This review will contain light spoilers in the form of new character names and references to character interactions. No overt spoilers will be mentioned for those who haven’t yet watched the second season of Stranger Things, presumably because they’ve been on hold with a customer support hotline for the last two weeks.
The story picks up about a year after the events of season one. For one character, who comes to be known as Jane, this means literally counting the days and waiting for something to happen. It’s a feeling many fans can relate to.
Another more obvious acknowledgement of the show’s diehard fan base is private investigator Murray Bauman. After being hired by the parents of season one character Barb, his quest to solve her disappearance leads down a rabbit hole of conspiracies. This garners him constant ridicule from the residents of Hawkins and leaves only the audience knowing how close to the truth he actually is.
The audience also sees police chief Jim Hopper exhaustively navigating the moral grey area of keeping secrets to protect loved ones. In his words to the new Hawkins lab chief, Dr. Owens, “I keep your little secret, and you keep your crap out of my town. That was the deal.” This idea is perhaps the biggest tonal shift for the season. While secrets played a role before, here, they are the driving force of many conflicts in the show. The previous motto of “friends don’t lie” is repeated occasionally, but its naivety is displayed now. Sometimes the rule is broken in the same line it’s spoken.
While Nancy and Jonathan spend a night in Murray’s “Lone Gunmen” style bunker plotting to expose Hawkins Lab, Lucas tells newcomer Max the story of last year to explain why the group has so many secrets. She responds that it’s an enjoyable tale, if a little contrived.
Dustin befriends a pollywog from another dimension by feeding it Three Musketeers bars (that’s a Hellboy reference if you’re keeping track) until it septuples in size and runs away. Since he lied to the group to protect his new pet, he’s forced to turn to Steve Harrington to help track it down. If that pairing doesn’t surprise you, I ask again, why haven’t you watched this show yet?
At the Byers house, Mike, Will and Joyce attempt to decipher an expansive hand drawn diagram. Goonies fans will recognize Joyce’s new boyfriend Bob, played by Sean Astin, and hopefully enjoy seeing him struggle with a map again.
In an equally brilliant casting choice, Dr. Owens is played by Paul Reiser from “Aliens.” Much like the double crossing Burke from that film, Owens is friendly, seemingly omnipotent, and impossible to read.
Ending up all the way in Chicago is Jane, on the search for her sister. It’s the biggest departure from the standard format for the show, and many decried it as an unnecessary spin-off. I admit, after the cliff hanger of the previous episode, I had little interest in what some punk rock bandits were up to in another state. However, after meeting a brand new party, complete with a fighter, barbarian and rogue, my impatience was forgotten. More than anything, this episode served as a reminder that the show is more than just a nostalgic, reference-packed cliché fest.
Movie clichés don’t start as clichés. Once upon a time they were brand new ways to communicate a feeling and elicit a reaction. “Stranger Things” isn’t fun because it’s nostalgic; it’s nostalgic because it’s fun. It uses clichés to squeeze non-stop emotion and mystery into a block of less than an hour. Then it surprises you by investigating those clichés. Crackpots become wise; washed up cops become heroes; bullies become babysitters, and you’d be amazed at who can pick a lock. Sometimes the show goes obvious with a horror convention like showing a sinister presence with a Steadicam stalking through town like in “The Evil Dead.” Other times, it shows two characters quietly explaining themselves to each other on a dark snowy road; no clever dialogue, no thrilling shots and no gimmicks.
As always, the show says it best. When Jane finds her sister Kali, Kali shows off her illusion magic and says, “I can make people see whatever I want. But it doesn’t have to bad. It can be beautiful. Think of it as a kind of magic.” Stranger Things 2 will also wrap up the viewer in its own special kind of entertainment magic.