#in the lab | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dinitride-art · 1 year

Text

Number 10 - Season Four Episode One (Opening Scene)

Okay, so. I was looking through the openings of each season for... reasons. And I went through the start of season four because some weird stuff happened and I was like huh. That’s actually really weird, I’m going to keep looking. Because this stands out from all the other starts for some reason (stars, stars, upside down portal machine/stars, murder and death and banishment-no stars) and that’s just weird.

We start out here in the rainbow room (with ten, before this it was that kid with the newspaper and Brenner and colour theory stuff) and Brenner and 10.

So, all the kids hospital gowns have snowflake designs on them. This is weird because of all the fire imagery we’ve gotten this season (molotov cocktails, flame thrower, pizza oven). Starting out with snow also might be referencing the Snow Ball, which is important later in the season. But either way, we start with 10 and Brenner.

My first point: triangles. More specifically, Mike’s shirt pocket triangle. This specific pocket has been really interesting to look at with Mike during season four because it seems to point towards or away from Will depending on how Mike’s choices. Lying to Suzie and in Suzie’s highly religous household? Away from Will, until there’s a moment where it does point to Will-

Right here, and they have their little hand brush moment (Will’s lit very intensely) and both of them panic. It seems that when they get really scared, Mike’s shirt pocket points to Will and says hey! Here’s why. This is, the problem.

But it’s interesting that 10′s triangle and Mike’s are in the same season. We’re meant to notice them both separately, with the emphasis placed on both of them (and they’re both blue- or at least connected to blue), but because they’re in the same season it feels possible that they could be connected.

Mike and Will’s skates are both size ten and it’s odd that their skates are held in a way that we can read them. Unlike El’s skates, which she’s allowed to move around, Mike and Will’s stay towards the camera. It kinda seems like we’re meant to take note of them. My general rule for if something has meaning is if it’s in front of my face and I can see it. (which isn’t always the case, because sometimes things are hidden away, but usually if it’s there that’s because someone put it there). And I’m seeing two occurrences of the number 10 that are right in front of my face. So, that’s odd.

We see a clear shot of El’s room. This could just be reminding the audience that hey! One o our main characters grew up in this lab! But that’s a big part of what we know about El so I don’t know if that’s exactly what’s happening here? It very well might be though considering this is the opening episode of the season. However, it could also be drawing attention to the idea that numbers in Stranger Things have meaning.

Now this funky little brain wave scanning machine is one weve seen before.

We’ve seen this EXACT machine before in season two. The numbers on it? Might be important. 1511 connects to two ideas: El’s number from the lab, and 8:15. (halfway through writing theories I always feel like some ones written all of this before- and I never know if that’s true or not)

Brenner draws a sun with a yellow crayon which- I mean, that sounds pretty connected to Will to me. Also might be connected to Max’s idea of hiding in the light and how Will is lit very brightly this whole season and all that. Also could be talking about the idea of a sunny day, or even California, or about weather (like rain and water, or sunny days or snow or storms- lots of shit going on with the weather). Also there’s that pen- which I’ll talk about a little later. That pen is also the thing that stopped me in my tracks while watching this and like. Turned my brain off and on again.

Brenner is seen writing with that pen multiple times, so it’s not just there for the hell of it.

Then Brenner draws a dog- the Byers had a dog in season one. That dog kinda disappeared? And that’s a bit weird, but also one of the only connections dogs have in the show. So that’s also a tad bit weird.

Brenner and his pen again. So, I wanted to wait until I got through the role of the pen within the scene to bring this up but-

Season one, episode one- there’s that fucking pen.

You can half see it in shot here too, it’s Lucas’- but I also think that Will had the same pen (I think- I don’t have a picture of it but that’s what I remember noting in my head). And that’s weird.

Brenner’s pen if from September 8th 1979- and there’s stuff to say about the seven in the number. Also weird. Also connected to season one. But what i want to point out is that season one starts November 6th 1983. That’s years between the appearances of these pens. Hawkins is small, so they were probably bought from the same place/came from the same place. But they’re also the same damn pens.

Why the Hell are they the same fucking pens.

Either we’re connecting the Party to the lab like symbolism and meta wise, or we’re connecting them within the narrative (...i think that’s right? I mean like logistically and within the bounds of the shows reality that we are presented). Both are concerning options.

On Will’s readings we get the (serial number?) 3-A615. (I don’t know what this one might mean- maybe nothing- but Stranger Things is weird with numbers and I don’t trust them). Will’s readings also are really different than 10′s. With ten it looks like they’re monitoring something happening with an actual body function. It’s got a pattern that’s similar to a heart beat monitor even if i does change, it generally keeps that shape.

But with Will, it’s not like that at all. Since Will is kinda going to get possessed real quick here, I guess these readings do make sense, but it’s weird that Owens is using the machine- the exact same machine no less- in the first place.

Also with Will we see all these people watching the footage being recorded in the lab. In season four we find out that Brenner and Owens have all of that footage on hand and use it for the Nina project with El. Brenner and Owens? Sketchy as fuck. Will is definitely on Owens (and Brenner’s probably) radar for possibly having a connection to the Upside Down.

The pen comes up yet again. It’s really just there all the time. There’s also the yellow crayon that’s been left out of the box that we can see. Considering the brown crayon was the last one Brenner used, this stands out. At the top of the page Brenner is writing on it either says that Ten is 13 or 14. Both of these are interesting options. 14 would mean 7 + 7, which is bad- and connected to both Will AND Mike because Will told Mike that it was a seven and it’s a thing for them. 13 comes up later here

Side by side (and even just thinking back on the scenes with El) it’s really clear what’s happening. When it’s happening is pretty interesting. Both of these scenes take place in the first episode of a season; seasons 2 and 4. These seasons parallel each other so much that I genuinely think Mike could be possessed in season four. That’s how much there is. From Steve’s sunglasses, to the relationship problems with being in love and who you actually want to be with (Nancy, Steve and Jonathan - Will, Mike and El), to the arcade and rink o mania, and the disco balls, and the snow ball, and so much. It’s so much.

So these both being in the same episode in the season is interesting to me. Season two and season four are also the only two seasons that have nine episodes. The Snow Ball happens in both episode nines. In episode two of season 2 it’s the Halloween episode where they go to the street Loch Nora and Will has a bad time. In s4:e2, Mike goes to Lenora- and everyone has a bad time. They find El/El comes back near the end of both episode eights.

There’s a lot. Honestly too many to list because we’re not done with season four episode one just yet. But yall get it. The parallels. They’re intentional.

Just like how when Henry starts murdering children, Ten’s readings are very similar to what Will’s were in season 2. The parallelssssss

These shots were just weirdly similar to me. I think it’s just the ominous framing and caged in feel created by the door frame adn the hallway perspective, but those lights are also a bit odd.

Now we get to number 13! It’s one of the only door numbers we’re able to read when Brenner sees what’s been going on outside. In season one, if I remember correctly, Will needed to roll a 13 or higher right? Which he did not roll. So there’s that connection.

[A child covered in blood, a green block, a red block, a yellow hexagon, a blue block, a white block, a blue rod, and a green and red crayon are in frame]

[A child next to a pool of blood. A wooden block, a maze, and an overtured yellow bin are in frame. Tattooed on the child’s arm are the letters ‘007′]

[A blood splatter and a child’s arm are in frame. There is a blue half hexagon, a flat red square and a yellow flat rectangle in shot. On the child’s wrist are the numbers ‘005′]

No pictures for the stuff up there I described because during this scene I had to remind myself that, hey, they’re alright, they’re actors m’dude. I was more comfortable with just describing the shots. Anyways, what I really wanted to focus on was that we’re shown the numbers on two out of three of the kids wrists: Seven and Five. Seven might be connected to that 13 and have some season one ideas. Five might be connected to 8:15.

The green and red crayon with the first kid reminds me of Will colouring and making the fireballs green because, no red crayon. So do those green and red blocks. The other blocks are a yellow hexagon, a blue block and a white block. Colour theory wise that’s most likely Will, Mike and El (white because of season four- but also could be red. She can do both. I believe in her). The whole rainbow room is really interesting for colour theory. The kid without the number in shot has the most going on around them where as the other two only have a couple notable objects.

This opening scene might be connected to Mike, Will and El. Which means that there’s a few different possibilities for what this is telling us. But first a short summary to get my thoughts in order.

1. El’s backstory, One, and the truth about the Mind Flayer and the Upside Down. That’s the first level of what’s happening here. It’s about El and Henry and the Upside Down. It’s setting up the theme of trauma and flashbacks and the Nina project and Vecna. At a first glance that’s what’s happening.

2. Parallels of season four and season two. Going a bit deeper we can see how season two and season four both have episode ones with similar scenes in the lab. Ten and Will are both seen in the lab with the similar devices. We now know that Brenner and Owens were working together in season four and that there is a connection between the recordings of Will and the recordings of El used for the Nina project. At a second glance we see how this starts to connect to the overarching plot.

3. Fine details and numbers. That machine that we saw hooked up to Will and Ten is actually the exact same machine with the number 1511 on it. We can connect (loosely) Mike and Will too Ten because of what we see in Rink O’ Mania. We can also connect the scene to season one’s opening with the pen that Brenner has and the pens that the Party have being the exact same. Number seven and 13 on the door also connect to season one. There is a dog drawn on Brenner’s note pad that could be referencing the Byers dog in season one, and a yellow sun and a yellow crayon that could be referencing Will. Will is also related to fire imagery because of the spell fireball. Ten’s hospital gown has snowflakes on it which is almost the opposite of that, and connects to the Snow Ball.

Will is definitely connected to the Hawkins lab in some way, but I think that he might be number 15. I don’t recall how many kids there were, at least 13, but I don’t think that there was a 15. 8:15 and 1511 on the machine are what’s making me think this. I also think that Mike is somehow connected to the Upside Down. The triangle and the tens are part of why I think this- but also just Mike in season 2. He could feel that El was alive, and we know that she was visiting him in her head. He was also one of the only ones able to tell when Will and the Mind Flayer switched out- and while yes this is because of mikeandwill, Joyce was also in that room. That makes me think there was something else going on. Similar to the way that we don’t see Henry mention Will all that much, he doesn’t talk about Mike either. When he and El are fighting in season four, those two should’ve come up. This is a thought that’s been bouncing around in my head for a bit and it’s out there. I know. But then there was the thing with the 10′s and the triangle and the pens and it’s kinda hard not to bring up the Mike theory at that point... the theory being Mike being connected to the Upside Down in some way.

Mostly this is about Will and those parallels though. Because there are a lot of those. Anyways Will probably has powers and Owens and Brenner and all the lab people probably know about it (Luke and Leia, there is... another) and yeah. Also maybe Mike because he’s got some weird stuff going on t-

#stranger things #will byers #st season 2 & 4 #byler #pls dont hurt me because of what i think about mike #i know im reaching #im just stuck on how he could feel that el was alive #and him somehow like never being attacked #even when he is #like in season two with the demodogs #in the lab #and in the tunnels #and he just seems like he should have just a bit of harm done to him #like maybe even just a broken leg or something #but no #every season hes perfectly fine #lucas and dustin and max this season?#not perfectly fine #mike and will and el?#emotional turmoil to the max but otherwise theyre ok #nancy and jonathan in season one got hurt #hopper is hurt like every season #will was hurt like all of season two but he lived #mike should be like at the top of vecnas kill list #but hes not #and we dont actually see vecna show nancy mike in her vision #we dont see mike in any visions #somethings going on with him #i kinda want them to throw him in the upside down and see what happens #i mean its plausible thatll happen in season five

67 notes · View notes

doctorbrown · 6 months

Text

DOCTOBER '23 ⸺ 「 8 / 31 * OUTATIME 」

October 26, 1985, Lone Pine Mall

01:36

❝Doc... No...❞

When Emmett comes back to his senses, the shock of what he was convinced may still be certain death despite his precautions finally fading enough to bring the world back into focus, the first thing he's aware of is this hot, throbbing pain in his chest snaking out along his ribs.

It feels like he's been caught repeatedly at the wrong end of a sledgehammer, taking blow after blow until the wind was thoroughly beaten out of him and he'd forgotten how to breathe.

When he does finally remember to breathe, that first breath brings with it an inferno that sets his lungs ablaze and Emmett snaps his eyes open, half-expecting to find the flames of hell burning over him.

Instead of hellfire and damnation, he's greeted by the crisp autumn chill and the black of the night sky, tinged slightly white in the distance by the light from neighbouring cities.

Then, the soft sound of sobbing at his side.

Emmett bites back a pained groan and pushes his aching, protesting body up off the cold pavement until he's seated upright. An ache in his temple begins to make itself known, but he doesn't remember hitting his head in the fall, so he catalogues that as something to concern himself with later, when they're both back in their respective homes, well away from here.

Marty whips around, eyes wide, and he gawks like he's just seen a ghost—or, more appropriately, someone rise from the dead. The wheels turning behind Marty's red, puffy eyes are all-too visible, and before he even needed to guess at what his best friend was thinking, he blurts out, ❝You're alive!❞ hopeful and breathless, yet still with a tremble to his voice that suggests he almost can't believe what he's seeing.

An apology dies on Emmett's tongue as he rips open his suit to show the vest beneath, and he silently wishes he could have warned Marty before this; let him know of his change of heart, his willingness to play fast-and-loose this one time with his own rules, but the risk was too great.

For thirty years, he's turned that night around-and-around in his head. Emmett hasn't been able to shake the thought since the night on the town square, when Marty made it known that his father had exhibited behaviour previously uncharacteristic to him, and yet his existence had still been restored. The space-time continuum had not unravelled due to one single, perhaps minor change in the grand scheme of things, and when he thought about the desperation carved so deeply into Marty's face, his insistence upon telling him despite his wishes to the contrary—

He had already done so much for me.

This night was the catalyst for Marty's accidental displacement in the first place, and if he had changed the events leading up to that and prevented him from taking the DeLorean, there was no telling what paradoxes may ensue.

It would have saved him immeasurable stress and heartache, but the risks of unforeseen consequences that were even worse than what Marty had endured were not worth it.

Emmett blinks as the ache in his chest flares up again and nearly misses the way Marty pleads to know how, desperation creeping into his voice alongside the relief. As he reaches into his breast pocket, Marty sniffs and drags his sleeve across his eyes, and Emmett carefully pulls out a piece of paper worn and wrinkled and yellowed by time, covered in so much tape that it nearly shone under the parking lot lamps overhead.

Marty's face screws up in disbelief as he takes the paper with trembling fingers, his eyes beginning to shine with another wave of fresh tears as he reads the now thirty-year-old note that he had written not three hours ago.

❝Well, I figured—what the hell?❞

Marty chokes on another sob as he tries to laugh and Emmett grunts as the boy crashes into his aching chest, flinging his arm around him. ❝I was—God, Doc, I thought I'd never see you again, I thought—❞ He nods and returns the hug just as tightly, ignoring the pain to allow Marty to bury his face in his shoulder.

❝Believe me, Marty, for a second there I was afraid this bulletproof vest really hadn't worked. Those things pack one hell of a punch. But I've had thirty years since I read that letter to think about what I would say to you.❞

Waiting had been a long, torturous ordeal in which he often found himself worrying if he had really been on track to finish the time machine by this very date, October 26, 1985, or if, somehow, following rules he was not yet fully aware of, Marty's unforeseen appearance in the past had delayed that, thereby pushing everything off-course.

As the pang of loneliness grew over the years and even his complete dedication to the time machine couldn't fill the hole that his friend's absence left, he often found himself wondering about their meeting; he'd made Marty promise not to divulge any information as to the hows and whens. Knowing that they would someday meet was already far too much.

❝Do you remember what I told you back in 1955?❞ Marty's shoulders tremble as he nods and for the first time, Emmett notices the fire engulfing the destroyed Foto Fox kiosk and the overturned van caught in the blaze.

❝I meant it, when I said that everything would be fine. And I wanted to say thank you. For everything.❞ Marty mumbles something into his shoulder that Emmett doesn't quite catch and he pats the boy twice on the back.

He's loathe to cut this moment short, but they're running out of time.

❝Are you feeling alright to stand, Marty?❞ The irony of that sentence isn't lost on Emmett, considering the fact there were several rounds still caught in the Kevlar of his vest—a grim reminder of his own mortality—but he knows that, in spite of the pain, he'll be able to get himself up and about.

Marty has had a far more taxing several hours than he; the boy is probably running on adrenaline and fumes.

❝Yeah, yeah I'm—Jesus, Doc, I should be asking you that! You just got shot!❞ Marty suddenly pulls himself away, as if Emmett's skin had turned to fire. ❝Wait, wait, how are you feeling? Are you in pain? Is something broken? Shit, I wasn't even thinking wh—❞

Emmett holds up a hand before Marty can get carried away. ❝It's just a little soreness, it'll pass with some rest. Come on; we should pack up the equipment and get out of here. We'll load the DeLorean into—❞

He frowns; the car was nowhere in sight. ❝What happened to the DeLorean?❞

Marty hops up to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. ❝You remember last week when I took you out to see where I hid the DeLorean?❞ Emmett nods, pointedly leaving out the fact that, for him, this happened thirty years ago, but that week is still such a vivid memory even now he doubts he could ever forget it.

❝I mentioned there was something up with the starter and, well, it died again once I made the trip back. I didn't have time to try and get it started, I was—so I left it in the town square, about a block down from the theatre.❞

Emmett checks one of his watches for the time—01:54—and disguises a groan as a thoughtful hum as he gets himself to his feet, working out a plan. ❝The car should be fine while we get everything taken care of here. At this hour, it's unlikely that anybody will be driving through there what with everything closed, and if the car won't start, there's little chance of it being stolen.❞

Einstein barks from inside the van and looks off into the distance, mimicking his master's thoughts. ❝What worries me is the police arriving—somebody likely heard the gunshots and our presence here, especially with me looking like this❞—Emmett gestures to his bullet-riddled clothing, something Marty tries not to look at for too long—❝will raise more questions than I care to give them answers to. The police are already wary of me.❞

Marty nods and Emmett has the sneaking suspicion he doesn't need any further encouragement to get as far away from here as possible. ❝You got it, Doc. I'll, uh, help you grab some of your stuff.❞

❝Hop in the van when you're done. After we grab the DeLorean, I'll bring you home.❞

Marty takes off and as Emmett bends down to grab the case of plutonium, another wave of hot pain spreads across his chest, twisting his face up into an expression he's glad nobody's around to see in the moment. I bet if I was twenty years younger, this wouldn't be so bad.

He bites his lip for fear of worrying Marty, and hoists the box up, noting that it feels a good fifteen pounds heavier than he remembers it being about half an hour ago. He secures the box behind the driver's seat, checking the straps to ensure it doesn't get knocked around during transit.

The remote control is next, and as Emmett plucks it off the ground, Marty shouts, bounding over with something in his hands.

❝Hey Doc, what do you want to do with this?❞

It takes him a moment to realise that the slightly bent, charred object in Marty's hands is the DeLorean's licence plate and when he does, Emmett finds he can't help but smile.

OUTATIME.

Yes, they almost were.

❝Throw it in the van. We'll take it with us.❞

#jal;sdkfj red write less challenge: start #i do believe that doc and marty saved the original 'outatime' licence plate from that night tbh #when they collected all their stuff doc saved it as a memento of everything that happened and probably has it hanging up with all the stuff #in the lab #doctober 2023 #&; a great idea can change the world 「 hc 」#i didn't get my hug in the film so i'm always going to get it in writing #criminal really that they denied us that when they both SO needed it

7 notes · View notes