can be done well, but it is rare. An ensemble can explore more character development or riskier plot moves without putting all the eggs in those baskets. And the makers of Stranger Things have done a phenomenal job of keeping their large stable of characters compelling and likeable.
Looking at Season 4, I find the Hopper in Russia plot very frustrating (he just keeps getting stuck again, and I was kind of meh on the whole premise anyway), but it's not a dealbreaker because it's just one set of main characters on one plot thread.
Also single protagonist action adventure just tends to get repetitive. The same person is always going to save the day in some variation of the same ways based on their skill set. If this was just the Eleven show I'm guessing we all would have lost interest around season 3 when she would have, yet again, killed a monster with her powers and closed a gate. Oddly I don't mind that approach so much in a series where each episode is a one-off adventure, even though those are really much more repetitive, because then it's really about the journey not the destination. But when you do whole season plots where every story is basically the length of the Lord of the Rings trilogy building to basically the same conclusion over and over again doesn't really keep me engaged.
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
It would get boring if you had one character lead ALL the time.
Yes. When this show is said and done it will go down as the greatest show in the last 25 years easy and the big reason is, well there is a character for everyone.
That’s a bit much. There have been a lot of great shows in the last 25 years. Top 10 is fair, there’s an argument to be made for even top 5
The last 25 years covers the entire golden age of TV Dramas.
I love ST but it absolutely doesn’t hold a candle to the likes of Breaking Bad.
GoT, The Wire, The Sopranos, Like you said Breaking Bad… the list is long.
I suspect recency bias is heavily influencing OPs comment.
Really? So time for a reality check.
1) those shows are good shows absolutely, legendary. My point isn’t a shot at them or their quality. But none of them have done what Stranger Things has done. You spoke about recency bias? Nah.
When Netflix started making original content there was a very large question mark on if they could deliver. Now - and in no small part due to the success of Stranger Things - they are in the position to buy Warner Brothers. Take away the success of Stranger Things and I am not sure where Netflix is at today.
Now you will fire back that viewership doesn’t necessarily equal quality, I will happily agree. What I will say is that those shows are aimed at adults.
That is a much easier writing in so far as you can go darker and grittier than most shows. ST is damn well close to an all ages show though I will put a PG13 on it but there were a lot of kids who are in their teens who have grown up with that show over the last several years.
To gain a mass audience, to be appointment TV in 2025 is unheard of and so far in season 5 they haven’t fumbled the landing of the show.
If this show sticks the landing and has a satisfactory finish, my point stands. No show speaking to a mass audience has been able to do what Stranger Things has done and that isn’t an insult to other shows
To your first point, The Crown was also released shortly after ST in 2016 and is highly regarded by audiences and critics. I don’t think you can separate the two and place credit fully on ST.
I take issue with it being the greatest show of the last 25 years when we haven’t seen the end yet. I said someone could probably make an argument for top 10 or possibly even top 5, but the best? Number 1? No.
I am sorry, the Crown doesn’t touch Stranger Things in terms of popularity. I will defer on quality because I have zero interest in that show and I assume it’s well written.
I stand by my original point and my follow up comment
And I stand by my point that there are better shows out there in the last 25 years than Stranger Things.
Hopper and Joyce are kinda the main protagonists though, they get lots of scenes and we kinda experience ST from their perspective as a viewer sometimes more than that of the kids
Eleven is the main protagonist, if we are speaking from beginning to end. In season one, arguments can be made for Mike too. I think a lot of people have confused “main character”, “focus”/“about”, and the term protagonist itself. They are not always the same thing.
Sure, the Duffers said the show is about Will. That doesn’t make him the protagonist. Not the whole time, at least. Your protagonist can’t be M.I.A. for the entire season (season 1). A protagonist has to have an active role that moves the story along, and a lot of Will’s story is people talking about him. That doesn’t mean he’s not important, but I don’t think you can call him the protagonist.
Then again, the show is made to feel like a D&D campaign with all its moving parts and story arcs. Will’s role has grown more prominent, and Mike’s less, so you could make more of an argument for him now, just not that he’s the main protagonist of the whole show. Meanwhile, Eleven has been consistently involved in every season to a similar degree, so I would call her the definitive protagonist if there is one.
Yes. Purely because the actors of Mike and Eleven fucking suck and could not have carried the show on their own.
El is the protagonist, mike is the main lieutenant and love interest.
But i prefer almost all the other characters to them.
Dustin and steve.
Max and lucas.
Hopper, joyce, and murry.
Eddie.
Argyle.
Aren't Steve, El, and Hopper the main characters
Lol, if we're being selective about main characters than Steve isn't one at all. He's just popular.
Steve is in multiple parties across the series with heavy focus
Yeah so are a lot of the characters. Most have all been in different groups across the series. Steve didn't have a prominent and prolonged role with any of the groups until the middle of S2. Nancy, Mike, Dustin, Lucas have all had prominent roles in various groups since the beginning of the show itself. The show started with Will's disappearance and Joyce's efforts to look after him. All of these characters have had a greater role than him, and to prioritize him as a main character and sideline them simply because he became popular later is dumb
Steve is like Milhouse
Nah cause I don't care if Milhouse dies, whereas Steve is the only one I care about if lives or dies
Steve??
According to the wiki it's not just them. Also, wouldn't the Party be more likely to have main characters than Steve?
No , Steve is popular but he wasn't the main character.
If you see the 1st season, the main characters were Mike, Dustin, Will, Lucas, Eleven, Hopper and Joyce.
But later on they gave every character a standout season
For me, the main characters of Season 1 are: Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, Nancy, Jonathan, Hopper and Joyce . Will is not a main character in season 1. He has little screentime.
Ummm... Nancy and Jonathan?
lmao Steve is like the tenth or eleventh most important character in main cast. Bro barely has a story post s2 that isn't based around wanting to date a girl
He's literally the babysitter/ride for the main party while Jonathan is just some loser stoner
Jonathan is the "loser" who actually got into college, been a parent figure for most of his life including needing to work, and is a better BF to Nancy in including actually understanding her. This show is for the outcasts and losers to be heroes so this whole comment is lmao
Steve is a babysitter like once a year and he even has the nerve to complain about that in s4 and tried to abandoned his "kids" to try and hit on a taken Nancy. Meanwhile like i said, he's been in a rut since s2 and what development he had in s3 was immediately walked back on in s4
Yeah he understands her so well that he lies to her constantly
lol he lied to her in s4 because he knew Nancy well and if he told her the truth, she would sacrifice her dream college to go with him to Lenora. That's literally in the show
Yeah he knows her so well after spending season 2 trying to expose Barbs killers and the LIE told about her death
found the person who only watches for steve.
It's called having good taste, sweetie
don't ever call me sweetie. i don't know you and now i don't like you. steven is a secondary character and his whole purpose rn is obsessing over a girl who doesn't like him and being an idiot. the only time he was a genuinely good character was in s3.
Whatever you say sweetie