The end of Stranger Things S2 slays whatever early-season nitpicks existed

Enlarge / It took a while to get all these folks in the same place fighting the same battle, but boy was it satisfying... (credit: Netflix)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Stranger Things 2 through episode nine. You can read our review of season one or episodes 1-3 and episodes 4-6 elsewhere on the site.

If Strangers Things 2 had a traditional TV broadcast schedule, we'd be discussing episode 3 this week. Instead, visions of tweens dancing at arms' length and more darkness looming over Hawkins will be the last glimpses of Eleven, Hopper, and co. until at least 2018. (Yes, the Duffer Bros. have already discussed a third season with a similar time jump and a desire to do a fourth and final go-round.)

Haters, lamenting some lack of urgency or happenings in the early part of Stranger Things 2, may hear such news and immediately sigh. Why do we need more Stranger Things (or Star Wars, Star Trek, beloved series X), they ask? Based on the final trio of this Stranger Things sequel, even familiar stories in a beloved universe can deliver the things that made them beloved in the first place. The Duffer Bros. and their collaborators have, once again, shown they know how to stick a landing that's packed with both action and feeling.

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