Chaos: the typical state of hit Netflix show “Stranger Things 2.”
Fans start out in a different place with unknown people—unsure of how they connect to small-town Hawkins, Indiana with familiar Michael Wheeler, Will Buyers, Eleven and many other characters.
Things seem a little bit clearer when the mysterious Kali breaks down a bridge, but in reality, the bridge had never crashed. Immediately after, Kali’s nose is bleeding and viewers get a glimpse of a tattoo on her wrist, “008.” Infamous Eleven has the same exact tattoo except Eleven’s reads “011.”
Viewers have this major question looming from the finale 0f season one: where is Eleven and is she even alive?
It’s almost Halloween and things are getting spookier than the classic graveyard creeps. Michael, Dustin and Lucas are in a panic—frantically searching for loose change. Viewers might assume that something major is about to happen, but it’s just the boys, plus Will, rushing to the arcade.
The arcade introduces an unexpected conflict when Dustin’s high score has been knocked by a “Madmax,” which is also the title of the episode. Will strays from the group as they argue over who Madmax is. Here, there is a quick change of scenery. Will is suddenly alone and in the familiar “upside down,” where he was trapped for the majority of season one. Paralyzed by fear, Will stares at an unusual, yet terrifying, storm brewing. Viewers are brought back by Mike, stepping outside and asking Will if he’s okay.
The gruff, yet favored protagonist, Chief Jim Hopper, gets a call of alleged poisoned pumpkins, which is quite the tragedy considering Halloween is quickly approaching in Hawkins.
Hopper drives out to the pumpkin farm unsure of what could be rotting all the pumpkins. Later, viewers learn that multiple farms have rotted crops, which calls for suspicion.
Meanwhile, in the school parking lot, Steve and Nancy are getting deeper into their relationship, but the conversation is cut short by a car flying into the parking lot with a California license plate. Out comes a redhead with a skateboard and a mysteriously attractive young man.
The redhead joins Mike’s, Dustin’s, Will’s and Lucas’s science class and is introduced as Max—sound familiar? Maybe this could be Madmax?
Joyce, Will’s mom, finds herself in a new romance with “Bob the Brain” and she seems to be head over heels. This is refreshing for fans, as last season was not this blissful for Joyce.
Things seem to be going well in Hawkins, but fans quickly learn that Will is not exactly well himself.
Machines, wires, hospital gowns: what could this be about? Will has to visit this new doctor named Dr. Owens, while also being watched by the government. Here he’s recounting what he saw outside of the arcade, but the machines are beeping louder and scans are getting more intense. The doctor writes all of these factors off as PTSD. Joyce and Hopper are skeptical of this diagnosis.
After leaving the hospital, fans get a glimpse of what is going on inside the hospital and it’s not just medical treatments. A soldier in a flame suit, with a massive torch, steps into a recognizable territory: the upside down.
Earlier, Nancy mentioned to Steve that they had a dinner to attend later that night. Turns out, this dinner is with Barb’s family. The same Barb who was friends with Nancy in season one and was lost to the upside down, which ultimately killed her.
Barb’s family has hopes that she will one day return to them, but Nancy and Steve know the truth: Barb is dead. Due to the secretive nature of the upside down, Barb’s parents weren’t privy to the knowledge of her death.
Jumping from Nancy to her brother Mike, viewers can see the pain they are experiencing. Mike calls to Eleven on his walkie-talkie every night, counting the days she has been gone. He desperately hopes she will answer him as they became quite close in season one.
Towards the end of the season premiere, the show cuts back to Will in the bathroom washing his hands. As he exits the bathroom, he is once again in the upside down while the storm is brewing outside of his front door. The storm is getting more intense with each vision of Will’s. An ominous figure appears in the distance of the storm, but the show cuts to Hopper.
Walking into the woods to a never-before-seen cabin, he knocks rhythmically on the door and it magically unlocks. The camera shows the dinner table set for two with a plate of Eggo’s. Eleven sits at the table and viewers get a sense that Hopper is a parental figure in Eleven’s life.
oasm14@bonaventure.edu
