Stranger Things 2

TV review: Stranger Things 2

The Duffer Brothers - yes, we could refer to them as Ross and Matt but their official onscreen moniker is much cooler, yes? - may have cribbed a fair bit from the two big Steves (Spielberg and King) in putting together their sci-fi-horror mash-up/stroll down memory lane Stranger Things but they obviously picked up a very valuable lesson from the masters: the monsters will capture the attention of the audience, but the characters up against the monsters will keep the attention of the audience.

The camaraderie of the characters, not to mention the depth and dimension given to each one by the show's uniformly strong actors, was the cornerstone of the first season's success. Well, that and a grab-bag of well-pitched '80s references and influences. So while Stranger Things 2, now streaming on Netflix, may seem to be spinning its wheels a little when it comes to its story (it's scrappy, loveable teen dorks versus hell-beast from a dark dimension, Round 2... fight!), this new nine-episode run does give the bulk of its characters room to grow and opportunities to develop. It gives this new season a big, beating heart, and it makes the occasional bump in the narrative a little easier to handle.

Having said that, there are one or two noticeable flaws with Stranger Things 2, mainly the attempt to expand the scope of the show's mythology by having super-powered young Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, such a captivating actor) meet up with a similarly gifted "sister" and her posse of punk misfits. It's shrewd of the Duffers to lay the groundwork for a more expansive Stranger Things universe (they're reportedly now writing the next season) but this bottle episode grinds the story's momentum to a screeching halt and, more importantly, deprives us of more scenes between the unexpectedly wonderful pairing of Brown and David Harbour, whose bearish, grouchy and soulful work as the town's sheriff and Eleven's guardian is a perfect complement to Brown's beautiful vulnerability.

That's not to say the supernatural stuff - which borrows from a variety of '80s sources, Aliens quite heavily - doesn't get the pulse racing on occasion. It does. But due respect to the creative and crowd-pleasing capabilities of the Duffers and their collaborators that simply hanging out with the kids from Hawkins, Indiana (and occasionally the grown-ups) is worthy of a weekend binge-watch.