Since series creators the Duffer brothers know what an incredible ensemble cast they have (about which more in a bit), they feel more comfortable splitting up the characters and filling episodes with multiple storylines. Season two has much less of a problem with this. (I see you, Joyce’s ex-husband who just showed up to run out the clock.) There were moments in that long midsection that worked beautifully - like Joyce ( Winona Ryder) communicating with her missing son via Christmas lights - but so many other storylines seemed to exist solely to keep the plot from advancing too quickly. Season one of Stranger Things had a reasonably involving opening, a solid climax, and then a bunch of other stuff in the middle. (If you’re not quite ready for that, check out our spoiler-free rundown of what to expect.) Good: the main story arc is much, much better constructed But to tell you more about it, I’m going to have to spoil everything. Season two is, in the grand tradition of sequels, even more than season one. It was deeply flawed but hard to shake, the kind of TV show you could love in spite of its worst moments, which was appropriate for a series about kids approaching adolescence. And yet somewhere in the intersection between its synth-heavy score, its pitch-perfect casting, and its “always October” aesthetic, the show’s biggest moments and best characters had a tendency to stick in the memory. The hype machine quickly put a spotlight on its (mostly forgivable) flaws I kept finding myself taking the opposite position of people in arguments about how it was great and how it was overrated.
It’s the kind of overexposure that’s dangerous to any TV show, much less one as unassuming as Stranger Things - a good show, but not a perfect one.
Before you knew it, think pieces rained from the skies, catalogs to the show’s ’80s movie references popped up on every website in existence ( including this one), and merchandise filled Hot Topics across our great nation. The first season became a phenomenon entirely by word of mouth and gentle nudging by the Netflix algorithm. In some ways, the series is trapped by elements entirely beyond its control. Vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark