By: Gabrielle McLaren
Season two picks up about a year after season one ends, but the story is put together so well that you’re pulled back into Hawkins seamlessly. Stranger Things holds a special place in my heart alongside all the other stories that actually remember and take into consideration the trauma they put their characters through. Joyce is overprotective of Will, Jonathan overcompensates out of guilt for Will’s disappearance, Will himself has trouble fitting in at school and readapting to everyday life, and Nancy refuses to forget Barbara. On the subject of consistency, Stranger Things manages to preserve and continue playing around the fictional universe it has created while going forwards, and without falling into repetition.
The ‘80s aesthetic of Stranger Things lives on in season two (if not becoming more obvious). Everything from clothing, to hairstyles, to movie references and interior decoration shouts it out. The Ronald Reagan election signs that appear on lawns in the background while the party trick-or-treats were like the icing on the cake. Not to mention the haunting, creepy design of the Upside Down, which epitomizes the meticulous attention to detail of the show.
However as the show grows and matures, so does its content. Now that season one has come and gone and dealt with the initial spookiness and mystery of the supernatural as well as the sci-fi aspects of the story, season two has gotten darker. The creatures are more violent, the stakes are higher, and the line between Hawkins and the Upside Down is thinner than ever.
Similarly, the intensity of the action and its increasing darkness is mirrored by the growing pains of the children. Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and their new (shockingly female) friend Max spend the season learning how to approach and befriend girls who aren’t paranormal, how to dance with girls who aren’t paranormal, deal with loss, call out issues of race and sexism, and try to discover themselves, who they are, and where they fit in.
Elle spends the most time on the latter, and I really appreciated the way her character is being developed. With Elle, less is more: a few good, concise camera shots and a well-chosen soundtrack can tell you everything you need to know about her loneliness and frustration (although Jim Hopper does teach her a new word every day as part of their adorable new bond).
The fact that these themes could be carried so well throughout the show is telling of the surprisingly talented child actors on which the show rests. I was particularly impressed by Noah Schnapp who played Will, since we didn’t see much of him in season one. Which isn’t to say that the adults didn’t perform just as well, particularly Winona Ryder, who delivers the maternal extremes of feverish protectionism and tenderness.
Season two of Stranger Things is bingeable and engrossing. I am both impressed and happy with how the show has matured. It maintains all the elements from its first season that made the show likable and unique, and pushed them one step further as it grew up. The last scene left me feeling thankful for the ambiguity over whether or not a season three is on the horizon.
