re: Stranger Things 2 Spoiler Thread

Like most here, I thought season 2 was great, but not quite up there with season 1. I think the main reason for that was like TigerinATL said, there wasn't the element of mystery in season 2. Sure, there was a bit of figuring out what the Mind Flayer was, but you could make some pretty valid assumptions by episode 2 that ended up being really close to what was going on. In season 1, that mysterious element about the Upside Down and the Demogorgon carried just about to the end.

My only real criticism of the show (said the same after Season 1) is that they don't really address that nobody pays attention to this big secret government lab in a small town. Realistically that would be the most influential part of the town, with dozens of its residents working there, and of course their children going to school. Everyone would know about it. That honest trailer even made a joke about it.

That said, everything else was great. As others have said, loved the Dustin-Steve storyline. I thought the acting was fantastic, especially Will. He nailed the slow transition of being taken over.

My only criticism of Episode 7 is that it could have been dispersed throughout, rather than its own standalone episode.

Going forward I would like to see the mystery element added back in. I think they have a lot of options. It makes the most sense that they would explore the lab world a little more - Brenner's background, what are the powers of 1-7, 9 and 10. Obviously they alluded to the Mind Flayer and Upside Down still being there, so that will be a part of it too.

And Billy definitely needs to bang Mike's mom.