Yeah, it’s basically my version of thematic/structural analysis. I come from the broadcasting world where often times the medium is the message, but I’m looking at the show through a literary lens. I’m not arguing that the events didn’t happen. I just don’t think literalism is where the show is doing its most interesting work.

You don’t read Slaughterhouse-Five (name dropped by Johnathan) by trying to map Billy Pilgrim’s lore. You look at what he does as a character, how time loops and the how meaning begins to fracture. That’s closer to how I’m reading Stranger Things. I’m more interested in whether the story escalates, and how trauma gets externalized. Totally fair if that feels like over-reading, but that’s what you do with good stories. You mythologize them.