When it comes to movies and TV shows, not everything we see in the final cut comes from the drawing board. Scenarios and dialogues change as the show moves along, as was the case with “Stranger Things.” In an interview following the release of Season 2 on Netflix, showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer, producer and director Shawn Levy, and the cast looked back on the making of the series where they revealed a few surprising details along the way. In a behind-the-scenes discussion on “Beyond Stranger Things," available on Netflix, the creators talk about Eleven, Bob's death, and more.
Arcade games
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) revealed that it was his idea to bring back the arcade games in “Stranger Things” Season 2. The creators decided to feature two games, "Dragon’s Lair" and "Dig Dug," which are actually metaphorical representations. "Dragon’s Lair" sets up the love triangle between Dustin and Lucas. In the first episode, Dustin lost the game and failed to rescue Princess Daphne and Lucas boasts that she still belongs to him. Daphne represents Max, the new girl both boys have a crush on, who ends up liking Lucas and not Dustin. "Dig Dug," on the other hand, represents the tunnels below Hawkins and in Will’s drawings.
The reunion
Initially, the plan was for Mike and Eleven to reunite in the Season 2 finale of “Stranger Things” during the Snow Ball dance.
However, Shawn Levy thought it was “badass” and “awesome” to have Eleven appear in the penultimate episode, where she comes in dressed in her “bitchin” all black-ensemble.
Bye-bye Bob
Joyce’s boyfriend Bob Newby, played by Sean Astin, was supposed to die during the car ride with Will. In this episode, Bob offered to take Will to school and they had a quick talk along the way about how Bob overcame his fear.
He relayed his childhood experience about a terrifying clown named Mr. Baldo who would come in his dreams. Bob said the clown never came in his dreams again after he mastered his courage and told him to go away.
Of course, this gave Will the idea to face the Mind-Flayer head on, which viewers saw in the trick or treat episode did not go in his favor.
It only prompted the monster to invade his body.
Anyway, during the car ride to school Will was supposed to kill Bob when the Mind-Flayer overpowered him. However, the creators decided to keep the character alive longer because they loved working with Astin and the actor also requested a heroic death. He got his wish when he sacrificed his life so Joyce, Will, Hopper, and Mike could live during the invasion at Hawkins Lab.
Eleven’s death
According to Entertainment Weekly, Eleven was supposed to die in the first season. This was Matt and Ross Duffer’s initial plan when they pitched “Stranger Things” as a limited series. Apparently, the popularity of Eleven prompted the creators to bring her back.