What “Stranger Things” Gets Right About Death

The hit Netflix series treats death with sensitivity uncommon on television

Please note: this article contains spoilers for certain pivotal events that occur during seasons one through three of “Stranger Things.”

In The Shadow Of Death

Netflix mega-hit series Stranger Things is successful for many reasons. For those of us who grew up during the 1980s, it almost perfectly replicates the hallmarks of the era: the clothes, colloquialisms, and pop culture landmarks. It captures the undercurrent of Cold War tension and paranoia.

Against this backdrop, the show centers a group of young, fresh-faced protagonists mired in a compelling supernatural coming-of-age drama that is a nostalgic tribute to 80s cinematic valedictorian Steven Spielberg.

But the series is remarkable for another more subtle yet poignant reason: its depiction of death and grief is unusually sensitive and nuanced for television.

The way television treats the death of fictional characters is often hackneyed at best and calculatingly exploitative at worst.

Within the past several years, this tendency has only gotten worse, with onscreen deaths - particularly those of women and characters from marginalized groups - serving as a lazy plot device to resolve various narrative conundrums, including providing motivation for main protagonists; resolving problematic subplots; terminating love triangles; handling the exit of actors; shaking up the show’s status quo; and creating coveted watercooler moments.

Grey’s Anatomy and The Walking Dead are two prominent examples of the slew of television shows that use frequent visits from the Grim Reaper for its sensational draw.

Of course, the lightning-fast pace of television factors into the contraction of the grieving process onscreen. Still, this does not negate the fact that killing a character has become a trite and overused ploy writers use to extricate themselves from challenging narrative quagmires.

Stranger Things is a remarkable exception.

Justice For Barb

During the first season of Stranger Things, we are introduced to recurring character Barbara “Barb” Holland, the bespectacled best friend of the show’s ingenue Nancy Wheeler.

Early in the season, Barb meets a gruesome demise at the hands of an otherworldly monstrosity released from the “Upside Down” — an alternate dimension discovered via a covert government experiment designed to spy on Russia.

Due to the classified nature of the project, the truth about Barb’s death is withheld from her family. She is declared a missing person, leaving her heartbroken parents with the cruel assumption she is alive and can be found.

Her absence is acknowledged by the show in ways both subtle and keen. Missing person flyers with her picture are shown posted throughout the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana and her face is printed on the sides of milk cartons.

On the surface, Barb’s tragic end seems to be a plot device only intended to alert the young protagonists to the extreme danger the Upside Down poses to Hawkins.

However, Barb’s story doesn’t conclude with her death. Her legacy sends shockwaves throughout the rest of Stranger Things season one and has monumental affect on the events of season two.

Viewers and fans were deeply affected by the young woman’s horrific fate, too. The hashtag #JusticeForBarb quickly became a trending topic on social media.

During the second season, it is revealed Nancy’s burning guilt over Barb stems from her knowing the truth about her best friend’s fate and being unable to tell Barb’s family.

In a poignant scene, Nancy has a fraught meeting with Barb’s parents, who are convinced their daughter is still alive and are preparing to sell their home in order to finance their ongoing search for her.

Nancy becomes obsessed with exposing the government cover up which led to her best friend’s death, thus helping to ignite the dramatic engine that powers the main narrative of season two.

While the paranormal circumstances surrounding Barb’s death are obscured, season two ends with those responsible for the covert operation being held accountable — with many paying the ultimate price. The project is shut down, Barb’s parents are told their daughter is deceased, and a funeral is held so the family can begin the grieving process.

It is not a perfect resolution, but Barb is never forgotten and her memory infuses the fabric of the series.

Why is the subplot involving Barb’s death so extraordinary?

The way television treats the death of fictional characters is often hackneyed at best and calculatingly exploitative at worst.

It is very unusual for a television show to intentionally explore the multifaceted affect death, grief, and bereavement has on survivors. It is rarer still for death to be allowed to have real weight and lasting influence over the main narrative of a series.

In sharp contrast, the writers of Stranger Things handled the death of Barb with nuance, respect, and piercing honesty that resonated with viewers. This added uncommon depth to the emotional lives of the characters, because death and loss are universal and will touch us all at some point.

Finally, the writers did not kill Barb and then discard her. Her life and death are shown to matter.

By the end of Stranger Things season two, Barb gets the justice she, and we the audience, so richly deserve.