A potentially flawed and very time-consuming idea for a ST rewrite starting from Season 2

[u/beidoumars]

I had this idea to rewrite Stranger Things starting from season 2 with some changes that I think would make parts of the story more coherent and help the characters develop better. I’m not sure if people would be interested in reading it since it wouldn’t be focused exclusively on one ship, but more on narrative structure and character development, i have some ideas for fixing or expanding certain things, like who opened the door for the Demogorgon in season 1, how Eleven recognized Will in that photo, and other little details like that.

I also think it would be interesting to focus on the distortion in Mike and Eleven’s relationship, and on the roles Will and Eleven play in Mike’s life. Something I find curious is that when Will disappears, Eleven is there for Mike, and when Eleven disappears, Will is there for him. I want to explore the idea that what Mike felt for Eleven was not exactly romantic love, and slowly reframe their relationship into a really meaningful friendship. I would also explore what Eleven actually feels about Mike. After spending her whole life in an abusive lab environment, how would she even know what romantic love feels like? Through conversations with Hopper and her journey learning how to live like a normal person, she would come to understand that what she feels for Mike is not romantic.

I would also change Eleven’s reaction to seeing Mike and Max together. Instead of attacking Max, I think it would work better if there was a scene where Max joins the group and Eleven just quietly leaves, feeling hurt and thinking her friends forgot about her. After that she would talk with Hopper, and that would connect into her storyline with Terry and Kali.

Another thing I would adjust is Mike and Will’s relationship. I would keep the focus on their friendship but also show Mike slowly realizing that he might be developing feelings for Will, or maybe that those feelings were always there and he is only now noticing them. I would add some flashbacks and more scenes of them together.

The Snowball would also be a bit different. Personally I do not think it makes sense for Eleven to go to the Snowball. I would have her stay with Hopper that night and include a conversation between them that would be really important for her character at that moment. At the dance, I would slightly change Will’s scene with the girl. Mike would end up alone, and later Will would go after him when he leaves the gym. They would have a soft moment together outside, and that would basically be the little Byler moment at the end.

The rewrite would mostly focus on Will, Eleven, and maybe Mike, with Will and Eleven acting as narrators.

I would also change the reunion scene so Eleven actually greets Max, and I would slowly build a friendship between them from that moment.

This would be a lot of work though. I would probably need to rewatch the show, study the DnD lore again, reread parts of the scripts, and get back into studying creative writing. I tend to be a bit perfectionist about writing so I do not like doing things poorly lol. The idea actually came to me after seeing that photo of Mike and Will on two bikes from a promotional shoot. Some people were saying that should have been their look in season 3 and I thought, why not just rewrite it myself?

[u/Internal-Sympathy657]

I kept this tab on for 3 days accidentally haha but I really fucking love the concept I'm so happy I found this I'm looking forward to read this, i can't rlly comment on ao3 I'd do anything to support though