Stranger Things 2 : Highlights

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

I recently finished watching the much anticipated second season of Stranger Things. I was a huge fan of the first season and had been eagerly awaiting the second season ever since I finished the first. (I now can't wait to see what will go on to happen in season 3!) I first became interested in watching Stranger Things after I found out it was set in the 80s as I am a huge 80s fan and the show also had the mystery element in it which I love.

The new season picked up where a lot of unfinished story lines left off - we learn what's been going on with Will; where Eleven went; things concerning Nancy, Steve and Jonathan and how the boys had been coping since the events of the last season. We are also introduced to some characters including Bob Newby (Sean Astin), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) and Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery). So much happened in the second season so I thought I'd pick my personal highlights to share in this blog post. 

The Acting

There was so many great performances within this season of stranger things, whoever was in charge of casting for this show definitely deserves high amounts of praise. It is no doubt that the show is made even better by the top choice of actors/actresses who play each part. Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, did such an amazing job in this season, especially considering how we didn't really get to see a lot of him in the first season as he was trapped in the upside down. In this season, Will becomes "possessed" by a Mind Flayer after trying to tell it to go away and so this meant that Noah had to convey multiple personalities; regular Will, The Mind Flayer and The Mind Flayer pretending to be Will sometimes all within the same scene! This is conveyed through subtle shifts in his tone and voice. I think one of his best performances was in episode 9 when Joyce puts Will next to the fire and heaters to try and draw the Mind Flayer out of Will's body and we see Will's body writhe in pain, it could be a little uncomfortable to watch but that's what made it such great acting plus it's all so very believable, I was sitting on the edge of my bed, up close to the TV, fully captivated.

I also love the scene between Eleven and Hopper (Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour) where they're arguing and El is using her mind powers to fling items at Hopper or slam the door. I feel that Millie and David have a great on-screen chemistry. I hadn't expected El and Hopper to make such a great pair but they really did; it was like father-daughter. That scene in episode 9 where Eleven is trying to close the gate to the upside down while Hopper is shooting away dema-dogs was another of my favourites in the whole season with such terrific acting from both Millie and David.

Another stand-out performance was that of  Finn Wolfhard who plays Mike Wheeler. In episode 9, when he found out that Hopper had been keeping El's whereabouts a secret for almost a year, Mike goes on to shout and hit out at Hopper. I felt that Finn really conveyed so many emotions within that scene; pain, anger, anguish, betrayal, relief, joy, resentment, frustration all at the same time. It felt like I was feeling all of those emotions too just because of how Finn conveyed them.

Overall the acting standard was incredibly high and everyone really did such an amazing job throughout the entire season.

Steve Harrington's Character Development

I think one of my favourite characters of this season has to be Steve Harrington. He went from a popular high school jerk to a stressed out soccer mom in what appeared to be a very short space of time. This transition was at first surprising but at the same time also felt rather natural, like it was something that should have been expected. Steve (Joe Keery) had been on his way to give Nancy flowers when he happened to run into Dustin  (Gaten Matarazzo) who was looking for Mike and from there they ended up going to look for Dart together. I loved that Steve became almost like a big brother to Dustin and tried to give him advice on girls and how to style his hair. This pair was definitely a surprise but one that I think worked so well. The way Steve starts to take care and become in charge of the younger kids was one of my favourite things to watch. He said no to the bunch of younger ones when they wanted to go down the hole to distract the dema-dogs but then he was the one to lead them and try and protect them when they went down the hole (although he really didn't have much of a choice in going in the first place). I also quite liked the fact that the kids could've left Steve back at the Byers household after the fight with Billy, but they made the decision to bring him along and then Steve ended up looking after them. It really was as though he was chasing after his kids, trying to keep them out of trouble; they wanted to do one thing but he wanted to do the other but then ended up doing what they wanted anyway. I'm really glad that Steve's character turned out this way in this season, I feel it adds a whole lot more depth to his character than there had been previously in season one. His character development also complicates things a little more in the Steve-Nancy-Jonathan love triangle. At the end of season one I was annoyed that Nancy (Natalia Dyer) hadn't chosen Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and so I, at first, was rather pleased when Nancy and Steve broke up and Nancy and Jonathan got together. However, by the end of the second season I was struggling to pick who I'd have wanted Nancy to end up with. I was happy she was with Jonathan but at the same time felt bad for Steve.

Details

I felt that this season had such great music throughout such as 'Runaway' by Bon Jovi, 'Hammer to Fall' by Queen, 'Every Other Girl' by Prehistoric Wolves, 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police, 'Rock You Like  A Hurricane' by Scorpions and of course 'Should I Stay or Should I Go' by The Clash. Pretty much all the songs used in Stranger Things are absolute brilliant plus the soundtrack'ed music that goes on within the background of the scenes. I also loved every set design, everything was made to look as realistic as possible such as in Barb's house where there was lots of actual pictures of Shannon Purser (actress who played Barb) which made the scenes in her house look more authentic. I also loved how the arcade had actual old-school game machines in it. The attention to detail within Stranger Things is something I think makes it just that tiniest bit better.

Overall I really enjoyed the second season of Stranger Things. Perhaps even more than the first (which is definitely saying something as I absolutely loved the first season!) I know it may not be everyone's favourite type of show, but I'd say it definitely is mine!

How did you find the second season of Stranger Things?

Bye for now, xo