{"id":891654,"date":"2026-02-11T05:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/drimonis-i-went-from-stranger-things-to-even-stranger-things\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T05:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T11:17:25","slug":"drimonis-i-went-from-stranger-things-to-even-stranger-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/11\/drimonis-i-went-from-stranger-things-to-even-stranger-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Drimonis: I went from Stranger Things to even stranger things"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<figure data-aqa=\"featured-image\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=564&#038;h=423&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=wlu5if1YEuFggJDAlgnEgA, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1128&#038;h=846&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=89ZKZ37XcFTIIe7Vf44Ykg 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1200px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=564&#038;h=423&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=P6mzBv-A9dCQjQoEO1JC9Q, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1128&#038;h=846&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=lQ4rh-tUqDyT2qVWD81HWA 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=472&#038;h=354&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=wWu5DZbVNiSo-D8dSxb1GA, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=944&#038;h=708&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=JSl0R3UfG6KCmeLyOWUiLg 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=472&#038;h=354&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=eN3PfVCRW2zLoBD-xsKsDA, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=944&#038;h=708&#038;type=jpg&#038;sig=XqJa1HJewJXA7lR_cwaM4A 2x\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=Tbpye9Nt6PZjrIswSUzFlg, \nhttps:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=576&#038;h=432&#038;type=webp&#038;sig=qVaQqUqYawtxCryelZAf9g 2x\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img alt=\"Crowds gather at an outdoor Stranger Things fan event in New York City in 2022\" src=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;sig=Uv8TXcpqEQDaQxPbhRPPRQ\" srcset=\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=288&#038;h=216&#038;sig=Uv8TXcpqEQDaQxPbhRPPRQ,\n                    https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/montrealgazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0109-oped-col-drimonis.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=576&#038;h=432&#038;sig=m9k3hMowPet_4hVDhLNiCg 2x\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" height=\"750\" width=\"1000\"><\/picture><figcaption><span>For those of us who&#8217;ve lived through the mid to late &#8217;80s, Stranger Things drips with nostalgia \u2014 a portal to a time where few things mattered beyond our teen obsessions, writes Toula Drimonis. Above: A fan event in New York City in 2022.<\/span> <span>Photo by YUKI IWAMURA<\/span> \/<span>AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>I unintentionally spent most of my Christmas and New Year\u2019s holidays in the 1980s.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section data-aqa=\"identity-sign-in\" data-async id=\"article-block\">\n<header>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Montreal Gazette\" height=\"37\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.5.3\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-mg-new.svg\" width=\"280\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n<p>There with you then. Here with you now. As a critical part of the community for over 245 years,The Gazette continues to deliver trusted English-language news and coverage on issues that matter. Subscribe now to receive:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unlimited online access to our award-winning journalism including thought-provoking columns by Allison Hanes, Josh Freed and Bill Brownstein.<\/li>\n<li>Opportunity to engage with our commenting community and learn from fellow readers in a moderated forum.<\/li>\n<li>Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.<\/li>\n<li>Montreal Gazette ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, where you can share and comment..<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n<p>There with you then. Here with you now. As a critical part of the community for over 245 years,The Gazette continues to deliver trusted English-language news and coverage on issues that matter. Subscribe now to receive:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Unlimited online access to our award-winning journalism including thought-provoking columns by Allison Hanes, Josh Freed and Bill Brownstein.<\/li>\n<li>Opportunity to engage with our commenting community and learn from fellow readers in a moderated forum.<\/li>\n<li>Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.<\/li>\n<li>Montreal Gazette ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, where you can share and comment..<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n<p>There with you then. Here with you now. As a critical part of the community for over 245 years,The Gazette continues to deliver trusted English-language news and coverage on issues that matter. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access articles from across Canada with one account.<\/li>\n<li>Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.<\/li>\n<li>Enjoy additional articles per month.<\/li>\n<li>Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n<p>Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Access articles from across Canada with one account<\/li>\n<li>Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments<\/li>\n<li>Enjoy additional articles per month<\/li>\n<li>Get email updates from your favourite authors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div data-auth-component id=\"auth-screen-form\" aria-live=\"assertive\">\n<h2>Sign In or Create an Account<\/h2>\n<p><span><\/span><span>or<\/span><span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>First, I binge-watched The Americans, a decade-old, critically acclaimed series about KGB spies posing as an American family during Ronald Reagan\u2019s presidency. The series took me back to a time shaped by very different geopolitical realities.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Once finished, I plunged straight into the final episodes of Stranger Things, a sci-fi series many of us have been hooked on for the past decade. The supernatural tale is about an alternate dimension known as Upside Down and a group of Dungeons &#038; Dragons-playing kids (some with psychokinetic powers) saving the world from monsters.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also about so much more. For those of us who\u2019ve lived through the mid to late \u201980s, Stranger Things drips with nostalgia. From the esthetics (the haircuts and wardrobe) to images of unsupervised kids roaming the streets on their bikes at all hours, to the gorgeous soundtrack \u2014 Kate Bush, David Bowie, Prince, The Police, The Cars \u2014 the Duffer Brothers created something that packs a serious emotional punch for Gen Xers like me.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>The sci-fi series is pure time travel \u2014 a portal that not only transports us back to a time where few things mattered beyond our teen obsessions, but also to that innocent time where global dynamics barely registered on our radars.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>It was a fascinating time that held glimmers of hope. The Berlin Wall came crashing down, the Soviet Union stopped using force to control eastern Europe, the INF Arms Treaty eliminated an entire category of nuclear weapons, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was promoting <em>glasnost<\/em> and <em>perestroika<\/em>, ushering in more transparency. Cold War tensions eased. Fears of nuclear annihilation collapsed.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Even though the Stranger Things finale has its share of edge-of-your-seat suspense and things being blown up, it is still \u2014 at its core \u2014 a tender ode to those defining bonds and memories that shape us into the adults we become. A fitting love letter to the magic of childhood and that moment where you cross over to another dimension, never to return to what once was.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>I watched the finale on a Friday night and woke up the next morning to news that U.S. President Donald Trump had bombed Caracas overnight and arrested Venezuelan president Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>I went from Stranger Things to even stranger things.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>I shook off the fantasy world overrun with monstrous creatures, snapping back into a world that\u2019s far scarier. Mainly because it\u2019s real.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section>\n<p>Article content<\/p>\n<p>Given U.S. history, perhaps it was naive of me to find anything remotely strange or even surprising about the invasion of a resource-rich nation on flimsy reasoning. After all, destabilizing other countries via illegal, covert operations is on-brand for America. Even the hopeful \u201980s saw the U.S. invade Grenada and Panama, bomb Libya and intervene in El Salvador and Nicaragua, leading to the scandal known as the Iran-Contra Affair.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/montrealgazette.com\/opinion\/columnists\/drimonis-i-went-from-stranger-things-to-even-stranger-things\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those of us who&#8217;ve lived through the mid to late &#8217;80s, Stranger Things drips with nostalgia \u2014 a portal to a time where few things mattered beyond our teen obsessions, writes Toula Drimonis. Above: A fan event in New York City in 2022. Photo by YUKI IWAMURA \/AFP via Getty Images Article content I<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":891655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148091,57],"tags":[148090,13270],"class_list":["post-891654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-drimonis","category-stranger","tag-drimonis","tag-stranger"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}