The series, "Stranger Things," is a great equalizer. I mean c’mon, what’s not to love? The main characters are awesome—heroic and geeky, with just enough flaws to remind us that most of them are still in the awkward stages of adolescence. The story combines sci-fi themes alongside adventure and humor. And those sweet 80’s aesthetics make us all a little nostalgic. Honestly, what more do you need?

Living up to the buzz and positive feedback surrounding the first season of a show is something difficult to do, especially with such a dedicated fan base. But trust me on this—"Stranger Things" season 2 doesn’t disappoint.

1. Character development

Season 2 really built off of the first season to add depth to the characters, some of which we only took at surface level. Will is a prominent example. Struggling with PTSD, we see up close the personal toll his disappearance and time in the Upside Down has on him. Flashbacks and nightmares plague both his sleep and his waking moments. His struggle to maintain his autonomy, be “normal”, and survive despite his trauma gives us, as an audience, a deeper reason to root for him. Though this connection, we too feel the stress and fear Will experiences throughout the season.

Eleven’s development is even more pronounced, physically going on a journey by herself to find her birth mother and uncover her past. She matures in this season, stepping outside of what is safe and comfortable and instead putting herself in situations that push her to the edge of her abilities (both psycho-kinetic and emotional).

2. Balance between reality and fantasy

Something Season 2 does really well is its ability to make the show “about something," giving it an overall greater purpose than simply fighting monsters. Adding everyday bullies alongside the supernatural showcases the realistic encounters (both social and romantical) that are sometimes just as fear-inducing as a Demogorgon. Our ability to be able to watch Dustin and Lucas fight for the affection of that new girl in their class or Steve's struggle to hold onto Nancy grounds us in reality without us getting entirely swept up in the Upside Down.

3. Keeps us interested

Season 2 took us a lot of places we never expected to go. Like wow, (spoiler) who knew Eleven would get mixed up in a punk larceny gang? Definitely not me. There was never a lapse in excitement. At times in the season, there would actually be 4-5 subplots occurring at one moment where a set of characters would be pursuing one mysterious occurrence and another group would be fighting another. Although the creatures and forces the team battles are from the same realm as Season 1, Season 2 exposes how little we truly know about the Upside Down and what resides there.

My only critique of the structure is that sometimes the various plot lines get confusing and overlap with each other. Although the overall storyline manages fine, there are moments where too many things are happening simultaneously, resulting in a bit of a sensory overload.

4. So what now?

Of course the last episode ended on a cliffhanger (as they all seem to do), so there’s bound to be another season to follow this one. Until then, there’s not much we can do besides sit back and wait. Aaand maybe binge-watch the episodes we do have access to. Be sure to DM me all your theories.