Hawkins, Indiana never stays quiet for long, and in the dead of winter 1985, it's already getting weird again. Darrell and Addi are diving headfirst into Stranger Things: Tales From '85, the brand-new animated spinoff from the Duffer Brothers and showrunner Eric Robles, set between the events of Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series. In this premiere episode, the gang's innocent plan to shovel snow for some extra cash gets derailed fast when a surprising new threat rears its head, and a mysterious cool new kid steps into the picture, pulling Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Max, Will, and Lucas closer to something they probably should have been running from.

In this episode, Darrell and Addi break down everything that makes this animated premiere tick. They start with the chilling cold open that wastes no time pulling you back into the eerie atmosphere of Hawkins, then move into the fresh voice cast stepping into iconic roles (Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, and more). They dig into what it means to revisit these beloved characters as younger versions of themselves, unpack the interdimensional threat already bubbling beneath the surface of this snowbound small town, and weigh in on the spinoff's tone, animation style, and whether Tales From '85 captures the magic of the original. Plus, who exactly is this new kid, and what are they really doing in Hawkins?

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