I watched the season finale of Stranger Things on Netflix last night. This was after binge watching the majority of the show's run over the course of two days.
I had heard good things about the series so decided I'd take a peek. My interest isn't grabbed easily and not always quickly - I have shut off shows after about 10 minutes of viewing and never revisited them. But Stranger Things was sufficiently interesting to keep me going and actually desiring to see the next episode after the current was finished.
Like any learning experience, it took a while to get into the rhythm and understanding of the show. Characters have to be learned, and if they aren't strong portrayals then they aren't easy to remember. But I ended the season knowing everyone's names and what their function was in the storytelling.
The biggest strength of a good story is the mystery it constructs, building question upon question and dispensing small clues along the way. Stranger Things did this. It wasn't until the final episode that the monster was totally revealed.
It almost becomes anti-climatic to finally see the villain in any story because when flesh, mass and weight are added to the mystery, it is no longer a mystery. But, of course, any story has to eventually get to that point. It cannot remain a mystery in perpetuity.
The Stand by Stephen King was like that for me. The first half of the story was very mysterious with the pandemic outbreak, then the visions the survivors had of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg. What were they actually being compelled to do? The first half was shrouded in questions and the doubts of the players only reinforced that. Then when they all traveled west and settled in Boulder, Colorado, the story kind of flat-lined. The final standoff with Randall Flagg was a strong point, but the select few had to leave Boulder and travel to Las Vegas to do that. And it turns out that Randall Flagg, though still imposing, had lost a bit of the mystery that made him seem like a terrible boogeyman.
Mystery is a spice.
Those who are married can remember back to the days of dating and the mystery that wove through the relationship-building process. Will she marry me? Will he agree to commit to me for life? It's all so very heady.
And a certain amount of mystery, in my opinion, is necessary for good storytelling. When the end of the story can be seen early on in the telling, then the rest of the story becomes pointless.
Stranger Things built a strong sense of enigma and wrapped it all up with a mostly satisfying finish. I say mostly because it dangled a few loose threads at the very end as a hook to a possible second season.
If it comes, I'll watch it.
