MovieChat Forums > Stranger Things (2016) Discussion > Season 2 Thread

Season 2 Thread

posted 7 years ago by wisheestar (99)
17 replies | jump to latest

Since it's been out for a few days already, I figured some of you already watched the new season.
So why not make a thread for it? Thoughts, comments etc. There will be spoilers, so I recommend you to not read this thread if you don't want to be spoiled.

- Is it better than S1?
- Do you like the new characters?
- Story?
Etc.

Here are some of my thoughts;
- I think the season started veeeery slow but it got better. I think this season is equally good as S1. But S1 just a bit more, since everything was new and all.
- I loved Hopper and Eleven aka Jane (Hopper) relationship. I can't wait for more of their dynamic in S3.
- Joyce is the mom of the year. IMO, I think that Will is the standout star of this season. Amazing kid.
- Poor Bob. (Sam!!) He was a nice guy. That scene where he was hiding from that monster got me on the edge of my seat. So sad he died :(
- What was episode 7?? The most boring episode of the show. It looked like they were making way for a spin-off show. Somehow it felt like an episode of Heroes, where all the "special" ones comes together.
- Loved Mad Max. And yay for her and Lucas. But I don't think a new character was needed just yet. Maybe in S3.
- Steve is awesome!!

[–] JohnnyCastle (393) 7 years ago

Agreed! But I don't really agree that it was "verrry slow" at the beginning of S2. It's important to have that build up. I wasn't there thinking like ok when's something going to happen.

Episode 7 was very different. I was wondering what was going on. Worried for Eleven's safety, worried what might happen to her. Knowing she was needed by her friends. Maybe that was it.

It was interesting to see how she had a "sister" and she was looking for a home, somewhere she belonged. And ultimately she found where she belonged. Great stuff

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

I mostly loved it, so I'll start with the couple issues I had.

WTF Dustin! One of the most rational and intelligent (though yes silly) members of the Party in season 1, he comes across as a complete buffoon keeping D'Art and lying to everyone else, and would have more realistically resulted in his immediate death or the deaths of everybody and maybe the end of the world. That is not even close to understandable or forgivable. Being a survivor of the first season, he knows the stakes. Only because that kid is so charming does the character make it through without being morally bankrupt. Almost totally lost it for me there.

Also Billy was a bit of a cliche but it was nice to have a human enemy. My major issue here was after establishing that things you say when you're effed-up you may not remember and /or may or may not be a true reflection of your true feelings and are unreliable at best (with Nancy boozed at party) but then we're supposed to believe that after being stabbed in the neck with some downer that Billy's gonna keep his promise to leave Max alone? That's not how abuse works, nor downers, nor brains and memory

But mostly it was great, wish there was more on The Mind Flayer but I suppose we'll get more next time on that

[–] wisheestar (99) 7 years ago

Agree about Dustin! He's the smartest out of their group. And one who would believe in the supernatural and what it can do. But then seeing him this season was kinda ooc for him. And it's strange that there aren't many fans talking about his character this season, other then him being cute and charming.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

So out of character. I actually thought they were building toward killing him, they had made him out to be that dumb that I figured it was the only appropriate comeuppance. Like in the tunnel when Dustin asked Dart if they could pass (most ridiculous thing in the entire series) he could've and would've eaten him and the whole Party

[–] nauru-1 (160) 7 years ago

What drew me to the show was always the characters and their interactions, and I'm sorry to say I was disappointed because I felt we lost a lot of that in the second half to the season amidst all the chaos. Guess the scale just isn't for me.

[–] JohnnyCastle (393) 7 years ago

I also didn't like Dustin putting the "dead" Demidog in the freezer. I think that may come back to haunt them.

The stopping for Dart was definitely ridiculous, but it seemed it was their only hope as it was going to kill them if he didn't stop and talk to it. I guess they're all toy soldiers for the shadow monster, but at the end of the day they're living things with feeling. If they're shown love they can show love back.

[–] Batty67 (358) 7 years ago

Just finished watching the series, spread out over 4 viewings. Started very slow, but they introduced new characters and let those of us who grew up in the 80s (like me) bask in the nostalgia.

Then it blew-up too fast and too much. The first season was wonderfully cryptic with ancillary characters, like Hoppers LEO colleagues and most of the parents, on the margins to ask "what the hell are you kids doing?" in a credible way. One demigorgon. By mid-season 2, they are gone and forgotten. No discussion of where the hell the kids are and why have we not seen them in 1-2 days. No other members of Hawkins PD involved. Even a little would have gone a long way. And the production got huge. If the "demo-dogs" kill and eat, and there are at least a dozen of them, why no Hawkins-wide massacre? Because it was not written in.

Also, the conspiracy guy and the whole episode with 008 was well done but rushed, as it had to be, but it still sticks out.

As for Dustin and DART, while cheesy as heck, I think it was a deliberate homage to that sort of thing happening in campy 80s movies.

I absolutely loved Stranger Things (A+), I "only" liked Strangers Things 2 very much (B+).

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 7 years ago

The first season's demogorgon was either a scout or a rogue acting on its own. The immature "demodogs" of season 2 were definitely on a shorter leash so to speak, their purpose was to protect the gate and keep the vines etc. from being destroyed so the hive mind would've prevented them from drawing attention to themselves with too many random human kills.

As a kid in the 80's, my friends and I often did crash at each other's houses and a call in advance is all it would've taken for me to "disappear" for one day. Yeah, if I still wasn't home by dark the next evening my parents would start freaking out (and I'd be in trouble). Those final few episodes, the escape from Hawkins Lab to the closing of the gate, seem to have taken place all in one night.

If the trip with Bob to get Hopper was the previous night, and they spent all day at Hawkins Lab before the demodog takeover, then the Wheelers ought to have been wondering where the hell Mike was at least. Nancy would get a little more leeway. And Max's family should be wondering where she is too. Of course with her it's only one night, and I'm betting Billy covered her there - the alternative being to explain to Master Sergeant Dad that his little sister stuck him with a needle and stole his car. They don't always show every detail on screen. Maybe Mike did make a call home from the lab.

Yeah, it was awfully convenient that Dart happened to be the demogorgon they ran into in the tunnels. But the relationship between Dustin and Dart reminded me of a tiger and its handler. There's a certain bond there, a certain affection, but don't ever think you're completely safe.

[–] Batty67 (358) 7 years ago

Good points.

My general point remains: the pacing was very uneven and then the timeline gets very squishy at the end, it sure seems to play out over at least 1.5 days, perhaps longer, with no thought given to what the parents are doing or Hopper's subordinates.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 7 years ago

I think Hopper deliberately avoided bringing his deputies into the situation, and called the military instead. Think about it. What could they have done to help? If he sent them to Hawkins Lab they'd get killed. If he called them to the Byers' house and explained all that stuff about creatures from another dimension with nothing but a dead demodog as proof (fake rubber toy as far as they know) what do you think they'd do? And all those papers taped to the wall. What new craziness is going on with that nervous wreck Joyce? Maybe the Chief needs a vacation. Stress getting to him. Oh, and he forgot to mention he was keeping a 13 year old girl in a cabin out in the woods. Not too sketchy.

I think given the faster pace as things raced to their conclusion that you just can't show every minor detail. One could easily explain given the day or two involved why parents didn't go nuts, or after skipping ahead to One Month Later just assume some of them got grounded for a week or two. Not really that important to the story. The biggest timing issue in my opinion was the placement of Ep. 7 right in the middle of the crisis in Hawkins. I'm not sure there was a better choice, but it definitely did break up the flow.

[–] Batty67 (358) 7 years ago

Again, fair points. I liked the way the "investigation" and pacing was handled in ST1. Much, much better. But when a production/story arc gets BIG, corners have to be cut.

One big issue from the first season I did not really like: the guards must have shot the demigorgan dozens of times with pistols and automatic weapons. It did not seem to hurt it a bit. Slowed it down maybe, but it could not be killed by at least "normal firepower." I thought "Dart" might have been the new full-sized demigorgon growing up, so killing THE ONE would be huge. Of course, later, there were at least a dozen, so one randomly showing up at Dustin's is slightly more plausible. So, dozens of fully unkillable demigorgons would have spelled unstoppable massacre.

But OTOH, Hooper shoots the smaller demo-dogs that attacked Bob with an M-16 and they get hit but like the bigger demigorgon look to be impervious. Later he shoots them up from the "tram" and they appear to take much more damage, but that is admittedly not clear.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 7 years ago

Small arms are optimized for killing humans. That's what they're generally used for, assault rifles are a soldier's weapon and the whole point is to kill as many enemy troops as possible quickly. But for large game animals you need bigger weapons. A full grown demogorgon would probably require a .50 caliber machine gun or an elephant gun to take down. Those M-16's that Brenner's people were using just didn't have enough penetrating power. Might as well have been BB guns. Hopper was lucky to be facing juveniles, the demodogs. But even with them the shotgun was more effective, killing them with a single shot instead of repeated hits.

[–] Batty67 (358) 7 years ago

Well, I know a lot about firearms and have to disagree with you on their effectiveness in general.

The season 1, full-sized demigorgon appeared to be impervious to a WHOLE lot of physical punishment. The "kids" also slammed its leg into a bear trap, hit it hard with a nailed club several times, lit it on fire, and shot it repeatedly as well. No lasting effect (it did seem to feel pain). M-16s are used to hunt up to mid-sized animals, not as efficiently, but they have major velocity and energy transfer.

The Season 2 demodogs got shot by Hopper in the lobby and you heard the smack but they seemed to mostly ignore the bullets, so I was thinking, "crap, just like the demigorgon, impervious to bullets." Plus, several got lit-up when they over-ran the complex and killed everybody but Paul Reiser's character (which was *convenient*). Later, at the tram, they seemingly take a lot more damage, but again, in fairness, it is not clear.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 7 years ago

I was just assuming that as they reach full size and stop molting, their hide thickens and becomes like body armor. A powerful enough weapon could still kill it but small arms would do little more than piss it off. At the end, I think the only ones that were seriously injured or killed were the ones he hit at close range. The others he just picked off the wall and they fell. Assuming the drop to the bottom of the shaft didn't kill them they would've climbed back up. We saw all the surviving ones drop at the end, there was no way Hopper was ever going to kill them all. The whole point was to buy time. Keep them off Eleven long enough for her to do her thing.

I don't completely trust Paul Reiser's character either. He's not like Brenner but he's definitely got his own agenda, and is keeping secrets. It's hard to see how he survived being grabbed by the leg. Why didn't it drag him out into the hallway and finish him?

[–] Brent212 (59) 7 years ago

I liked it way more than season 1. I seem to be the only person on the planet who wasn't blown away by season 1. I thought it was great, but nothing special. This one, however, just entertained me way more, and I loved it.

Part of it could be that, while I thought the score was very good in season 1, it was mind-blowingly good in season 2.

[–] chrisjdel (2714) 7 years ago

The first season you had no idea what to expect, and there were fewer concurrent plot threads so the pace was a little slower while they revealed what was going on. Season 2 already had the basic elements established. The lab, the Upside Down, Eleven, Will having something still inside him, etc. They filled in more of the backstory of course, but were able to hit the ground running and there were more different subplots going at the same time so the overall pace was faster. And of course, the threats they faced got bigger and the stakes higher. I enjoyed both seasons a lot. It was harder to pause season 2 and take a break though, I found.

[–] nauru-1 (160) 7 years ago

The higher stakes and bigger threats were one of the things that diminished my enjoyment of season 2. I love smaller scale threats. Feels more relatable even when it entails impossible things.