The highly anticipated second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things flooded our screens on October 27th, but not without a frenzied chatter of news and gossip. Although it has not been long since its release, it seems like almost everyone has already finished catching up with the highly addictive series. The incredibly talented and lovable cast of kids that we grew to know and love returned for another season. The unexpected hit show delivered fans’ expectations with its nostalgic ‘80s setting and the looming threat of the mysterious underworld, the Upside Down, over the town of Hawkins, Indiana; however, with a brand new season, Stranger Things brought us a whole other array of elements that we did not even know we were missing.

Stranger Things instantly lured fans in with its evocative portrayal of a small town in the ‘80s while keeping an adventure-packed storyline involving kids fighting monsters on bikes, an odd but lucrative combination. Even in the trailer, many fans commented on the undeniable retro characteristics when looking at the kids crowded around an arcade game. The audience gets to see more of the character Will and his interactions with best friends, Dustin, Lucas, and Mike, including an adorable homage to the cult classic Ghostbusters. Season 2 also continues the love triangle between teenagers Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan. And of course, we get more of a glimpse into the life of the elusive Eleven, the girl with telekinetic powers and the root of many Halloween costumes.

While the show kept many things the same as Season 1, it had its fair share of differences. Matt and Ross Duffer, producers of Stranger Things, clarified in an interview that Season 2 would be its own “series” instead of just a continuation of the first season, saying that “these characters have changed and the audience has to sort of fill in those gaps of what went on in that year” [1]. For one, three new characters were introduced, although one of them shortly met their demise by the end of the season. Additionally, the Duffer brothers made a highly controversial decision of interrupting Season 2 with an episode dedicated to Eleven. This episode deviates from the rest, and did not fail to garner mixed opinions. According to Tatum Peskin ‘20, she believes this episode detracted from the second season with how “its focus was shifted away from the core group and [how] it didn’t even end in a satisfying way.

Regardless of the distinctions between the two, it is safe to say that the second season of Stranger Things served as an enjoyable sequel to the first. And without fail, no matter how soon the release date was, there are already a swarm of fans speculating about what is to come in season 3.

[1]: http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/08/02/stranger-things-creators-on-how-season-1-ended-and-where-season-2-will-go