Nostalgia served over ice

Nostalgia is like whiskey: enjoyable in moderation, but not something you should rely on for happiness. Sooner or later, you risk developing an unhealthy relationship with it.

Stranger Things lures you in with nostalgia (the aesthetic, the setting, the story) but keeps you invested through its characters and their chemistry.

The adult cast is strong, but the real heart of the show is the kids. They have an incredible chemistry that feels completely natural. They talk like actual children: the nonstop jokes, the run-on sentences, the boundless excitement that can't quite be contained.

When the story shifts to the older cast, it occasionally brushes up against teen drama, but it never spills over into melodrama.

Historical accuracy notwithstanding, the show feels like the 1980s. The muted color palette, the fashion, the music, and the overall atmosphere all come together beautifully.

This is what Netflix does best: fun, engaging television that is easy to binge but just as easy to step away from and return to later.