Spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched all of Stranger Things yet.

I had some reservations about Netflix's new original series Beyond Stranger Things, an aftershow that talks about all things related to their smash hit Stranger Things. The talk show, hosted by Jim Rash, featured a bunch of special guests from the cast and crew as they go over pivotal scenes, important character developments, and a lot of behind-the-scenes factoids that actually enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the series. There's a lot of trivia packed into the seven episodes, each roughly 15 to 20 minutes long, and it's definitely worth a watch. We've gathered the highlights below.

Consider this your final spoiler warning before Stranger Things trivia is revealed to you!

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"The Snow Ball was always the destination we wanted to get to. I think originally it was going to be the reunion of these two [Eleven and Mike], but we ended up doing it one episode earlier." – Ross Duffer

Wolfhard says, “This season, I wasn’t really in Mike mode until the end of episode three. By the end of the season, everything was a little more normal … for him.”

Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown say that they shot the Snow Ball scene for 3-4 days, though Matt Duffer says it was only two days.

Wolfhard and Bobby Brown messed with Sadie Sink about her kiss with Caleb McLaughlin, which originally wasn’t scripted, and it freaked her out. They had to shoot it a number of times. It was the first kiss for each of them, in front of the extras, parents, and strangers … and ultimately millions of viewers.

For their own kiss, Wolfhard quietly said to Bobby Brown, “I’m comin’ in,” to warn her about his kiss. The extras all clapped for their kissing scene.

The aftershow reveals outtakes from the show and super-cute audition tapes from the kids. They’re shown VHS-style on an old tube TV, which is fun and retro, fitting the show's aesthetic.

Sean Astin put himself on tape for the audition. Originally, Bob wasn’t intended to be as big of a role as he ended up having. Astin confirms that the Duffer Brothers were worried about casting him in the role since he could have been too distracting thanks to his role in The Goonies which is heavily referenced throughout Stranger Things.

Rash asked the question I was thinking at the time of the scene of Bob’s advice: Is he evil? Is this misdirection intentional? No, he’s just clueless.

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They knew that the pairing of Eleven and Hopper would be like “Clash of the Titans”, says Levy. “You’ve got power going against power.” Harbour gets to weigh in via video recording from Eastern Europe/Bulgaria where he's filming Hellboy. “I really don’t want to become the dad from Full House who’s always adorable but kind of loses his own personhood.”

The scene in which Eleven threw a tantrum and blew out the windows of the cabin was practically done and Harbour was in frame for it, not a stunt double.

The Upside Down wasn’t actually called that in the script in Season 1; it was known as the Nether. Now, the Upside Down has become canon.

They really want to see a Punk Eleven Funko Pop figure. Bobby Brown calls this episode, "Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister", her most emotionally challenging 45 minutes of screen time ever. Her hardest scene was having Papa (Matthew Modine) there; she cried afterwards in the bathroom and was really upset.

Bobby Brown’s final powerful scene where she levitates and is swaying on a suspended platform got her so nauseous that she “pulled vomit.”

Matarazzo (jokingly) calls out the Duffers for "stealing his idea" since he and Wolfhard said it’d be cool if Season 2 opened in an arcade. The existing space they had to work in for the arcade was filthy and full of trash; the production crew cleaned it up and made it a beautiful set with working machines.

‘Dragon’s Lair’ was a game the Duffers played as kids; ‘Dig Dug’ wasn’t, but it fit into the show’s plot thematically. The arcade scene also was a nod to setting up the love triangle, since Dustin and Lucas are fighting over who gets to rescue Princess Daphne, i.e. foreshadowing Maxine’s arrival.

Sadie Sink played Michael Myers for Halloween on the show, but didn’t know who the Halloween character was. There’s a behind-the-scenes shot of her standing in the bushes and waiting in the dark before filming starts that’s “really terrifying” according to the Duffers.

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The show goes behind the scenes to show off the young actors’ randomness on set during production, with director’s notes like, “Stop slapping each other before the take." "It’s because their brains aren’t fully developed,” say the Duffers. The relationship between the directors/actors is hilarious.

It was Matarazzo’s idea for Dustin to do the purr/growl, which grew out of his Chewbacca impression. There are a lot of outtakes of Matarazzo doing his purr/growl.

The pairing of Steve and Dustin (Keery and Matarazzo) wasn’t planned, but it took off because Dustin needed help since his friends weren't around and Steve had been left alone by Nancy.

Steve has evolved a lot since the pilot thanks to Keery’s input. He ended up with more of an arc over both seasons than originally intended.

Matarazzo was the first kid cast for Stranger Things, though he didn’t know that. He was nervous arriving in LA to act with the other kids, but didn’t realize that he had no competition for the role.

Season 1 had basically one part-time computer effects guy; they had a full VFX team for Season 2. Some of the practical effects had some restrictions (Levy tells of the nightmare of trying to get a practical demogorgon to come through the wall in Season 1) so they opted for digital effects for some things.

In the fight between Billy and Steve, the breakaway plate didn’t quite break away and Joe Keery got a little dazed from the hit. They used this shot for the final cut.

Reese’s Fast Break, Charleston Chew, and Three Musketeers are Matarazzo’s Top 3 favorite candy bars.

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Matarazzo thanks Levy for helping him in a scene in which he played music to help set the emotion. Levy did the same thing in Season 1 with a scene for Holly (who was three at the time) and for a scene in which Dr. Brenner was carrying Eleven through the lab. They played music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind during the junkyard scene in Season 2 to help set the mood.

Ross Duffer’s cousin Joanna once played a similar role to that of Nancy, who tells Dustin that everything is going to be fine; Matt doesn’t remember it.

The Duffers Brothers were held back in kindergarten because they spent so much time with each other and didn’t interact with other kids much.

“Murray is like the Richard Dreyfuss character in Jaws. He’s trying to wake up this sleepy town,” says Brett Gelman. Harbour says that he thinks “Hopper finds Murray endlessly annoying” but hope that Gelman and the character return to team up with Hopper in a sort of buddy cop dynamic.

There’s a great outtake with Murray, Jonathan, and Nancy having breakfast where Gelman accidentally dropped eggs off of his fork and just played it off while in character. The improv moment made the final cut.

Dyer thinks they’ve found “Justice 4 Barb” and has given the family closure. Shannon Purser shares her thoughts in a video clip about the final episode’s funeral for her character. The baby pictures and childhood pictures are actually from Purser’s childhood, so now the memories of Purser and Barb are shared.

There are some outtakes of Dustin handling Dart and the kids passing it around, which they did with a practical “sushi” model on a string, plus a marble they rolled between the kids to give it that slippery feel.

Bill Nye arrived on the aftershow to talk about the science of Stranger Things: He talked about the hive mind (among insects), Phineas Gage, multiverses, and the massive size of the known universe. “The Void” is the name for that space between universes where Eleven travels.

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Astin sent in a video to talk about his time in Crossroads High School and “hiding out” in the A/V room.

Paul Reiser sent a video in to talk about his character Dr. Owens, the references to Aliens, and how that film knowledge will play with viewers’ expectations.

Initially, Evil Will was going to arrive earlier and there were even plans to have him kill Bob. The Mind Flayer would have been working through Will. Instead, the change/possession became gradual.

The Duffer Brothers were nervous about a possession storyline since it’s been done so many times before.

They used the dummy of Noah Schnapp / Will from Season 1 in the possession scene when Nancy stabs Will with the fiery poker. They had someone under the bed shaking it and then added a puff of smoke marked with an X. Dyer’s aim was a little off, but they got the shot.

Puzzles play a big part in Season 2. Eleven is playing a puzzle when they’re setting up the cabin, Bob brings puzzles over for the “sick” kids to play with, and Will’s drawings play a big part of solving the biggest puzzle yet.

Astin shared his thoughts on Bob’s death and they showed outtakes of Astin spitting up a mouthful of blood during the scene. There was also a show writer who happened to be in town for this scene and she was the perfect size to stand in as a demodog and “attack” Astin.

Harbour doesn’t think that Hopper thinks that Joyce and Bob were a good match, an opinion many viewers likely share. He ships Hopper and Joyce, and dubs it #Jopper. He thinks the sex will be a lot better with Hopper than with Bob.

Bobby Brown actually argues that Papa (Modine) was actually a nurturing character who was responsible for shaping Eleven into the young woman she is.

The cast, crew (and the world) wants a future for Billy and Karen Wheeler.

In Season 3, the kids are heading into high school and will be casting new teachers.

Get caught up on the show with just a sampling of our many stories:

Here's the synopsis and special guests for Beyond Stranger Things:

Beyond Stranger Things – the much anticipated second installment of the beloved drama series now has a show, after the show. Hosted by writer, producer, actor and super fan Jim Rash, Beyond Stranger Things tackles inspiration for the series, behind-the-scenes stories, and analyzes every aspect of the second season – answering all the burning questions.

 

The series features Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, executive producer Shawn Levy, and the cast — Sean Astin, Linnea Berthelsen, Millie Bobby Brown, Natalia Dyer, Brett Gelman, David Harbour, Randy Havens (the teacher!), Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Dacre Montgomery, Paul Reiser, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, and Finn Wolfhard, along with special guests! All seven episodes will premiere October 27th only on Netflix.

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