Stranger Things is beyond fun. Despite its monsters, the Duffer brothers created a world so rich and populated with characters that you will want to live in it for years. And while the show has its flaws, particularly in its finale, these flaws don’t detract from the incredibly enjoyable experience that is the show’s first season.

The world of Stranger Things is elaborate and immersive – a mix of detailed 80’s nostalgia, science fiction, suspense, and an abundance of Christmas lights. It is endearing and engaging, inviting viewers to let the experience wash over them as they quickly begin to question the odd occurrences happening in Hawkins.

A few weeks ago I had brunch with my favorite high school teacher who could not stop talking about how fascinated she was by this show – and that seems to be the general response: fascination. But what drew her in above all else was the doses of nostalgia being served by the bucket-load. Beyond the obvious music and Star Wars references the kids play outside on their bikes, dream up zany scenarios, are avid members of the AV club and live in the slight shadow of Vietnam.

Hawkins is so vividly rendered that it allows the show to continually create a unique mixture of suspense and humor that keeps audiences arrested as the plot carefully unfolds. Equal parts eerie and enamoring, it becomes impossible to tear yourself away.

The plot is not entirely unfamiliar – perhaps this decade’s take on Twin Peaks or The X-Files – but the charming characters that inhabit this world make it feel remarkably new. The people of Hawkins are distinct, loveable, and feel genuine. Whether it’s the kids searching for their friend, the teens hunting for monsters, the single mother searching for her son, the hardboiled cop with a dark past, or the little

girl with the shaved head and super powers; every viewer will fall in love with at least one (if not every) character they encounter.

Each character undergoes a keen sense of loss, uniting them to search for the missing boy and the greater truth hiding in the woods, and with this loss the characters are bound to each other, and us to them.

But, this show does have flaws.

To start, the show needs more than one person of color and more than five women. In such a large ensemble show on Netflix in 2016, this is unacceptable and should have been remedied before production ever started.

Additionally, the acting is in many roles fairly weak. While Winona Ryder’s stardom was used to sell most of the show, this is by far one of her weakest performances and feels indistinguishable from her more familiar material. The child actors contribute some of the strongest performances, even with heavier subject matter.

Stranger Things’ fatal flaw is that there is almost no resolution for any of the millions of storylines introduced in its brief first season, and this lack of resolution only feels more pressing as weeks pass without news of whether or not the show will get a second season. While the most dire question is answered (the fate of the missing boy), we don’t really know what’s happening in Hawkins.

We live in this artfully crafted universe, but we know very little about its mechanics. When the end of episode eight rolls around, there is no sense of closure, no sense of resolution, only my dad turning to my mom and shouting “That’s it? That’s all there is?” The final scenes are perplexing and out of character for the show’s protagonists and leaves, more than anything, an undeniable sense of frustration.

Stranger Things is great, until it’s over.

And while the show even acknowledges these faults in one of its final scenes as the kids play Dungeons and Dragons – it still doesn’t undo the fact that so much is left open. I fully believe the Duffer brothers

can resolve all of their story lines and answer all of our questions, the fact of the matter is they may not have the opportunity to do so, and to a degree is disrespectful to an audience that has patiently endured eight hours of suspense and wondering to provide absolutely no resolution. We deserve to know. Not everything, but at least something. They have certainly left room for season 2, but perhaps too much room. If we get a season 2, I fear attempts to resolve all of these questions and expand the story will be messy, hasty, and disappointing.

Despite its finale’s flaws, Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s finest – engaging, mystifying, endearing, and above all spooky. If I hadn’t already decided on my Halloween costume for this year, it would come from this show. Maybe next year.

Stranger Things is available on Netflix now.

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The plot is somewhat simple: alien bugs are crawling into the minds of Washington DC’s inhabitants, including its politicians, making them extreme, aggressive, and sometimes their heads explode. Really.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs the World) stars as Laurel Healy, documentarian and sister to womanizing Luke Healy, a democratic senator from Maryland. Laurel agrees to work for Luke if her father funds her latest documentary. As a constituent caseworker, Laurel encounters wacky Marylanders, an alcoholic Republican senator played by Tony Shalhoub, his dreamy chief of staff, a conspiracy-buff, and FBI torture specialists. And lots of bugs.

While this seems to come from a completely different universe from The Good Wife, the Kings have created something absolutely unlike anything on TV. And beyond it’s unique qualities, it’s good. Out-of-this-world good.

In its first 7 episodes, BrainDead has proved itself to possess remarkable humor, suspense, and powerful show-runners. The show’s comedic style – and particularly Johnny Ray Gill’s – is not only rare but also incredibly effective. Whether it be well-aimed quips about partisan politics, wacky conspiracies, unimaginable situations, deadpan remarks, or even the random oddities that enter their world (chocolate dog sculptures or bacon bug lures), BrainDead continues to create laughs and surprise.

BrainDead consistently creates alarming suspense, sometimes verging on downright scary. Early scenes are surprisingly eerie as strangers stare at Laurel while The Car’s “You Might Think” plays in the background, but later episodes are absolutely nail-biting as Laurel fights for her life.

It’s also remarkably well-written. The ever-expanding plot is magnificently orchestrated, and oddly enough, it’s believable. Brain-eating alien bugs controlling the government is lightly suggested in episode 1, but by episode 6 the argument has been presented well enough to reluctantly make us believe this insane reality.

If space zombie bugs aren’t your thing, and justifiably they may not be, the cast is a significant draw. Tony Shalhoub and Johnny Ray Gill provide astounding performances, while Broadway stars Aaron Tveit and Tony winner Nikki M. James supply more subdued and at times deeply moving performances. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, as Laurel, carries the show with her enduring and varied performance in moments of fear, determination, and loss. In such an extraterrestrial show Winstead provides the most grounding and human performance of them all. I came to BrainDead for Winstead and Tveit and my expectations were exceeded before the pilot was over.

More than anything, BrainDead is tailor-made for 2016. In this hysterical election year, the possibility that all this madness may be caused by extraterrestrial bugs is a more appealing explanation than that Donald Trump really is that way. BrainDead’s commentary extends to both sides of the aisle, highlighting the fact that climbing any political ladder almost always takes priority over helping the people, and that decisions are often made based on their potential to humiliate opponents rather than benefit constituents. While BrainDead blends consciousness with humor and whimsy, it also reminds us of the country’s dire conditions.

However, I do (of course) have a few issues. I find the dynamic of the two infected extremists, Ella and Red, shouting at each other tiring. Especially because neither has changed since becoming infected weeks ago. I also take issue with Luke – the womanizing senator – and the women in his life. Luke cheats on his pregnant wife, Germaine, with his staffer Scarlett. The affair leaks, Luke rushes home, and Germaine breaks down in what is, according to my count, only her second appearance on the show. Luke continues to cheat with a number of women with no regard for the pain he caused.

I hope Germaine and Scarlett become active characters by revolting

against Luke’s behavior or participating in politics. Anything other than just disappearing. In a show that acknowledges the modern world’s inequalities, I wish these problems were corrected within itself. Luke’s pattern of repeatedly sleeping around and being exposed is dull and frustrating; even more so because no matter how publicly he’s humiliated, it never takes any affect or carries any consequences. Germaine never gets justice! Hopefully future episodes will address these concerns, because it certainly isn’t in the show’s nature to forget anything.

Even with these flaws BrainDead is inventive, exciting, dynamic, and utterly addicting. I have adored the season so far, and eagerly await more.

BrainDead airs 10pm Sundays on CBS and is available for free with Amazon Prime.

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