“Stranger Things 2”: Things get boring

BY DARIAN SABLON

When “Stranger Things,” created by Matt and Ross Duffer, first came out in the summer of 2016, it was an instant hit for Netflix. People all around the world raved about the weird happenings in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. So, it was no surprise when Netflix planned for a second season with a release date of 2017, with anticipation building as the date of the Season Two premiere drew closer. In the end, the real question is whether it lived up to the hype or fizzled in disappointment. Sadly, the latter is true.

Right from the get-go, audiences are introduced to a world that immediately feels different from Season one. Instead of the friendly opening scene where a group of kids are playing Dungeons and Dragons, viewers are thrown into a high speed car chase between criminals and the police. While at first it may seem out of place, its relevance soon becomes apparent and helps expand the world of the “Stranger Things,” which in many ways is a breath of fresh air from the confines of the small town of Hawkins. The problem is that while that scene does open up an interesting story arc, it gets completely lost and mixed up with everything else that’s going on, which is the biggest dilemma with this season. It’s trying to juggle too many different plot points without adequately doing them justice, which isn’t even considering that some of those storylines are absolutely boring and poorly written.  Also, like Season One, there was still too much emphasis on 80’s nostalgia, which got to be annoying at times and took away from many scenes.

This is not to say that Season Two was without merit. One of the strongest parts of this season, like the first one, was its great cast. Most of the characters were realistic and likeable, except for an obvious few who proved to be either completely bothersome to watch or stereotypical in their portrayal. But aside from those few, viewers can see real character development for many fan-favorites from Season One, in particular Steve and Eleven, who really shined in their respective storylines. Also, the CGI was well done and helped add to the realism of the situation rather than detract from it.

Overall, “Stranger Things” Season Two was a complete disappointment and drop in quality from Season One. In trying to expand on what could have been an interesting world to explore, the Duffer Brothers ultimately fail and rather give viewers a messy and overall mundane story. While partially salvaged thanks to the good acting from the majority of the cast, Season Two no longer has the uniqueness and fun that the previous season had, which is a let down for fans of the show.

Photo courtesy of Netflix