On: Stranger Things Season 2
6:54 PM
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Oooh, do you feel that chill in the air? Can you hear the sound of rustling bushes and inhuman grunting? Why, I do believe it's the sound of one thousand demogorgon's springing back to life from The Upside Down just in time to occupy your free time between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Oh, and look! They've arrived with a new friend/leader called the Shadow Monster, bringing in chaos just in time for the Snow Ball - how convenient!
Everyone's favorite family-friendly Netflix sci-fi, fantasy and part horror show, Stranger Things (no disrespect to The OA which - when will my people return from war?) came back on Oct. 27, 2017, and after spending
Write.
So here is a comprehensive, totally coherent, not at all too angry breakdown of Stranger Things Season 2 - from characters to plots - no holds barred.
My sweet, sweet milquetoast son with the cheekbones of a heroin-chic era model. I hope he never changes.
After already being established as second-in-command (only to Eleven, any other time he is clearly designated a leader of the pack), Michael has maintained that role - however with obvious, new challenge. Though Mike is the leader, the introduction of teenage hormones has resulted in the bucking of the status quo. I noticed this when the ever-outspoken Lucas Sinclair challenged Mike about their individual roles as head Ghostbuster, and even when he himself listed the individual roles each member of their pack played to
I noticed Michael was often separated from whom I initially called, the core four, this season. Instead a majority of his screen time is spent playing off Noah Schnapp's Will Byers. This was to be expected as they do appear to be the closest in the pack, however I'm not sure if the writers were hinting at the possible fraction of the group in the future or if I'm looking way too into things, but I can't wait to see how this is played upon alongside Mike's growing soft spot for Eleven, puberty and the maintenance of new pack characters in the coming season(s).
Will Byers (The Cleric)
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Secondly: That little boy, Noah Schnapp? His acting deserves endless high praise and a multitude of awards. He truly took me on an emotional rollercoaster. That moment in the field when he was convulsing in pain after becoming virally, psychokinetically connected to the Shadow Monster?! I felt like what Billy Hargrove's hair looks like: a mess! The true Joyce Byers I became!
My poor white son - he is truly the consummate victim. First the demogorgon had him in a slimy chokehold in the Upside Down, then he served as a portal for the introduction of Dart into Dustin's life and then had to go back to school wherein rude a** kids began picking on his trauma, calling him Zombie Boy and harassing him on Halloween - only to be once again targeted and used as a spy and vessel for the Shadow Monster to infect.
When will my son know peace? Please, free him!
(And his mother)
Lucas Sinclair (The Ranger)
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Maybe I'm crazy but...is Lucas...the Sassy Black Friend™?
I might be looking far too into thing...maybe I need to rewatch...
My Black son, from my actual Black womb, really wasn't given a lot to do this season, but regardless he shone! That's that African spirit! That ancestry!!! That Negro power!!
I'm not too sure how I feel about his romance with
I am also glad he finally got a family and a last name.
*side eyes and harrumphs*
My oh my, has someone got a potty mouth on him this season, my goodness!
He was my favorite last year, and he remained my favorite this year - that is an awesome, super funny character.
I enjoyed his maturity RE: His reaction to rejection vis-à-vis the budding romance of Lucas and Max - especially as he didn't make his friend feel guilt or shame over her choice, as would typically be done with pre-teen romance.
*Stares at other tv shows and writers rooms that enjoy portraying teenagers as one-dimensional neanderthals.*
I loved his friendship with Steve, but I am a little wary of his excitement RE: the anatomical study of demogorgans.
Which leads me to my one and only gripe with him this season: The attachment to Dart.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I initially found Dustin's insistence on keeping, hell even NAMING, Dart out-of-character. After all the crazy the kids, families and the town of Hawkins had experienced, I wouldn't have expected him to be so gung-ho about living with an extra-terrestrial sea-slug turned demogorgon. That little bonding, 'let us pass, troll', moment in the finale was cute and all, but I was still internally screaming that Dustin would ever, EVER find one of those things cute.
*Shivers*
Maybe I'm projecting.
I'm
The Artist Formerly Known As Eleven/Jane Hopper (The Mage)
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Sidebar: I caught those references Papa and Kali kept spitting about healing yourself of personal trauma and regaining control over your life otherwise it will kill you, and uh...if the appearance of the Shadow Monster at the end of episode 9 was any indication - the girl has some demons and they literally keep coming back to life. I wonder if her romantic love for Mike/platonic love for her friends and chosen family plus her assigned duty as the unofficial/official protector of Hawkins will impact that, as she really doesn't seem to be getting better.
I also didn't like how they managed to morph the, 'let's avenge Barb because I feel guilty for being a terrible friend and the impetus for her death', into some awkward revenge, romance-fueled story line.
It was clunky, forced and honestly poorly done - Nancy deserved better.
And keep the Adventures in Babysitting, horrible girl advice coming - Lord knows this show does really well with the laughs.
My White Dad/King, when will the people stop disrespecting him?! Can he know peace as well?!
Love triangles - Kudos to the writers for knowing that NO AUDIENCE ENJOYS LOVE TRIANGLES, and giving both the male and female characters the emotional maturity to handle their swift closure.
The Parents - What's...what's going on here guys? Last season Karen 'I want you to feel like you can talk to me' Wheeler was the most active, present parent and her husband was established as the nonchalant, present yet wholly uninvolved parent. We hadn't been given the chance to see or meet either Dustin's or Lucas' parents, and yet, now that they have all become visible, they're far too uninvolved and uninterested in the lives of their children to sit well with me. I'm not saying they need to be pulling a Joyce Byers and screaming up and down the block every scene, but a little presence of concern and realism would be wonderful.
You mean to tell me two Black parents and three, prone-to-frenzy, white moms didn't care to investigate where their kids were for two days and one night?
I'm sorry, your honour, but that is a blatant work of fiction.
Also, if Ted Wheeler isn't going to do anything more spectacular than sitting at the breakfast table, he can pack up the luggage cause uh...I'm over it.
The Upside Down - Well, the multidimensional demon/aliens are clearly not done with Hawkins, so it'll be super fun and interesting to see how they infect the town next season.
The Super Children - So, I'm working under the assumption that there are more than two. If such is the case, I can't wait to be introduced to them. I would also love to know if Eleven is the last one, or the last one that we know of. Like is there a Twenty? A One Hundred?
Diversity - I want more diverse characters with SPEAKING roles on this show. If we must put up with Billy and his father's ol', alt-right, Make America Great Again asses, than we can do with more minorities present to fight him.
Preferably with a mob being lead by Erica Sinclair.
Or the demo-dogs, whichever one comes first.
Gifs via aryastarktheshewolf, emmasfairytale and janes-ives
My poor girl. She bored me to tears this season.
Phenomenally portrayed by Millie Brown, Eleven's arc outside the Shadow Monster was kind of a dud for me.
She screamed a lot, spoke her trademark fragmented English (which......................enough), went on what felt like a stunted journey of self-exploration (I'm hoping this was done on purpose as it will be further explored in Season 3) and then came through in the last two episodes to do what she did last season.
Put a band-aid over a wound that needs stitches while profusely bleeding from the nose.
(Do you know how many times I just wanted to wipe her nose through the screen at the end of episode 8/beginning of episode 9?! My girl is going THROUGH it)
I'm so happy Hopper's her "dad" now, although I do want her to develop a bond with a female character.
It obviously won't be Max for a while, so maybe Nancy? Joyce? Hell, even her snitch Aunt Becky?
I guess we will have to wait to see her further develop in Season 3, which is fine as a majority of this season felt like filler. A wonderful filler, but a filler nonetheless.
Sidebar: I caught those references Papa and Kali kept spitting about healing yourself of personal trauma and regaining control over your life otherwise it will kill you, and uh...if the appearance of the Shadow Monster at the end of episode 9 was any indication - the girl has some demons and they literally keep coming back to life. I wonder if her romantic love for Mike/platonic love for her friends and chosen family plus her assigned duty as the unofficial/official protector of Hawkins will impact that, as she really doesn't seem to be getting better.
Sidebar to the Sidebar: Girl, Eleven's monsters keep growing, and I'm a punk - they truly terrify me. I know they're CGI, but the demogorgon's look like anorexic tigers with the mutated head of a penis/venus flytrap from Little Shop of Horrors hybrid, and I truly cannot take it. I also am now terrified of the Shadow Monster, but I find myself laughing because the name is all too reminiscent of Dr. Facilier/The Shadow Man from Disney-Pixar's most underrated animated princess classic, The Princess and the Frog.
Mad Max/Maxine Mayfield (The Zoomer)
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I...truly feel no extreme ways about her. She looks like a baby version of Dolly Parton's Jolene, and I think shes adorable. If you know me, you know I love a redhead (not you, Jessica Chastain, you're in time-out), albeit the attitude she was carrying in the first three-ish episodes made her very off-putting. I guess my ambivalence is mainly rooted in the fact that she truly didn't add far too much to the actual plot itself and was introduced and used this season mainly to add tension. I can say I do look forward to seeing where Season 3 takes her individually and with Lucas, and I would very much so like to know why her family left California.
I would also enjoy it if she trained a demogorgon to menace her devil of a stepbrother, Billy, if he must live past episode one of Season 3.
Jonathan Byers
Has always been creepy to me. Yeah, he's a wonderful big brother and I know he's supposed to be this sweet, misunderstood outcast, but his breathy, Michael Jackson-esque whisper-voice, thin mustache and propensity for intense, piercing stares has always disquieted me. Though he is meant to be a counter to Steve, his character exists within that same pole of douchey, know-it-alls. Where Steve is a (now reformed) popular jock douche, Jonathan is an 'I smoke cigarettes, listen to REAL music like The Clash, read Kerouac and just don't fit in with everybody else' artbro douche. Forgive me, but I have never empathized with the outsider cliche or trope - they are always so annoyingly self-righteous in a way that is never justified. I also feel like the writers didn't really know what to do with Jonathan this season and thusly preserved his performance of any emotionally resonate, meaningful action for the last two episodes.
I understand his presence being a necessity to the story, but I felt as though the writers clumsily and hastily squeezed him into the way-too-long "Barb" story arc in episode three. Regardless, Charlie Heaton really does knock it out of the park all the time when it comes to the emotional, familial, tender moments of the show.
Also on the list of things that made me squint in confusion, our Jonathan also got a new budding romantic relationship with one Samantha....
Nancy Wheeler
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Yeah...I'm not too sure what they want me to feel about her character in Season 2. Last season she seemed like a strong-willed girl who knew what she wanted and this season her characterization felt...laughably antithetical to that.
How did the girl who rightfully called bullshit on the WEIRD BOY WHO INTRUSIVELY TOOK PHOTOS OF HER RIGHT BEFORE SHE LOST HER VIRGINITY, AND THEN ANNOYINGLY PROJECTED THE "YoU DoN't rEaLLy KnOW WhO yOU aRE bUt I KnOW tHE ReaL YoU"-trope regress into some indecisive, "everything is bullshit" (although this breakdown was justified) but, "oh, we shared a traumatic experience so now you KNOW me even though we haven't spoken for one year," vengeful, flighty person?
I didn't enjoy Nancy that much this season, mainly because I was too busy gagging over her and Jonny boy giving each other sexy eyes over weirdo fan service fulfillment plot device Detective Murray Bauman's weirdo vodka bottle-littered table.
I was really hoping that, were Nancy to break-up with Steve in Season 2 (being that the signs of that happening were fairly evident in Season 1) and disregard her awkward chemistry with Jonathan Byers, she would've chosen herself.
Could've at least have had her stumble upon another clique of girlfriends since she cared so much about avenging her friend Barb, but ugh latching her onto Jonathan Byers? Really, sis?
I also didn't like how they managed to morph the, 'let's avenge Barb because I feel guilty for being a terrible friend and the impetus for her death', into some awkward revenge, romance-fueled story line.
It was clunky, forced and honestly poorly done - Nancy deserved better.
I mean, she still shone when it came to strength and being just a genuinely sweet girl as seen in the last episode, but I don't know, something about her character just felt off this season.
Note: I think my main issue with Nancy - and with a lot of secondary and tertiary
characters this season - is that until they were in some way directly tethered to the main plot/conflict, their plotlines fell flat and their characterizations felt stunted and dull. Hence, the last two episodes when everything tied back to the main conflict being my personal pick for standout episodes of the season.
characters this season - is that until they were in some way directly tethered to the main plot/conflict, their plotlines fell flat and their characterizations felt stunted and dull. Hence, the last two episodes when everything tied back to the main conflict being my personal pick for standout episodes of the season.
Steve Harrington
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That's how you do growth, ladies and gentlemen! I went from mildly disliking, but kind of being here for Steve in Season 1, to full-on loving him Season 2. I was one of those annoying, "uwu, my King!" kind of girls, he was a true delight! I hope and wish he gets everything and then some in Season 3. Give him a bomb ass girlfriend (I volunteer as tribute), entrance into college and all the Farrah Fawcett hairspray.
I love him, he deserves it.
I love him, he deserves it.
Legend.
And keep the Adventures in Babysitting, horrible girl advice coming - Lord knows this show does really well with the laughs.
BECAUSE EVERYTHING ELSE IS SO SAD AND/OR SCARY.
Joyce Byers
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When will my White Mother/Queen be free of pain? First her son, then her lover I'm so-
Is it fair?!
I just want her to be happy for a full season, but this show hates me and Winona Ryder is amazing at manic cry-screaming.
Please let Joyce Byers just have one normal, mentally sane season.
And...um...I'm SUPER here...for her and Hopper hooking up if we're into romantic bonding as a result of shared trauma.
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They have history!!! AND romantic tension!!! AND a clear affection for one another!! I'm verklempt! Mama Joyce truly deserves happiness!!
(Please don't kill off either one of them!!!!)
(Please don't kill off either one of them!!!!)
Jim Hopper
Gifs via mcavoy
My White Dad/King, when will the people stop disrespecting him?! Can he know peace as well?!
David Harbour is what I like to think of as a literal tree-man being that he's 6'3". It also doesn't help that he just towers over everyone embodying the very physical definition of a Protector/Guardian. Every time I see him on screen my heart knows that a super emo Dad Moment™ is coming, and he just...ugh he rises to the occasion each time - I love him so much.
And I just KNOW he gives the best hugs ever.
Hopper has had to deal with so much loss, and he still manages to maintain a compound of strength and vulnerability which makes him so enjoyable to watch and easy to root for.
We're gonna need Hopper to work on his anger, though.
Can't be running around here yelling at your adoptive children every time the going gets tough.
The devil himself. Keep him away from Steve and away from those kids - ESPECIALLY Lucas and the Family Sinclair. I don't know HWHAT we were supposed to gain from his character, but I didn't like it and I don't like him. Without any significant backstory he just read as an over-the-top, abusive tool. And yeah, I get his Dad is a real piece of work and that probably impacts his behavior, but you know what? I just can't find it in me to empathize with the future grand wizard of Hawkins, Indiana's KKK faction. So yeah, I laughed when his father slapped the taste out of his mouth, SUE ME!
I'm lying.
I will never give an, I quote, "irredeemable human antagonist" a chance, Duffer Brothers.
I also really didn't enjoy that scene with Mrs. Wheeler - what is it with this show and the sexual overtures between adults and children this season?
I also am not a fan of the fact that not ONE of Lucas's friends didn't just ask him HWHAT THE EFF was his problem.
AND must Steve Harrington lose every fight?! I would've at LEAST tolerated it if one of the nails in his bat pierced Billy's thigh!
But, no, Steve can't throw hands and I can't have nice things.
And if the Tumblr conspiracy theorists are right, and he is an angry, repressed homosexual...
I DON'T CARE! He is The Worst™ and that trope is tired.
Hopper has had to deal with so much loss, and he still manages to maintain a compound of strength and vulnerability which makes him so enjoyable to watch and easy to root for.
We're gonna need Hopper to work on his anger, though.
Can't be running around here yelling at your adoptive children every time the going gets tough.
Billy Hargrove
The devil himself. Keep him away from Steve and away from those kids - ESPECIALLY Lucas and the Family Sinclair. I don't know HWHAT we were supposed to gain from his character, but I didn't like it and I don't like him. Without any significant backstory he just read as an over-the-top, abusive tool. And yeah, I get his Dad is a real piece of work and that probably impacts his behavior, but you know what? I just can't find it in me to empathize with the future grand wizard of Hawkins, Indiana's KKK faction. So yeah, I laughed when his father slapped the taste out of his mouth, SUE ME!
(That was a lie, I...I didn't laugh - I actually felt guilty for feeling the littlest bit bad for him because his father is HOT, STEAMING TRASH too)
I want him GONE.
If we're not getting major flashbacks and I'm just misreading his attacks on Lucas as racist when they're actually...I don't know - based on swag (??? SEE????? THE FORCE TO MAKE EXCUSES) then maybe, just MAYBE I could give him a chance, but my God, he was a PILL.
I'm lying.
I will never give an, I quote, "irredeemable human antagonist" a chance, Duffer Brothers.
I also really didn't enjoy that scene with Mrs. Wheeler - what is it with this show and the sexual overtures between adults and children this season?
*Stares at Detective Bauman aggressively campaigning for Jonathan and Nancy to have SEX in his CREEPY BUNKER*
I also am not a fan of the fact that not ONE of Lucas's friends didn't just ask him HWHAT THE EFF was his problem.
AND must Steve Harrington lose every fight?! I would've at LEAST tolerated it if one of the nails in his bat pierced Billy's thigh!
But, no, Steve can't throw hands and I can't have nice things.
And if the Tumblr conspiracy theorists are right, and he is an angry, repressed homosexual...
I DON'T CARE! He is The Worst™ and that trope is tired.
I HATE HIM. I want him GONE.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
Kali/Eight - Yeah, she felt one-note. Initially I'd designated her a Joan Jett the Magical Negro trope, but respecting Kali's Indian heritage, it is far more respectful to say her role read more Joan Jett the Magical Asian ft. The Runaways. I truly wish we had gotten to know more about her, and I'm certain this is not the last we shall see of her. However as far as character introductions go - I was more excited for her in episode one than I was for her by the end of episode seven.
Papa/Dr. Brenner - I'm really excited to see if he's alive in Season 3 because I know that is whom is keeping Eleven's wounds wide open, hence the leaking of demogorgons into Hawkins. He is also one of her other main sources of vulnerability, if not her core source. That wicked man!
Aunt Becky - Is a snitch. She seemed super nice, though. I can tell she's a snitch with a heart of gold. I will uh...also accept...the pairing of her and Hopper....just something to uh....think about.
Erica Sinclair and the Family Sinclair - My young Black Queen! a fictional legend and Black girl icon. I stan for little Miss Erica. Being a Black person, I also stan for the Family Sinclair because honestly when it comes to the horror genre...
Gif via onehellofascene
Mr. Clarke - Is awesome. I hope he becomes Dustin's stepfather (but only if Dustin doesn't already have a father who isn't a superdouche, deadbeat, abusive and/or neglectful piece of sh*t).
Mrs. Henderson - Reminds me of everything I loved about my first grade teacher. She is also the perfect blend of Naive White Woman™ that truly just tickles me.
Mrs. Henderson - Reminds me of everything I loved about my first grade teacher. She is also the perfect blend of Naive White Woman™ that truly just tickles me.
Barbara Holland and the Family Holland - May that storyline finally rest in peace. We'll never forget you, sis!
Bob Newby/ Bob the Brain - They really didn't have to do my man Bob like that!!!!!! MUST GOOD MEN DIE FAST AND FINISH LAST ALWAYS?!!! WHAT HAS JOYCE BYERS DONE TO DESERVE THIS CONSTANT STRIFE!!!! He literally was such a sweet soul, I'm so sick they really didn't have to do the fakeout "Bob's safe!" then have a demogorgon jump CLEAN up outta nowhere to kill him, then finish on the medium shot of the demodog food orgy over his body! Rude! UNNECESSARY! R.I.P. to Bob Newby, superhero! Hate that it had to be him!
Speaking of which - am I the only one who noticed that all the bad things happen to the children of single moms and/or the single mothers themselves? The grief that is the story of Terry Ives and Eleven, Ms. Henderson losing Mews because her son thought raising a Demogorgon as a pet was a good idea, Joyce Byers...well we all know what Joyce Byers is going/has gone through. Maybe I'm overanalyzing, but it does give you something to think about when it comes to the tropes we see in the horror genre.
The romantic relationships - If the romantic relationships must come to fruition, I would really prefer that angle of, "OMG, YOU LIKE EACH OTHER!!!" be properly built up and shown to me rather than told to me. Then things feel organic rather than forced fan service.
*cough, cough*
*cough, cough*
Love triangles - Kudos to the writers for knowing that NO AUDIENCE ENJOYS LOVE TRIANGLES, and giving both the male and female characters the emotional maturity to handle their swift closure.
The Parents - What's...what's going on here guys? Last season Karen 'I want you to feel like you can talk to me' Wheeler was the most active, present parent and her husband was established as the nonchalant, present yet wholly uninvolved parent. We hadn't been given the chance to see or meet either Dustin's or Lucas' parents, and yet, now that they have all become visible, they're far too uninvolved and uninterested in the lives of their children to sit well with me. I'm not saying they need to be pulling a Joyce Byers and screaming up and down the block every scene, but a little presence of concern and realism would be wonderful.
You mean to tell me two Black parents and three, prone-to-frenzy, white moms didn't care to investigate where their kids were for two days and one night?
I'm sorry, your honour, but that is a blatant work of fiction.
Also, if Ted Wheeler isn't going to do anything more spectacular than sitting at the breakfast table, he can pack up the luggage cause uh...I'm over it.
The Upside Down - Well, the multidimensional demon/aliens are clearly not done with Hawkins, so it'll be super fun and interesting to see how they infect the town next season.
The Super Children - So, I'm working under the assumption that there are more than two. If such is the case, I can't wait to be introduced to them. I would also love to know if Eleven is the last one, or the last one that we know of. Like is there a Twenty? A One Hundred?
Diversity - I want more diverse characters with SPEAKING roles on this show. If we must put up with Billy and his father's ol', alt-right, Make America Great Again asses, than we can do with more minorities present to fight him.
Preferably with a mob being lead by Erica Sinclair.
Or the demo-dogs, whichever one comes first.
ANNNNNNNND, I'm pretty much done!
This concludes my thorough, not at all scattered, super intelligible analysis of Stranger Things Season 2: Things Get Stranger. I am now in need of a cold shower because the very thought of Billy just got me so worked up in an anger and I must keep the Shadow Monster inside of me happy.
LOL, jk.
Or am I?
All in all, I did enjoy this season, though certain aspects of it (cluttered plot-lines, scenes which unnecessarily dragged, absent presence of character motivations, blatant fan service) could have used some work. It felt like the perfect appetizer to what I'm sure will be a great third season come 2019. Though it did feel like a filler, it worked in the sense of building anticipation for what I hope will be fully fleshed out characters and intriguing plotlines.
All in all, I did enjoy this season, though certain aspects of it (cluttered plot-lines, scenes which unnecessarily dragged, absent presence of character motivations, blatant fan service) could have used some work. It felt like the perfect appetizer to what I'm sure will be a great third season come 2019. Though it did feel like a filler, it worked in the sense of building anticipation for what I hope will be fully fleshed out characters and intriguing plotlines.
See you next year for Season 3!
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