Before we go too far into the Upside Down, let’s take a trip back to Stranger Things Season 1 with this fantastic recap rap from Eleven herself.
Damn, Millie Bobby Brown is so cool.
Alright, now that we’re all caught up, let’s talk Stranger Things 2. I’ll do my best to keep this review spoiler free, but if you haven’t seen any of the new season and would wish to keep everything a mystery, just know that it’s well worth binge-watching.
Ok, now stop reading and go back to your couch, bed, or break room.
Cue the theme music.
We start off the season roughly a year after the events of Stranger Things and everyone is dealing with the aftermath in their own way. Sure their city is a portal to an alternate universe filled with monsters, but that’s nothing compared to getting the new girl in school, Max (Sadie Sink), to join their friend group.
The Duffer Brothers maintain a balance between real-life kid situations and sci-fi madness that can no longer be compared to anyone else’s work. Creative decisions in their writing process prove that the Brothers are more than capable of conveying strong relationships between their characters while keeping the audience enthralled. Many of the new season’s best moments come from some of the most unlikely pairings such as Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve (Joe Keery).
Speaking of characters, there are a lot of new faces popping up in Hawkins this time around. Some of them you’ll hate immediately, like Billy (Dacre Montgomery), Max’s crazy older step-brother. While others, like Bob (Sean Astin) will win over your heart just like he’s won over Joyce’s (Winona Ryder). Paul Reiser is in this season as well, but because I said I’d keep it spoiler-free, I can’t really tell you anything about his character. He’s pretty good though. Classic Reiser.
The tone of Stranger Things 2 is very similar to its predecessor. It’s extremely dark and ominous all the way until episode seven. A lot of people have been hating on the direction that the Duffer Brothers took the story in this episode because it doesn’t follow the traditional style of the show. It barely features any of the main characters and it overall just feels out of place. Personally, I like when these guys take risks and I enjoyed the episode. Don’t worry though, they quickly get right back into the swing of things and finish strong.
While the second season quite obviously up’ed it’s CGI budget, they also must have spent tons of cash on the soundtrack. The perfect 80s soundtrack. With music from artists like The Police, Scorpions, Ray Parker, Jr., DEVO, Duran Duran, The Clash, Queen, Bon Jovi, Donna Summer, and Cyndi Lauper, it’s hard not to feel transported.
To sum it all up, Stranger Things 2 does a great job at continuing the story of friendship and the Upside Down that we all loved from last year. Nothing has been tampered with, the beauty that is Stranger Things has been preserved. One might even say improved upon.
Uh oh, nosebleed…
