Five Ways the "Stranger Things" Gang Is Just Like the Golden Trio

It seemed like Harry, Ron, and Hermione broke hundreds of school rules each year they returned to Hogwarts. In the wake of Will's disappearance, Mike and the gang weren't supposed to be out of their homes late at night, but they knew trying to save their friend was more important than obeying their curfew rules. Like the golden trio, they knew doing the right thing was far more important than listening to the clueless adults in their lives.

Conflict drove both Ron and Lucas away from their friends to rough things out on their own. It took Ron a little while to realize the error of his ways, but he returned and saved Harry from the locket Horcrux. As soon as Lucas realized his friends were in danger, he did everything he could to get back to them and warn them before it was too late. The powerful loyalty both Ron and Lucas had to their friends kept them from holding grudges and helped them protect their friends from danger.

When Ron was pulled beneath the Whomping Willow in "Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry and Hermione didn't think twice before braving the tree's relentless branches to save him. Although Nancy would have done anything to save Barb, she might have preferred to face an escaped prisoner and Voldemort's most rodent-like servant instead of the horrific monster from the Upside-Down world. In both series, unknown worlds are hidden in plain sight; passages can be found in alleys, windows, trees, doors, walls, and in many more places.

As 11- and 12-year-olds, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to successfully navigate the obstacles guarding the Sorcerer's Stone. They were always able to use the resources they were given to solve any problem in their way. In the Upside-Down world, Will was able to hide from the Demogorgon long enough to tell his mother how she could reach him. Using light and sound to lead her to him, Will planted the seeds that helped the story's heroes conquer the Demogorgon and free him from the Upside-Down world.

Friendship meant everything to the golden trio, and the "Stranger Things" gang valued their relationships no less. Harry, Ron, and Hermione risked their lives for one another countless times throughout the "Potter" series, and Harry risked his life for the entire wizarding world. Eleven sacrificed herself to destroy the Demogorgon, saving her friends and the entire city. Mike echoed Ron in the Whomping Willow almost word for word when he told Dr. Brenner, "You want her, you'll have to kill us first!" Even in very different worlds, the qualities of true friendship are always the same.