00:00Cue up that iconic 80s synth theme tune and join me in the Upside Down for another of our re-review trips back through Hawking's, Indiana.
00:11We're of course talking about Stranger Things here, ahead of its final season later in the year.
00:17I've been doing weekly re-reviews and some videos to go along with them, and I've just wrapped up season two of Stranger Things.
00:24It was kind of controversial that Stranger Things continued back in the day. It was such a big hit, obviously a surprise hit, and yeah, it makes sense that Netflix would want more.
00:36But it did end kind of perfectly in a way, season one, you know, it could have ended there and you would have had no complaints.
00:44There was, you know, some loose threads, but so season two is a bit of a mixed bag, but it does manage to really cement and justify the reason that the show continued on beyond season one.
00:58And mainly that is because of the characters like Stranger Things is really, really, really strong on its characters.
01:06That's something I've really picked up throughout my re-watch. It's quite, yeah, it's quite surprising how much the characters are focused, but then also not surprising because that's what people love about it.
01:17And that's what makes it really stand out. It manages to balance spectacle with real character interactions.
01:25It manages to expand the world of Hawking's in season two, so we get a lot of new locations.
01:32Obviously, there's been a budget hike this time around from the first season, so we see more than just a couple of locations.
01:39We've got the arcade now, which obviously, very 80s, you know, going to the arcade, playing arcade games.
01:47I assume I wasn't there in the 80s, but whenever I watch things there in the 80s, there's always an arcade.
01:52So I think the season struggles a little bit to balance its overall story with the character arcs.
02:00It gets bogged down a little bit in the middle, but it manages to finish strongly.
02:05And once again, even though it does have heavy spectacle, this is where the spectacle elements of Stranger Things really comes in.
02:13When the big set pieces start to emerge, the first season, they're kind of like, here's a dark room, here's this CGI thing that we can't really afford to show.
02:24But this time around, they can obviously afford to show it.
02:28But it really manages to balance any big set pieces, action moments in character.
02:34And that's, I think, what makes it really successful.
02:36I think if it was just flash, bang, wallop for the sake of it, it would not work as well.
02:43It also introduces a trend that becomes a bit of a recurring theme in Stranger Things of a new character being introduced in season two.
02:53Bob, played by Sean Astin of Goonies and Lord of the Rings fame.
02:59He is introduced and, spoiler alert, for a years old show, but he's killed off and it starts a trend of characters being introduced and then killed off in seasons, which continued through to season four.
03:13Eddie, we don't forget you.
03:16But we'll get more into that down the line.
03:18It does also include one of the weirdest and most divisive episodes of Stranger Things.
03:24I'm, of course, talking about Eleven's strange journey, solo outing to the big city, which feels like a backdoor pilot if anyone remembers TV from the 2000s.
03:37There was always backdoor pilots going on.
03:39If you've ever watched an NCIS, you've definitely seen a backdoor pilot for a different NCIS spinoff.
03:45But obviously that didn't go down well, so that never happened.
03:48So, it's an odd episode and it kind of throws out the pacing of the climax, which is, yeah, a very strange choice.
03:57Especially watching it weekly, it really stands out.
04:00But, on the whole, it's a really good season.
04:04Not quite as strong as the first season, but there's some really good character moments, some really good new characters introduced.
04:09Like, Max is a really great addition to the co-group and this is the time that Steve becomes the character that we all know and love and will continue to be the one that we know and love going forward.
04:22So, yeah, it's a valiant second season.
04:25It's not a disaster by any means.
04:27Just has a few dealing issues.
04:30But, yeah, let me know what you think of Stranger Things season two.
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