I have always found Stranger Things compelling because it begins with a very simple fear: a child disappears, and the adults do not understand the shape of the danger. From that starting point, the series opens into government secrets, psychic powers, alternate dimensions, friendship, grief, monsters, and a town that keeps trying to return to normal even after normal has clearly been torn open. Hawkins, Indiana looks ordinary at first, but the show slowly teaches me to distrust every quiet road, basement, laboratory hallway, and flickering light.