My Thoughts on Stranger Things – Season 2

Eleven

Early in Season 2, I was just awestruck. I couldn’t believe it, I was watching new episodes of Stranger Things, it was such a surreal feeling, I never feel like that when a new season of The Walking Dead comes along, and I love The Walking Dead, it’s probably just because we have very little Stranger Things and so much Walking Dead, of course I’m gonna savor the one that is newer, I kind of feel like rewatching season 2 a few times, it’s just great to have more Stranger Things am I right? The emotional depth is so great in season 2, and it’s really amplified by the musical score. This season could have totally hid Eleven for some big reveal late in the season, but they didn’t. She is front and center, but still so far away, and I applaud the Duffer Brothers for striking such a perfect balance.

We’re Not in Hawkins Anymore

Not-in-Hawkins-Anymore

It was really cool to see Stranger Things explore different elements of the 1980s. By starting the season in Pittsburgh and later showing Chicago, the Duffer Brothers have really expanded the show’s setting and I can only imagine that the show may eventually move away from Hawkins as more and more bad things occur in Hawkins, although the general public is still in the dark, I can’t imagine how long they can keep that up and the Duffer Brothers have also expressed this kind of doubt in keeping Hawkins residents from panicking and moving away from Hawkins.

Eleven’s Sister

008

Right away in season 2 we are introduced to 008, another test subject from Hawkins Lab. I think this first scene was done brilliantly, I really like how they briefly tricked the audience into thinking that 008 was another telekinetic subject. She appears to collapse the tunnel as they drive through it, making a roadblock for the cops behind them, until we see it was all an illusion. The tunnel did not collapse at all and she merely altered the perception of one of the cops pursuing them.

008

Then we see the blood trickle down from her left nostril and the familiar number tattoo on her arm. In a very short scene we have not only expanded the scope of Dr. Brenner’s actions but expanded the range of powers the lab was testing. It makes sense that they would be interested in examining more than one type of power for possible military applications. It’s like we all wanted to assume there were 11 test subjects with varying degrees of telepathy and telekinesis and many subjects were either too weak to justify continued examination or they simply died during testing, but now we know that each test subject could have had their own unique ability. You would think that similar types of drugs would produce the same type of reactions in every subject, but everyone is different and they were clearly sought out and kidnapped because of their unique abilities. I really didn’t get much of an X-Men vibe from Season 1, but yeah, you bet I get that vibe after seeing Season 2. And now it seems like the X-Men’s “The New Mutants” will give us this same type of brutal examination of mutant powers and now I’m looking forward to New Mutants even more after seeing Season 2 of Stranger Things.

They even cast Jonathan from Stranger Things in that movie so Hollywood clearly sees the similarity too, which is clearly a ploy to boost ticket sales and leach some of Stranger Things’ viewers in the same way Finn Wolfhard’s casting in IT did, well Hollywood, if you think this cold and shameless ploy to put butts in seats is going to continue to work… you’re absolutely right, shut up and take my money!

How Cool are 008’s Powers?!

Tunnel-Illusion

008’s Fake Tunnel Collapse trick is actually really impressive. It’s one thing to lock onto the mind of a person you can see, but to manipulate the mind of a random person you’ve never seen before and over 100ft behind you, while you are both in speeding cars, and you’re not even facing that direction, that is an even more incredible feat. They also made it seem that 008 used her mind to locate a nearby tunnel and directed the gang to turn toward it. This is clearly not their home city so it seems like she may have used some kind of power to locate the tunnel, but she may have previously researched possible escape routes and that could be how she knew there was a tunnel, we don’t know for sure, but it says more about her powers if she just sensed there was a tunnel in the surrounding area. She must have…tunnel vision, haha.

Empty-Warehouse

Only one cop was blamed for stopping at the mouth of the tunnel and causing the accident so it appeared that 008 could only tap into one mind at that time, but later she affects the minds of a large group of cops at one time as she hides the gang from sight as the cops search the room and later manifests a large wall to shield the van from gunfire.

Wall-Illusion

Now clearly this wouldn’t actually stop bullets, it’s just confusing enough to get the cops to stop shooting. I did find it kind of funny that 008 couldn’t convince the shop owner to not shoot at them, all she had to do was say “you’re holding a rat” or something and watch him drop the gun and run away screaming.

New Test Subjects In Season 3?

008-011

We have clearly not seen the last of 008, but just knowing there are more living test subjects is huge for the following seasons of Stranger Things. If 008 is alive, it’s very likely that 009 and 010 are alive too, if not some earlier subjects. I just don’t know how many there could be, only Eleven escaped during the gate formation, some could have still been there this whole time, but Hopper searched many of the rooms inside Hawkins before finding Eleven’s empty old room, I feel like Eleven was the only one left in the facility in season 1, but the facility has a huge staff, all of those people must have been busy working on something. Maybe there is another wing of test subject rooms, who knows? But the facility is closed now, so unless subjects were smuggled out they are likely dead or escaped well before season 1 like 008 did, and I kind of feel like the Demo-Dogs would have eaten any remaining subjects, because there is basically no one left to cover things up, except the new head doctor, Dr. Owens, who was surprisingly a good guy.

What is Next For Doctor Brenner?

Brenner-Vision

I think if any bad things with test subjects are still going on, Dr. Brenner is doing them in a different underground facility. The most obvious next challenge for Eleven is that Dr. Brenner is still alive and likely still has some “gifted” subjects under his control, and I think it’s most likely 010, kind of an obvious Wolverine nod to be had there, and 010 will be a boy around Eleven’s age with a power a little less useful than Eleven’s but still useful enough to potentially aid in recapturing 011. I think 010 would not only challenge 011, but also make Mike jealous, I’m sure of it. I’m not saying that is Dr. Brenner’s plan, but the Duffer Brothers would totally set that situation up, and now that I think about it, why not send some Poison Ivy-esque girl to steal away Mike, just to piss off Eleven.

11-hates-Max

I love how cold Eleven is to Max, she would throw Max into the sun if given the chance. Her anger toward Max was a brilliant choice and even though it was likely short lived, it served the purpose of keeping Mike and Eleven separated for longer, thus making their eventual reunion much more satisfying. It’s also kind of funny how Mike possesses the same kind of hostility toward Max that Eleven does, it’s just unfortunate for Mike that Eleven finds Mike during the only moment that he shows Max even the smallest amount of friendliness.

Eleven-Mad-at-Max

Max dismissing her fall on the skateboard to a freak magnet pulling on it was also a great moment of realization for Mike, but only too late for him to see Eleven. I feel like great story telling should always bring people within inches of the things they want, but have them miss their chances again and again until the stars finally align at the end.

Hopper is Eleven’s Handler!

Hopper-and-Eleven

Okay, I totally called this, this was one of the few things I nailed for season 2. It was a long shot too, and really only based on one shot we see in the trailer when Hopper is caught in a cloud of debris as he stands in the cabin. It just seemed like Hopper was caught in the middle of a telekinetic tantrum and that’s what really led me to believe that Hopper was providing stability and structure for Eleven. I thought it was possible that he could have moved in with her, but based on how disgusted Hopper appeared to be at Eleven, calling her Brenner’s “Science Experiment” I really thought that he would be more likely to unwillingly support her as if she was an inconvenience to him, dropping by to occasionally give her food and eventually grow to care for her, so I was very happy to see that this basically happened immediately and Eleven immediately filled the void left by Hopper’s daughter kind of giving both of them the resolution they didn’t get at the end of season one.

Eleven-Ghost

It’s really nice to see Hopper caring for Eleven in the way that he does. The scenes between them were possibly the best scenes in season 2. By seasons end, it feels like Eleven is actually his daughter, even though she isn’t, he cares for her 10,000% more than Brenner ever did, which makes her crude remark about Hopper being just like Papa, especially hurtful.

Eleven-vs-Hopper

The way the characters go head to head, I almost found myself encouraging Hopper to cool down a bit, because Eleven was gonna rip him to pieces. They were both wrong in the end, Eleven absolutely needed to grow up a little more, but it’s really more Hopper’s fault, and I love how Hopper’s over protection of Eleven perfectly mirrors Joyce’s over protection of Will and this parallel presents itself perfectly when both Jim and Joyce smoke together outside the Snow Ball dance, as they both loosen their leashes on two kids who desperately need to feel like kids again. It doesn’t take a genius to tell that Hopper and Joyce are going to end up together, from the moment in episode one when Hopper and Joyce reminisced about sharing cigarettes in high school I knew Bob and Joyce were doomed.

Hopper-and-Joyce

Hopper and Joyce have history together, they used to date, and they have a shared trauma, as Murray also points out with Jonathan and Nancy. Even though Bob was clued into Joyce’s situation at the last minute and may have been able to be what Joyce needed, Hopper has seen everything Joyce has first hand. He is the support system her family needs and at this point, if it doesn’t happen eventually, it would be a big waste.

Will-Eleven-Joyce

I think season 3 will begin with Hopper waking up in Joyce’s bed in 1985, there is just no way around it. Maybe Will and Eleven will share a room. If there’s anybody I trust to keep an eye on Will, it’s Eleven.

The Upside Down Hive Mind (The Mind Flayer)

Okay, well in my 3rd Stranger Things video, I talked about how I thought the upside down was hiding a kind of Hive Mind that was directing the Demogorgon’s actions in Season one. I theorized that this was all the work of the Thessalhydra, which was hinted at in the end of season 1, which I believe was their plan originally.

Mind-Flayer

In the first episode of Beyond Stranger Things the Duffer Brothers admitted that they had just rediscovered the Mind Flayer while digging into some D&D and thought that it was a much better name for their antagonist because it was essentially what they had created anyway, but until that point they had been calling it just “The Shadow Monster,” but if you play the Stranger Things video game, the final boss is actually called “The Hydra” which was a large tentacle monster and we see tentacles all over the upside down especially in the underground tunnels and many of them held Hopper down until Joyce and Bob could cut him free.

Hopper-Tentacles

I wanted to believe all these tentacles reached down to one central creature called the Thessalhydra, which may still be true, but it’s not the Hydra that is directing things, it’s the Mind Flayer/Shadow Monster. It’s possible each tentacle is just its own individual creature being independently controlled by the Mind Flayer, but they’ve already hinted at the Hydra in more ways than one, so who knows if it will make an appearance in season 3. They actually said “Hive Mind” in Season 2, so I’ll take that as a win.

Will Becomes Infected by the Mind Flayer’s Hive Mind

Infected-Will

Thanks a lot Bob, top notch “face your fears” advice you chump! This is similar to the “I can feel it behind my eyes” cliche from Alien:Resurrection. It’s a very cool concept that never really made sense in Alien 4, but now it makes perfect sense because there is an actual substance moving around inside his body and Will even comments on how he can feel it.

Will Can Feel Everything the Hive Mind Feels

Will-In-Pain

I actually wonder if the Duffer Brothers worried that Noah Schnapp would actually go into a real seizure while pretending to have one. This is a hard core fake seizure that was very jarring to look at. This entire dynamic provided a great struggle for Hopper and Joyce to deal with. They could easily burn all these tendrils away and force the entire thing back into the gate, but doing so would not only erase all of Will’s memories, but eventually kill him. I just love the scene where the Doctors behind closed doors are ready to let will die to preserve the status quo. What’s crazy is, that is probably the right thing to do. Are you gonna let the entire world get infected to save one boy?

Mike Trying to Get Through To Will

Will-Mike-Kindergarten

I really liked all the stories told to Will in an attempt to bring the real Will to the surface, but I’m sorry, in my opinion, none of them, none were as powerful as Mike’s story. I just lost it when Mike talked about not having any friends in kindergarten and walking up to Will on the swing and asking him if he could be his friend. I know what it’s like to move to a new town as a child and have no friends. All a child needs is that one friend to make them feel okay. It’s just so strange that our childhood friends mean the world to us one day, and the next day we haven’t spoken to them in years, almost as if we use them to get them through the day, until the day we become preoccupied with life and no longer need them.

Elevens-Crib

There’s something about being so young and alone that is especially heartbreaking, if a child loses their mother in the supermarket for 2 minutes, for that child it’s like the world is ending, in fact, my youngest nephew recently had a nightmare in which he couldn’t find his mother, it was based on nothing, it had never happened before, but he was still horrified. It’s just interesting what fears present themselves to a child’s subconscious mind. Childhood is an especially vulnerable time and all of this just makes me realize how much more horrible Eleven’s life has been than every other character’s. No one was there to console her whenever she had a nightmare, waking up scared and alone in her cold jail cell for over a decade, which makes seeing Hopper read Eleven a bed time story especially heartwarming.

Young-011-008

But we know now that Eleven did have a friend, hopefully she had some memories of 008 before she escaped, but it really seems like she didn’t. The more I dive into Stranger Things I notice how a dynamic between two characters sheds light on a similar dynamic between two other characters. They indirectly reinforce each other, this is the kind of stuff that is clearly intentional, but what I find so interesting about these instances is that this is a show about a mirror dimension, and the relationships between the characters seems to form these kind of reflections, almost like two mirrors facing each other and these similarities just keep repeating over and over and over. I can’t help but notice that many of the characters circumstances at the end of season 1 have completely flip flopped by the end of season 2, which shows a certain amount of character progression that is just really nice to see.

Hopper Covers For Hawkins Lab

Corrupt-Hopper

In season 2, the Duffer Brothers did a great job of wrapping up any huge loose ends left over from season 1, except for one. Hopper gets in the black car outside the hospital after they rescued Will. Now it seems like they must have been Hawkins Lab employees and it was just a hint at how Hopper would begin to cover for Hawkins Lab.

Hopper-Will-Come-Up-With-Something

I really enjoyed seeing Hopper go from the man who would do anything to tear down the system to the man who would go to any length to cover for the system, that’s a huge 180, and ordinarily this would tell us that this character is not a man of integrity and has a huge character flaw, but in this situation, no, that’s not the case, if anything, this complete 180 that Hopper has pulled speaks more to how much he cares for Will and Eleven, and the lengths he would go to prevent the death of another innocent child. But Hopper’s new partnership isn’t all bad, it comes with perks.

Hawkins Lab…. to the Rescue?

HawkinsLab-to-the-rescue

Now when Hopper is in mortal danger those white vans come to the rescue, how weird is that after season one huh? Although I would like to know how anyone at Hawkins Lab knew to come to that exact spot at that exact time. They had a map with each of these locations on it, but unless I am misremembering, Hopper told no one where he was going and Joyce didn’t call Hawkins Lab, so how did they know to show up?

Eleven Finds Out About Terry

Eleven-Finds-Mama

After season one, I was really kind of put off that neither Hopper nor Joyce told Eleven about her mother in the brief time they had together, but they were busy trying to find Will so it’s understandable they failed to mention it, but to see that Hopper not only avoided telling Eleven about her mother but even went so far as to lie to her, telling her that her Mama was gone(dead). That’s downright cold, I can see why he did it, he wanted her to stay safe and if she knew she had anyone outside that cabin she would be tempted to leave, just like she eventually did. I’m really surprised to see just how well Eleven handled the situation when she brings up her visit to Mama with Hopper. He has that “Oh Shit” look on his face, but she is totally cool. She knows that Hopper feels like garbage for hiding her mother’s existence, so instead of telling Hopper about her trip to Chicago she holds onto the power and only tells him about her trip to see Terry. She knows it will only upset Hopper and she stands to gain nothing by telling him so she doesn’t. She is officially a teenage girl, haha.

He-Has-Kids

Speaking of Eleven’s trip to Chicago, it was interesting to see how close Eleven came to becoming a ruthless killer. I love revenge stories so I was all for it. And I somehow forgot just how many people Eleven had already killed, so she has no problem killing people, but those have all been faceless goons who were threatening her and her friends. Every protagonist should have some kind of moral compass, otherwise they are an anti-hero, and we can really tell that Eleven is starting to understand the value of human life, she clearly knew right from wrong earlier, by refusing to kill the cat when Brenner tried to force her, but she would have been totally justified in killing the man who hurt her mother, who could really blame her? It wasn’t until Eleven saw the picture of the man’s children that she refused to kill him. She knows what it is like to grow up without parents, and even though this man isn’t innocent, his children are, and in some twisted way that only Eleven could completely understand, it was the right thing to do.

Jonathan and Nancy Can’t Hide It Any Longer

Nancy-Jon-Lusty

It was great to see Nancy and Jonathan do the deed, which I felt was a huge problem at the end of Season 1, even though Steve redeemed himself, Jonathan was the one Nancy should have ended up with, and I love how the show explained why they didn’t. Jonathan was preoccupied with Will.

Pull-Out-Sofa

There were quite a few moments in season 2 that made me laugh, mainly a lot of Dustin moments, but there were many others sprinkled in by several characters, but no joke was more perfect than the “pull out” joke the morning after Jonathan and Nancy boycotted the sofa bed. It was so perfect and I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s the kind of joke a young kid isn’t going to get and all the adults can still enjoy without having to really explain it.

Eleven and Mike’s Reunion

This was a very powerful moment, greatly amplified by the music. I love reunion scenes, for me they pack such an emotional weight, especially in this situation, before this moment, Mike had no idea where Eleven was or if she was even alive and Eleven has been dying to see Mike for a year, it’s just a perfect moment. If I had one negative it would be that it was easy to see coming, we know the episode structure so well by now that we know there would be a big reveal at the end of this episode to create a cliffhanger for the final episode to ensure the viewer can’t stop watching.  That doesn’t cheapen the reunion at all, I just wish it was a tad more surprising.

Eleven-Mike-Reunion

I would actually like to see Eleven and Mike get significant screen time together in Season 3, living a normal life. Eleven will probably be homeschooled for the rest of forever, but just seeing these two spend time together regularly will be great to watch, especially for Eleven. Millie’s performance in Season 2 was stupendous, I can’t believe how flawless her American accent is, she never slips up, even when she’s yelling at Hopper. I like how she’s gaining a new assortment of vocabulary while still remaining very naive and childlike. I think we can expect her to be almost up to speed by Season 3, maybe even acting almost normal for a kid her age, I just hope she never loses that innocence that makes her such a sympathetic protagonist, whom is really easy to root for.

The Snow Ball

Snow-Ball

It was a very nice final scene, we get to see a lot of characters come together. Lucas and Max, Will and the girl who cried at his funeral(I think) and Mike and Eleven, but it was Nancy swooping in to save Dustin that was especially nice.

Mike-and-Eleven

I have to say the song choice for Eleven’s entrance was perfect. “Every Breath You Take” by the Police is one of my favorite songs, I never seem to get tired of hearing it and I will sing along every time I hear it. And the lyrics fit so well with the relationship between Eleven and Mike, spending nearly all of the last year pining for each other, Eleven heard everything Mike said, every breath he takes, it’s a great choice and maybe the best use of this song in any movie ever, although I do love that scene in the Replacements featuring this song.

Drunk-Nancy

There is another song that plays during the scene when Jonathan brings Drunk-Nancy home and tucks her in (somehow doing so without alerting Nancy’s overprotective, but now seemingly laid back parents), it’s very soothing song and I’m always looking for new music to chill out to. The song was actually really difficult to find because it wasn’t part of the official Stranger Things soundtrack because it wasn’t composed specifically for Stranger Things. If you enjoyed the song too, here is the name of it: (Big Giant Circles: Outside The Realm.) Drunk-Nancy is the best Nancy, haha. I love how she sounds when she is talking to Steve in the bathroom. I wonder if she was actually drunk when they filmed this. I just realized that I don’t think Mike and Nancy share a line of dialogue in Season Two outside of Mike stealing money from Nancy’s piggybank, am I wrong about that? Please let me know if I am.

The Demo-Dogs

Demo-Dog

I loved hearing Dustin call them Demo-Dogs, because that was the name I gave them in my head while I was watching Season 2. But why are these different than the Demogorgon from season 1? It would appear that these Demogorgons are different because they are a hybrid of gestation inside human hosts. The first demogorgon was probably gestated in a different creature and produced the taller Demogorgon. If I had to guess about the reasoning for this change I would say it is because the first demogorgon could not be killed with bullets and Hopper needed to be able to fight off tons of them while 11 was distracted, so as a result the creators introduced smaller demogorgons who can’t take as much gunfire. If this is the case this means there must be more human hosts in the upside down then we first saw, but why were the all these Demo-Dogs the same size? Are these full-grown Demo-Dogs? Do they grow to full-size in a matter of days?

Demo-Dogs2

Why was the pollywog still tiny a year later, all it needed was nougat to turn into a demogorgon I guess, lol. It had a year to eat garbage, it should have been much bigger already.

Pollywog1

In one years time the Pollywog should have shed it’s skin many times, maybe it has been dormant this whole time. This isn’t a huge problem, and is likely just a symptom of having to push the story a year into the future to cover for the fact that these kids are all a year older.

Pollywog2
I’m not sure how much thought the Duffer Brothers put into the difference between the Demogorgon versions, because they said they wanted the Demogorgon in season 1 to be like Jaws, coming up grabbing people and dragging them back under, but instead of under water, down into the upside down. The first demogorgon had the ability to open portals, but in many instances these demo-dogs were forced to smash into glass in an attempt to get in, they clearly possess no intelligence and are almost like worker bees. I just have to ask why, why don’t these Demo-Dogs possess the same portal opening ability? Either they are a different breed or they simply haven’t reached the age in which that power develops along with their tails falling off and beginning to walk upright.

Jurassic Things

Jurassic-Things

I did enjoy how much of a Jurassic Park vibe Season 2 had. Go turn on the breakers and reset the system, yeah, pretty much Jurassic park, but I don’t mind, it’s a great homage. Basically the entire time they were trapped inside Hawkins Lab, it felt like they were avoiding raptors, haha. How the hell did Bob forget to bring the gun? How do you do that in that situation? Not that it would have saved him, but c’mon man.

The Upside Down Butt

Upside-Down-Butt

What do you think of those underground butts that shoot out the floating white flakes? Seems like that is just another plant in the upside down. Maybe there are versions of this above ground pointing upward and that is what is filling the Upside Down air with all these particles.

Eleven Learns to Fly

Eleven-Levitates

I knew that Eleven would likely have a levitation scene in Season 2, which was cool I just wish it was a little higher, maybe outside of the lift out in front of it between the lift and the gate. There was nothing wrong with this and it’s still impressive regardless of how high she levitated off the platform.

Double the Hands – Double the Damage

Both-Hands

I loved seeing her raise her other hand, I didn’t even think of that, it’s a very cool way to show her taking her powers to the next level. It was good to see Eleven gaining more control in her abilities, but it wasn’t just how much she was doing, she seemed to regain some of her regular strength afterwards and no longer seems to completely pass out after extensive use of her powers. And don’t think I didn’t notice the clear nod to Yoda when 008 made 011 move the train car.

Eleven-Both-Hands2

I think it’s safe to say that this is an iconic moment in the Stranger Things franchise. It closely mirrors Eleven’s stand against the Demogorgon in season one, especially with the Mind Flayer reaching out to her in the same way the Demogorgon did. I really wonder how much Stranger Things has left in the tank. The Duffer Brothers have said they plan to do 4, maybe 5 seasons, but no more after that. The show is so well written and the characters so well realized I think I’ll always enjoy it on some level, just make sure you enjoy it while it lasts because one day it will be over, and all we’ll have are the reruns, you know what I mean.

The Power Surge

power-surge

This is a great way to show just how much Eleven’s powers have increased, I would have liked to hear a news report the following day talking about how many people experienced the power surge, much like we heard about the power outages in season one on the night Will was kidnapped. You really have to ask yourself, what is the next level of Eleven’s power? What can they do with Eleven in Season 3 that they haven’t already done? The most obvious answer for me is actual flight. It would probably be very difficult for her to accomplish and may never be as smooth as the way superman flies, but I think it’s the next logical step.

Eleven Meets Her Mother

Eleven-and-Terry-In-Void

If I had one big problem with season 2, it would be when Eleven meets her mother. The moments they shared in the void were brief, but tremendous and they really amped me up for their actual meeting, but even though Terry is speaking a little now, she only really says the same sequence of words over and over again with occasional variations (according to Becky).

Terry-says-Jane

We only see Terry really acknowledge Eleven when they met in the void. It makes sense that Eleven’s reunion with Mike would be more powerful, because they have a history together and Eleven has never met her mother before, so in a way, it’s not really a reunion and was always doomed to be underwhelming, if only because of Terry’s condition.

The Look on Becky’s Face, Priceless

Becky

“Can you tell Terry I’m sorry for not believing her.”

“Stop Talking.”

The Blinking Lights in Terry’s Home

Mama

When Eleven started following the blinking lights around Terry’s house I immediately thought that some part of Terry was stuck in the upside down version of her house, because the same thing happened when Jonathan followed Joyce around their house while Joyce was in the upside down, but it doesn’t appear this was the case with Terry, but we can’t know for sure. The way the Ives’ meeting was setup, it could have only gone the way that it did, because Terry can’t really react.

Terry-with-Jane

I really wanted to see Terry come back online when Jane walked in the door, but now we know that her mental problems run much deeper than simply missing her daughter.

Young-Brenner

It appears that Terry is the way she is because Dr. Brenner used high voltage electricity to scramble her mind to the point that only a few random memories are allowed to bubble to the surface, but for some reason they only now bubble to the surface, just in time for season two. This must have been the event that occurred almost 5 (now 6) years ago which caused Terry to stop speaking, but the child actor they cast as young Eleven didn’t seem like she was 7 years old. This creates a conflict because if she needed to be 7 in that scene she would be old enough to remember her “sister” 008, but she likely doesn’t. It seems like the writers were stuck between a rock and a hard place here.

Hopper-Loves-Eleven

Part of me just doesn’t like that Eleven had more of a reunion with an unrelated “sister” than she did with her own mother, but it can’t be helped, I’ll just have to find enjoyment in her brief meeting with Terry in the void when Terry recognizes Jane. But Hopper’s relationship with Eleven is a worthy conciliation prize. The Duffer Brothers continue to use Terry Ives as a plot device. Although I’m sure on some level Terry got the reunion she had longed for, but by the end of Season 2 she is again cast into the shadows. It makes sense if the media attention is currently too hot for Hopper to do much with Eleven, maybe in one year’s time things will have cooled down and maybe by that time Terry will be speaking more and be able to be an actual parent for Jane. If nothing else, in season 3 I want to see Eleven taking frequent field trips into the void to interact with a version of her mother that can actually converse with Eleven, at least on some level.

Introducing Jane Hopper

Jane-Hopper

I never thought this could be a possibility, but I can’t say it’s a bad thing. I didn’t notice at first, but Terry’s name is on the certificate too, which is great, one day Terry will have some claim on her own daughter. Part of me wonders why the creators didn’t have Hopper pull the form completely out of the envelope though. We only see 3 lines, and that kind of bugs me and I think they could be hiding something here, but who knows. This is just me wishing really, but it would be really cool if Dr. Owens didn’t forge this birth certificate, but instead just found the original which was hidden away during the Brenner’s cover up all those years ago. I know that is very unlikely, but I would feel a lot more sure if we saw the birth date, and the date the form was printed, regardless of whether it was forged, etc. I’m not saying Eleven is Sarah, but that doesn’t mean Hopper couldn’t still be Jane’s father. It’s possible Hopper got drunk and knocked up Terry, and never knew she was pregnant. I don’t know, it’s wishful thinking, and very unlikely, he doesn’t need to be actually related to her to be a loving father figure, especially now that he has custody of her.

Eleven Learns About Sarah

Who-Is-Sarah

I did think it was kind of interesting that the creators made sure to include a conversation between Eleven and Hopper regarding his daughter Sarah. You’d think this would have come up already in the year they’ve spent together. If it does turn out that Hopper’s memories have been altered as I previously theorized then I think it’s still possible that Hopper’s daughter is still alive, and Dr. Brenner faked her death to kidnap her and she is now #012. Now that we know these kids all had different abilities, it would be a lot of fun trying to imagine what power Sarah presented that brought her to Brenner’s attention. Hey, what if Sarah is the kid that steals Mike away from Eleven? Just an idea.

Eleven is Sarah? Nope

As far as the possibility of Eleven being Sarah, nope, that ship has pretty much sailed, we know that Eleven was taken at birth so unless she was somehow given up for adoption and Hopper had previously adopted her, renaming her Sarah before she was kidnapped again. No way, way too complicated. I can admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong on that one.

young-008-and-011

I did think it was kind of funny that young Eleven had blonde hair though, but her eyes looked brown, so yeah, that theory is dead in the water. I love how my theories get popular just in time to be proven wrong, life is funny sometimes. Still pretty strange how both Terry’s and Hopper’s timelines lined up like that, it makes me wonder if the Duffer Brother had watched my theory video and were they like “Did we mean to do that? No, well good it’s unintentionally misleading, this guy’s gonna look stupid.”

How Do We Get Back To the Upside Down in Season 3?

Mind-Flayer

Now that the gate to the Upside Down is closed how can the show continue? Will there be a new portal that opens up? I think the only way back is that Eleven accidentally bumps into another creature while exploring the void and opens up a new portal somewhere outside the Lab Facility, but now she knows she has the ability to immediately close the gate again, so I’m thinking the most likely plot for Season 3 involves something escaping into Hawkins before she can close the gate and they need to track it down before it kills everyone. The problem with keeping the Mind Flayer intact is that, what is to stop the Mind Flayer from infecting Will again, why wouldn’t season 3 play out exactly like season 2 did? That will be the challenge for the Duffer Brothers. If you’ve got an idea on how the Mind Flayer could find it’s way back into Hawkins’ please let me know in the comments below.

The Storm Above Hawkins Never Actually Happens in Season 2

Stormy-Skyline-Stranger-Things

The scene with the boys on their bikes riding toward the storm above Hawkins is not actually in season 2, unless I missed it, but I doubt it, I guess we could assume that will be a scene in Season 3, which does peak my interest, but it’s on the poster for season 2. This kinda feels like a fail to me, don’t show things that aren’t even in the show or movie. It would be one thing if it was just a poster, that could be nothing more than relevant items photoshopped together, but they released a teaser of the boys riding toward a violent storm that never actually occurs, that kind of stuff just bugs me. Does that bother any body else? It doesn’t ruin the season or anything, but it’s kind of a bummer.

The Stuff I Got Right

Hopper is Eleven’s Handler

Hive Mind

Baby Slug = Pollywog

Eleven will Levitate

Eleven Vs Will (Will did become an unwitting villain so they were technically on opposite sides but never had a showdown)

The Stuff I Got Wrong

Eleven is Both Jane and Sarah

Thessalhydra Uprooted Itself

Season 2 is Season 1 Upside Down

Hydra Uses Telekinesis to Defy Gravity

Will is going to develop telekinesis

Will is going to kidnap the Pollywog and Return it to the Upside Down

The Death Mist did not pass over the pumpkins, but underneath them

And the Leg-Like Object outside the Byers front door was just vines hanging off their roof.

The Stuff Not Yet Proven Right or Wrong

Hopper’s Memories are Delusions

Terry is the Monster

Ghost Inside the Monster

Bitchin

There were a great many specifics in Season 2 that I got wrong, but that’s mainly just me trying to create fully fleshed-out theories based on quick glimpses in trailers, but that’s gonna happen with predictions. Who could have predicted that Punk-Eleven would be a thing? Bitchin!

I’m working on a couple new theory videos based on Season 2, so keep an eye out for those videos, in the mean time, tell me what you thought of season 2. Do you agree with my points? What did you enjoy most in season 2? Let me know in the comments below!

There are Now 17 Episodes of Stranger Things to Enjoy! Rejoice!

Calvin
I'm interested in anything out of the ordinary. Usually anything science-fiction-related and the darker the better, but I also really like positive character growth and emotional arcs in storytelling. I'm also fascinated by the unknown, I like trying to piece the whole picture together, which is why I enjoy making Theories. I will post more on PlanetCalvin.com than on YouTube, because it's faster, so keep coming back for more!