SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Stranger Things 2 Synopsis and Review

Stranger Things 2 was jam- packed with a nostalgic 80s- era vibe, from Dragon’s Lair to Farrah Fawcett hair spray. The very first scene in the season began by introducing 008, who was with a band of rebel misfits. The police were on the chase, following close behind their van, when 008 made the lead driver perceive a rumbling fall of rubble from an overpass, causing him to crash. This introduction set the tone as very exciting.

Dustin and Lucas were getting very eager over the arrival of a new kid from “sunny California,” who was a skating, video- game winning girl, Max. Meanwhile, Mike goes on his radio every night to try and reach out to El, who is secretly listening from Chief Police Officer Hopper’s mountain cabin. As soon as El walked into the room to address Hop, there was a definite level of mature change to her, from her curly mop of hair to her talkative manner. Another person who is very different from our first glimpse of him playing Dungeons and Dragons in the Wheelers’ basement is Will. Will has moments, especially when they’re all trick or treating, where he will have relapses and find himself back in the Upside Down.

There is definitely something different about this Upside Down, though: there is a Shadow Monster (The Mind Flayer) who still wasn’t defeated by the end of the season. In fact, the final scene of Stranger Things was a pan of the middle school in the Upside Down with the shadow monster looming over, red lighting striking in the background. The Mind Flayer is a character from Dungeons and Dragons. How will this connect with the further seasons? Well, the demagorgon now seems like almost a minor monster; an analogy for the bigger picture (The Shadow Monster). And also, like the demagorgon seemed as if it was one monster to defeat, there were hundreds of ‘demadogs” that entered the scene. Well, there are more than one mind flayer. They live in societies of up to 2,000 and they have the ability to enslave people (Will). They are all controlled by something bigger: The Shadow Monster (the ultimate mind controlling everything).

Back to the party, a lot of viewers couldn’t help but feel very bad for Max. Mike was totally against having her as a member of their party, Eleven got jealous of her and brushed past her when Max tried to introduce herself, and, of course, Billy. For almost three quarters of the season, I was waiting to see some character development with Billy. He seemed violent, troubled, and opinionated. But I wanted to know why. Well, when Billy was getting ready for a date, Max snuck out of the house to meet with her friends and help them. When their (step)parents got home, Billy’s biological father (Max’s stepdad), physically lambasted Billy.

Another fantastic surprise: Dustin and Steve’s newfound friendship. At a Halloween party (complete with Shout at the Devil by Motley Crue), Nancy got very drunk and told Steve that she didn’t love him. Steve was, to say it lightly, heartbroken. Jancy shippers (Jonathon and Nancy) were ecstatic at the coming together of them while they were at the conspiracy theorist’s house. Steve gave Dustin some very helpful advice for his crush (Max), although her and Lucas were becoming very close. Steve also gave us the secret to his glorious hair: “Faberge. It’s Faberge Organics. Use the shampoo and the conditioner, and when the hair is damp- it’s not wet, OK? When it’s damp- do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray. You tell anyone I told you that, and your a** is grass, you understand?” Steve is just a winner all the way.

Let’s think about El for a minute. She’s been in Hopper’s house, confined, for almost a year. Hopper has rules for her, and the biggest one is don’t leave the house. Well, like any brave superhero, El leaves everything that she has known and goes to see her mother. If you’ve seen the first season, you know that Terry Ives is missing a couple screws in the head. Well, it turns out that Ives was relentless to save her daughter, Jane (Eleven) from the Hawkins Lab. After she saw *too much,* she received electroshock therapy. During this time when Ives is going through this in her mind to communicate with El, El sees a girl that was with her in the “Rainbow Room.” El takes the bus to Chicago and finds 008, which is super exciting. Immediately the band of rebels start poking fun at her (go back to the farm), when El takes the knife (with her mind) from one of them. They bring down Kali. Kali turns out to be very helpful with helping El channel her powers. She tells El to focus on everything horrible that they have done to her and tunnel that into her abilities. Although El gets a super rad punk rock hairdo and makeup look, she couldn’t bring herself to kill one of the lab men. El leaves them behind, but I’m strongly hoping that 008 will come back in Season 3. During this time, a lot is going on in Hawkins. I cried the most in this season when our savior, Bob, died. Bob is really a one of a kind character. He’s cheesy, kind- hearted, and empathetic. After the demadogs began to pace the halls of the lab, Bob sacrificed himself so that everyone else could make it out.

The finale to Season 2 of Stranger Things was truly phenomenal. For one, we find out that Will (played by Noah Schnapp) is being used as a spy for the Shadow Monster. Joyce, Jonathon, and Nancy put high heat on him (Will had mentioned before that “he likes it cold”) until the possession of the Shadow Monster was out of him. Meanwhile, Mike and Eleven reunite. This scene was emotional, dramatic, and epic. Now, was it right for Hop to keep El in secret from Mike for all that time? The truth is, he was just trying to protect her. Keeping her completely segregated, while it may have not been good for her mentally, was good for her to stay alive. Mike would rather have El safe than back in the lab. El used her powers and closed the gate (which she originally opened). She was using so much force that she began to levitate. This scene was very powerful.

And of course, the Snowball. In Season 1, Mike had asked El to go to the Snowball dance with him. While Lucas and Sadie danced, Mike stood around and Dustin walked around, trying to get a dance with someone. After being rejected multiple times, Dustin sat on the bleachers feeling very down when Nancy walked to him and danced with him, much to the surprise of the popular middle school girls that had previously rejected him. She admitted that Dustin had always been her favorite out of Mike’s friends, which triggered an animalistic cry from me. The star moment, of course, was when El walked into the dance. Of course, there are questions that people will have after finishing the season. The top three that I have are as follows:

• After Eleven killed one of the demadogs, Steve and Dustin wanted to preserve it for scientific purposes. They shoved it in Joyce’s freezer. Will has mentioned before that “he (the Shadow Monster) likes it cold.” And if that Shadow Monster controls everything in the Upside Down, wouldn’t the demadogs like it cold? After El closed the portal, all of the demadogs fell down into the abyss of the Upside Down. Except the one in the freezer. Even if the demadog is dead, could the cold temperatures possible rejuvenate it?
• The final scene of Season 2 was a pan of the middle school, and then there was a shiver of the camera, followed by the middle school appearing in the Upside Down. The Shadow Monster appeared, followed by a crackle of neon red lightning, proving that the cheerful aura would eventually be interrupted. Would this take place in Season 3? Would the defeat of this monster be the downfall of the Upside Down?
• What is gonna happen to El? In the end, Hop ends up adopting her legally. Is she gonna go to school? Does she even need to go to school? Would she eventually be friends with Max?

Hopefully Season 3 will answer all of these questions.