Stranger Things - Season 2

Longer, more epic, more action, more horror... I mean, a typical second film that still knows the level and does not cast shame on the first film. I would actually say that this series is even better than the first, thanks mainly to the characters of Eleven and Hopper, who are really great and amazingly-acted characters that simply capture your heart. Above all, the ultra-sympathetic David Harbour (he reminded me a little of Jack Nicholson) deserves all the praise and is now one of my main hopes that the new Hellboy will be at least a little worthwhile. (04/06/2019)

It's rare that a second season has the exact same ratings as the first, and at 91%, that's saying a hell of a lot. It's good to see all the likeable child characters together again, and this time around, young redhead Max rounds out the bunch and undoubtedly deserves a spot here. The new characters (the new girl who has supernatural powers, Max's brother who was a real asshole, and Bob's new friend Joyce) are definitely nice, but what I wasn't too happy about Eleven, who is sidelined for more than half of the season, and that's a mistake, as she is the driving force of the show, but the last two episodes thankfully make up for it. The series is more action and horror this time around, the Lovecraftian shadow monsters, little "lizards" and a lot of Will's outbursts are mysterious. Once again the series runs like water, there are scenes that give you goosebumps and the retro atmosphere is again impeccable. I enjoyed the adventure with the kids again, but it didn't hit me emotionally like it did a year ago. 85% (11/02/2017)

Four stars after nine episodes is a decent score, but I was disappointed by Ellie's journey to her mother. The whole Episode 7 felt completely out of place. I wonder how the child actors' growing up will affect my rating of future seasons (I still haven’t gotten over Brandon Stark). I was otherwise very happy with this season, even though it failed to keep up the atmosphere I was used to in the first one. Despite my occasional nitpicking and the constantly overplaying Winona Ryder, I did enjoy Season 2 and look forward to the next one. (02/09/2018)

I took a three-year break from the first season and finally watched the second. It must have been very challenging for the Duffer brothers to come up with a new, original idea for the plot while retaining all the successful aspects of the first season, which quickly won a wide fan base. But I can tell you with a clear conscience that they succeeded. The main group stayed together, and I truly loved their witty dialogue, which often made me laugh. Sheriff Hopper remains the same; he's one of my favorite characters in the entire series—he's such a brave person with a sense of justice who wants to help everyone, and he’s a character that everyone can easily like. Another interesting thing I want to mention... what happened to Steve? The character who was hated in the first season has become Dustin’s buddy, and their interactions are a perfect addition to an already brilliantly functioning concept. The story is once again top-notch, the special effects are impressive for a TV series, and the '80s feel with period music hits is just what you’d wish for. The ending was incredibly well-executed by the Duffers. We’ll see what the third season brings with a slightly more mature tone (after all, we have to accept that the actors won’t stay children forever... puberty is here!). I give it 90%. (07/18/2019)

The film makers make no secret of the fact that they do not take it as a second series, but as a classic 80's (not surprising at all) sequel, hence number two in the title. So it has all the attributes of the second movies, bigger, longer, more expensive, more epic, more relying on what worked in the first move, more characters, more at stake, and it is conceived (and built) in a way that the second Alien relates to the first Alien. You can hear criticism that it has a rather slow start, the individual story lines are independent for too long, some of the songs are used solely to impress and the stand-alone seventh episode is from another series (in terms of style but what is even worse, quality). And these are legitimate and true complaint. Especially the last complaint, I hope, does not foreshadow the direction it intends to take in the future. But... The pros (from the cast and the work with the characters, through the purely non-serial cinematicity to the impressive atmosphere mastering the multi-genre style and the congenial ball epilogue) still overwhelmingly prevail, and it is still in every thinkable respect tailor-made for me by Duffers, especially the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth episodes. (11/05/2017)