The Best Internet Reactions To ‘Stranger Things 2’

Stranger Things turned the cultural zeitgeist upside down when it hit Netflix last summer, proving itself a surprise cultural phenomenon with the psionically-gifted and Eggo-loving Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) emerging as the show’s breakout character. The show’s sophomore season, Stranger Things 2, was highly anticipated by fans ahead of its October 27 streaming release — and with many watchers having already completed their binge watch, they wasted no time telling the internet how they felt about Stranger Things 2.

If you haven’t made your way through all nine episodes, tread lightly: there are spoilers ahead.

Turning Things Up To Eleven

Stranger Things 2 saw the long-awaited return of the enigmatic Eleven, who seemingly met her end in the final moments of last season while sacrificing herself for her newfound friends, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) as they attempted to free their party member Will (Noah Schnapp) from the clutches of the Upside Down and the Demogorgon. 

Stranger Things 2 revealed Eleven to have survived the ordeal at Hawkins Middle School, with the superpowered girl being secretly tucked away by Hawkins Police Chief Hopper (David Harbour). Over the course of the season Eleven journeys outside of Hawkins in search of answers about her invalid mother (Aimee Mullins) and in the controversial episode 7 discovers her “sister,” Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), another numerically-marked one of the “gifted” who was subject to experimentation by “Papa,” Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine). 

Kali sets Eleven up with a new, MTV-inspired punk look, making it all that more surprising when El finally reunited with beau Mike, who spent 353 days trying to contact his long lost friend. 

What About Bob?

Stranger Things 2 introduced a handful of new characters — zoomer Max (Sadie Sink) and her abusive older half-brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery), Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) and Kali’s group of punk outcasts — but it’s the unassuming Bob “the brain” Newby (Sean Astin) who quickly proved to be the new “Barb” (Shannon Purser) in more ways than one. 

Loving new boyfriend to the perennially strung out Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Bob worked at Radio Shack and had a penchant for brain teasers — skills that made him an invaluable tool in helping rescue Will, and all of Hawkins, from the horrors of the newly risen “Demodogs.” Bob tragically met his end helping Joyce, Will and Hopper escape from a locked down lab being overrun by the man-eating creatures, with his death giving rise to the #JusticeForBob hashtag (a play on the rallying cries of #JusticeForBarb). 

Bob could somehow return according to one Stranger Things co-creator, but for now, fans are paying their respects to the fallen superhero. 

MADMAX

Generally speaking, fans seem to be less receptive of Max, the newest member of the party. A skateboarding transplant from California, Max’s abusive step-brother Billy proves to be a new foil for the boys’ group and rival Steve (Joe Keery). She’s at the center of a love triangle between Lucas and the growling Dustin, and the dynamic she brought to the group wasn’t overlooked by a standoffish Mike or an even more apathetic Eleven. 

Will You Give Will A Break?

Poor Will can’t catch a break. After being returned from the Upside Down in season 1, the youngest Byers boy coughed up a little souvenir of his time in the alternate reality: a Demogorgon “tadpole” that Dustin would come to be affectionately call “Dart.” His time on the back of milk boxes nearly ruined his life, too: some of his classmates call him “Zombie Boy” for “returning from the dead,” and as of season 2, Will has to contend with possession and the far-reaching Mind Flayer. 

Both seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix.