Maybe it’s the eighties nostalgia. Maybe it’s the cast of lovable characters (a few reminiscent of The Goonies). Or maybe it’s just a break from reality via a fantastical monster. Whatever your reason for watching (binging) it, the hit Netflix series Stranger Things has left fans yearning for Season 2.
Till then, we have the next best thing: drawings of two major S.T. settings from architect Boryana Ilieva, who creates studies of space and light in cinematic architecture. Warning: the following contains spoilers regarding the first season.
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The first episode of Stranger Things introduces us to a crew of geeky tweens playing "Dungeons and Dragons" in ring leader Mike Wheeler’s basement. (Think basic eighties furniture and walkie-talkies strewn about.) This room is later used to sequester Eleven (Elle for short), the psychokinetic runaway fleeing a government lab.
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A quick flight upstairs is the bedroom of Mike’s older sister, Nancy Wheeler, the quintessential role model dating a classic sleaze ball. Admittedly, the minor drama in Nancy’s subplot provides a breather throughout the series.
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Although the nuclear family — and their home “the two-story house at the end of the cul-de-sac,” — may look picture perfect, secrets inundate this household. We all remember when Nancy’s boyfriend snuck in through the window. And while it remains Eleven’s hiding spot for most of the series, this particular setting feels like a respite in contrast to Will’s home. We’ll take this false sense of security over the "upside down" anytime!
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As ominous as those Christmas lights are, they certainly add a quaint charm to this beautiful plan of Will Byers' home. This setting's anxiety-ridden scenes appear innate to its design, however. Does that hallway seem extra long and narrow? The amount of time it takes Will to race down it leaves viewers on the edge of their seats. While interactions between these walls (literally) remain sinister, the colors of this particular drawing express the abode's impending doom.
At the end of this evaluation, one can only feel sorry for Jonathan, the good-guy dealing with the resulting panic.
For more from Boryana Ilieva check out her Instagram account.
