When there is a character that you see a piece of yourself in, you get more attached to that character and you love what you are watching more. You can empathize with him and put yourself in his shoes.
Eddie was such a character for me.
I was sceptical about the Stranger Things but still watched it beacuse almost all of my friends suggested it.
! Sentences like this will contain spoilers about the series.
As you know, I've been playing dungeons and dragons for a long time, and some of my friends who asked me to watch Stranger things are friends who have played the game at my table.
People who have heard terms like Demogorgon and Vecna more or less in conversations. One of them is even preparing to run the Out of the Abyss module with the real Demogorgon. They recommended it to me so much that I couldn't resist and I started watching it from the first season.
I spend most of my time in the fantasy world as well. Since Stranger things is a world with both science fiction and fantasy elements, it was not difficult to adapt, but I can say that I did not like the sexual experiences of minors at the beginning of the movie. Yes, the actors are older people in real life. It was still weird. This might be one of the reasons why I didn't like Season 1. Anyway.
Towards the end of season 1 and up to the last episode that is airing now, the end of season 4, there was something that kept me hooked. I was able to find the excitement of our own dungeons and dragons adventures. Not only that, but I found a character that I really found myself with, Eddie.
If we see ourselves in a character, we feel more emotionally connected to that story. In my high school years, I was a person who played electric guitar and wore a bandana like Eddie. I didn't have hair like him, but I had a Jackson King V guitar. Even though I grew my hair out years later, it was not possible in my high school years because it was forbidden by regulation. What a stupid thing to do. Anyway...
It is very nice that Stranger Things shows the characters having difficulties in many subjects and shows something from our lives while telling this. We've definitely experienced love pains in high school or adolescence. There were times when we couldn't do the things we wanted to do because of social pressure. It was great that the children there were trying to achieve these things and overcoming the difficulties with a sense of togetherness and the power of friendship.
I also had a few very close friends, and even though we didn't spend a lot of time together like in Stranger Things, we shared everything with these friends. We didn't kill real monsters, and I'm glad that didn't happen to us ahahaha, we fought more imaginary monsters.
! In the of the series, they fight with creatures from a parallel universe, another dimension, which they call upsidedown. First season they name the monster as Demogorgon. Sometimes I wonder why the police, the soldiers and the government, which is very powerful, don't fight these creatures. Why don't the smartest scientists come and help and a few kids in this town have to do this. But that's what's beautiful about the show. The sense of accomplishment. That's what a couple of kids are experiencing, that sense of accomplishment that we experience at our tables, like my sense of accomplishment at the end of a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The friendship and relationship issues that are relevant to their fight with the Demogorgon, El's gradual discovery of her powers, and the flow of the story are all tied together perfectly.
As I mentioned above, I used to play electro guitar in my high school years. I used to go to the music studio with 3 other friends and we used to entertain ourselves. We dreamed of being in a metal band and making money in the future. We also played in the school band.
Just like in Stranger Things, many people looked at us differently because we listened to metal music. Yes, they were not as cruel as in the show and Eddie's story is really different. But I can still say that I experienced the feeling of exclusion and verbal bullying.
! Eddie has been consistently portrayed as a cool guy since the beginning of the story. I mean, since the beginning of the fourth season. When he's first introduced, he's not a coward, he's a dungeon master who keeps the group together and runs the club. He does the management stuff, he runs the games and he manages to keep everyone entertained. He's not a bad guy, but you can feel that he's looking for a way to escape from real life. After the terrible thing that happened to him, after his friend died in front of his eyes, he starts running away. In fact, I draw your attention to the fact that in the previous episodes he suggests the group to run away while playing dungeons and dragons. But the group doesn't run away. They win with a last minute natural twenty.
Eddie also starts running after Chrissy dies and rightly so. It's hard to be traumatized like that and be seen as a criminal and not run away.
There are so many things in life that we are afraid of. Not having money, something bad happening to us or losing our health. Losing the people we love is one of them. Maybe even at the top of the list. One of the most prominent concepts in the series is the importance of friendship and loyalty. Thanks to this friendship, they manage to protect each other many times. They also manage to save each other. To overcome our fears, sometimes we have to face them, but we don't have to do it alone. That's why having trusted friends by our side can make the battle easier.
Even in our Dungeons and dragons games there is a saying, never split the party.
! Eddie, spoiler alert, sacrifices himself at the end of the series. He sees one of the things that everyone fears is going to happen, and instead of risking losing his friends, he makes a move to attract the bat creatures. I don't want to spoil any more spoilers and ruin the show for you, but you can guess that it doesn't end well.
That's why I was deeply moved by Eddie Munson for his honorable act, for being a metalhead and for being a dungeon master.
Stranger Things is really a good sci-fi and fantasy series about the bonds of friendship, and adventuring. I think you can find a piece of yourself, or you will find someone from your childhood. If you have already read this post, I definitely recommend you to watch this series.
I think they make a very good point by showing the power of friendship in the series and explaining that you need to be strong to overcome evil.
Although sometimes the episodes feel slow, I think this is the result of today's incredibly fast fast fast consumption on social media. In fact, slow series and slow movies are usually of better quality. Because we can understand them more clearly. It was nice that they made you feel this by stepping on the brakes once in a while.
Thank you very much for reading. I recommend you catch up with Stranger Things in your spare time. After all, season five is on its way!
If you want to learn more about Dungeons and Dragons Games which they play in the series and inspires them heavily, please consider checking out my latest posts;
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deepl.com/translator is used on this post.
