Stranger Things 2 Review: Scarier, Bigger and Better

Stranger Things season 1 was undoubtedly one of the biggest Netflix hits, and season 2 leaves no chance of being better. This season  is based on the same dimensional concept as the previous one- “Upside Down”.

Before We Begin…

Let’s quickly look into what has happened in the previous season. In S01 we have seen that, Eleven unintentionally with people at Hawkins Lab opens a door to another dimension. Then it starts to get pretty dark, we have seen Nancy’s friend, Barb being consumed by  “The Demogorgon” and  Will falls into the same area. After much muddle-ups, he is finally saved, thanks to the sacrifice made by their psychic friend, Eleven. The season ends with mixed feelings. The danger is of everyone else (except Will) but they had to let go of Eleven.

Before you read any more, there might be some spoilers up ahead, so proceed with caution!

Now let us dive into season 2.

Plot Summary

The series begins with another experimental subject like Eleven, 8  also known as Kali being chased by policemen. She creates a false visual perception and runs off the scene. Meanwhile in Hawkins, Will is still traumatized and it’s been more than 350 days since Eleven’s disappearance. Will keeps having visions of the other world and sees a shadow with a gigantic storm approaching.

A new girl arrives in town named Max and breaks the group’s high score in a video game. Dustin and Lucas stalk her and later invites her to group but keeps her aloof to previous incidents. Will is told by the doctors at Hawkins Lab that the visions are just traumatic flashbacks and would get better with time. Meanwhile, Mrs. Joyce’s boyfriend, Bob advises Will to learn to fight off his fears. Will tries to repel the shadow monster but is instead engulfed by it making demands as per Shadow Monster’s wishes.

In the woods, Police Chief Hopper had inhabited Eleven and had been taking care of her since the incident. He counsels him to never step out due to her fear of being discovered. Dustin finds himself a new pet, Dart(as he calls it) from the trash and later shows it to his friends. Will tells him that the creature is from upside down and Dustin not only defends it but later saves it from getting killed. The creature hates light and starts to begin growing at an enormous pace. Dart later, feeds off Dustin’s mother cat leaving Dustin to force the creature inside the basement.

Will tells that the monster loves  the cold as his mother notices the fall in his body temperature.The shadow monster begins taking control of Will’s body and Will in trying to help lays out the map of Hawkins by his drawings. Hopper finally gets it and approaches to the tunnel from where the creature was supposed to be travelling as suggested by Will. The creature somehow disables Hopper and is left unconscious in the tunnel. Later Mike and Bob join to help Will and Joyce as they uncover the area where the tunnel is. Hawkins lab joins in and rescues Hopper and tries burning parts of the Demogorgon which in turn leaves Will paralized.

Nancy and Jonathan fools Hawkins lab into accepting their mistake and submits proof to the private detective hired by Barb’s parents. Eleven finds about her mother and therefore,  makes an escape from the residence to see her. After reaching her she finds her in traumatized state. She learns that her real name is Jane and she was declared dead to her mother. She tries communicating with her mind and finds from her mother that she had a mate in Hawkins lab. Later she begins her hunt for the other girl in the lab using her psychic powers.

We come to know that the other girl’s number is Kali and she with her outcast group make the bad people pay. She is happy to see Eleven and they begin a manhunt next day to punish the people who harmed her mother. Eleven was determined but later leaves the group when she realises Mike needs her help. At the hospital the shadow monster makes Will trap the soldiers and gains control of the lab. Mike realises that the monster is using Will as spy and so puts him to sleep. The whole group approaches and then makes an attempt to escape from the Hawkins lab but Bob gets consumed by the Demo-dogs (Demogorgon + Dogs) leaving Mrs. Byers in a grieve state.

The group then tries investigating Will in a black room as to how to end this. Will tells them to close the gate but the Shadow Monster gets better of them and it discovers their location. As some Demo dogs come to attack the group, Eleven arrives at the scene and saves all of them. Eleven with Hopper’s aid plans to close the gate. The kids try to enter the tunnel to lure out the demo dogs away from Eleven and Jonathan, her mother and Nancy try to use heat to draw out the Shadow monster from Will.

** Skipping Some really cool action scenes 😛 **

They all manage to succeed and finally the gate is closed. Hawkins lab gets shut down thanks to Nancy and Jonathan. Barb’s parents finally realise their daughter isn’t missing but is dead. Afterwards there is a party and Mike gets to dance with Eleven while Lucas does with Max.

The season ends with the Shadow Monster luring outside the Hawkins high School possibly in an attempt to break back in!

The Good

• * Barb gets her Justice (finally!)
• * Eleven may get to lead a normal life
• * Eleven and Mike are together now
• * The team Mike expands

The Bad

• * Slightly unnecessary semi plot of Eleven’s “sister”

Verdict

Overall, the season is good. It’s a mix of nostalgia, horror and a little of sci-fi. If you can get through 20 minutes max of boredom out of more than 6 hours of entertainment, you will love this season. Things get better, complicated and amazing in season two. There are more monsters, more jump scares and overall, a complete binge-watch worth package.

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