The Duffer Brothers' Masterclass 🚩
Did anyone take their Masterclass posted June 30, 2022? In the video, the brothers show off their writing process for Stranger Things with a fake demo that matches the plot of Season 5.
They work on a spin-off of Steve and Dustin's roadtrip in the Southwest to find Dustin's dad, who has been missing for years or months (making an inside joke about their release schedule).
The fake story borrows from mythic conspiracy called The Lost Dutchman's Mine, with two versions of a German man who found gold in a spot called "Superstitious Mountains."
He draws a crude map, which years later leads an amateur treasure hunter, Adolf Ruth (Nancy's fake name), to his mysterious death. The tale ending in "Veni, vidi, vici" written on a checkbook.
Their story's skeleton outline leads to Henderson (the dad) finding a secret passageway into the mine where a vampiric creatures attacks.
They add the disclaimer that this is a fake script.
The "Hawk" version was darker, full of betrayal. Meanwhile, "bullshit" Rubik's Cubes are not a good sign of intelligence (look at the spire-like shadow cast).
Secret passageways lead to fools gold.
In this fake pitch document—unknown if actually meaningless—the show they reference as inspiration is the Sopranos, which they've spoken about around the release of Season 5. The last season split in two, released a year after the other.
Montauk is the show's original title, but it's also where Hopper wanted to move in the end. There are many layers to this title—all of them hallucinogenic.
A Duffer is standing in front of the fake set of posters. One of them reads "Mission Space," which also happens to be a X-2 NASA simulation ride at Disney's Epcot.
After an update, the ride was split in two: passengers can choose to be on team Orange that rockets to Mars, or team Green, which orbits Earth and less intense.
While blue-sky brainstorming, the other Duffer says, "one way you know it's a good idea is that it starts to unlock a lot of doors." Three or the maze of doors inside Camazotz to escape? Notice how they didn't say secret.
They mention the show becoming a "sandbox," a pit of endless ideas, which is also what the Curse of Straud, Mike's campaign, is often referred to as being.
It's a campaign that gives one end goal—escape, not accept—while the rest is up to the players. Though, Vallaki typically comes into play as Chapter 5 of the campaign (it's stand-in is Hawkins lab, in Episode 5).
Speaking of maps, there was a story map to a blue-sky idea inside Will's drawing of the party going up against a dragon, though really it was a map to Will's heart.
This was mysteriously missing from Season 5, but the so-called fake scenario in this Masterclass was left in, in it's place?!? Look at the pens beside it.
Overall, the bros act bizarre and accentuate words in the video. Odd, considering they're awkward as it is. If you even need my conclusion:
Season 5 is "not a real thing".
