Stranger Things 2

I watched the last episode of Stranger Things 2 last night. It made for what I found to be a very satisfying conclusion to the series. Some thoughts on the whole thing follow, but they probably count as spoilery. If you care about such things and haven’t watched it yet, then stop reading now.

• There’s not nearly enough Eleven in this series. I suppose that’s why we get her Journey of Discovery, but even then there’s not much actual character development involved.
• Jim Hopper might not have a clue what he’s at, but he’s all heart.
• Bob, man. Why’d you have to go and do that to Bob? I wasn’t sure about the character at first, but he’s great.
• Joyce just doesn’t get a break, does she?
• Dustin and Steve is a partnership for the ages. More, please.
• And Steve, generally: I loved his arc across the two series.
• It was a welcome change that the new guy in charge of Hawkins Lab might have an edge to him, but is generally on the right side.
• While on her Journey of Discovery, El learns to channel her anger and hate to amp up her powers. Vital for the finale, but a bit Dark Side. That would be an interesting thread to pull on in future storylines.
• Why does Billy exist? He and his fluffy ‘tache are an annoyance and a distraction.
• The kid actors are all still great, even if Will spends most of his time either in bed or looking scared, and Mike just grumps around and pines.
• Max is a welcome addition, but really does highlight how little Will and Mike have to do in this series. Even so, the new splinter-party of Lucas, Max and Dustin watched over by Steve is worth it.
• The epilogue is sweet and heartwarming and had me cheering tween romance in a way I’ll absolutely deny if you tell anyone about it.
• As a second season, this one didn’t have the out-of-nowhere element of surprise of the first, and maybe suffers a bit for it, but on the whole I had a great time watching it and will be doing so again.

I’m already looking forward to more in the future.