STRANGER THINGS
Pretty In Goonies ET Club: The Sequel
Netflix heads back to Hawkins for the second season of the ’80s-set show.
released OUT NOW! 2017 | sVOd Creators The duffer Brothers Cast Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia dyer, Finn Wolfhard, david Harbour, Winona ryder
The first season of Stranger Things was an unexpected hit that hijacked the zeitgeist. Its irresistible combination of ’80s nostalgia, geeky references and supernatural thriller made it the right show at the right time. The chances of recapturing that magic were always going to be slim. Somehow, though, lightning did strike twice… with the movie version of IT.
Which left Stranger Things season two with an even bigger uphill struggle. The good news is that it’s a perfectly decent follow-up. The bad news is that it’s only a perfectly decent follow-up. The show’s already used up its novelty value; it can no longer rely on the gaming in-jokes and ’80s movie allusions. In and of itself, season two is an effective sci-fi horror series, especially when it comes to its exciting and visually spectacular final two episodes. But you just know casual viewers who embraced the first season’s unique vibe are going to come away thinking, “S’okay, but wasn’t as good as the first one.”
Hawkins still lives in the shadow of Hawkins National Laboratory, where the fallout from season one is being contained by new bosses. Will Byers may have been rescued from the Upside Down – a nightmarish alternate version of Hawkins – but he’s still connected to a shadow beast there. And that connection threatens to unleash horrors through the gap between the worlds. Meanwhile, Eleven is hiding in the woods with Sheriff Hopper, and starts wondering about her origins.
Eleven’s arc is one of the show’s weaker links. It seems almost perverse of the show to isolate her for much of the season, given that her amusingly awkward interactions with the other kids were a highlight of season one. Also, the “search for your origins” plot is such a sci-fi cliché, and often the discovery reduces the appeal of the character. Certainly, Eleven feels less interesting by the season’s end, and her standalone episode (2.07) feels like it comes from another show.
Elsewhere, a new girl, Max, drives a wedge between the younger boys; Nancy and Steve’s relationship is on the rocks; and Dustin gains a new pet from the Upside Down – Dart. You know that’s probably going to end in tears. Or a dead cat.
The characters are still adorable (Will’s wailing mum, Winona Ryder, aside), especially motormouth Dustin – Gaten Matarazzo is clearly a star in the making. It’s sweet and funny and quirky in all the right places. There are some very effective CG monsters and some excellent action sequences. But it’s also a little slow to get going, and lacking in any really gobsmacking plot twists or surprises. Season two is good. But it’s not quite good enough given the weight of expectation.
Co-creator Matt Duffer says he’s always turning off “smooth motion” on friends’ TV sets so they see the show at its best.