Stranger Things Season 2: "Trick Or Treat, Freak" Review

Halloween is my favorite holiday and I'm so incredibly glad that this episode is centered around the holiday. There was tons of halloween treats here and that really endeared me to the episode in a lot of ways. There are still things that don't quite hold water here though and have me wondering when this season is going to actually move forward because as it stands now Season 2 is sitting in neutral trying to build a bigger world but not necessarily tell a story.

Okay, I'm going to get this out of the way first, Episode 2 for me was disappointing in much the same way episode 1 was. For some reason the Duffer Brothers seemed dead set on building bigger and that's to the detriment of the show. The story at this point in Season 1 was already in full force. So far in Season 2, we are just languishing in a world with a story that isn't existing let alone moving. What's even more frustrating, especially as a fan of the show, is that there are really good bits here that are mired in mediocrity. Look no farther than the opening sequence and the entire storyline with Hopper and Eleven thus far.

The opening sequence completely and utterly disappoints. For starters, the very first few minutes go against the entire climax of Season 1. In the battle with the demogorgon Eleven goes into the battle knowing exactly what is going to happen. She even says goodbye to Mike for god's sake. Then we start this episode with Eleven awakening and looking distressed and scared and calling out for Mike. As the episode progressed her flashbacks continued to do absolutely nothing for me. I think it is supposed to set up some potentially good stuff for Eleven's character arc but it seems almost tacked on and half baked, especially in it's execution. Then we get the Hopper and Eleven stuff that is pure gold. Their chemistry is wonderful and the pairing is a godsend for the entirety of this storyline thus far.

Then there's Nancy's storyline. I, honestly, am not a huge hater of her breakdown. I think it's completely logical. Her best friend died and more than likely it was because of her. That's enough to crack anyone, but really? Now? To me, it seems like at this point (a year later) Nancy would've grieved but it seems like she is just now beginning to deal with Barb's death. On top of that she takes it out on Steve who tries to comfort her. I completely and utterly feel for Steve in this instance. I initially hated his character but he grew on me and here he is completely the victim. It seemed almost readily apparent in episode 1 when Nancy gave Jonathan the flier for the halloween party that the plan was to hook them up but why? And why at the expense of Steve, who since the beginning of this season has been an incredibly good guy. In episode 1 he is talking about how best to move forward for his future in order to balance the benefits to him and to their relationship and here he has a wonderful line about how they could be thrown in jail "or worse, they could ruin our families." This completely shows where his priorities lie and I completely feel for him.

The good stuff in the episode outweighs all of the really bad stuff I outlined above and not surprisingly it focuses on the boys. Dustin continues to be my favorite character. His one liners are hilarious ("It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you.") and have me grinning from ear to ear. One of the least touched on aspects of Season 1 was his relationship with Lucas and the two have a magical chemistry. The newcomer in Max is begging to break them apart and their love triangle is going to be interesting to watch, especially considering I love their pairing. I also really love the look at their family life. Lucas' little sister is wonderful and I also love Dustin and his mother. Really I think that the splitting of the group of boys is honestly going to work wonders for their individual character development. I also really love Max as the newcomer. She is wonderful and the actress is really fantastic too. I love everything about her (especially the Michael Myers costume that I'm hopelessly biased for).

There's some other mixed bag of ideas that I have that don't really feel like they should be grouped together so I'll throw them out as random thoughts in bullet point:

•  I was really hoping get Jonathan a love interest that isn't named Nancy with the "KISS" Girl. Sadly Not. 
• Haven't these scientist a-holes learned anything?!? 
• The only real conflict in terms of story thus far is the Pumpkins which sucks but it is cool to see more of the town. 
• The children having love stories is a little strange to me considering their children but the Mike and Eleven one is definitely sweet. 
• Speaking of relationships, I'm really uncomfortable with the bullying relationship Max has with Billy. I can't stand him. 
• I continue to love Bob. Sean Astin is a welcome addition to the cast. 
• The big bad reared it's head again but it looked awful. Is it supposed to be the awful smoke monster from Lost? 
• Dustin pointing the fake proton pack into the trashcan had me dying. Loved that little touch. 

Episode 2 continued to build upon the larger world of both the upside down and of Hawkins in some interesting and some not so interesting ways. I really want more story than the Duffer Brothers have given us so far. There is some really truly great stuff going on, especially with the boys, but I want to see where it's all leading. I want the story to get out of neutral and go already. Perhaps episode 3 will push it forward. So far Season 2 is stumbling when it should be revving up and that's disappointing despite the truly terrific things that are still happening.

Rating: 7.6/10