Stranger Things (spoilers)

[snowyowl]

Anyone else finished season two? I’ve been wanting to hear other people’s opinions but it took me awhile to get through the whole season (partly because I found the first few episodes a little slow, but I really liked most of the second half).

[snowyowl]

Some random thoughts:
I thought the Billy character was a bit pointless. They didn’t really need another bad guy?
I go back and forth on Steve, but man, he really got a raw deal this season. Poor guy. Putting him with the kids was a great move though.
Max was a decent character but they could have done more.
I thought Hopper and Mike were a little one-note this season. Both just angry all the time.
I tried to like the city episode, and I get that they did it to develop El and shake things up. But it just didn’t do it for me. I’d be happy if they put Kali in Hawkins in a later season because I think her character is interesting.

[Queen Mamadala]

We finished it on Halloween. Dd1 watched it with us. Loved it. I did get a feeling ep. 7 felt a little misplaced, but I can see why it was included since it's likely setting up the new character for next season and it served an important part in Eleven's character arc and development. She needed to find "home" and realize home was back with her friends and Hopper.

Love Bob and Steve. I'll be curious what they do with Max's stepbrother Billy. He's a grade A asshole and not-so subtle racist. In the later episode I asked my husband if it's possible he's gay (he seemed to focus a lot of attention on Steve in earlier episodes), because the scene where his father called him a slur and implied he spends too much time grooming himself and looking in the mirror. He acts like a bully and we get to see why during that scene. There were times I wondered whether he was hard on Max to protect her from his father or just keep her away from his influence. I got the feeling there was something hinky about their family life from the beginning. Does he resent Max because his father has a new family? I also wondered if the father was connected to the lab somehow and that's why they moved from CA. That's quite the change of scenery.

Steve was quite the jerk in season one, and has developed into a real person with many layers and is now a fan favorite. I really like how the Duffer brothers develop these characters.

The kids are signed on for six seasons. Netflix is trying to make this their GoT. I'm excited for what's to come and I mentioned to H that dd1 (and dd2) will get to grow up with these characters. These are the new talents of their generation and this is a franchise they'll remember for years to come. (like Buffy for me)

[snowyowl]

I saw Billy more as “I get kicked by something bigger than me, so then I turn around and kick something smaller”, but the possibility that he might be gay would be an interesting direction. After how they developed Steve’s character, they are definitely capable of creating enough depth to either rehab him or make him a more compelling bad guy.
I did wonder if they were ever going to explicitly explain why he doesn’t like Lucas. But in the end I think leaving it ambiguous was actually a more realistic representation of what racism often looks like - not a big neon sign but easy to recognize nonetheless.

[snowyowl]

Oops, there is a already a thread on the tv board. I guess we can use this one for the really geeky stuff 😜