Quotes / Stranger Things

Meta Quotes

"Evil never ends, it evolves. And friendship is always stronger than fear"

—Promotional tagline from season 2

"Our show is an anthem for the marginalized and imperfect, precisely because the Duffer brothers know from experience that character, grit, connection, and soul are bred in the same moments that challenge us most."

— Producer Shawn Levy

Character Quotes

"Mornings are for coffee and contemplation."

— Jim Hopper, "The Vanishing of Will Byers"

"Science is neat, but I'm afraid it's not very forgiving."

— Mr. Clarke, "The Flea and the Acrobat"

"Friends don't lie."

— Eleven, "The Bathtub"

"Something is coming. Something hungry for blood."

—Mike Wheeler, "The Vanishing of Will Byers"

"If anyone asks where I am, I've left the country!"

—Mike Wheeler, "The Bathtub"

"He likes it cold."

—Will Byers, "Will the Wise"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I have to go back. My friends... my friends are in danger."
"Your mother sent you here for a reason, remember? We belong together. There's nothing for you back there; they cannot save you, Jane."
"No. But I can save them."

—Eleven and Kali, "The Lost Sister"

"He can't hear you. You shouldn't have looked for me. Because now I see you. Now we can all see you. You let us in. And now, you are going to have to let us stay. Don't you see? All this time, we've been building it! We've been building it for you. All that work. All that pain. All of it for you. And now it's time. Time to end it. And we're going to end you. And when you are gone, we are going to end your friends. And then we are going to end... everyone."

—The Mind Flayer speaking through Billy, "E Pluribus Unum"

"Feelings. Jesus. The truth is, for so long, I'd forgotten what those even were. I've been stuck in one place - in a cave, you might say. A deep dark cave. And then, I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life and... for the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy. But lately, I guess I've been feeling... distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night, making triple-decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching westerns together before we doze off. But I know you're getting older, growing, changing. And I guess... if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change. So I think maybe that's why I came here, to try to maybe... stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that's naive. It's just... not how life works. It's moving. Always moving whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes... it's surprising. Happy. So you know what? Keep on growing up, kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from 'em, and when life hurts you - because it will - remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave. But, please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches."

— Hopper's speech for Eleven regarding her relationship with Mike, read by her after Hopper seemingly perished in the Russian base.

"I'll tell your the truth, Anthony — may I call you Anthony? These aren't actually my clothes. I borrowed them because I wanted you to take us seriously, because no one takes girls seriously in this field, they just don't! We don't look the part, or whatever, but can I tell you a story? 1978, I was at summer camp, and my counselor, Drew, told me and everyone in Cabin C the true story of the Victor Creel massacre. And little Petey McHugh — You know Petey, right, Ruth? [...] Yeah, little Petey McHugh started sobbing right there on the spot, full on hyperventilating, and all the other campers, they couldn't sleep for weeks! And I couldn't sleep either, but not because I was scared, because I was obsessed with the question, "What would drive a human being to commit such unimaginable acts?" Other kids, they wanted to astronauts, basketball players, rockstars, but I wanted to be you! I wanted to be you, so forgive me if I'll now try anything in my power, including wearing this ridiculous outfit, if I get the chance to speak to the man that ignited my passion and learn a little bit more about how his twisted but, let's face it, totally fascinating mind works. So, yes, we don't have the "official" paper work. But don't tell me that crybaby Petey McHugh wouldn't have gotten an audience with Victor in a matter of moments if he'd asked politely, because we both know that he would! So... Ten minutes with Victor. It's all I ask."

— Robin's speech as she and Nancy attempt to gain access to Victor Creel

One: Why do you cry for them, Eleven? After everything they did to you, hm? You think you need them, but you don't. You don't. Oh, but I know you're just scared. I was scared once, too. I know what it's like to be different. To be alone, in this world. Like you, I didn't fit in with the other children. Something was wrong with me, all the teachers and the doctors said I was... broken. They said. My parents thought a change of scenery, a fresh start in Hawkins, might just cure me. It was absurd. As if the world would be any different here! But then, to my surprise, our new home provided a discovery. And a newfound sense of purpose. I found a nest of Black Widows living inside a vent. Most people fear spiders... They detest them. And yet, I found them endlessly fascinating. More than that, I found a great comfort in them — a kinship.
Like me, they are solitary creatures and deeply misunderstood. They are gods of our world. The most important of all predators. They immobilized and feed on the weak, bringing balance and order to an unstable ecosystem. But the human world was disrupting this harmony. You see, humans are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a structure of their own. A deeply unnatural structure. Where others saw order, I saw a straight jacket. A cruel, oppressive world dictated by made up rules — seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before! Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce and die! Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over, all while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day. I could not do that. I could not close off my mind and join in the madness, I could not pretend. Then I realized... I didn't have to.
I could make my own rules. I could restore balance to a broken world — a predator, but for good. As I practiced, I realized I could do more than I possibly imagined. I could reach into others, into their minds, their memories. I became an explorer. I saw my parents as they truly were. To the world, they presented themselves as good, normal people. But like everything else in this world, it was all a lie. A terrible lie. They had done things, Eleven. Such awful things. I showed them who they really were. I held up a mirror. My naive father believed it was a demon cursing them for their sins. But my mother somehow knew. Knew it was I who was holding up that mirror, and she despised me for it. She called a doctor, an expert. She wanted him to lock me away, to fix me, even though it wasn't I who was broken. It was them. And so she left me with no choice. No choice but to act. To break free. With each life I took, I grew stronger. More powerful. They were becoming a part of me. But I was still a child. And I did not yet know my limits. And it nearly killed me. He was arrested, blamed for the death of my sister and mother, just as I had planned. But I was far from free. I woke up from my coma only to find myself placed in the care of a doctor, the very doctor I had hoped to escape. Dr. Martin Brenner. Papa. But the truth... the truth is he did not just want to study me. He wanted more. He wanted to control. When Papa finally realized he could not control me, he tried to recreate me. He began a program. And soon, others were born. You were born. And I am so glad you were, Eleven. So very glad. They're not gone, Eleven. They're still with me. In here.
Eleven: You tricked me.
One: Tricked you? No, I saved you. You are a prisoner here, just like me. To your papa, you are nothing more than an animal, a monster, a lab rat to be tamed. But the truth, Eleven, the truth is just the opposite. You are better than they are. Superior. That is why you frighten him. If you come with me, for the first time in your life, you will be free. Imagine what we could do together. We could reshape the world, remake it however we see fit. Join me.

— One, aka The Orderly / Henry Creel / Vecna trying to rationalize his crimes, "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab"

"These past few months, [Eleven]'s been so lost without you. It's just, she's so different from other people, and... when you're... when you're different, sometimes... you feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. Like she's better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on. If she was mean to you or she seemed like she was pushing you away, it's because she's scared of losing you, like you're scared of losing her. And if she was going to lose you, I think she'd rather just get it over with quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid. So yeah, El needs you, Mike. And she always will."

— Will's oblique confession of his feelings for Mike

"He showed me things that haven't happened yet. The most awful things. I saw a dark cloud spreading over Hawkins. Downtown on fire. Dead soldiers. And this giant creature with a gaping mouth. And this creature wasn't alone. There were so many monsters. An army. And they were coming into Hawkins. Into our neighborhoods. Our homes. And then... he showed me my mom. And Holly. Mike. And they... they were all... [...] There was something else. He showed me gates. Four gates. Spreading across Hawkins. And these gates, they looked like the one outside of Eddie's trailer, but they didn't stop growing. And this wasn't the Upside Down Hawkins. This was our Hawkins. Our home."

— Nancy's vision from Vecna

"At first, I believed you had sent me to my death, to Purgatory. But I was wrong, I was somewhere new. I became an explorer. An explorer of a realm unspoiled by mankind. I saw so many things. And one day, I found the most extraordinary thing of all. Something that would change everything. I saw a means to realize my potential, to transcend my human form, to become the predator I was always born to be."

— Vecna to Eleven revealing what he was upto after Eleven sent him to the Upside Down and revealing he is behind the Mind Flayer

Songs

Every breath you take

Every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I'll be watching you.

Every single day

Every word you say

Every game you play

Every night you stay

I'll be watching you.

Oh can't you see

You belong to me?

How my poor heart aches with every step you take.

Every move you make

Every vow you break

Every smile you fake

Every claim you stake

I'll be watching you.

—The Police, Every Breath You Take, "The Gate"

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

So will you please say hello

To the folks that I know

Tell them I won't be long

They'll be happy to know

That as you saw me go

I was singing this song

We'll meet again

Don't know where, don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some sunny day.

—Vera Lynn, We'll Meet Again, "The Sauna Test"

It doesn't hurt me.

Do you want to feel how it feels?

Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me?

Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?

You, it's you and me.

If I only could,

I'd make a deal with God,

And I'd get him to swap our places,

Be running up that road,

Be running up that hill,

Be running up that building.

If I only could...

—Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill, "Dear Billy" & "The Piggyback"

End of passion play, crumbling away
I'm your source of self-destruction
Veins that pump with fear
Sucking darkest clear
Feeding on your death's construction

Taste me and you will see
More is all you need
Dedicated to
How I'm killing you

Come crawling faster
Obey your master
Your life burns faster
Obey your master
Master

Master, master
Where's the dreams that I've been after?
Master, master
You promised only lies
Laughter, laughter
All I hear and see is laughter
Laughter, laughter
Laughing at my cries

—Metallica, Master of Puppets, "Piggyback"

I'm an angel, I'm a demon, I'm a new born fawn
I'm the bobcat on the far side of the breaking dawn
I'm the ocean, I'm the black stone you have cast alone
I'm the vulture, I'm an eagle, I'm a debutant

Before the devil comes for you
Make sure you have paid your dues

I'm the devotion to the preacher, I'm the priest you want
I'm on the front side of the fire side in the moonlit dark
I'm an angel, I'm the patron of the crash of sword
I'm an omen, I'm a showman, I'm the holy lord

Before the devil comes for you
Make sure you have paid your dues

I'm a vulture, I'm an eagle, I'm the crow you seek
I'm the morning, I'm a groaning underneath your feet
I'm for the witches covered in stitches holy matricide

—Jamie Campbell Bower, I Am

Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you^note Mike and Eleven think of each other all the time during their year apart between the first two seasons.
Caught up in circles
Confusion is nothing new^note El is frequently confused by other people because she never had the chance to learn normal social behavior while being raised as a specimen in the Hawkins National Lab.
Flashback, warm nights^note Especially relevant to the month or so El spent sleeping outside before Hopper took her in – she would remember the few nights she spent in the blanket fort Mike made for her in his basement, perhaps the only nights of her life when she could feel not only warm but safe.
Almost left behind^note El almost does leave Mike behind when she makes her journey to find her mother and then her "sister" Kali, after seeing him with Max in the gym and misinterpreting their interaction as romantic.
Suitcase of memories
Time after

Sometimes you picture me
I'm walking too far ahead
You're calling to me, I can't hear
What you've said^note This verse especially could almost have been written about Mike and Eleven, though she is able to hear him calling to her; she just can't answer, since revealing herself would endanger them both.
Then you say, "go slow"
And I fall behind
The second hand unwinds

If you're lost you can look and you will find me^note The chorus, where Cyndi Lauper's soprano line is backed by Rob Hyman's tenor, is a near-perfect expression of what Mike and El mean to each other. They first met by finding each other when she was lost in the woods, and they each feel lost without the other. El, at least, can always find Mike using her clairvoyance.
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting^note El literally caught Mike with telekinesis when he stepped off the cliff over the quarry pond to protect Dustin, and there's a scene in Season 3 where she collapses into his arms after fighting the Mind Flayer-possessed Billy.
Time after time
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting
Time after time

After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows^note Glimpsing her through the window while the agents were interrogating him just after the climax of Season 1 gave Mike hope that El was still alive, even if he couldn't be certain that he'd really seen her.
You're wondering if I'm okay^note Mike's overriding concern during those 353 days of separation.
Secrets stolen from deep inside (deep inside)^note This line could refer to El's power to view others' memories, or to the memories she herself lost during the events revealed through the Nina project in Season 4.
And the drum beats out of time

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting
Time after time
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting
Time after time
Time after time

I've got a suitcase of memories that I almost left behind
Time after time
Time, time, time
But you say to go slow but I fall behind
Time after time after time (after time, oh)

—Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time, "The Gate"

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