2x01 Chapter One: MADMAX

[8.0/10] What I like about this season premiere is that it does a good amount of both picking up where we left off on a number of things, exploring after images of the events of last season in meaningful ways, while also introducing plenty of new elements to pique our interest and throw a monkey wrench into the world of Hawkins and the world of the show.

The most noteworthy element that the show picks up on from last season is, not surprisingly, Will Byers. I love that Stranger Things takes the time here to check in with how he’s doing, his lingering PTSD, after going through such a traumatic experience. Will was more object than subject in the last season, which is understandable, but that just makes it more advisable to explore things from his perspective here, and this episode does that well.

For one thing, he’s having flashbacks or visions where he feels transported back to the Upside Down. That’s a nice way to communicate the idea of PTSD in a way that also fits within the universe of the show. The notion of a storm brewing in that zone, one d different and containing new creatures from the last time we visited that shadow realm, does a good job of showing that the scars and connections to that experience aren’t gone yet, but that there’s new wrinkles to come.

Likewise, I like the introduction of Paul Reiser as a new government scientist/physician type, one who seems much warmer and friendlier than Matthew Modine’s character last season, but who is suspect merely for his connection to the building and people who caused so much trouble last year. The idea that Will’s still being studied and checked, but that Joyce and Hopper are understandably reluctant, is fertile territory to explore.

More to the point, I like the way that Will is struggling with how people treat him after what happened. The “zombie boy” note in his locker is especially cruel, but I like the wide berth everyone gives him and how much he seems to bristle against it. Joyce is understandably extra cautious with him after losing and recovering him. Will’s friends include him in everything but worry about him. And Jonathan gives him an encouraging, albeit a little overly didactic speech on why being a “freak” is a good thing, not a bad one.

Some of this is heavily signposted, but on the whole, I’m just glad to see Stranger Things showing the aftereffects on the middle-schooler who went through so much last season rather than pretending that it’s all done and everything’s fine.

Likewise, I appreciate the other two areas where we pick up almost directly from last season. The first is with Barb. I appreciate not only that Nancy and Steve still go have dinner with Barb’s parents, but that her mom and dad are still clinging to hope, selling their house to afford a private detective they think can bring their little girl back. Barb was kind of a forgotten element last season, so the fact that, again, the show isn’t just moving on, but rather showing parents clinging to false hope, paired with Nancy’s guilt over her friend, is a really nice line to explore.

In the same vein, I love love love the reveal that not only is Eleven alive (something last season’s finale hinted at), but that Hopper is basically her dad now. Their relationship is quite cute in the snippet we see. Plus, there’s something that makes so much sense about it, given Hopper’s loss of a daughter and Eleven’s messed up paternal situation, to where the two could be good for each other. I’m on board!

Then come the new additions. Most noteworthy is Bob, Joyce’s new boyfriend. He’s someone she knew in high school (when he was a nerd), who’s definitely head over heels for Joyce, but also kind of lame (see: his affection for Kenny Rogers and Mr. Mom, mortal sins the eyes of tis pop culturally reverent show). It seems plain that he’s a mild obstacle between the inevitable coming together of Joyce and Hopper, but Sean Astin makes him an enjoyable premise, and 8Stranger Things* has surprised me on that mark before.

Case in point, Nancy and Steve are still together, despite the fact that Nancy still definitely feels an attachment to Jonathan Byers, trying to convince him to come out to a Halloween party. It’s weird, but Steve’s slowly become one of my favorite characters, if only because I took him for a one-dimensional jerk at first, and while he’s still not a great person (see: his resistance to the dinner with Barb’s mom and dad), he seems to genuinely care about Nancy and largely mean well. He’s more complicated in terms of good and bad than pretty much anyone else on the show, which makes him compelling as a character. I still think Nancy ultimately ends up with Jonathan (maybe just because Steve goes off to college), but for once, I like what we see on the teen-focused part of the show.

Speaking of puppy love, I also like the advent of the titular Max, a cool girl who’s good at video games and rides skateboards and is sharp enough to not only know that our favorite quarter of young boys is creeping on her but also how to tell them to buzz off. The budding rivalry between Dustin and Lucas is cute (presaged by their rivalry for the cartoon princess of Dragon’s Lair), and Max is an interesting addition to the kids’ milieu.

Otherwise, we get the introduction of Max’s brother (stepdad? dad?) with whom she has some issues but who earns the hoots of the local popular girl set. We get Joyce having some of her own PTSD over the phone ringing. We get Mike acting out a bit, bristling at his parents, and missing Eleven. And we get the science teacher up to his usual dorky bits. Oh yeah, and we get the hint that there’s others like Eleven out there who are using their powers for, shall we say, less than upstanding purposes.

All-in-all, it’s the right mix of old and new, exploring what’s come before while pointing the way toward plenty of interesting things that might come down the pyke. It’s a stellar start to the new season.