Low Key

For all the nostalgia of "Stranger Things" -- the New Coke, the mall, the music -- the most uncanny memory it conjures is the feeling of first seeing a scary movie you were too young to see.

With the very good Season 3 behind us, we still don't have resolution to some of the key mysteries unveiled in Season 1 and Season 2.

Is the show doing too much? Or does the continuing mystery add to the feeling of being 10 years old, sitting in a cold theater or watching a worn VHS tape, trying to understand the mysteries of "Gremlins" or "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" or countless other mid-80s movies that drew millions of young fans, but also flirted with very confusing horror.

We've never seen another show that reminds us of that childhood sense that we were learning about strange new things that frightened us, and that we might never understand. (And that maybe adults didn't understand, either. That was the most frightening part.) The Duffer Brothers do a very good job of capturing that uniquely unsettling feeling, and how it pierces our uncomplicated nostalgia for Slurpees, video games, and the other fun parts of being a kid.

Here are some of our other discussion points this episode, and where they come up:

1:15: Does "Stranger Things" Season 3 make any sense if you haven't seen Seasons 1 and 2?

9:02: What do the antagonists actually... want?

10:20: What happened to Billy being racist?

11: 30: "This is the only show where I think not understanding it actually helps it."

11:48: One of us calls "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" by the wrong name

15:01: Is the show introducing too many characters without fully exploring the existing ones?

20:10: Does "Stranger Things" actually care about the death of America's small towns?

30:45: What's going on with Will (or not going on with Will), and why we relate to him

38:30: Does it seem like people are more angry at Hopper than Billy?

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This week we talk about Netflix's Spike Lee-produced "See You Yesterday," which combines the time-travel goofiness of "Back to the Future" with the social criticism of "Boys N the Hood" (RIP, John Singleton).

Does it work? We're a little divided. We appreciate that the protagonist is a young, black and female scientist (Eden-Duncan Smith). We love seeing Marty McFly himself, Michael J. Fox, reading Octavia E. Butler's time-travel classic "Kindred."

But the question is how well the film melds silliness with seriousness. We have a good honest discussion, and ultimately we're glad this story exists in the world. We hope you enjoy it.

ALSO: Follow @thelowkeypod on Instagram! We see you, Cousin Sara.

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This episode, we welcome our first guests: "Black Mirror" executive producers Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones drop in for a (very) quick interview to discuss "Striking Viper," our favorite episode of Season 5.

We talk about how "Tekken" used to make Brooker's home sound like an S&M dungeon, men's struggles to express our emotions, and why polar- bear sex doesn't sound so great. We also talk about the essential "Black Mirror" episodes.

If you have any thoughts, hit up @alanton11 or @timamolloy. Keith is still too cool for Twitter.

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The "Game of Thrones" finale left the "Low Key" team divided. House Aaron was disappointed. House Keith found it lackluster. House Tim was satisfied.

We get into detail about the reasons why, while pondering several other issues, before getting into the real question: Was Bran the bad guy all along?

We also discuss the final Jon-Dany scene, why the main cast members are kinda jerks, and the one thing we all agree on: That beautiful shot of dragon wings behind Queen Daenerys.

And then we get to an issue we think everyone's been missing: Couldn't Bran have prevented a lot of pain and atrocity (including for his sister, Sansa) by using his time-travel or warg powers? Was it maybe a little self-serving to allow lots of awful things to happen so that he could become king of the, uh, six kingdoms?

Join us as we say goodbye to a show that we all agree was totally brilliant for at least four seasons. (And that the person writing this loved from beginning to end.)

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If you haven't watched the penultimate episode of "Game of Thrones," you should skip this episode, and also tweet at @timamolloy or @alanton11 for our HBO Go passwords. Because you're going to want to be caught up for the finale this Sunday.

On this episode, we gave a dragon-fiery debate whether the show properly set up Daenerys Targaryen's heel turn, examine whether Targaryens have dragon blood, talk WAY too much about Targaryen inbreeding, and predict in extensive detail how we think "Game of Thrones" will end.

We also play Daenerys Advocate to point out that what she did to King's Landing isn't that different than, oh, say, what the United States did to Japan at the end of World War II. War is hell, and history is a series of overreactions.

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"Avengers: Endgame" sets a new standard for franchise films and universe-building. But is that a good thing?

On the latest "Low Key," we talk about why the massive success of "Endgame" -- not just in terms of box office, but also in terms of fan service -- is likely to inspire lots of imitators. We talk about what lesson other universes -- "Star Wars" and DC come to mind -- can learn from the MCU.

But we also wonder if big, IP-driven films will drive out smaller, more personal films -- we hope not.

And we nerd out on a few big questions, like whether Thor is to blame for a very sad thing that happened in "Avengers: Endgame." Many, many spoilers are contained within, but you don't care since you've already seen "Endgame" two or three times.

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What happens in "Avengers: Endgame"? We have no idea. But in this episode, we talk about our hopes, predictions and fears for the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stories we've followed for more than a decade.

To be 100 percent clear: We have not, as of this writing, seen "Endgame," or heard any spoilers. We've carefully avoided leaked scenes, and covered our ears whenever friends tried to drop hints.

So this episode of "Low Key" is based only on our opinions -- and our fandom of the 21 films in the MCU so far. We don't claim to know everything -- anyone else have trouble keeping track of all the Infinity Stones? -- but we do love the movies and the comics that inspired them. 

We also talk this episode about what DC could learn from Marvel's films.

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Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) lures us to the beautiful, fictional "Guava Island" for his new Amazon film of the same name, and we're delighted to be there.

On this week's episode of the Low Key Podcast, we talk about the politics of Guava Island -- the place and the film -- as well as our thoughts about Glover's work overall, especially FX's "Atlanta." We also talk about how we wish Glover's "Guava Island" co-star, Rihanna, had a little more to do, and why Red (Nonso Anozie) is such a good villain.

"Guava Island" is the story of a singer who dreams of putting on a festival to bring joy to the people he loves. It reminds us a little of Bob Marley's 1976 "Smile Jamaica" concert -- which almost got Bob Marley killed. Two days before the performance, would-be killers shot Bob Marley in the chest and his wife Rita Marley in the head. They also shot his manager, Don Taylor, and band employee Louis Griffiths. Miraculously, everyone survived, and Marley put on a legendary concert that began with the song "War."

The story of Bob Marley surviving the assassination attempt is the subject of Marlon James' novel "A Brief History of Seven Killings," winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize. It has inspired a TV series which will soon appear on Amazon -- the same place that brought us Guava Island.

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This episode of "Low Key" is about the dark side of comedy. We all know laughter eases pain, but we don't talk so much about the acute pain of failing to make people laugh.

The first episode of Jordan Peele's revived "The Twilight Zone," starring Kumail Nanjiani as a standup comic who will do anything to succeed, perfectly captures the agony of speaking into a mic to a crowd of people who refuse to laugh.

And the new teaser for Todd Phillips' "The Joker" drives home how depressing it is to try to be funny. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as a clown by day and comedian by night who isn't doing well in either job.

We also talk about whether "The Twilight Zone" lost something when CBS All Access doubled its half-hour, 1950s running time to an hour for Peele's revival. And whether the Joker loses some of his menacing mystery when we learn his his life story.

Also: Aaron wonders why white people keep approaching dangerous animals at the zoo.

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"Get Out" was a horror classic, so Jordan Peele's "Us," his follow-up, had big, scary shoes to fill. In the latest "Low Key" podcast, we talk about whether the latest addition to the Peeleverse lives up to our very high expectations.

"Us" is a movie made for people who fixate on small details, like why Adelaide Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) is offbeat when she snaps her fingers, and why her son Jason's lighter doesn't seem to have any fuel in it. It's a smorgasbord of low-key delights. But the subtleties add up powerfully: The more you think about "Us," the better it is. 

"Us" works as a family slasher movie (and is probably the only film of the family slasher genre?), but also offers deeper meaning for anyone who cares to look. Peele also uses creepy, subtle symbols like rabbits, scissors and a Michael Jackson T-shirt to make a statement about social hierarchy.

It isn't hard to tunnel down a rabbit hole as you try to make sense of the world that "Us" inhabits... and wonder if it's our world, too.

If you like this episode, please subscribe on Apple and leave us a review. The reviews are also the best place to let us know if you agree with our theory about James, his lighter, and exactly what's going on with the Wilson family.

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