After waiting over a year, fans of the Netflix original series, Stranger Things, were able to watch season two. The new season picks up almost a year after the strange events surrounding the disappearance of Will Byers were resolved. Will was unfortunate enough to be trapped in the Upside Down, an alternate dimension that contains the same man-made structures, but devoid of human life. Although Will was physically freed from the Upside Down, its presence was still felt as Will suffered from PTSD.

Throughout the first few episodes, Will would unexpectedly find himself in the Upside Down being chased by a shadowy sky-spider creature called the Mind Flayer. After listening to his mother’s new boyfriend, Bob, Will decided to take a stand against the Mind Flayer during one of these hallucinations. This decision turned out to be a mistake, as Will become possessed by the Mind Flayer. Meanwhile, the scientists who were responsible for releasing the Demogorgon, a beast whose domain was the Upside Down, into the quiet town of Hawkins remained. Their attempts at keeping the Upside Down from spreading failed, as police chief Jim Hopper finds that it has spread throughout all of Hawkins. In addition, Dustin finds a baby Demogorgon in his trash can and takes it in as his own. Not until the baby grew into a half sized Demogorgon did Dustin realize he had made a grave mistake. Max, a new kid from California, Dustin, Lucas, and Steve try to lure the Demodog, Dustin’s name for the smaller Demogorgon, into a trap. However, they find out that there is not just one Demodog, but tens of them. That group is able to escape what seems like certain death when the Mind Flayer calls them off, so they can hunt somewhere else.

As Will is being tested for his PTSD, it is made clear that he is possessed by the Mind Flayer. The prime example of this is when the Mind Flayer makes Will suggest that the scientists concentrate those in charge of burning the Upside Down in a certain area. The scientists listen, as they believe it will somehow help Will. Instead, the Mind Flayer uses Will to set a trap as the workers are quickly surrounded by Demodogs and meet a grim fate. All while this is happening, fan favorite character, Eleven, is confined to her little cabin in the woods, trying to avoid detection. Instead of following Hopper’s orders, she finds out about her mother and her long lost sister, Eight. Eleven goes to Chicago to meet Eight, only to realize the people she wants to be with are back in Hawkins. In the finale, everyone tries to figure out how to remove the Mind Flayer from Will’s body and how to stop the countless Demodogs roaming throughout Hawkins. As previously established, the Mind Flayer hates heat. In order to get the Mind Flayer out of Will, his family ties him to a bed and cranks up the heat using heat lamps, a fireplace and a poker. It eventually works and Will is freed from his captor. Meanwhile, Hopper brings Eleven to the laboratory to close the gate that connects the real world to the Upside Down. The Mind Flayer is seemingly defeated and therefore the Demodogs as well. Everything goes back to normal, until it is hinted that the Mind Flayer,may not be defeated once and for all.

Ultimately, I think that Season 2 was a lot better than Season 1. This could be attributed to the fact that the episodes tended to end on a cliff hanger, promoting a binge watch. I thought the story was very clever and captivating. The new characters were also very welcome. Bob and Max provided great comedic material and underdog stories you could root for. On the other hand, there was Max’s brother, Billy who you just loved to hate.