dscross said:
I really enjoyed the first one, but I don't feel like I'm getting the same level of enjoyment from this series so far. I'm on chapter 3. Can't put my finger on what's missing yet... How is everyone finding it?
I loved it. I know I'm in the minority here, but I thought it was just as good as the first season and did an excellent job living up to the hype. In retrospect, as much as I loved Season 1, I think Season 2 did a MUCH better job in a couple of areas: the kids seemed like more distinct characters in S2 with actual personalities rather than just the cardboard geek cutouts; the adults (save Hopper, who carries S1) were more interesting and had more to do this time around, especially Winona Ryder, instead of slowing the story down' and overall I think S2 was less reliant on obvious tropes and callbacks to the movies that inspired the show (ET, Poltergeist, etc.).
In no particular order, the stuff that really made S2 for me was:
* Will and Max -- both kid actors were GREAT this season (as in, Emmy nods for both) and rather than cluttering the group dynamic as new characters often do, I think they absolutely enhanced it and added layers to Mike, Dustin and especially Lucas.
* Hopper and Eleven -- I wasn't expected the show to go there, even though in retrospect it seems obvious, but putting them together from the start made a fascinating dymanic/storyline for the entire season.
* Steve -- other folks and critics and have said it already, but it's true. This guy was supposed to be the prototypical 80s "cool guy" bully/villain and the show deftly threw that out the window and made him a legit interesting and sympathetic character.
* Paul Reiser -- I thought he was going to be a throwaway character and/or suddenly turn into a heel ala Carter Burke, but I LOVED that they didn't do that with him and that he ended up being a kinda/sorta ally.
* The Billy storyline -- I couldn't stand this dude and the screentime he was taking up....until the very end with the last episode, when the violent behavior, bullying, unspoken racism and everything negative about the character was put on display through the father's parental abuse. In the end, it didn't advance the plot for S2 at all, but it made the overall story and characters so much more interesting.