Stranger Things Season Five: In Praise of the Keepers of the Role-Playing-Game Flame
By John Kirk
Rating: A
The release of Stranger Things – with its use of Dungeons & Dragons as a crucial narrative device in battling the supernatural - took the nerd-world by storm when it was originally streamed on Netflix in 2016.
Not only was it a nostalgic tsunami of why the ‘80s were the origins of storytelling for an entire generation, but it was also an affirmation of role-playing games as a means for making youthful sense of the world.
Look, I’m not saying that Dungeons & Dragons is a magical augury that can reveal the secrets of life, universe and everything. But for some, it could be. If you know what an augury is, you might be one of them
Reaching back into my own gamer past, I remember our dungeon master, Terry. Like Stranger Things’ Will the Wise (Noah Schnapp), he was OUR permanent DM. He told stories well and judged games with a sense of balance. He was a wizard of words. We all loved him.
“The Party” in Stranger Things.
Terry had us create stand-ins for ourselves. We were the characters in the game, and the skills, abilities and talents of our 17-year-old selves were defined in the gameplay.
It was a unique experience for teenagers to create versions of ourselves, based what we were and what we weren’t. And this had to be validated by our peers. Our friends knew us and we knew them. If we created a character that didn’t ring true, then it was ruled invalid.
It wasn’t just about the game, but about acceptance. We saw each other as having great skills and abilities, not just as characters in a game, but as real people.
That may be the appeal of Stranger Things to a core audience. There’s plenty of non-gamer acclaim about the excellence of the series, the nostalgic and retro ‘80s appeal, but it really is more than that.
Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) was an overnight sensation in Season Four. He wasn’t a hero because of his death, but because of his life. He was a dungeon master who loved storytelling. His embrace of fantasy allowed him to be the hero that the audience could grasp.
All of the Party (initially Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo) were players that anyone who loved D&D in the ‘80’s could immediately relate to. On paper, we are defined. Our origins, our motivations, our strengths, weaknesses, powers and possessions.
Oh, and yeah – in these groups, characters had classes; professions, if you prefer a non-gaming definition. Wizards, sorcerors, rogues, warriors, healers, priests … you name it. We had specific roles that only these character classes could fulfill. There was security in knowing we had someone who could do THAT job when it was needed in the adventure.
Stranger Things, regardless of the season, has been a call-back to every year of the ‘80s this show has managed to faithfully reproduce. From Ghostbusters references in the first season, to the recitation of the anthem from The Neverending Story in Season Four (a highlight for me), or Karen Wheeler’s passionate defence of her daughter in Season Five (evoking 1986’s Aliens and Sigourney Weaver’s “GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!”), could there be any better references?
But it’s not just about the ‘80s nostalgia, it’s about tapping into a vein of shared cultural recollections that stand out for people who lived the role-playing experience. Dungeons & Dragons opened the door to other games. There was the sci-fi RPG, Traveler, the superhero RPG Champions and the horror classic, Call of Cthulhu, based on the novels and short stories of H. P. Lovecraft. These, and others, opened up young minds to some of the greatest storytelling of the twentieth century.
Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers clearly realized that there was an opportunity to base an adventure story in the collective experiences of that generation of role-players, one that would time well with the resurgence of popularity of D&D with a younger generation.
The structure for this latest installment of Stranger Things is divided into volumes. Volume One includes Episodes 1 to 4, which have already been dropped on Netflix. Episodes 5 to 7 will be dropped on Christmas Day with the final episode released on December 31. Yeah, these guys know timing.
They also know the importance of nostalgia. Think about it: Winona Ryder, Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Linda Hamilton, Cary Elwes – there have been so many familiar faces in this series that their very presence literally breathes the ‘80s. Even Grace Van Dien, who played Chrissy in the last season, is the daughter of Starship Troopers icon, Casper Van Dien.
There are a lot of ‘80s touches in this season too. Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) work-out togs are a direct connection to the same outfit that Josh Brolin wore in The Goonies. There’s an intricate weaving of elements of Madeleine L'Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time throughout this season that any ‘80’s kid can’t help but notice. Giving Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) the distinctive nom de plume as Mr. Whatsit is a definitive nod to L’Engle’s book and the character of Mrs. Whatsit. The Duffer Brothers manage to make the ‘80s contemporary again.
But it really is about the role-playing.
Role-playing taught problem-solving. When Eleven and the rest of the Party decide on a strategy, they include graph paper maps, D&D miniature figures, grease pencils and even overhead projectors. They map, they record, they obtain resources and equipment like basic electronics, shovels, whatever could be useful. They gather or make weapons that fit the situation they are going into. They plan ahead in way so characteristic of the ‘80s that it fairly screams, “See?” to Gen X-ers.
Heck, even Season Four was a thumbed nose to the so-called “Satanic Panic” of the ‘80s.
The generation that was the same age as the characters in this show can look back and approve of the way that the youth of Hawkins is handling the Upside-Down. That was the way the D&D playin’, Walkman-carryin’, Radio Shack and Arcade-dwelling teens who used to eat pizza and play role-playing games into the wee hours in a basement would have handled it.
Stranger Things Season Five. Directors: The Duffer Brothers, Frank Darabont, Shawn Levy. Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, Linda Hamilton, and Jamie Campbell Bower.
Stranger Things Season Five is streaming on Netflix now.