Top 5 Unscripted Stranger Things Moments
#5: Hopper’s Fight with Grigori
“Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt” Hopper upped his badass factor in Season 3 and even managed to take on the Russian Terminator himself, Grigori. Amazingly, much of this fight was basically made up on the spot by David Harbour and the stunt coordinators. According to creator and showrunner Matt Duffer, the script simply read “they fight.” It was completely up to the stunt coordinators and choreographers to come up with the on-screen magic. They took major inspiration from the airplane fight from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” with Hopper sending Grigori into a spinning device to his death. They reportedly filmed numerous takes of the fight, some with a more comedic and quippy tone and others more serious. It seems like they went with the latter.
#4: Holly at Dinner
“Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” The pilot episode of “Stranger Things” depicts a family fight at the Wheeler table. Young Holly Wheeler, who is only about three years old in the first season, can only watch in confusion as everyone around her screams and yells. This sad bit of behavior was actually not in the script; if the Duffer Brothers had their way, it would have been even sadder. The script calls for Holly to cry after Nancy leaves the table, and to cry even louder when Mike departs. However, it’s likely that the young Price twins who portray Holly just couldn’t work up the tears, so they shot the scene with Holly looking concerned instead.
#3: Hopper Punches Jonathan
“Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street” In the second episode of the series, Jonathan hopes to find Will at his father’s house. However, Hopper doesn’t allow him to go, feeling that he’s better served looking after his anxious and deeply distressed mother. In the script, this is a very brief conversation that’s immediately followed by Hopper getting in his truck and driving away. However, actor David Harbour added a nice little touch while filming and gave Charlie Heaton a friendly and supportive punch on the shoulder. It’s a touching character moment for Hopper, and we think it adds a nice little something to the scene.
#2: Max & Lucas’s Kiss
Top 10 Saddest Stranger Things Moments
“Chapter Nine: The Gate” Perhaps the most controversial moment in “Stranger Things” history occurred in the second season finale. In a tie-in show called “Beyond Stranger Things,” Max actor Sadie Sink and the Duffer Brothers revealed that Max and Lucas’s dance kiss was not scripted. Before filming the sequence, Ross Duffer jokingly asked Sink if she was ready for her kissing scene. Sink reportedly showed some hesitation, and her strong reaction convinced Duffer to actually film a kiss. The revelation caused considerable controversy, prompting Sink to clear up some misconceptions. She later told TheWrap that she didn’t feel pressured into filming the kiss and that she had never actually objected to the idea.
#1: Oops
“Chapter Six: The Spy” In the middle of Season 2, Jonathan and Nancy finally get together and hook up at Murray’s place. This prompts one of the funniest scenes of the show, and part of it was completely improvised. Murray makes an innuendo for the ages and playfully asks Jonathan how the pull-out was. Shortly after, he drops a piece of scrambled egg and gives a mischievous “oops” while glancing at his uncomfortable guest. In “Beyond Stranger Things,” it’s revealed that the egg dropping was an accident and that actor Brett Gelman improvised the ensuing “oops.” Jonathan actor Charlie Heaton rolls with it like a pro, but Nancy actor Natalia Dyer nearly breaks and bites down on her fork to keep from laughing.
