No, the kids did not "weaponize" Eleven: they did not turn her into a weapon. But since she already had that weapon and their lives were in danger (as well as hers) they were fine with her using her powers, something she clearly would have done even without their prompting since she already had, repeatedly.

Hopper betraying El was ambiguous to say the least. I think we are supposed to be conflicted about it. I think HE is conflicted about it, which would set him WAY apart from the Smoking Man. There would be a much better chance that Brenner became the smoking man. They show the same kind of willingness to use and…

Yes, and I don't think they're necessarily on Brenner's side, either, though they may not be on the up and up. They may have their own agenda.

THAT would be a punishment far better than death, which would be WAY too easy.

My impression from that look at the fort is that Mike at least - and this could apply to Lucas and Dustin as well, but they weren't romantically attached - that Mike is trying do what everyone would tell him he has to do: keep living, get on with life. He's playing D&D because it's a great distraction, and he can…

True, I suppose. People do at times continue to blunder because their afraid of getting in trouble for the previous blunder. Hey, maybe in Season 2 Brenner (assuming the monster didn't kill him) won't still be in charge at the lab. Maybe he'll have a boss right there or maybe he'll have been sacked. Maybe he'll be…

One of my best friends is from AK and he is very much like that.

Yeah, both.

Yes, El is amazing. And so is Millie. She's great in every interview I've seen with her. Her parents have done something right, but in the end, our kids are their own persons. Kudos to Millie.

That was a brilliant touch on Millie Bobby Brown's part.

I think the unravelling started when he went to check that box at the Hawkins lab and they lied. I don't think this is bad writing (since Hopper tells them later that they "messed up big time"), but they do a terrible job of covering up their actions. The keep giving a cop reason to further investigate. The video with…

Yes, of course, that is very possible, and when it happens, the author has failed. J. R. R. Tolkien, circa 1932, wrote an extended essay "On Fairy Stories" in which pointed out that suspension of disbelief is the result of a failure on the part of the author, who has not created a world internally real enough for the…

Yes, poor Mike, but that's young love for you. Hopefully it will make him determined to pursue any lead he might encounter about Eleven. I think if I were his age I'd be willing to break rules or whatever if I got some hint that Eleven was around. In season 1 Mike still looks up to his parents, or at least his mom in…

The sheer stupidity of the Hawkins/govt. people, whatever exactly they are, is amazing, but clearly deliberate from the pov of the Duffer Brothers. Hopper points out that they screwed up big time. They keep drawing attention to themselves that they could have avoided and left Hopper with a much tougher job of even…

Yes, I agree that it is possible, and it seems like the more obvious interpretation of the scene; but I'm just not sure. Someone thought that it was the same car that he saw when he was roughing up O'Bannon. He did not know who those people were, so if the car that picks him up is indeed the same car, it is unlikely…

Whom can you trust when the bad men are coming? Well, that's like choosing between Darth Vader and Lando Calrissian.

Did the monster find will because Eleven was just there? Are we seeing a hint of psychic connection between Eleven and the monster? My theory has been that the monster is an Upside Down version of Eleven. It exists independently (it's not just a projection of her mind), but there could still be a mental connection,…

I thought the front of the van caved when El "hit" it with her telekinetic punch. It definitely did, but are you saying it was dented even before that? El doesn't levitate the truck like she does the Millennium Falcon toy. She hit it head on and thus flips it.

Twelve-year-olds will know that risk perfectly well, and Dustin isn't just the average kid; he is exceptionally bright. Besides, what are the chances of three (or four if you count El since Mr. Clarke has seen her) kids all drowning in a pool they set up themselves? They are twelve, maybe even thirteen, not two, maybe…

I took his look as saying, "I know this is lame, please just let him buy it anyways."