After watching the second season of Stranger Things in its entirety, all I wanted to do was talk about it. A lot. But then looking at Netflix's list of things I can and cannot reveal about the plot made it a very tricky situation. Much like what the residents of Hawkins had to deal with when it turned out that their tryst with Upside Down is not over yet.
The first season of Stranger Things built itself from word of mouth publicity, found its following and grew exponentially by the time the second season rolled around. It was nominated for a bunch awards, the child actors became kid superstars and red carpet sensations. Directed by The Duffer Brothers, the second season can do more, as the show is designed to lift up the game for everyone.
The second season is filled with '80s influences and gives little nods to the phenomenon of Gremlins, Bill Murray's Ghostbusters, Ridley Scott's Alien movies, James Cameron's Terminator: Judgement Day. The music, the arcade games, skateboards give the millennials an idea of the time, but never overwhelms or distracts from the incidents.
In the year 1984, Will Byer (Noah Schnapp) is trying to recover from his trauma of being trapped in the Upside Down with the help of his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder), her boyfriend Bob Newby (Sean Astin) and brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton). The gang, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are tentatively helping out the Byers to recover while Mike especially can't stop trying to find Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Will visits the notorious Hawkins Lab to figure out why he is experiencing these weird episodes in which he sees himself return to Upside Down and find a massive tentacled creature growing larger as the little town in Illinois, USA looks apocalyptic. Dr Owens (Paul Reiser) and the team there cannot tell if Will's episodes are PTSD or signs of the bad times ahead.
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) finds his own thread to follow which ultimately connects the right dots and by the time we reach episode four in the series, we get the sense of what is happening and what the characters are standing tall against.
Apart from Astin as Bob and Reiser as Owens, the new season also sees an addition of Dacre Montgomery, Linnea Berthelson, and Sadie Sink. In this area, The Duffer Brothers deliver on the promise which they made when fans demanded 'Justice for Barb'.
Shannon Purser's character became a fan-favourite. It also landed an Emmy nomination for the actress. The second season deftly weaves the pursuit of finding the truth about what happened to Barb and serving justice to the culprits. It becomes an integral part of the story and kudos to the writers for tying that end beautifully and not treating that arc as just a fan service.
The ensemble cast of the show looks more confident in their skin. Matarazzo and McLaughlin get more screentime with the former banking on his comic time while the latter serves as the rational member of their 'party.' Wolfhard and Schnapp hold the screen when they are part of intense scenes. Joe Keery's Steve is more likeable and Natalia Dyer's Nancy is more daring. Winona Ryder feels like she is still stuck in season one mould of Joyce. But David Harbour, on the other hand, makes most of his character and opens up the tough exterior of Jim Hopper. Millie Bobby Brown is just as phenomenal. Wish I could tell you more than that her Eleven still bleeds through the nose when dealing with the Upside Down.
First three chapters of the show are setting the table. They explain what went through the year since the last time we were in Hawkins. But all three of them have cliffhangers that keep you going for the next one. Come chapter four, make sure you are done peeing, your snacks are close by and your schedule for the weekend is clear!