History YMMV / StrangerThings

** Robin is a self-proclaimed band dweeb despite being attractive, witty, and intelligent. This is deconstructed in-universe when Steve tries to use Robin's "loser" status to justify why he can't date her. Dustin rebukes this by listing off her good points and telling Steve he'd be a fool not to recognize how awesome Robin is.

** Robin is a self-proclaimed band dweeb despite being attractive, witty, and intelligent. In Season 3, Steve tries to use Robin's "loser" status to justify why he can't date her. Dustin rebukes this by listing off her good points and telling Steve he'd be a fool not to recognize how awesome Robin is.

* UnconvincinglyUnpopularCharacter: Robin is a self-proclaimed band dweeb despite being attractive, witty, and intelligent. In Season 3, Steve tries to use Robin's "loser" status to justify why he can't date her. Dustin rebukes this by listing off her good points and telling Steve he'd be a fool not to recognize how awesome Robin is.

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* FriendlyFandoms:
** The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fandom obliviously like and appreciate the show for its multiple references to the game and its editions such as the monster names and overall for portraying the game in a postive light despite the stigma it got at the time (as Season 4 shows in detail). This espeically felt nowsdays as ''D&D'' is more popular than ever with streamers and podcasts online.
** Fans of the show tend to get on quite well with fans of ''Film/It2017'' due to both being stories about child characters set in the eighties and both having Finn Wolfhard in the cast. Fans of Creator/StephenKing's work in general generally love the series along with King himself, thanks to numerous references to his books from ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' to ''Literature/LiseysStory''.
** Fans of Creator/StevenSpielberg and Creator/ChrisColumbus' classic 80s films like ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' and ''Film/TheGoonies'' love the show for its homages to their work, especially the former, with many scenes in Season 1 referencing ''E.T''. There's also a fair share of Creator/JohnHughes fans who appreciate the nods to his teen films.
** The Creator/TimBurton fandom has come to like the show for homaging his 80s films and having Creator/WinonaRyder as one of the main leads. Season 4 in particular got appreciation for referencing ''Film/EdwardScissorHands'' with the Eddie, Chrissy and Jason subplot (an outcast named Edward bounding with a sweet cheerleader before being hounded by her JerkJock boyfriend).
** There's numerous fans of 80s [[SlasherFilm Slasher Films]] such as ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'', ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' and ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' who love the show for the various homages, especially when Freddy himself Creator/RobertEnglund cameos in Season 4 (whose plot directly involves a NightmareWeaver). The fandoms of ''Film/TheThing1982'' and ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' have also latached onto the series thanks to BodyHorror and in the latter camp for Creator/PaulReiser returning in a similar role to [[Film/{{Aliens}} Carter Burke]].
** Fans of classic horror video game franchises such as ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' and ''Franchise/SilentHill'' also tend to like the show for the very similar set-pieces, themes, locations and monster designs to said games. Some fans even wish the Duffer brothers would adapt the games themselves.
** Fans of the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' game series, especially ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' have come to love the show for the very similar story and themes. There's plenty of crossover fan art with the ''Stranger Things'' kids as the [[https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0f/44/f2/0f44f2c245434f5c62808254887c8eef.jpg pixel sprites]] from the games.
** Some fans are also ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' and ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' fans. This is most likely due to the premise of these series involving [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian horrors]], mystery, {{dramedy}}, {{thriller}}, SciFi and... well, strange things.
** There are a lot of ''Stranger Things'' fans who are also {{Anime}} fans, likely due to the plot being loosely based on ''Manga/ElfenLied''.
** There's also a bit of overlap with fans of ''Film/PowerRangers2017'' due to Dacre Montgomery being in both.
** There's quite a lot of Franchise/MarvelUniverse fans who have come to like and appreciate the series for homaging classic comics, namely the ''ComicBook/XMen'' with Eleven being quite similar to [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean Grey]] (as well as ComicBook/{{X 23}}). By extension there been's some crossover with the MCU fandom thanks to Hopper's actor Creator/DavidHarbour joining the franchise as the Red Guardian, with [[Film/BlackWidow2021 his first appearance coincidentally also involving his character breakingout of a Russian prision and reuniting with his adoptive daughter]].
** An overlap with some ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' fans exists, since both are paranormal/horror-themed shows with lots of references to 80s movies and shows and a classic rock/80s rock soundtrack. There's also a portion of Tumblr that enjoys drawing parallels between Mileven and Destiel. [[https://deans-top-13-zepp-traxx.tumblr.com/post/168302193267/do-you-ever-want-to-scream-because-dean-and-cas Here's a great example.]]
** It formed one with the Film/MonsterVerse fans mostly thanks to Creator/MillieBobbyBrown being part of both franchises as well being focused on monsters. Plus, the Mind Flayer looks very similar in appearance to the female Muto.
** Many ''Film/FearStreet'' fans are also ''Stranger Things'' fans, due to the former's films having similar throwbacks to different decades (TheNineties and TheSeventies), Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke starring in both, and director Leigh Janiak being married to Ross Duffer.
** Of coirse there's plenty of crossover with the ''Series/TwinPeaks'' fandom, given they have near-identical stories. Creator/BrettGelman even appears in one episode.
** There is a bit of an [[Main/OddFriendship Odd Friendship]] with ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''. They are both complete opposites in tone but there are some similarites between Eleven and Mike and Leslie and Ben. There is a comment on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUd8yZlZxII this video]] tht says:
--> "You know, eleven could be Leslie Knope. What are both of there favorite foods? Waffles. Doesn't Eleven's wig look a little like Leslie's hair? Also where was eleven first found? A local diner. Where can always find Leslie? A local diner. Who do they both fall in love with? A nerd that plays board games."

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* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Of the four main boys, Lucas is the most divisive. Many fans love his BrutalHonesty and being the most logical member of the group. In Season 1 however, others found him to be the most whiny of the group as his initial distrust of Eleven was a constant source of friction among the kids ([[FireForgedFriends though that was probably the point]]). Even after he gives a heartfelt apology to Eleven, some fans still weren't entirely convinced. Season 2 makes great strides in showing that after Season 1, Lucas's {{Character Development}} has changed his views on letting newcomers into the group and he is notably the only one of the boys to be a true friend to Max. We also get to see more of his {{Adorkable}} side and home life. The clincher is when it's briefly shown that he has become much more chummy towards Eleven in "The Gate".
** Mike became one starting in Season 2. While he remained a NiceGuy on many levels and was still a beloved character among fans, some didn't like his JerkassBall behavior, particularly his attitude to Max, Will, and Hopper. His treatment of Eleven in the third season also didn't help, even if some empathise with his stumbling given his youth, inexperience, and taking [[TheBlindLeadingTheBlind dating advice from Lucas]]. Not helping matters is Mike has consistently been considered one of the show's most underutilized characters after Season 1, with many claiming the writers don't know what to do with him now that the main kids frequently split up, leaving his original role as TheLeader irrelevant. Season 4 deepened the divide, with some fans feeling that his role was reduced to being Eleven's cheerleader and that he was an uncaring friend to Will, while others felt that his communication problems and obliviousness to Will and El's struggles were realistic for his character and provided interesting tension.
** Max is an odd character for a lot of fans, who felt she didn't contribute much other than snarking at Lucas and Dustin, as it wasn't even decided ''if'' she was going to believe them or not. [[spoiler:She was redeemed a bit when she began to grow closer to Lucas and also ''finally'' stood up to her step-brother, who had been an abusive and controlling force of her life in Season 2]]. In Season 3, she develops a close friendship with Eleven which was highly praised. However some viewers still felt the character was underutilized, surviving little purpose except to provide a mouthpiece for the relationship drama between Eleven and Mike. It wouldn't be until Season 4 where she gains an important arc in [[spoiler:dealing with Billy's death and narrowly escaping Vecna]], which was seen by the fanbase and critics as one of the best parts of that season.
** Billy Hargrove, Max's older brother and an antagonist introduced in the second season:
*** A big debate sprung forth over how sympathetic the character actually is [[spoiler:due to being a victim of ParentalAbuse]]. There are those who feel that this doesn't justify his own abuse towards Max and his misogynistic attitude, while others were hoping that he'd undergo a HeelFaceTurn arc like Steve did the season prior. The Duffer Brothers themselves stated, "It doesn't excuse his actions at all, but it at least helps explain them."
*** After his arc in Season 3, there was a lot of debate as to whether he truly [[spoiler:redeemed himself in the end]]. Some fans who disliked or hated him became a lot more sympathetic towards him after Season 3, while others still felt he deserved no sympathy. There were also some fans unhappy with how much Max seemed to care for him in Season 3, after his abuse of her in Season 2.
** Erica in Season 3. She was an EnsembleDarkhorse in 2 thanks to her bratty personality towards Lucas, and some fans enjoyed her joining the Scoops Troop. Other fans were less forgiving, as ''every'' line out of her mouth seems to be bratty and snarky, making her into a flat-out {{Jerkass}} rather than just an AnnoyingYoungerSibling, and they feel she doesn't add anything to the Steve/Dustin/Robin dynamic. While she was DemotedToExtra in Season 4, the redirection of her behaviour towards the [[JerkassWoobie Jerkass Woobies]] Eddie and Jason largely pushed her back towards her Season 2 status.
** Jim Hopper in Season 3. He spends almost the entire season [[HairTriggerTemper constantly agitated and pissed-off]]. Some viewers liked his attitude as someone who spends the entire season getting shit thrown at him and never getting any time to cool down, while to others he appeared as dangerously unstable, considering his willingness to threaten Mike with violence if he didn't break off his relationship with Eleven and the way he went full-blown [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Jack Bauer]] on [[spoiler:the corrupt Mayor]].
** Suzie due to her making Dustin sing "Never Ending Story" with her in the middle of Season 3's climax in return for her essential help. Detractors say she [[SkewedPriorities unnecessarily endangered everyone's lives]] in doing so and found the attempt at a cute moment inappropriate given the deadly circumstances our heroes were currently in. Others are more forgiving since she didn’t know anyone was actually in danger when she did this, and found it to be an adorable scene [[CrossesTheLineTwice made hilarious by the concurrent danger]].
** Ted Wheeler. Some fans dislike him for being a collection of some of the worst tropes related to fathers, having NoSympathy for the kids, very few hints of depth, and being an all around tasteless, lazy jerk who complains all the time. Others like him due to finding his intentionally cliche and [[AdultsAreUseless idiotically oblivious]] portrayal to be funny and note that for all of his clear faults, Ted is far from the worst father seen on the show, still providing for his family and caring in his own reserved way.
** Robin in Season 4. Some feel she's been [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] into an obnoxious PluckyComicRelief who's done a complete 180 on her more snarky and level-headed characterization from the previous season. Others find her to be as relatable and endearing as ever and welcome her more [[MotorMouth chatty and anxious]] personality as a progression of her learning to open up to the other members of the group besides Steve and grappling with trying to express her romantic feelings for her crush, Vickie.
** Argyle. Some fans dislike him for not really contributing anything new to the series and just existing to serve as a PluckyComicRelief, a role that plenty of other characters in the series would be able to fill. The fact that [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter his character is never really expanded upon]] besides being TheStoner friend of Jonathan doesn't help. However, others like him just fine and appreciate his friendship with Jonathan, while finding his stoner antics to be a welcome source of humor in an especially dark season.
** Jason. Some found him [[TragicVillain sympathetic]] and believe his campaign to eradicate D&D was a misguided but genuinely altruistic effort, while others found him to be an unlikeable and deranged lunatic who [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis became the very thing he swore to destroy]].
** Vickie. Some find her to be a cute love interest for Robin; others dislike how similar she is personality-wise and find their romantic subplot to be too minimal and a disservice to Robin's character. Others take a middle ground and are willing to give her a chance to develop more in Season 5 since, as noted, she's only in three scenes in Season 4.

** D'Artagnan. [[spoiler:Could he have been raised to view Dustin as its parent and not be like other Demogorgons if only he hadn't attacked it as soon as it became clear what it was? Do all demogorgons carry the Mind Flayer's taint from birth or was D'art possessed offscreen at some point?]]
** Was Barb really trying to protect Nancy, or was she selfishly trying to keep Nancy from moving into a social circle where Barb would never feel comfortable?
** Hopper:
*** In Season 2, [[spoiler:is he keeping Eleven in secret because he's genuinely concerned over a government reprisal, or is he exploiting the situation to replace the daughter who was taken from him?]]
*** Some consider his role towards Eleven in Season 3 to be at same level of emotionally constipated roughness he's always been, or that he's reacting differently simply due to the fear of "losing" Eleven (like his first daughter) as she grows up. Others find his frequent screaming at Eleven, threatening Mike into lying to her, escalated drinking, and relentlessly negative behavior towards Joyce to be straight up AbusiveParent territory.
** [[spoiler: Did Kali project Brenner in "The Lost Sister" to have Eleven stay with her or make her chose her path to return to her friends?]]
** Billy Hargrove:
*** Was Billy actually going to run over the boys? Or did he know they were going to get out of the way and he was just messing with Max? The distance he was at before revving up his engine would have given the boys enough time to get out of the way.
*** Billy coming on to Karen Wheeler in Season 3. Is he legitimately interested in her as a person? Just trying to score another conquest? Wanting to get back at Mike for his treatment in Season 2 by boning his mom? Or is he using an older woman to work through his [[FreudianExcuse mommy]] [[ParentalAbandonment issues?]]
** Will:
*** His MinorInsultMeltdown in response to Mike’s crack that he doesn’t like girls. Is it because he’s gay and sensitive about it (justified considering the time)? Or is it because (even if not gay) people have been hounding him about his sexuality for years and he can’t believe Mike is getting in on the act? [[spoiler:As Season 4 heavily implies that Will has feelings for Mike, is the reason then that he's doubly hurt because he's being mocked by the person he cares for?]]
*** Will’s aversion to romance in Season 3 in general. Is he just immature? Gay? Asexual? Or does he have a ParalyzingFearOfSexuality?
*** While him still having the bowl cut by Season 4 was [[WatsonianVersusDoylist basically the Duffer Brothers forcing Noah Schnapp to keep it, perhaps, in-universe, Will still having a similar hairstyle could be an element of him wanting to hold onto his childhood.]]
** The Mind Flayer. [[spoiler:TheReveal at the end of Season 4 shows that Vecna discovered it as a formless shadow, before morphing it into its spider form, with the heavy implication that Vecna has been controlling it all along. [[AmbiguousSituation However, it's still unclear what exactly their connection is]]. Is the Mind Flayer simply TheDragon that's been ForcedIntoEvil? Is it [[BigBadDuumvirate working alongside Vecna]] to take over the world? Or is it merely using Vecna as an UnwittingPawn to further its own goals as a MultiversalConqueror? Most of the evidence (including lines from Eleven and Will, both of whom have psychic connections to the Mind Flayer) seems to lean towards the former, but it could easily go in any of those directions.]]
** [[spoiler:Is Sullivan truly believing that El is the real threat and desperate to stop her by any means or is he wanting to scapegoat her as a means of either denying or covering up that the actual threat is something that is completely out of the military's control? Also, is he motivated by a genuine WellIntentionedExtremist mindset or is he a KnightTemplar who doesn't care about whether or not El is the true threat and just [[FantasticRacism wants to destroy anybody with powers and unique abilities]]?]]
** During his speech in his first appearance, is Jason invoking the names of dead students just for the speech, or does he genuinely love Hawkins and memorialize the dead students, he just suffers from a tone problem? Yeah, it's insensitive, but he's still just a teenager trying to boost the morale of his school. He's also not just throwing their names (which he knows by heart) out for a game, he's describing a speech he made to his team when they were losing to remind them that Hawkins ''needed a win'' after all the misery of the past few years; it clearly worked, and none of his teammates act like that speech didn't happen. He starts losing his mind not long after that event so there's not much untainted evidence, but if he's the Paladin to Eddie's bard, it's only natural that his love for God and country should be so genuine it can drive him to extremism.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Many of Robin's behaviors and quirks (especially in Season 4, once she becomes closer to the rest of the gang and starts to open herself up more) suggest that she may be autistic and/or have ADHD. She is very creative and intelligent, suffers from having NoSocialSkills, and (after [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]]) has difficulty keeping her words to a minimum ("it's like my mouth is moving faster than my brain"). She also complains endlessly about the dress Nancy makes her wear in "Dear Billy", which is a common trait of ADHD called sensory overload. Additionally, her more introverted traits from Season 3 have been interpreted as her masking before feeling comfortable to start showing her true self to Steve and other people. A real-life therapist [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZFydOBkH90 brought this up]] and believes the character to have ADHD.

** [[spoiler: Billy and Max's father Neil is a [[AbusiveParents horrendously abusive jerkass]], and a parent violently slapping their child around is, y'know, [[AndThatsTerrible not cool.]] But considering it was the first time in the whole season that Billy had faced ''any'' repercussions for his actions whatsoever, Neil's criticisms of Billy were [[JerkassHasAPoint quite apt]], and attacked Billy in that moment because Billy [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic was insulting his sister and stepmom]], some fans were less horrified by a cruel parent pulling a vicious EvilerThanThou moment on his son and more [[KickTheSonOfABitch begging him to hit Billy harder.]]]]

** Eddie's HeroicSacrifice at the end of Season 4 is quite contentious. Some fans felt that Eddie's actions were brave and noble of him after spending most of the season running away from his problems, with the implication that what he did bought precious time for the characters in the Upside Down to take down Vecna before they alert him to their presence. Others felt that what Eddie did bordered on being a SenselessSacrifice and made all the effort put into rescuing him and clearing his name a ShaggyDogStory that didn't need to happen.

** From Season 1, The Demogorgon is merely a predator looking to survive. Troy Walsh, on the other hand, is a [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist, homophobic]] [[TheBully bully]] who tries to make Mike commit suicide out of a [[EvilIsPetty petty desire]] for revenge after being humiliated.

* TheScrappy: Powell and Callahan during Season 1, due to their LackOfEmpathy and incredibly tasteless jokes from Callahan. Powell at least garnered more likability due to being less of a {{Jerkass}} and more of a typical lazy cop. It seemed that the writers noted this too, as their roles were noticeably reduced in the second and third seasons. [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap This goes away a bit]] in Season 4 however, when Powell [[spoiler: becomes chief of police after Hopper's "death",]] and starts taking his job more seriously. Likewise, Callahan starts showing more empathy, as he is just as horrified at [[spoiler: Chrissy's corpse]] as everyone else at the crime scene.

** Erica Sinclair's popularity in the fandom diminished significantly after becoming an AscendedExtra in Season 3, as her BrattyHalfPint behavior became significantly more obnoxious when it was directed at anyone other than [[SiblingRivalry Lucas]], especially since she didn't contribute nearly as much as the other main characters. Season 4 rectifies this by toning down her {{Jerkass}} tendencies amongst the main characters and redirecting them towards people who actually deserve it, making her presence much more tolerable. In addition, she also helps defend Lucas and Max from Jason Carver's gang in the season finale without any complaint, upgrading her to a LittleMissBadass and solidifying her place within the main cast.

* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/StrangerThings Has its own page.]]

** Due to the checkered and adversarial relationship that Mike Wheeler (Creator/FinnWolfhard) and Max Mayfield (Creator/SadieSink) have had ever since ''2'', a niche romantic pairing in the form of Madwheeler (whcih isn't necessarily a romantic pairing, but could be depending on who you ask) developed. This was specifically because their interactions especially in ''3'' came off as BelligerentSexualTension, Mike didn't want Max to replace Jane "Eleven" Hopper in their group, Finn and Sadie's (Fadie) own on and offscreen chemistry and given Max's the first normal girl Mike interacted with after El—and even El mistook a moment they shared together as being romantic—it implied the idea of a stronger LoveTriangle developing between the three beyond that—especially with Max's own romantic pairing with Lucas Sinclair in ''2'' being reduced in ''3'' to her constantly being annoyed with his dumb and immature antics. It seemed to open the door to the two finding their way to each other while El went off in her own direction. Given ''4'' had a minuscule amount of interactions between the two though—with Mike going to visit El in California and help her through her arc while Max is back in Hawkins avoiding becoming a victim of Vecna while trying to repair her broken relationship with Lucas, the idea of the two ever becoming a thing seems just about dismissed at this point.

* TheWoobie: [[Woobie/StrangerThings See here]].

** Vickie. Some find her to be a cute love interest for Robin; others think she's too similar personality-wise and find their romantic subplot to be too minimal and a disservice to Robin's character. Others take a middle ground and are willing to give her a chance to develop more in Season 5 since, as noted, she's only in three scenes in Season 4.

** Mike is protective of Will, more protective than friends typically are. He's also the most persistent in their search in finding Will in Season 1 and was the only one who stayed awake while Will was in the hospital. It helps Will only confides to him about his visions, and Mike remaining constantly worried about him. His reaction to Mike saying he doesn't like girls have more meaning than the show lets on. Mike and Will add plenty of subtext to this in Season 4, with Mike admitting wondering if he had "lost" Will in a way that can easily be interpreted as a love rather than friendship way, and Will seeming close to coming out to Mike. And during their conversations, the soundtrack plays what closed captioning dubs "tender, emotional music".