Get a quick refresher on ‘Stranger Things’ before season 2 debuts this Friday on Netflix…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
It’s kind of hard to believe that it’s been 15 months since the first season of ‘Stranger Things’ landed on Netflix but now we are just days away from the second installment of the series being released.
‘Stranger Things’ was a series that gained in popularity mostly due to word of mouth from reviews and interest over social media but now the second season might be one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2017.
That being said because most people binge watched ‘Stranger Things’ season one over a very short period of time more than a year ago, it might be tough to remember what exactly happened in those final few episodes as we prepare to watch the second installment this week.
So allow us to give you a quick and dirty refresher course for ‘Stranger Things’ to get ready for season 2 on October 27!
Will Byers Is Rescued
Following a season long journey to find Will Byers after he went missing in the pilot episode, Chief Jim Hopper and his mother Joyce Byers embark on a mission to retrieve him from an alternate universe affectionately called ‘The Upside Down’.
Hopper first encountered the Upside Down after breaking into the Hawkins National Laboratory while looking for answers about Will’s disappearance. After learning that Will is trapped there, Hopper takes Joyce and breaks into the facility once again with the intention of using the gaping hole opened to the Upside Down as a gateway to the other dimension.
Unfortunately, Hopper and Joyce get busted before they can even get near the place.
So that forces Hopper to make some sort of deal with the head of the laboratory, Dr. Martin Brenner, which seems to include a promise that they will not reveal anything they see while on this perilous journey into the Upside Down. Add to that, it appears Hopper gives Dr. Brenner the location where he can find Eleven, who escaped the facility at the start of the season.
Hopper and Joyce then venture into the Upside Down where they eventually track down Will, who is comatose with a giant snake like creature gestating down his throat. Hopper and Joyce perform CPR to help revive Will before running back out the same way they came to escape the alternate dimension and return to our reality.
The Demogorgon Defeated
When Eleven ripped a hole between our world and the Upside Down thanks to the constant torture she endured at the hands of Dr. Brenner, a creature also escaped that kept slipping back and forth between the two universes. The kids in the story — Mike, Lucas and Dustin — called this creature the Demogorgon, which was the name of the scariest monster they ever faced while playing “Dungeons and Dragons”.
The Demogorgon was responsible for kidnapping Will and killing poor Barb and that put the creature right in the crosshairs of a lot of people in Hawkins, Indiana. While Will survived, sadly Barb was killed but her death won’t be forgotten because her parents will play a major role in ‘Stranger Things’ season 2.
Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler concocted a plan straight out of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ where they would set a trap for the Demogorgon by luring him out of the Upside Down and then killing him once he emerged in our world. Unfortunately despite their best efforts — and an assist from Steve Herrington with a spiked baseball bat — they still can’t kill the creature.
Meanwhile at the Hawkins Middle School, Dr. Brenner arrives to retrieve Eleven, but when his solders and scientists try to grab her, she goes nuclear and kills all of them — presumable popping their brains like popcorn overcooked in the microwave. As all of them fall down and die, they bleed out on the floor and it just so happens that blood is what draws the Demogorgon out of the Upside Down.
When the monster appears, the Demogorgon lays waste to the rest of the laboratory staff including Dr. Brenner — or at least it seems to kill him — before turning its attention to the children. Mike, Lucas and Dustin try to fight back by firing at the monster with a wrist rocket but they can’t do much damage.
Instead, it takes Eleven to use all of her powers — after saying a heartfelt goodbye to her friends and sharing a kiss with Mike — that she decides to deal with the Demogorgon once and for all. Eleven literally rips the creature to shreds but while doing so she also seems to disappear back into the Upside Down simultaneously.
Mike and the boys are brokenhearted to watch Eleven sacrifice herself to defeat the Demogorgon but it’s safe to say they’ll be reunited.
Prelude to Part 2
After Will is rescued from the Upside Down, his friends pay him a visit in the hospital where they are all finally reunited. Meanwhile, Hopper leaves shortly after taking Will and Joyce to the medical facility and it’s there where he’s picked up by an unmarked black sedan and voluntarily gets into the back seat.
Judging by the ominous nature of this pick up it would seem Hopper’s deal with the devils at the Hawkins Laboratory may cost him a lot more than just secrecy.
One month later, the story picks up at Christmas time as everyone is excited to move forward after a harrowing few weeks in the fall.
Nancy gives Jonathan Byers a brand new camera (after Steve broke his original one earlier in the season) as a present but she’s now reunited with Steve after they nearly split up. Nancy and Jonathan seemed to be getting closer with each other while trying to rescue his little brother and find her best friend Barb, but ultimately she still chose Steve in the end.
Back at the Byers’ house, the family is about to sit down to dinner when Will excuses himself to go to the bathroom. He begins coughing violently and then hacks up a slug like creature that looks like the baby of the snake that was living in his throat when Hopper and Joyce found him in the Upside Down.
Will then sees the entire bathroom flash to the Upside Down for a few moments before turning back into his normal reality. Obviously, Will has returned from the Upside Down but this alternate universe is far from finished with him.
He returns to the table for dinner but Will’s long stay in the Upside Down will play a huge part in season 2.
And finally we find Hopper at a Christmas party where he’s gathering some food that he claims he’s taking home but in reality he goes to a spot in the woods just outside the Hawkins Lab facility. Hopper opens up the lid to a box in the middle of the woods and places the food along with two Eggo waffles on top.
Eggos just happen to be Eleven’s favorite food so whether she’s returned from the Upside Down or just reaching over from the other side, it sure seems like Hopper is keeping her fed.
Now with that said, you’re ready for ‘Stranger Things’ season 2!
https://youtu.be/vgS2L7WPIO4
