Alright y’all. WE NEED TO TALK. And for those of you that made it your life’s mission to binge watch the entire 9 episodes of Stranger Things this past weekend, know what I’m talking about. BUT THEN AGAIN there’s always those who like to watch episodes “one at time” or just “haven’t found the time” (I honestly don’t understand that excuse for the life of me. Everybody knows you FIND time to watch something as important as Stranger Things, but whatever.) NEED TO STOP READING THIS ARTICLE because we’re going to be discussing everything that happened this season, how it connected to last season, and most importantly what to expect NEXT season. With that being said, let’s get into it!

Alright, as much as I would just like to delve into the real intrigue of the season, we have to start at the beginning… So  for  those of you that don’t remember, season 2 of Stranger Things had a more than exceptional opening 5 minutes. If any of you guys were like me, you were probably GENUINELY CONFUSED of what you saw.

The  setting being Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, 1984, it shifts to an apparent robbery taking place, and a group of 4 masked individuals escaping into a van, only to lead a high speed police chase. As the chase intensifies, and the cops in pursuit, the 4 masked individuals begin to quarrel amongst themselves in panic of what’s to come. As the scenes shift, the camera begins to place more emphasis upon the mysterious girl in the passenger seat who begins to give instructions to the designated driver.

Skipping forward, the cops begin to tailgate the getaways, as they enter an underground tunnel, and THEN, all of a sudden, we see the girl in the passenger seat (later revealed as Kali) close her eyes, tighten her wrists, and simply whisper, “boom”, and the tunnel behind her immediately collapses, suddenly stranding police, and the masked 4 (that’s honestly what I’m gonna call them until we get in further) successfully escape.

Now I know that was probably a handful to take in, but I think everyone watching was just as confused as I was and thinking, “Who ARE these people? And who’s the GIRL?” Obviously all questions that would be answered in respected time, but lets continue. Now that we’ve discussed the beginning at least, let’s discuss the REAL content of all 9 episodes. Shifting back to our favorite small town, Hawkins, Indiana, within the first 10 minutes, all returning characters from the original season are shown, (some doing better off than the others) .

We see Nancy and Steve, and their attempt to work out the “complications” of a typical high school romance, and as the season progresses, an inevitable love triangle is created, including Jonathan; definitely creating some tension between the three. While some people are die hard “Team Steve” (I honestly don’t know who started that but this isn’t Twilight, people) you HAVE to admit, Nancy and Johnathan do have this undeniable chemistry, and Murray Bauman said it best, when he pointed out they DO have that PTSD- fighting demogorgons and almost getting killed by alien like creatures trauma, so I guess it works.

We see a little more grown up version of the kids, as they’ve all aged as actors and kids in general, which is always fun to see. We see the ever iconic Joyce Byers continue her role as the crazy, dramatic , will-do-anything-to-protect-her-child, overprotective mother, who BARELY lets Will walk to school in peace. But honestly if my child had been abuducted by creatures from a lab created alternative dimension, terrorized by life threatening demons, and practically possessed by an unknown force from the upside down, I PROBABLY wouldn’t let him go far EITHER. As the season progresses, it doesn’t take long before the main premise of the plot is revealed which yet again places Will Byers as the victim of the mysterious “force” that violently possesses him, controlling his thoughts, moods,memories, and emotions, consuming him to the point of near death, and causing him more than unpleasant visions of the upside down. (as if he didn’t see enough of it LAST season)

You know, THE USUAL, causing Joyce, Hopper, and the whole gang to find out what’s wrong with him, and temporarily teaming up with the government lab to prevent the “mind flaying” force from spreading into Hawkins. Pretty self explanatory.

I mean, it’s obviously better to see this plot unfold in 9 episodes if you don’t necessarily know what’s to happen, but if you’re like me and were cravinggg more episodes and felt like the story wasn’t completely finished, then you’re definitely dying to see season 3. Now the whole Eleven thing is truly a story of its own.

As revealed in the end of the first episode, Hopper and eleven have been living in a deserted house in the woods for a year in order to protect Eleven’s identity and prevent her from being further discovered. However, like all people with half a brain, being confined to the house for an ENTIRE YEAR without any contact with the outside world, can drive a person a littleee crazy. But Eleven doesn’t stay bored for long, don’t you worry. After using her psychic telekinesis to mind contact Mike, the gang, and in particular her mother, she then ventures out to discover things for herself, and particularly the uncovered explanations behind her birth mother and father.

While she was successful in tracking down her mother and apparent “Aunt Becky” she’s not stationed for good as she then ventures out to find her lost “sister” who she claims her mothers revealed to her in a mind reading in which she communicated with her mother. Fast forwarding to episode 7, Eleven discovers her lab “sister” who was also one of the few chosen for experimentation with her similar exceptional abilities.

However, I think the biggest mind blower was the fact that it was revealed that her “sister” (named Kali) was the girl in the beginning of the season was seen escaping the high speed police pursuit in the use of her powers. MIND BLOWN. LITERALLY.

But it doesn’t stop there, not quite like Eleven’s powers, but equally cool, Kali has the ability to distort people’s minds and make them think they see one thing when in reality they don’t. A cool but seemingly dangerous power if you ask me. But I don’t think it took Eleven long to realize that Kali was definitely a threat to her safety rather than an ally. (Especially after that scene where Kali attempts to persuade Eleven to kill a man with an innocent family) With this in mind, she leaves her “sister” in Chicago to trail back to Hawkins to save her friends, reunite with Mike, and of COURSE attend the snowball dance. (Hinting at a very cliche like perfect ending for Stranger Things favorite couple) As an overall of the season, it was obviously fantastic to see the returning cast, but also to be introduced to some new characters.

Like Max, the super tough, kick butt arcade playing, skateboard loving, California redhead, just moved to small town Hawkins looking for a “party” to join. Or Bob, Joyce’s geeky hit lovable, nerdy, tech loving boyfriend who is a major aid in the saving of Will Byers (again) but unfortunately dies in episode 8 when the Demodog violently devours him. (Sorry Bob: RIP) and so many more characters.

Overall though I thought this season was excellent, well produced, casted, as well as written, and can’t wait for more episodes to be released. Asking some other people concerning what they though about the recent release, The Roosevelt Review got some of their feedback. ERHS student Arianna Scott had a lot to say.

“I personally thought it was really good. I wish there were more episodes though!” “Also I feel like this season is solely a buildup for next season because I felt things ended too happy if that makes sense, and I have a sense that something else is coming” Scott comments .

However I can’t say I disagree with that comment and do think there’s definitely more to come. Well you heard if Mustangs! Hope everyone enjoyed this season! Comment down below your thoughts!