My son and I finally finished Season Two. We did the opposite of binge watch, sometimes taking days between episodes, and, at the end, watching the two final episodes two weeks after watching Episode 7. This is what happens when you have conflicting schedules but don’t want to watch without the other person! =)
In the end, we both really enjoyed it. Both of us agree with most people above that Steve turned out to be the absolute best character of the season. His transition from Nancy’s boyfriend to Dustin’s mentor and reluctant babysitter/leader of the nerd herd was done so slowly and so effectively that it was brilliant. We thought for sure he was going to eat it in the tunnels in the final episode…that scene had us on the edge of our seats.
We also enjoyed Max, though her brother was too ridiculously cartoonish…he even looked like a 20 year old man going to high school. And the parents, that was just disturbing. If that family returns in Season 3, I hope it’s for the sole purpose of the father being eaten by something nasty.
The Jonathan and Nancy road trip subplot was dumb, but ultimately necessary both to bring those characters to where they needed to be in terms of their relationship to one another and to give a hook for the plausible deniability for the government over what happened at the lab and bring Barb’s fate to a close.
Eleven’s road trip was absolutely necessary in terms of giving her backstory details and purpose. It effectively catches her up to real time…and allows both her and the group to move forward, especially after the doctor presented Hopper with the birth certificate. We were not fans of the fact that they decided to focus solely on Eleven’s story for a full episode, or the cliché group she fell in with in Chicago, but I can see where it would have been a difficult production decision to either spread that over a couple of episodes or just devote one full one to it, and I think they made the right choice. I suspect we have not seen the last of Eight or the whole “numbered children with powers” deal. If Eleven opened a portal to the Upside Down, chances are high that other numbered kids can do so as well, and perhaps that’s where Season 3 will lead us.
Overall, a fantastic second season highlighted by really great acting from all the main cast and a story that was equal parts 80’s nerd nostalgia (the arcade scenes were great!) and awesome action. It’s too bad Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson are no longer with us, as a cameo to spout some D&D lore would be icing on the cake for this series.
Can’t wait for Season 3!