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dinitride-art · 2 years

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Number 10 - Season Four Episode One (Opening Scene)

Okay, so. I was looking through the openings of each season for... reasons. And I went through the start of season four because some weird stuff happened and I was like huh. That’s actually really weird, I’m going to keep looking. Because this stands out from all the other starts for some reason (stars, stars, upside down portal machine/stars, murder and death and banishment-no stars) and that’s just weird.

We start out here in the rainbow room (with ten, before this it was that kid with the newspaper and Brenner and colour theory stuff) and Brenner and 10.

So, all the kids hospital gowns have snowflake designs on them. This is weird because of all the fire imagery we’ve gotten this season (molotov cocktails, flame thrower, pizza oven). Starting out with snow also might be referencing the Snow Ball, which is important later in the season. But either way, we start with 10 and Brenner.

My first point: triangles. More specifically, Mike’s shirt pocket triangle. This specific pocket has been really interesting to look at with Mike during season four because it seems to point towards or away from Will depending on how Mike’s choices. Lying to Suzie and in Suzie’s highly religous household? Away from Will, until there’s a moment where it does point to Will-

Right here, and they have their little hand brush moment (Will’s lit very intensely) and both of them panic. It seems that when they get really scared, Mike’s shirt pocket points to Will and says hey! Here’s why. This is, the problem.

But it’s interesting that 10′s triangle and Mike’s are in the same season. We’re meant to notice them both separately, with the emphasis placed on both of them (and they’re both blue- or at least connected to blue), but because they’re in the same season it feels possible that they could be connected.

Mike and Will’s skates are both size ten and it’s odd that their skates are held in a way that we can read them. Unlike El’s skates, which she’s allowed to move around, Mike and Will’s stay towards the camera. It kinda seems like we’re meant to take note of them. My general rule for if something has meaning is if it’s in front of my face and I can see it. (which isn’t always the case, because sometimes things are hidden away, but usually if it’s there that’s because someone put it there). And I’m seeing two occurrences of the number 10 that are right in front of my face. So, that’s odd.

We see a clear shot of El’s room. This could just be reminding the audience that hey! One o our main characters grew up in this lab! But that’s a big part of what we know about El so I don’t know if that’s exactly what’s happening here? It very well might be though considering this is the opening episode of the season. However, it could also be drawing attention to the idea that numbers in Stranger Things have meaning.

Now this funky little brain wave scanning machine is one weve seen before.

We’ve seen this EXACT machine before in season two. The numbers on it? Might be important. 1511 connects to two ideas: El’s number from the lab, and 8:15. (halfway through writing theories I always feel like some ones written all of this before- and I never know if that’s true or not)

Brenner draws a sun with a yellow crayon which- I mean, that sounds pretty connected to Will to me. Also might be connected to Max’s idea of hiding in the light and how Will is lit very brightly this whole season and all that. Also could be talking about the idea of a sunny day, or even California, or about weather (like rain and water, or sunny days or snow or storms- lots of shit going on with the weather). Also there’s that pen- which I’ll talk about a little later. That pen is also the thing that stopped me in my tracks while watching this and like. Turned my brain off and on again.

Brenner is seen writing with that pen multiple times, so it’s not just there for the hell of it.

Then Brenner draws a dog- the Byers had a dog in season one. That dog kinda disappeared? And that’s a bit weird, but also one of the only connections dogs have in the show. So that’s also a tad bit weird.

Brenner and his pen again. So, I wanted to wait until I got through the role of the pen within the scene to bring this up but-

Season one, episode one- there’s that fucking pen.

You can half see it in shot here too, it’s Lucas’- but I also think that Will had the same pen (I think- I don’t have a picture of it but that’s what I remember noting in my head). And that’s weird.

Brenner’s pen if from September 8th 1979- and there’s stuff to say about the seven in the number. Also weird. Also connected to season one. But what i want to point out is that season one starts November 6th 1983. That’s years between the appearances of these pens. Hawkins is small, so they were probably bought from the same place/came from the same place. But they’re also the same damn pens.

Why the Hell are they the same fucking pens.

Either we’re connecting the Party to the lab like symbolism and meta wise, or we’re connecting them within the narrative (...i think that’s right? I mean like logistically and within the bounds of the shows reality that we are presented). Both are concerning options.

On Will’s readings we get the (serial number?) 3-A615. (I don’t know what this one might mean- maybe nothing- but Stranger Things is weird with numbers and I don’t trust them). Will’s readings also are really different than 10′s. With ten it looks like they’re monitoring something happening with an actual body function. It’s got a pattern that’s similar to a heart beat monitor even if i does change, it generally keeps that shape.

But with Will, it’s not like that at all. Since Will is kinda going to get possessed real quick here, I guess these readings do make sense, but it’s weird that Owens is using the machine- the exact same machine no less- in the first place.

Also with Will we see all these people watching the footage being recorded in the lab. In season four we find out that Brenner and Owens have all of that footage on hand and use it for the Nina project with El. Brenner and Owens? Sketchy as fuck. Will is definitely on Owens (and Brenner’s probably) radar for possibly having a connection to the Upside Down.

The pen comes up yet again. It’s really just there all the time. There’s also the yellow crayon that’s been left out of the box that we can see. Considering the brown crayon was the last one Brenner used, this stands out. At the top of the page Brenner is writing on it either says that Ten is 13 or 14. Both of these are interesting options. 14 would mean 7 + 7, which is bad- and connected to both Will AND Mike because Will told Mike that it was a seven and it’s a thing for them. 13 comes up later here

Side by side (and even just thinking back on the scenes with El) it’s really clear what’s happening. When it’s happening is pretty interesting. Both of these scenes take place in the first episode of a season; seasons 2 and 4. These seasons parallel each other so much that I genuinely think Mike could be possessed in season four. That’s how much there is. From Steve’s sunglasses, to the relationship problems with being in love and who you actually want to be with (Nancy, Steve and Jonathan - Will, Mike and El), to the arcade and rink o mania, and the disco balls, and the snow ball, and so much. It’s so much.

So these both being in the same episode in the season is interesting to me. Season two and season four are also the only two seasons that have nine episodes. The Snow Ball happens in both episode nines. In episode two of season 2 it’s the Halloween episode where they go to the street Loch Nora and Will has a bad time. In s4:e2, Mike goes to Lenora- and everyone has a bad time. They find El/El comes back near the end of both episode eights.

There’s a lot. Honestly too many to list because we’re not done with season four episode one just yet. But yall get it. The parallels. They’re intentional.

Just like how when Henry starts murdering children, Ten’s readings are very similar to what Will’s were in season 2. The parallelssssss

These shots were just weirdly similar to me. I think it’s just the ominous framing and caged in feel created by the door frame adn the hallway perspective, but those lights are also a bit odd.

Now we get to number 13! It’s one of the only door numbers we’re able to read when Brenner sees what’s been going on outside. In season one, if I remember correctly, Will needed to roll a 13 or higher right? Which he did not roll. So there’s that connection.

[A child covered in blood, a green block, a red block, a yellow hexagon, a blue block, a white block, a blue rod, and a green and red crayon are in frame]

[A child next to a pool of blood. A wooden block, a maze, and an overtured yellow bin are in frame. Tattooed on the child’s arm are the letters ‘007′]

[A blood splatter and a child’s arm are in frame. There is a blue half hexagon, a flat red square and a yellow flat rectangle in shot. On the child’s wrist are the numbers ‘005′]

No pictures for the stuff up there I described because during this scene I had to remind myself that, hey, they’re alright, they’re actors m’dude. I was more comfortable with just describing the shots. Anyways, what I really wanted to focus on was that we’re shown the numbers on two out of three of the kids wrists: Seven and Five. Seven might be connected to that 13 and have some season one ideas. Five might be connected to 8:15.

The green and red crayon with the first kid reminds me of Will colouring and making the fireballs green because, no red crayon. So do those green and red blocks. The other blocks are a yellow hexagon, a blue block and a white block. Colour theory wise that’s most likely Will, Mike and El (white because of season four- but also could be red. She can do both. I believe in her). The whole rainbow room is really interesting for colour theory. The kid without the number in shot has the most going on around them where as the other two only have a couple notable objects.

This opening scene might be connected to Mike, Will and El. Which means that there’s a few different possibilities for what this is telling us. But first a short summary to get my thoughts in order.

1. El’s backstory, One, and the truth about the Mind Flayer and the Upside Down. That’s the first level of what’s happening here. It’s about El and Henry and the Upside Down. It’s setting up the theme of trauma and flashbacks and the Nina project and Vecna. At a first glance that’s what’s happening.

2. Parallels of season four and season two. Going a bit deeper we can see how season two and season four both have episode ones with similar scenes in the lab. Ten and Will are both seen in the lab with the similar devices. We now know that Brenner and Owens were working together in season four and that there is a connection between the recordings of Will and the recordings of El used for the Nina project. At a second glance we see how this starts to connect to the overarching plot.

3. Fine details and numbers. That machine that we saw hooked up to Will and Ten is actually the exact same machine with the number 1511 on it. We can connect (loosely) Mike and Will too Ten because of what we see in Rink O’ Mania. We can also connect the scene to season one’s opening with the pen that Brenner has and the pens that the Party have being the exact same. Number seven and 13 on the door also connect to season one. There is a dog drawn on Brenner’s note pad that could be referencing the Byers dog in season one, and a yellow sun and a yellow crayon that could be referencing Will. Will is also related to fire imagery because of the spell fireball. Ten’s hospital gown has snowflakes on it which is almost the opposite of that, and connects to the Snow Ball.

Will is definitely connected to the Hawkins lab in some way, but I think that he might be number 15. I don’t recall how many kids there were, at least 13, but I don’t think that there was a 15. 8:15 and 1511 on the machine are what’s making me think this. I also think that Mike is somehow connected to the Upside Down. The triangle and the tens are part of why I think this- but also just Mike in season 2. He could feel that El was alive, and we know that she was visiting him in her head. He was also one of the only ones able to tell when Will and the Mind Flayer switched out- and while yes this is because of mikeandwill, Joyce was also in that room. That makes me think there was something else going on. Similar to the way that we don’t see Henry mention Will all that much, he doesn’t talk about Mike either. When he and El are fighting in season four, those two should’ve come up. This is a thought that’s been bouncing around in my head for a bit and it’s out there. I know. But then there was the thing with the 10′s and the triangle and the pens and it’s kinda hard not to bring up the Mike theory at that point... the theory being Mike being connected to the Upside Down in some way.

Mostly this is about Will and those parallels though. Because there are a lot of those. Anyways Will probably has powers and Owens and Brenner and all the lab people probably know about it (Luke and Leia, there is... another) and yeah. Also maybe Mike because he’s got some weird stuff going on t-

#stranger things #will byers #st season 2 & 4 #byler #pls dont hurt me because of what i think about mike #i know im reaching #im just stuck on how he could feel that el was alive #and him somehow like never being attacked #even when he is #like in season two with the demodogs #in the lab #and in the tunnels #and he just seems like he should have just a bit of harm done to him #like maybe even just a broken leg or something #but no #every season hes perfectly fine #lucas and dustin and max this season?#not perfectly fine #mike and will and el?#emotional turmoil to the max but otherwise theyre ok #nancy and jonathan in season one got hurt #hopper is hurt like every season #will was hurt like all of season two but he lived #mike should be like at the top of vecnas kill list #but hes not #and we dont actually see vecna show nancy mike in her vision #we dont see mike in any visions #somethings going on with him #i kinda want them to throw him in the upside down and see what happens #i mean its plausible thatll happen in season five

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