There are several wholesome moments to look forward to in Stranger Things. For many viewers, such instances are part of the big appeal of watching the show and returning to it over and over for that particular feeling of friendship and community that the creators, the Duffer Brothers, accomplish so well. However, anybody who might mistake it for a simple feel-good watch would be gravely mistaken.
There is a feel-good effect that comes from the show, for sure, but along with this comes skin-crawling, often deeply unsettling scenes--reminding viewers that, despite the show featuring a group of kids kicking around a small town, this show is not, in fact, for kids. However, it wouldn't be the show it is without a mix of the blood-chilling and the heart-warming, and Stranger Things fans wouldn't have it any other way.
Eleven goes searching for Barb in the Upside-Down, only to find a slimy, decaying corpse. This is upsetting for several reasons; one, because in viewing the scene through Eleven's eyes it's easy for the viewer to relate to how horrible the experience would be as a child, and two because something ghastly is emerging from Barb's mouth, similar to how Will is later found.
Mike shows Eleven around his house when he stays home from school, faking sick to work out what to do about Eleven. During this time, Mike and Eleven share their first playful moment together, Mike showing Eleven the familiar aspects of his family home to her--mundane to him, amazing to her.
When Will Byers is finally found, it isn't a pretty scene. One expects that he wouldn't be in a happy state, as the last time he was seen in the Upside-Down he was slick with slime and looking rather greenish-blue. In the time that has elapsed since then, Will's situation has taken a sharply darker turn, as his body is seen to be invaded by what looks like a root traveling down his throat.
Jonathan experiences a flashback in which he and Will sit in Jonathan's room listening to The Clash--the very song that will feature throughout the rest of season one, becoming a sort of mantra for Will while in the Upside-Down.
This is the greatest moment of bonding that Stranger Things fans see between the brothers in season one, with Jonathan urging Will not to do things just because other people think they are cool, stepping in as the other parental figure Will doesn't really have.
The way Barb's death is filmed makes it even more disturbing than it had to be. Barb's manner of death is sad and upsetting in itself, being dragged into an empty swimming pool by a monster, her hands clawing at the edge, but what makes it worse is that between shots of Barb's hands grasping to the side of the pool to escape, there are interspersed shots of Steve and Nancy's hands intertwining while they hook up.
Will establishes what kind of person he is from the get-go of the show, and that kind of person is a generous, kind-hearted one. Will doesn't have to tell Mike the truth about what number the dice landed on, in fact, Lucas urges him not to--but Will values transparency, and doing anything to benefit himself over his friends doesn't sit right with his temperament.
It had to be done, but it's disgusting all the same. Hopper approaches the body of supposedly-dead Will, brandishing a knife in his hand. Viewers know what he intends to do, and why he has to do it--but that doesn't make the act any less freaky. When he plunges the knife into the body, one can't help but imagine what it would be like if he was wrong, and it was actually the body of a human boy rather than a dummy.
There's something special about the moment when Jonathan and Nancy share a bed. The two lying side by side, not even touching, contrasts with a similar scene of Nancy and her boyfriend kissing in the same room. Except this time, despite no physical intimacy occurring, there is a feeling of greater romantic connection than there was with Steve and Nancy.
Even Mike's mom says that Dr. Brennan is creepy, and this is one of the few things she's spot on about. There's a quiet evil to Dr. Brennan, but evil all the same.
His most unsettling scene in Stranger Things is the one that masks itself as the most human--after watching her kill two guards, Dr. Brenner leans over Eleven, taking an uncomfortably domineering stance, and embraces her face, as if a father proud of a child, or of a dog; giving her the affection she so desperately wants, but for all the wrong reasons.
Dustin asserts that Lucas is Mike's best friend. He isn't trying to get attention by doing this, merely stating what he sees as a fact, and making sure to clarify that he understands. Mike, in return, completely dismisses Dustin's logic, telling him that just because it's normal to only have one best friend doesn't mean it has to be true. Mike insists that all of the group are his best friends, period-and even though Dustin insisted he was at peace with how things were, the look on his face shows how much this means to him.
