Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Audiences across the globe waited an entire year and some change for the follow-up to the phenomenon that was Stranger Things. But once Halloween weekend rolled around, the wait was over. Stranger Things 2 premiered on October 27, and within the first three days of the season’s drop, 15.8 million people in the U.S. alone had watched the first episode. Stranger Things left us with burning questions that blazed the trail for season two. But were all our questions answered, or did the second season just leave us with more?
Joyce Beyers gets a boyfriend
Because that’s the first thing on our minds, naturally. Joyce spent the majority of season one looking for Will with Christmas lights, but this season she has a more developed storyline. Not only does she have a boyfriend, Bob, but they have their own backstory. In one episode it’s revealed that Joyce and Bob went to high school together, but things obviously didn’t heat up between them until much later. What’s even better is that Bob is played by actor Sean Astin. Astin is best known for his roles in Goonies and Lord of the Rings. In season two, there were plenty of nods to his ’80s film roles as well as other ’80s pop culture references. What happens to Joyce and Bob at the end of the season is heartbreaking, but we still have hope for Joyce’s romantic future.
Eleven’s Alive! And she has a family!
At the end of the first season, audiences didn’t know exactly what happened to Eleven. We didn’t know if she was okay let alone alive, but the Eggos gave us hope. Shortly into season two we realize that Eleven is back and she’s been hiding out with Hopper in a cabin in the woods. No one else in Hawkins knows she’s alive, which makes for an interesting reunion episode. Being stuck in a cabin for a year (353 days to be exact) leads Eleven on a search for her real family in an episode that got a surprising amount of flak from critics. However, the episode took time to reveal a larger part of Eleven’s story that unveils her biological mother and her supernatural sister. It also left audiences wondering if there are more kids like Eleven who were kept and experimented on in the lab.
Will is out of the woods
I say that tentatively because of what happened last season. You know, that giant plot twist right at the end that left us all hanging on a cliff of mounting questions for a year. But, it’s fine. Will’s fine. Everything’s fine. By the end of season two, of course. Throughout the second season, we find out that Will is actually not fine because he has a deeper connection to the Upside Down than we originally thought. This leads to an epic exorcist-esque showdown during the eighth episode. After that, it seems that Will has cleared himself of any other alternate dimension connections. Now we can look forward to him recovering from the first two seasons’ PTSD and enjoying life as a normal kid again.
Hopper’s in cahoots with Hawkins National Laboratory
It was unclear at the end of season one if Hopper was setting out the Eggos to help Eleven survive without falling into of the clutches of the evil Hawkins National Laboratory or if he was setting a trap for her on behalf of the lab. Luckily, he was looking out for her, and even made her a home out of his old family cabin. But, as the plot unfolds, it turns out Hopper’s still covering up the lab’s activities. Hiding the lab’s actions without knowing their agenda is ultimately devastating for the Stranger Things gang and the city of Hawkins. Let’s hope he’s learned his lesson by next season.
Nancy and Jonathan finally get together
Season one’s finale showed a short cheek kiss shared between Nancy and Jonathan before Nancy went and joined Steve. It was clear that Nancy was with Steve, but by season two Nancy admits that she doesn’t really love him. What we learn from the latest season is that Nancy was waiting for Jonathan to make a move in season one, but Jonathan was focused on Will and his rehabilitation. So, their relationship fell to the wayside and gave Steve the opening he needed to make his move. However, in one of the funniest episodes of the series, Nancy and Jonathan finally get together. I’ll allow you to watch episodes five and six to get all the juicy details.
Steve is the hero we didn’t know we deserved
Sugar, spice, Faberge organics and four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray. That’s what Steve Harrington is made of. Stranger Things 2 introduces a multi-dimensional Steve with even better hair than season one. Throughout the season, he tries to be the best boyfriend for Nancy but ends up letting her go because he understands that she has feelings for Jonathan. He’s also the cool new babysitter of the gang, so he gives Dustin relationship advice and his hair secrets. And, he even attempts to beat up the new bad boy who picks on the kids, but we won’t talk about how that ended. Throughout the two seasons we see Steve’s positive character development, and in the end we’re all secretly in love with him and his badass baseball bat.
Milevengoes to the snowball
The final episode is the pinnacle of justice for fans everywhere. Season one ended with Eleven disappearing before she could go to the snowball with Mike, which is what almost happened in season two. But, as fate would have it, Hopper managed to sneak her to the dance with a new dress and some other heart-warming accessories. She, quite frankly, looked bitchin’. And when Mike saw her it looked like he experienced every emotion in a single instant. It was the middle school love story we’d been waiting for, and we hope to see more of in the next season.
Stranger Things 2 gave the fans what they wanted. Some questions were answered and others were introduced. But never fear, a third season has basically been confirmed. How long will we have to wait? The creators have already mentioned the soonest premier date being in 2019 with another time jump of a year within the series. So, go back and binge those seasons over and over again. You’ll have plenty of time to pick up those question-answering details and develop even more questions and conspiracy theories.