Stranger Things: 5 Best & 5 Worst Characters

Bullies are very much a real thing, but what Stranger Thing wanted us to buy into as an audience was just absurd.

Tommy and Carol spend most of the show as Steve's brain-dead cronies, egging him into conflict with Jonathan and cackling at their own sadistic humour. Steve eventually turns his back on them but how are we to believe a crew like this can exist without being complete social pariahs? They actually get on like they are the cool kids when in fact most people would rather gouge their eyes out than spend two minutes in their company.

Then there's Troy. What in the name of all that is holy was Troy supposed to be? Twelve year-old bullies might pick fights or steal lunch money, but they don't threaten to carve out another kid's teeth unless his friend jumps off a cliff to their death. That's not a bully, that's an early-blossoming psychopath.

I realise the producers wanted to create high stakes and adversity for the heroes, but in a world where a monster arrives from another dimension along with a girl with superpowers, the bullies were the least believable part of the show.