Rewatching Stranger Things vs. Watching Something New

Give it a rest! We JUST watched the last episode. Don’t you dare press that rewatch button. Oh, but you will press it, and I will too. Why do we tend to rewatch stuff we’ve already seen, and need a whole preparation period to watch something new? I’m glad you asked. 

Feeling Over Plot Twists

Hon, let’s get one thing straight. We don’t watch series exclusively to know what happened, right? Otherwise, why watch then? Read the digest and be done with it. 

Nooo, we watch to get a certain feeling, to experience the full range of human emotion (hopefully). It sets us on edge and brings comfort all at the same time. Cool, eh?

Now, there are several approaches people take. Pssst, this doesn’t have a concrete connection to the story, just a sidenote observation. 

There are people who treat video content, especially when you reduce video size, as an information source, they focus on the plot, not as much on the emotional side. Usually, they don’t tend to rewatch TV shows or movies. 

I, personally, treat visual content just like music. There are some songs that you can listen to on repeat, right? Well, then, take my tendency to rewatch TV shows as a playlist on steroids. I rewatch favorite episodes, sometimes browse YouTube for favorite parts of episodes. 

Because feeling over plot, my friend. Plot twists are what make me watch for the first time, and emotions have me coming back for more. 

Comfortable Universe of Demogorgons

Fandom attachment is a big deal. We know the lore, the universe, the characters, their flaws, struggles, all that makes the human (or not). Why Stranger Things in the title? Feel free to substitute, mate. I’m just offering an example. I love Stranger Things because the show offered a level of involvement I haven’t gotten in a while. 

It’s a “safe” universe for me. The airquotes, because it’s seriously not safe. But that’s not the best part of it. Like other good stories, the main interest in Stranger Things are the relationships between the characters, their personal development, and how the actors could actually make them better (yes, of course I’m talking about Steve). 

Rewatching these synamics is gold, how Lucas and Max stayed faithful to each other through it all, how Dusting learned to stand up for himself and became a man in the true sense of the definition.

How El and Mike grew up and realized what their relationship truly means, and how Will was able to come to his true self, full circle. How Mrs. Wheeler truly came through for her kids, as only fierce mothers can, and how Hopper and Joyce took a secondary role, trusting the kids enough to let them take care of things on their own.  Ah… Delightful. 

Did Streaming Change The Game?

Kind of. Both yes and no. The thing is, streaming, in my opinion, made those TV shows more available, but didn’t really change human nature in the sense of how we choose to view content. There is much more content out there, but can we watch it all? No. Do we want to? Again, no. 

I truly believe that the movies and shows we watch should have good value not only visually, but emotionally. 

Yes, it is readily available, but are you sure you want to jump to a new show straight away after finishing a big chapter?

The answer depends on your personality and relationship with content in general. 

IF and only if the show touched you emotionally, the probability that you’ll go on to the next one straight away is pretty low. You’ll need some closure, sure, and then you’ll need some more pondering. 

A curious sidenote #2. This behaviour is typical of movies in the same genre only. Say,  you have three “continue watching” shows on Netflix, right? One comedy, one drama, and one thriller.

(Do you have that system too, or is it weird?) Once you’re done with the drama, it will take you some time to move on to another drama, but switching to comedy? No problem. I think it’s because: 

• Dramas are much more emotionally taxing
• Different genres live in different tabs of our attention span, suitable for different life situations. 
• No additional decision required. 

Now, let’s move on with the Stranger Things saga, keeping the attention locked to the last point I made. 

Nostalgia Loves Decision Overload  

There are too many decisions we have to make. Don’t get me wrong, but Jeez, I get tired only looking at my to-do list. If you have the chance to make one less decision, wouldn’t you take it? I think you would. Me too. 

Stranger Things is familiar, I like it, I know all the ins and outs, which means I will definitely rewatch it as a part of my I’m-doing-something-else playlist. Do you have one of those?

When your hands are full, so you can’t pay 100% attention to the screen (kind of a REQUIREMENT for a new show, don’t you think?), but then again, you don’t want to keep cooking/cleaning/sorting with your playlist, you put on a familiar TV show.

At least, that’s how I tend to rewatch things. While I do other stuff. It allows me to pay attention to the audio only, get a part of the emotional flow, but get things done simultaneously.  

Nostalgia plays a great deal in this, especially during periods of stress. Familiar shows like Stranger Things hug our souls and warm our hearts. To the point where we can put on our favorite moments to cry, laugh, and know that whatever happens around us, there are still familiar things we can trust in this world.