Stranger Things: best moments in honor of season 3 in the making

Stranger Things 3 is in the making, and in honor of that, it is time to look back.

Two seasons have been shared with us, along with so many moments that came with them. Stranger Things has had its ups, downs, upside-down… But more importantly, the series shares moments with its viewers that make us cry, laugh, gasp, and take us to the edge of our seats.

Here are the best of said moments featured in the first two seasons, in honor of “Stranger Things 3” in the making.

Note: Spoilers below if you aren’t caught up with the series!

(Season 1, episode 3) Will communicates with Joyce through the lights.

Joyce believes Will is still alive, and for good reason. Suspicion clearly rises in this scene and even the one before it where Will communicates by flashing the unplugged lights. In that scene, Joyce is holding a string of lights in a bundle, unplugged and seemingly unfazed. But when she tries to figure out how to communicate with Will, the lights begin to flash in reply. That’s when Joyce produces the idea of the alphabet wall.

In this scene, Joyce has painted letters all over the wall in the form of an alphabet, connected with Christmas lights. She asks Will questions but just gets one answer, “RUN.”

(Season 1, episode 4) Hopper finds Will’s body decoy.

Many people in Hawkins were suspicious over the death of Will Byers, but Hopper took it to another level. While Joyce was also speculating and investigating, Hopper decided to go straight to the source. As soon as he found Will’s body, he touched the skin with the back of his hand. There’s something off.

This was a huge turning point in the series. Hopper took out his pocket knife and cut into the body, only to reveal, it’s stuffed with cotton. Every fan watching–even if they knew that Will was alive–was shocked at this scene. The only question buzzing in our heads after this was: ‘Where’s the real Will then?’

(Season 1, episode 7) Eleven makes the van fly.

The lab was onto them. The kids had been barely getting away from the vans when all of a sudden, one comes rushing in front of them. All of their investigating and hiding Eleven was about to be all for nothing. But then the unexpected happens, and when the van is about to collide with the kids, Eleven makes it fly.

This scene even brings the earlier feud between Mike and Lucas to an end. The kids realize that if they stick together that they can get through anything.

(Season 1, episode 8) Eleven sacrifices herself to kill the demogorgon.

The demogorgon had been released in the school and there was nowhere to run. The kids had no choice but to stand their ground. While the boys scrambled to their defenses to defeat it with their wrist rocket, Eleven realized it was her time.

Already exhausted and completely worn out, she conjured every ounce of energy possible to destroy and kill the demogorgon. But the only thing is, that with the demogorgon, went Eleven, and so she says, “Goodbye, Mike,” and leaves us in a pool of tears.

(Season 1, episode 8) Joyce and Hopper find Will in the upside-down.

In this scene, it alternates between two things in Hopper’s perspective. During the scene, he begins to think back to the death of his daughter as they search for Will. While Hopper may have a dark past, there’s no doubt later on that he is building a much more evolved future.

(Season 1, episode 8) Steve buys a new camera for Johnathan.

After almost a whole season of Steve kind of being a jerk, this scene is a huge indicator of his character development. Of course, him coming to Johnathan’s house to apologize, and coming back to fight was iconic. But this scene is a direct parallel from the beginning of the season, where he rips Johnathan’s photos and destroys his camera.

Nancy comes down the staircase with a gift for Johnathan, which is revealed to be a brand new camera. It’s a sweet moment that becomes even sweeter when we hear Steve say, “Did you give it to him?”

(Season 2, episode 3) Will tells the demogorgon to go away.

Many conspiracies were created specifically concerning Bob and the clown that he encountered. Bob says that he met a clown at a fair one day that left a bad impression, and later started having reoccurring dreams about him. He says that every time he saw the clown in the dream, he’d run, but things would just get worse. He said that one day, he stood his ground, and told him to go away and that he never saw him again after that. This scene has stirred up many conspiracies that the clown was actually Pennywise from It.

In this scene, Will does exactly what Bob told him that he did. But the difference is, the things that haunted Will just got much more real instead of disappearing.

(Season 2, episode 5) Terry’s story is told.

Terry is Eleven’s (Jane) mother, but by the time Eleven finds her, it’s much too late. Terry only mumbles small words and phrases, incomprehensible, random things. Or at least they seem to be random, until this scene.

This scene is amazing because it gives so much context and depth to something that was so random and unexpected before. Eleven sees it all, and she finally understands not only what caused the damage to her mother, but that there’s no way to fix it.

(Season 2, episode 5) Will’s connection to the upside-down is revealed.

Clearly, there was something wrong with Will from the start, but things quickly became much worse. The kids and Hopper investigated the odd gaping hole in the ground, and Will coped with the prior traumatic experience. But they realized that a solution is much more complicated than just burning the hole and the upside-down.

Will was connected to it. So everything that it felt, so did Will, and in a fiery pain as well. This is clearly shown in this scene, by Noah Schnapp’s incredible acting chops and ability to embody such a powerful force, such as the upside-down.

(Season 2, episode 8) Billy is confronted by his parents.

This scene is essential to learning about Billy’s character. Throughout the entirety of the second season, he really had been nothing but a big bully. From abusing Max to almost running over all of her friends (full-force with his car), he really seemed like he had no heart.

But this scene breaks through that facade, perhaps even giving us an insider’s perspective into why Billy is the way he is. He starts out with his walls up, but once they’re broken down, it’s almost like he’s a different person. Granted, it doesn’t last very long, but for this scene, he is vulnerable. And that’s more than we can say for his character at any other point of the show so far.

(Season 2, episode 9) Steve and Max fight Billy.

The scene begins with Billy finding Max at the Byers’ household, after basically searching the whole town (and flirting with Mrs. Wheeler). He comes to the house and Steve walks out, telling the kids to stay inside. Well, that plan doesn’t work out so well, because Billy soon sees the kids watching from the window, and kicks Steve to the ground. He strides inside.

But fear not, Steve won’t let anything happen to his kids. He and Billy go at it for a long while, until Billy’s got him to the ground, knocking him out punch by punch. Max had always been submissive to Billy, but not now, not with her friends involved like this. She grabs a syringe and sticks it in his neck, causing him to fall to the ground. Not much later, Billy’s acknowledging that he isn’t to bother Max or her friends again, after a scream and a swing where the sun don’t shine with a nailed bat.

(Season 2, episode 9) Eleven closes the gate.

This scene is a hugely important scene, and especially because of its parallels. At the beginning of the series, we find out that Eleven is the reason that the gate opened in the first place. And in this scene, with the support of Hopper and the training from her sister Kali, she closes it once and for all (Maybe? Who even knows with this show?).

The scene flashbacks through many moments that contribute to Eleven’s strength, and therefore results in an ethereal show of lights, blood, and restoration.

Next: Stranger Things season 3 is going to introduce a new evil

What are your favorite moments from Stranger Things? Will you be watching “Stranger Things 3”? Let us know in the comments below!

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Stranger Things: Best moments in honor of season 3 in the making

By Bella Bakayou | Jun 21, 2018