Stranger Things Review: Season 2

Almost a year after Will Byers went missing and then came back, life has almost settled back to normal in Hawkins, Indiana. Almost.

The boys, who have grown up some, but not that much, spend their time doing things like pooling their money for the arcade. The teenagers fret about parties now and plans for their futures. The adults are also living, if not their best lives, then the best ones they can make.

Still, there are hints that something wicked this way comes. Will has to make regular visits to the Department of Energy’s Hawkins lab for physicals and he’s started having immersive hallucinations. Or are they real? Mike has apparently spent the past year acting out. Barb’s parents (Cynthia Barrett and Aaron Munoz) have hired a private investigator, Murray (Brett Gelman), to look into their daughter’s disappearance. Nancy and Steve have regular dinners with Barb’s parents, dinners that are taking an emotional toll on Nancy, who knows (almost) exactly what happened to her friend. A local farmer reports that his pumpkin crop has failed. He believes a rival poisoned it, but you can’t help but suspect an otherworldly pestilence. And then other farmers’ crops fail.

We meet Murray before we know what he’s doing in town. At that point, he’s just a stranger haranguing Sheriff Hopper about possible Russian spies in town. He mentions the multiple reports he’s gotten of a possibly psychic little girl. Of course, we know exactly what Eggo-loving child he’s talking about, and exactly why Hopper is pretending ignorance.

But then again, that’s what everyone is trying to do, except maybe Joyce, who will always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. But why wouldn’t she? What happened to her son was unforeseeable, so who can say that it won’t happen again?

Most people would prefer not to think about that, of course. And there are new people to provide distractions. Paul Reiser joins the cast as Dr. Owens, the Department of Energy’s replacement for Dr. Brenner. Joyce is dating Bob (Sean Astin), the manager of the local Radio Shack (and founder of the Hawkins Middle School A/V Club). The boys make a new friend, Max (Sadie Sink), who’s had the misfortune of moving to Hawkins with her stepbrother, Billy (Dacre Montgomery), who’s a world-class dirtbag. We even get to meet more of the boys’ family members, including Lucas’s parents (Karen Ceesay and Arnell Powell) and adorable sister Erica (Priah Ferguson), and Dustin’s mom (Catherine Curtin). Dustin, in fact, makes another new friend, who turns out to be not what he’s expecting. (On that note: #JUSTICEFORMEWS)

But maybe things could go back to something approaching normal. Will has PTSS, clearly, but he could learn to manage it. Barb’s parents would still never know what happened to their daughter, but as sad as it is, many people learn to live with that kind of uncertainty.

Then someone else goes missing. And instead of being the focus of the season, as Will’s disappearance was in season 1, it’s instead the catalyst for a new kind of madness. This season, like its predecessor, finds inspiration in earlier movies, including riffs on Gremlins, Jurassic Park, and Aliens–again, hi, Paul Reiser–but manages to hide its notes a bit better this time. Even if they did put a Goonie in it.

My issues with this season are fairly minor, in fact. The music cues can be a bit on the nose, for one thing–like Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” when a girl’s far from home, for example. They must have not gotten clearance for Diana Ross’s “Upside Down.”

Some viewers might feel that the biggest stumble of the season is an entire episode, unfortunately. Episode 7 takes place away from Hawkins, in Chicago, and involves almost none of the characters we know. I can see both arguments for it. Yes, it can be argued that it’s filler, but on the other hand, you can argue that it gives [character] motivation to return to Hawkins and join the fight. Overall, though, if I’m just being a viewer, I didn’t like it. I didn’t necessarily think it was filler, as much as an attempt at a backdoor pilot, but the characters weren’t believable. We’re outcasts, man!

Cool. Take me back to Hawkins? And take me back for season 3. I don’t know if I can decide if this season is better than the first, but I do know that save the seventh episode, it’s just as good. It’s all the suspense and the rollicking good time of season one, with the added bonus that (nearly) all of our returning characters (and some of the new ones) get a chance to be heroic. It falters when it leans too far into the past–not just the influences it loves so much, but the past season of the show. As the epilogue hints the story isn’t over, I’m intrigued because I want to spend more time with these characters. I don’t necessarily want to do it upside down. The best parts of this show are when characters get a chance to change and grow*, so I’m excited to see what happens when the show gets to, as well.

8/10 – Season 2 is just as rad–or okay, totally tubular–as season 1. In fact, its biggest flaw is that it repeats a little too much of what we liked about season 1 and follows the sequel rule of just multiplying that. Even with that as a weak point, it’s still one of the most entertaining shows around.

*┏┓
┃┃╱╲ In this
┃╱╱╲╲ house
╱╱╭╮╲╲ we love
▔▏┗┛▕▔ & appreciate
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
Steve Harrington
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔

COMMENTS

Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

6 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

PoisonIvy

3 years ago

I am just getting into Season 2, so I can still reserve judgement, but so far I am hooked! And I am sure I am not alone in saying that visiting the 80’s again has been a nice little jog down memory lane as I was the exact ages of the characters in the show at the same time the show takes place.

Salome G

Reply to PoisonIvy

Yes, although I was more like Erica’s age.

itsjustme

I loved season 2 and think it’s all kinds of magic, but I have to agree, I wasn’t really a fan of the seventh episode. I really saw it as only filler until I read this review – you’re right, it serves some purpose. But I still think it could have been executed a little better. It definitely didn’t ruin the season for me or anything, and I still enjoyed watching it, just not as much as the rest of the episodes.

SyFyFanatic

This review seems like the story could be a good one. I never watched season one, however, after this review, I think I’ll go back and revisit season one. I’m always on the lookout for good shows.

Lone Wolf

Reply to SyFyFanatic

It’s a surprisingly good show. When my kids begged me to watch it, I kind of resisted and didn’t want to. I was wrong. I am as big of a fan as my kids.

It’s a very cool show.

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

Stranger Things Review: Season 2 – Totally tubular!

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you