The Duffer Brothers, who created Stranger Things, replied to Millie Bobby Brown’s initial complaints about the show’s lack of tension. They admitted they had noticed Brown’s remarks when discussing Season 4 of the popular Netflix show on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and they didn’t appear to cheer with that.
By the end of May, when Stranger Things Season 4 aired on Netflix, Brown spoke to The Wrap about the show’s low stakes. The main cast of Stranger Things is impervious to Vecna and his monstrous legions, as Brown noted then, which lessen the thrill of everything. Brown further clarified it in jest: “Last night [at the premiere], we couldn’t even take one group picture because there were like 50 of us. I was like, ‘You need to start killing people off.’ The Duffer brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be ‘Game of Thrones.”
While one might contend that Stranger Things doesn’t require a Red Wedding, Brown’s objections are in line with what ardent viewers of the show have been contemplating for some time. The main characters of Stranger Things have encountered some of the show’s worst monsters in especially during Season 4. And everyone made it out alive in the end. Yes, one of the series’ central children didn’t escape unharmed, and the best new side character from Season 4 was brutally killed off. The story does, however, lose some of its dramatic impact if we are always confident that the protagonists will overcome every confrontation with the forces of evil.
However, the Duffer Brothers don’t seem to concur with the assessment, and they don’t appear to find Brown’s remark amusing. As stated by Matt Duffer in the podcast: “What did Millie call us? She said we were ‘sensitive Sallies.’ She’s hilarious. Believe us, we’ve explored all options in the writing room. Just as a complete hypothetical, if you kill Mike, that’s depressing. We aren’t ‘Game of Thrones.’ This is Hawkins, it’s not Westeros. The show becomes not ‘Stranger Things’ anymore because you do have to treat it realistically, right?”
The impact Barb’s (Shannon Purser) demise had on everybody in the opening season was then extensively discussed by Matt Duffer. However, it’s possible that wasn’t the finest illustration. Stranger Things has thus far had a lot of casualties, but most of them are minor side characters that don’t survive more than one season. Though Season 5 has not yet been designated, Matt Duffer has stated that more fatalities are “on the table,” so the situation could become different. The author puts a bitter conclusion to his argument by saying: “This is me basically defending myself against these Millie Bobby Brown accusations and explaining that there are lives behind it, and it’s nothing to do with my sensitivity. So there you go, Millie.”
We wouldn’t describe Brown’s remarks as “accusations,” nevertheless. However, it’s possible that the public debate will result in Season 5’s stakes being raised. Nobody knows if the Duffer Brothers would even consider removing Brown’s Eleven as a result of their remark. Netflix currently has Stranger Things Season 4 accessible. Check out the video below to learn why THAT character had to be killed this season while we wait for Season 5: