Stranger Things re-review: the Netflix recipe that makes Stranger Things so spectacular - season 2 finale
Stranger Things really does know how to end a season, doesn’t it? 📺
- Stranger Things brings the curtain down on another season.
- Stakes are raised massively once again.
- But how does the show manage to nail its conclusion?
It is time to wrap up another season of Stranger Things. We have officially reached the half-way point of the show, at least so far.
Netflix’s hit has ramped up the scope and spectacle in its second season, but has it managed to pull off the ending? The action picks up after the show’s most marmite episode - read my thoughts on that.
But did the show pull off the conclusion to its second season? Here’s all you need to know:
Chapter Eight: The Mind Flyer
Synopsis: An unlikely hero steps forward when a deadly development puts the Hawkins Lab on lockdown, trapping Will and several others inside.
Stranger Things is a show with really unusual heroes, it is perhaps one of the parts that make it stand out the most. Joyce (Winona Ryder) is a working class middle-aged single mother, Mike and the boys are literal children, and season two introduced us all to Bob Newby (Sean Astin).
I wasn’t sure if I would love Bob as much this time around, given it is my third or fourth time through the show. Yet he still manages to make a big impact in a relatively short time.
It is unusual to have a character be depicted as so openly nerdy and yet sympathetic. He is kind, caring, and in his final moments, truly heroic.
Bob dies as he lived, being unexpectedly brave. However, I do worry that down the line this will mark the starting point of a repeated plot twist - introducing a new recurring character, who becomes an audience favourite, only to kill them.
In this episode though, it works as a brilliant way to raise the stakes. I remember the first time I saw it and simply gasped as it gave the show a sense of real danger.
Of course, the main heroes aren’t going to die - at least not until the final season - but it pulls a wonderful trick, making you think they could.
Speaking of unusual heroes, Steve’s redemption this series continues to take an unexpected path. He becomes a key figure not through romantic heroism but instead by stepping up to help Dylan and the kids.
Just one episode to go and things are looking very dire for the residents of Hawkins. Not the last time I will type that sentence I am sure.
Chapter Nine: The Gate
Synopsis: Eleven makes plans to finish what she started while the survivors turn up the heat on the monstrous force that's holding Will hostage.
Spectacle often gets a bad wrap, with it most often being associated with style over substance. However, when done right, it can be awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping as well as making for memorable TV.
Game of Thrones was a show that had a major monopoly on spectacle in the 2010s, to its detriment in the end. Stranger Things might just be the only show that can match it when it comes to huge, memorable set pieces.
The first season of Stranger Things still manages to have plenty of spectacle - Eleven flipping the van - on a smaller scale. However, season two is when that really started to ramp up.
We get a massive set piece that is cleverly split into three parts in this finale with different groups and pairings of characters having to pull off specific jobs - all in the name of defeating the Mind Flayer. At least for now.
You might have read my previous re-reviews, in which I have regularly brought up the way the show so often grounds its big plot moments in character. The finale manages to tie the big thematic arcs into this major battle at the Hawkins department of energy.
We have Steve managing to find his place, which is surprisingly as the best babysitter in Indiana. Hopper and Eleven reconcile, with the former recognising he handled things badly earlier in the season.
It is a clever way to bring everything together in an explosive way. But perhaps my favourite part of the finale is the denouement, which takes place one month after the battle.
We get lots of lovely little character moments, from Steve giving Dylan a pep talk, to Mike showing Eleven how to dance. It is charming and highlights the best part of the show, in my opinion.
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