By Katelyn Needham/reporter
Sequels have a lot to live up to, especially for something as loved as Stranger Things, and not all of them live up to their full potential.
It’s hard to please fanatics, but the highly anticipated Stranger Things 2 did everything it needed to plus some.
The Duffer brothers captured all the bingeworthy ‘80s nostalgia the first season brought and all the storylines progressed naturally rather than seeming forced and thrown together. The magic of the coming-of-age story is still there and, of course, so are all of the loveable kid actors that helped rocket the first one to success.
The main story arc centers around Will (Noah Schnapp) and his unbroken connection with the ominous Upside Down and the monsters that hide there. Last season’s Demogorgon was the perfect villain, but this season’s Mind Flayer falls a bit short of that. While the huge presence is frightening and the unknown aspect of it makes it slightly more threatening, it can also come off as a half-baked idea. We have no idea what it does or what its intentions are, and it doesn’t seem as well constructed as the Demogorgon. Hopefully, upcoming seasons will share more insight into this.
Having established characters made it easier for the brothers to further develop the loveable characters from Season One and give the audience a better glimpse into their home lives and build the emotional sides of their characters. They pull this off well with all of the characters. And it even goes back and serves much needed justice for Barb, who seemed to be forgotten in Season One.
Eleven wasn’t with the group for most of this season. At first, this seemed like the wrong choice, but it actually helped to further develop her character. We see a different side of her. And pairing her with Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) made for an interesting father-daughter dynamic.
Character development lacks, however, when it comes to the introduction of Billy (Dacre Montgomery), the new human antagonist that sort of replaces Steve (Joe Keery), who grew much deeper than his stereotype. Billy’s intentions in the show aren’t really revealed, and he doesn’t seem to get much deeper than being the typical high school bully. Hopefully, it is something that can be added on next season.
The overall cinematics in this season are wonderful and done well enough that they don’t ruin the shows ‘80s feel. The Duffers ramped everything up this season as promised, and for the most part they did a great job. But after bingewatching all nine episodes in one day, it’s safe to say that the yearlong wait to see what they do next will seem even longer.
