1. Our Town

Netflix presents Surviving Hawkins, starring Maya Hawke and Sean Marr, written by Lauren Chippen. knowing something is actually preferable to knowing it. Think about all the things in our real world that are happening all around us without even realizing it. You sure? You don't think you just might be ignorant to what's going on beneath the surface? We don't think we're living in Orwell's vision of the future yet, but 1984 is just a month away. We might be closer than we think.

But let's talk about Orwell in the larger context of the dystopian fiction. Yeah, I'm serious. Mr. Harrington, I'm sure whatever conversation you and Mr. Hagen are having is extremely important. But it can wait until... It can wait until right now, I guess. Before you go, a reminder that the memorial for Will Byers is tonight on the football field.

We're a small community, and supporting each other is all the more important because of it. And your papers! Hey, hey! Your papers on 1984 are due next Wednesday. And please, no late papers. I actually have any life and I like to live it on the weekends. In theory, anyway. Room 107. Hi. Um, Mr. Hauser. Hi. Robin, are you all right? Um, yes. Yeah, I, uh...

That offer you made a little while back to hang out in here during lunch whenever I might need? You know, is that still, uh... Of course. Really? Because I can totally just, um... No, no. No, it's fine, Robin. I wouldn't have made the offer if I didn't mean it. Please sit. Make yourself at home. Cool. Well, I usually sit, um, but I... Take any seat you want. The classroom is yours for the next 25 minutes.

Right. So I'll just, um... And I'll just be here grading papers and watching time slip between my fingers. Excusez-moi. Excusez-moi, où est le musée? Excusez-moi, où est le musée? Le musée est... What? Sorry. Ignore me. No. What'd you say? Just that. You asked if I wanted to go to the museum, and so I said... Yes, I do. Couldn't help it.

Apologies. I'll keep my terrible teacher jokes to myself. No, it's okay. Sorry, is the tape annoying? I just like to practice. No, no. Of course not. Are you sure? Yes.

I told you you could hang out in here without me bothering you and I should just stick to that. As you were. So you speak French? Hardly. I took it for a few years in high school. Enough to order a coffee and ruin a Parisian's day. You've been to Paris? I have. Then what are you doing here?

They don't actually let you teach literature in France when you don't speak French. But I mean, you live in Hawkins. Hawkins. I'm very aware of that. People who have been to Europe don't live in Hawkins. Apparently they do. What? What in the world would make you want to live here, voluntarily? You don't like living here? No. It's my life's mission to never be a true Hawkinsite. What makes someone a true Hawkinsite?

You have to be born here, grow up here, then be trapped here for the rest of time. And there is no way I'm doing that. It's a one-way road. You can't become a true Hawkins lifer, but you can stop being one. I hope. You should put that on the town welcome sign. Take Barb, for instance. Barb? Barbara Holland? Yes, I know. What about her? She got out.

She's already saved herself from the Hawkins life sentence. Barbara Holland is missing, Robin. Is she? What? Look, I know things recently have been... I mean... With Will Byers and everything. But the thing with Barb is different. She's not like the other kids at this school. You know, she's... weird. How so? I mean... Never mind. Okay. Robin, if you know something about Barb that would help the police, then you need to... No, no, no, no. It's not that at all. I haven't... I mean, Barb and I...

It's not like I've spoken to her recently or anything. But you don't think she's missing? I don't. And it's only been a few days, so it's not like anyone knows for certain. You think she... what, she ran away? I think she wanted Ada Hawkins. And you know this from all the times you haven't talked to her recently. You don't have to talk to someone to know what's going on in their head.

But she didn't say anything to you? To me? Not to be weird, but I saw her come in here the other day. I was thinking of spending my free period in here, but then I saw Barb. Did she say anything to you? No. No, she was just asking about a class assignment. Which assignment? An essay on 1984. Robin? Yes? What is going on in that head of yours? Nothing. I'm just... pondering. Pondering? Mm-hmm. Pondering, Barb? Among...

Other things. Care to enlighten me? Surviving Hawkins takes a special skill set. Surviving? I don't know if you've noticed, but Hawkins High is not the easiest place to... Exist? I mean, you offered me your classroom for a reason, right? I did? Barb is like me. Well, not exactly like me. She fits better. Probably because she knows how to survive Hawkins better than most people. How would you know all that if you never talked? Well, um, we used to talk. You and Barb? Yeah, I mean...

Not since the sixth grade, so, like, what do best friends even mean then, right? But we were close once. I knew her better than anyone. Hmm. That was, what was that, four years ago? Don't you think people change? Sure, people change, but not who they really are fundamentally at their core, as much as people might try to dress it up in something else. Are you the same girl you were in sixth grade? Of course. I've always been the weirdest girl in Hawkins.

I hope you didn't take that as an insult. I didn't mean it to be. No, I didn't. I... I kind of like it, I think. Not that I want anyone else thinking of me that way or thinking of me at all, but... It's okay, coming from you. I'll take that as a compliment. Why don't you want people thinking about you? Being in any kind of spotlight is not my comfort zone. Or was that not totally obvious from the absolute bomb of an audition I gave?

It wasn't that bad. I'm pretty sure acting usually involves staying conscious. Sure, but before you... Before I completely humiliated myself? I think you were doing a great job. You had a wonderful grasp of what Emily was saying. Oh, thanks. You seem pretty familiar with Our Town. Yeah, I read it a while back. Well, it's not on the curriculum. I know. I read it for fun. For fun? Yeah. I was going through a whole, like, existentialist movement thing. Camus.

Sartre. All those guys. Right. Fun. I mean, there's nothing else to do in this town, so might as well contemplate the never-ending conundrum of human existence. Well, sure. I mean... After all, how many times can one person see Risky Business? Oh my God, have you seen Risky Business multiple times? It was the only thing at the Hawkins Theater for two months.

That's sad. That's just so sad. I don't know. You don't think Tom Cruise has a certain charm? I mean, not as fun as Kierkegaard. I get it. Not even close. So what if you determined about the conundrum of human existence? The world is too wonderful for anyone to realize it. And most people in this town don't even want to realize it. Hmm.

So you agree with Emily in our town, then? I get her. In one town all her life, only to die young and be stuck in that same town for all eternity. Really sucks the whole life.

Out of the life-after-death concept. That's my nightmare. I want to get out. To see places other than Hawkins. To have big experiences. Meet interesting people who aren't... Anyway. I'm sure you spend plenty of time in rehearsals talking about the suburban teen relatability of our town. You don't need me rambling on about it. Not exactly. It's a wonderful cast, but...

Not a lot of close reading of the text going on. Right. Even Tam. What? Tammy Thompson, at auditions it seemed like she was pretty invested in the whole theater thing. She is. I think she'd be even more invested if I had made it into a musical, but she's doing a great job. She's a very natural performer. Yeah, she is. Some people are just... Good at standing in the spotlight, I guess. You're not exactly invisible, Robin. I know that. But it's a balance.

Staying under the radar in Hawkins isn't about going completely unnoticed because that ends up just drawing more attention. You can't be too quiet or too shy because then you're a freak, so you have to be perfectly average. Being uninteresting? Is the best camouflage. Is that how you think of yourself? Average? Uninteresting? It's not what I think of myself that's important.

But why do you even need to fly under the radar in the first place? Because people that are different don't last long in Hawkins. And that's what I mean about Barb. She knew that you can't just... Be exactly who you are without serious consequences. She's been so focused on school, on being the smartest kid in class, caring only about studying and good grades, which for most people would be a death sentence. But Barb... Barb has Nancy.

She's a nerd, but she's not a friendless one. Safety in numbers and all that. That's how she survives. Hmm. Do you think it's possible that you're... What? Projecting? No. We just both have our methods, so we can recognize the camouflage. But if Barb was so good at surviving here, why would she leave? Maybe she got tired of hiding.

Maybe something better came along. Maybe it was becoming harder to go unnoticed with her best friend dating the most popular guy in school. Two nerds hanging out together isn't worth noticing. A nerd alone because her friend left her for the popular kids? Now that would be worth escaping. Or, well, maybe she found a way out. Robin...

I know you like to think about the world beyond Hawkins, and I'm sure a lot of other students do, too. Maybe even Barb. But there's a difference between daydreaming and running away. I know. And... I don't think that Barb would run away. How would you know? I've been her teacher for a year and a half. I know what kind of student she is, what kind of person she is. It's a bit hard to believe.

Well, I've known her since the first grade, and we used to talk about leaving Hawkins all the time. We would make up stories. The two of us would pretend to be backpackers across Europe, or scientists on safari. Do you think Barb is still daydreaming like that? I mean, she seemed pretty invested in her life here, in her friendship with Nancy and succeeding in school, going to a good college eventually.

I don't think she'd give that up willingly. But I understand that that explanation might be appealing to someone who's... I maybe possibly thought about running away themselves. Okay, whatever speech you're gearing up for, you can stop. I was not. Yeah, you were, but I heard you the other week, and I promise you if I'm ever thinking about running away, I'll come talk to you first. Good. And that conversation is not going to be today. Well, I'm glad to hear it. Does that mean Europe is off then?

Europe isn't running. Europe is a cultural experience, but I'm not sure Operation Croissant is even going to happen. Operation Croissant. And even if I... Did. Somehow managed to pull it off. I'd tell my parents I wouldn't just vanish. I'll call them from the airport and fill them in. So that's the plan, is it? It's one option. My parents would have flipped their lids if I had done that at your age.

Oh, don't get me wrong, my parents are going to freak, but they'd freak out either way. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Besides, it's just for the summer. That's a vacation, not running. If that's really all it is.

It is. Look, I know how stifling and frustrating it all can be, but there are some decisions that are very hard to take back. What kinds of decisions are we talking about here? I'm just here to talk about anything, and I'm not your parents. I'm not going to freak out about stuff.

Are you sure? Because you seem pretty concerned that I'm going to go live in some European commune and quit school entirely. As long as my students are being safe, I don't care what kind of commune they're a part of. Good to know. Is that why you told me to come to talk to you about running away? So you could help me do it safely? What? What was Barb talking to you about the other day, Mr. Hauser? I told you. An essay assignment.

1984. Yeah. What would you tell me if I came to you saying I was thinking of actually leaving? I thought you said we weren't having that conversation today. We're not. Okay then. I bet this isn't really what you expected when you gave me carte blanche to hang out in here, huh? Existentialism and teen angst. I can safely say I didn't have any expectations. I honestly wasn't sure you'd even take me up on the offer.

Are you having regrets? Not so far. Robin, when you came in earlier, it seemed like you ran here. Okay. Did you? What does it matter? Well, are you... Is everything okay? Yeah. It's fine. Everything's fine. I just needed to avoid someone. I see. But you're... you're okay. I thought you said you weren't my parent. I'm your teacher and...

It is my job to look out for your safety while you're at school. I was avoiding running into someone in the hallway, okay? I'm not going to get kidnapped during the lunch period. No. I know, but I'm not just talking about... What happened to Will or what might have happened to Barb? Mr. Hauser. The truth is, neither of us know. And I hope we eventually do know that Barb comes back or calls her parents. Until then, you can believe what you want to believe.

But that doesn't make it true. I know, and I'm not stupid. I know Will is different. Yeah. Yeah, it is. What do you think happened to him? I don't know. But you're worried about it happening to someone else? Even small towns have their teeth. The Hawkins monster. What? You see it too, don't you? The way this place can be. The way it eats people up. That's... That's why the camouflage is so important, because it's always lurking in the shadows. Waiting to snap its jaws.

The way you talk about it, it sounds like a literal monster. Sometimes it feels like it is. And I think you know that. Don't you? You wouldn't be worried about me if you didn't. Mr. Hauser, what did you mean about decisions that are hard to take back? Did you run away? Maybe not as literally as you're talking about it, but...

I have run away from things, yes. And let me tell you, it's no way to live a life. It can be a good way to keep your life, though. And here I was just trying to ask if you've had any trouble with bullies. No. No bullies, no kidnappers, no monsters. Well, sounds like lunch is almost over. Yeah. You know, if I can come to you about stuff, then you can tell me stuff too. If you're ever thinking of running away, you can come to me first. Is that what I sound like? I'm just saying it goes both ways.

This sharing thing. Saved by the bell this time, Mr. Hauser. Should I take that as confirmation that I can expect more lunchtime visits? You're the one who said any time. And I meant it. That was not a complaint. I... Well, enjoyed might be a strong word, but as always, talking with you is very interesting. You say that now.

Just wait. Next time's going to be Freudian psychology and revealing our deepest, darkest secrets. Oh, shoot. It turns out you'll actually have a substitute that day. Hardy har har. You can hide from the Hawkins monster, Mr. Hauser, but you can't hide from me. Goodbye, Robin. Oh, Mr. Hauser? Yes, Ms. Buckley? Sophomores aren't reading 1984. What? Barb, why would a sophomore have been talking to you about an essay assignment for the junior class? Um... I... Well... Later!

Surviving Hawkins is a production of Netflix and Atypical Artists and is a companion podcast to the novel Stranger Things, Rebel Robin by A.R. Capetta. Starring Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley and Sean Marr as Mr. Hauser. Written and directed by Lauren Shippen. In this episode, you also heard the voices of Anne McKeown as student and Andrew Nowak as Steve Harrington. Editing and sound design by Brandon Grugel. Lillian Holman is our production manager.

Dive deeper into Robin Buckley's backstory in Stranger Things, Rebel Robin, the new young adult novel from author A.R. Capetta, available in hardcover wherever books are sold or as an audiobook from Listening Library, read by Danny Martinette.