‘Eleven will go on journey’
LOS ANGELES: A year has passed since a supernatural demon terrorised the town of Hawkins, Indiana, but as Netflix’s hit 1980s science fiction series Stranger Things returned for a second season yesterday, life has not returned to normal for the unlikely heroes.
The adults and teenagers of Stranger Things 2 wrestle emotionally with the events of the first season: a town boy’s disappearance, a death, a mysterious girl with superpowers and a decaying parallel universe called the Upside Down.
“We wanted that trauma to really run through the entire season so it’s about these characters confronting the horrors,” said Matt Duffer, one half of the Duffer Brothers, the twins who created the show.
All nine episodes of Stranger Things 2 were released yesterday.
At the centre of the show are its young teenage breakout stars.
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) suffers worsening visions of the Upside Down after being rescued, forcing his friends to try to find a way to defeat the demon known as the Demogorgon.
Eleven, the innocent, tormented young girl with superpowers, played by Emmy-nominated 13year-old Millie Bobby Brown, is believed dead and is in hiding, staying with the town’s police chief, Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Frustrated at being kept away from her friends, Eleven clashes with Hopper and embarks on a mission to find her mother and, finally, find a home.
“We wanted (Eleven) to go through her own journey in a way that was much more personal to her and wasn’t tied to the boys,” Matt said.
“We wanted her to go through a journey of self-discovery without the help of anyone else.”
Stranger Things has become a phenomenon for Netflix Inc, landing Emmy wins and drawing a cadre of obsessed fans who launched a viral online campaign, #JusticeForBarb, sparked by the gruesome demise of supporting character Barb Holland.
The second season ramps up the quest to bring closure to her death while introducing new characters and expanding the story.