By: Gigi Hume

Ah, summer. How we all miss it. The days spent poolside, hanging out with friends, and, of course, we can’t forget those hours upon hours spent binge-watching Netflix. And knowing the increased amount of traffic the summer months bring, Netflix definitely pulled out the stops to keep its subscribers coming back for more.   

With the releases of the emotional Season 4 of Orange is the New Black to the soulful series premiere of The Get Down, they made sure there was no shortage in great shows to feed the “netaflixia”. But among all of these releases, one new series stood out among the rest for its…strangeness–and that’s Stranger Things.

The 80s-style, Duffer Brother-directed series was initially released on July 15th, 2016 and from July 17th-July 23rd, it earned the #1 spot on the list of most in-demand digital series within a mere two days after its premiere. That’s not even taking into account the huge fan-base it has created since then, a group who has garnered up endless amounts of memes, fan-fics, and hype.

So, what’s SO great about it?

Well, let’s set the scene.  

The year is 1983 in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana and everything appears to be as good as Eggos until a young boy named Will disappears under mysterious, and possibly paranormal circumstances. The story then follows the people closest to him, his mom, Joyce, his brother, Jonathan, and his (ADORABLE) band of friends, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, as the navigate their way through this ordeal and try to find him. Simultaneously, the enigmatic girl known as “Eleven,” “El” for short, appears as if out of nowhere and leaves stranger things in her midst. She eventually joins forces with Mike, Dustin, Lucas, but just as she does so, that’s when things get even stranger.

The viewer is left with dozens upon dozens of unanswered questions like, “What’s with the Christmas lights in Joyce’s house?”, “What is the Upside Down?”, “Why does Eleven’s nose always bleed?”, and of course, “WHAT ABOUT BARB?”

Eventually, all of the characters go on their separate quests to discover the “why?” behind all of these peculiar happenings, and it eventually all comes together (but I won’t spoil it:). Still somehow, even in the midst of all this, there still manages to be some romance, a bone to all the lovebirds out there. As the plot progresses, a definite love triangle among Will’s brother, Jonathan, Mike’s sister, Nancy, and “cool-guy-jock” Steve blooms and adds some relief from the tense, sometime scary moments of the show.  

These twists and turns, loves and losses, all are what precisely what make this show so suspenseful, heart-tugging, and ultimately so great. But for the sake of not spoiling any more, I leave you here and encourage you to view this smash-hit for yourself, and maybe even make it your “I-don’t-want-to-do-homework-procrastination” show for the new school year.