Justin Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 SPOILER WARNING: This is a discussion on the fifth episode of Stranger Things. It contains spoilers for the series through S1:E5. Do not read this page if you do not want to know what happens through the end of Chapter Five. Stranger Things "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" "Like home. Like home but dark. And empty. Empty and cold." Season 1, Episode 5 52m Hopper breaks into the lab while Nancy and Jonathan confront the force that took Will. The boys ask Mr. Clarke how to travel to another dimension. Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Matthew Modine TV Sci-Fi & Fantasy Director: The Duffer Brothers Soundtrack: Nocturnal Me (Echo & The Bunnymen), Green Desert (Tangerine Dream), Elegia (New Order) https://youtu.be/fD1VwuguAqw Unanswered Questions: Mr. Clarke told the boys that if the gate already existed, he thinks we'd know. He says so "because it would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment, heck it might even swallow us up whole." This sounds a lot like the quarry behind Hopper's mobile home, which is the very next thing we see. Is the quarry a result of the experiments going on at Hawkins National Laboratory? We saw at least two monsters in this episode. Are there just a few monsters in the Upside Down, or is it a whole world of monsters? What is the nature of the monsters? Alien, paranormal, or something else? Are the monsters native to the upside down or do they come from some other place? What caused the portal to open in the laboratory? Was it the intent of the laboratory to open the portal to the Upside Down, or did they do something to make the portal come to them? What were they attempting to do by sending Shepard into the portal? The Upside Down appears different to Eleven. There is no "snow", she is standing in water, everything is black, and she's only astral projected herself into a state of remote viewing, as opposed to physically entering the upside down as Will, Barb, Nancy and others have. What is the nature of Eleven's relationship with the Upside Down and does this difference have any significant bearing on the story? Does anybody on Atari I/O have a D&D book that discusses "The Vale of Shadows"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 The end-credits music --- one of my all time favorites: Echo & The Bunnymen. That's from their best album "Ocean Rain". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 So they establish that Nancy is the better shot...yet she goes into the tree without the gun OR the bat? Who would do that?!? <SPOILER ALERT!> I took the scene of 11 in the tank to mean that the purpose of the experiment was to spy on the USSR using psychic powers...but they accidentally opened a gateway. That whole scene was really well done. The Russian guy dissolving into smoke especially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 That whole scene was really well done. The Russian guy dissolving into smoke especially. I thought so too. It's clear a lot of thought went into how to depict these concepts and film them in ways that felt real and made sense. I feel like this show keeps getting better and better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 This. This episode blew my mind. As for the "Vale of Shadows" this was made up for the show. As far as I know that isn't in any D&D publication, although its similar to several settings.This episode is where it starts creeping ME out! "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 This episode is where it starts creeping ME out! I have to admit I got pretty creeped out just during the first 8 minutes of the series! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowsdower70 Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 I would like to add though about the Vale of Shadows, it looked VERY much like an article from Dragon Magazine when they dug in their notebook. They did a superb job making it look authentic. Enough so to where I had to do a search of my Dragon Magazine archives to see if it was legit. "For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid." ~ Atari Adventure Square Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 I wonder if The Vale of Shadows is just a made up name for Shadowfell, which sounds almost identical to what they describe in the show: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shadowfell There"s also The Vale of Twilight in Dungeons & Dragons Online: http://m.ddowiki.com/page/The_Vale_of_Twilight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Professor Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Mr. Clarke told the boys that if the gate already existed, he thinks we'd know. He says so "because it would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment, heck it might even swallow us up whole." This sounds a lot like the quarry behind Hopper's mobile home, which is the very next thing we see. Is the quarry a result of the experiments going on at Hawkins National Laboratory? I definitely get the feeling there's something going on with that quarry. It's ominous and it feels like it shouldn't be there. They keep going back to it and nothing good ever happens there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Today The Retroist wrote a breakdown of the '80s references in episode 5 of Stranger Things. He had a fun time exploring the "Vale of Shadows" and found a connection to an article in Dragon Magazine. Today is Stranger Things "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat": http://www.geek.com/news/all-the-80s-references-in-stranger-things-chapter-five-the-flea-and-the-acrobat-1664093/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted August 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 The quarry has been an ongoing motif in this show. It always seems to be associated with negativity and bad things, as if there's a "bad vibe" there. After the events of Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat I think there’s a strong case to be made that the quarry is directly related to, or was caused in part by Hawkins National Laboratory or the gate that appeared there. Let's take a look at a two minute window of this episode in which we are quickly shown three things: 21:00 - Heck, it might even swallow us up whole When Mike asks Mr. Clarke "What if this gate already existed?" Mr. Clarke responds "Well if it did I think we'd already know." He explains that the gate would require a massive amount of energy, that it would disrupt gravity, magnetic fields, and our environment. Then, at about the 21:00 mark, Mr. Clarke says “Heck, it might even swallow us up whole.” inferring ominously that the earth itself could give way. We then immediately cut to the next image: 21:20 - The quarry lake next to Chief Hopper's mobile home At the 21:20 mark, just as Mr. Clarke has finished explaining how the presence of a gate to The Upside Down would affect our environment and might even swallow us up whole, they cut to an overhead view of the quarry lake next to Chief Hopper's house. The quarry lake seems to be associated with negativity and bad things. When we're first shown the quarry it's presented in a very ominous way with the Chief relating the quarry to death. It's where they found Will Byers' "body", it's where Hopper has had more than his share of bad nights, and it's where the gang runs into trouble during a memorable scene in Chapter Six: The Monster. 23:00 - Lonnie discusses the quarry At the 23:00 mark we are back in the Byers' home with Joyce and Lonnie. Lonnie is patching the whole Joyce put in the wall. He has returned home for Will Byers' funeral with the ulterior motive of suing for money. Lonnie begins discussing the quarry and "The Sattler Company" which is alluded to a few times this season. Lonnie: You know, it’s a shame what they’ve done to this family. Joyce: What? Lonnie: The Sattler Company. I went to the quarry on the way over here. I just wanted to look around, you know? I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it. No warning signs, no fence, no nothing. Ought to be held accountable if you ask me. So... Lonnie's conversation seems to confirm that there's something odd about the quarry and it appeared suddenly over night. Is the quarry a result of the experiments going on at Hawkins National Laboratory? Is it related to the sudden appearance of the gate? I hope these are some of the mysteries we will explore in Season 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 So they establish that Nancy is the better shot...yet she goes into the tree without the gun OR the bat? Who would do that?!? I thought that was a little strange too. Why would she go in alone? Did the NSA exist in 1983? Hopper has referenced it twice in the past two episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormSurge Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Answered my own question. Founded in 1952. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.