It has been five days since the release of Stranger Things 2. I’d say that five days has given all of us adequate time to binge it a time or two, right? No? Just me? *sigh* Well, if you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for?! For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to finish watching, I’ll be kind and attempt to dance around any real plot points.
The show had an incredible first season and, quite frankly, I thought maybe they may have done TOO well. If you start at the top, the only direction you can go is down. The end of the first season left me wondering how the second season could possibly be written where it wouldn’t be leaving us disappointed. My fears were assuaged last Friday. The Duffer Brothers did it again. I was consistently in awe of the attention to detail, the incredibly subtle tie-ins, and how they allow the relationships with these characters to unfold so effortlessly.
In this season, we see the boys moving from table top games to video games. We meet new characters, see new partnerships develop, and of course, we see Joyce hanging things all over her house. As I watched the second season, I feel as if I got a master class on acting, and the instructors are about a third of my age. These kids are absolutely incredible and are able to tap into skills that are advanced far beyond their years.
Another noticeable difference is that the entire season is a more cinematic experience. The first season utilized body suits, dummies, and animatronics. While I feel this was a wise decision, the choice to use more CGI in the second season allowed for things to be seen on a much larger scale. I have to admit, that while many of the scenes were haunting, they were also extremely beautiful visually speaking.
If you’re one of those folks who loved seeing all of the 80s throwbacks from season one, you will not be disappointed with the amount of references in the second season. Some of the references are blatant, and some of the nods are so subtle that you might not even catch them in the first viewing. That being said, if you were an 80s kid, I think you’ll have a great time spotting so many familiar places and faces.
There’s also some great music in this season that does a great job of setting the mood for the scenes. The soundtrack is now available for purchase, but if you’re not in the market to buy anything just now, head over to Spotify. While you’re there, take a quiz to find out which Stranger Things character matches with you, and then take a listen to the playlist that goes along with each character. The quiz matched me with Will and it seems fairly accurate. Comment below and share your thoughts on season two and who you were paired with on the Spotify quiz, or you can find me on Twitter at @amlehr.
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