17 Stranger Things quotes die-hard fans should know by heart

11. “It’s like home, but it’s so dark and empty. And so cold.”

Episode: 4

Context: To the outside world, it definitely looks like Joyce is losing her mind.

Her Christmas lights and obsessive personality start making a whole lot more sense though when Will finally makes his first appearance post-abduction. After ripping back her wallpaper, she sees his blurry form, trapped in the Upside Down.

At this point, communication between the Upside Down and the real world is still kind of a mystery, but Joyce certainly doesn’t seem to care about the physics. She’s desperate to get to her son, screaming and crying through the wall while Will gives this chilling description of his new habitat: “It’s like home, but it’s so dark and empty,” he says. “And so cold.”

Chilling stuff.

After Will is chased away by the Demogorgon, Joyce loses it. She physically breaks a hole through the wall. Seeing sunlight stream in has never been so disappointing.

Commentary: This quote gives real body to the terrifying world of the Upside Down. At this point in the season, we had already been given little tastes of the scary setting, like Barb’s abduction, but we hadn’t really spent much time there.

Through the wall, Joyce can’t see the circumstances her son is experiencing. Instead, he tries to describe it for her, and the result is the stuff of nightmares. Calling the Upside Down “just like home” really allows the fear to set in all around Stranger Things’ viewers. This is a world exactly like our own. . . only different. These things with which we are comfortable and familiar become objects of terror. You really have to give the Duffer Bros credit for crafting the ultimate scary scenario.