We want to know more.Ĥ. We know Dr Owens is evil because he's portrayed by the actor who played Burke in Aliens The actress is officially credited as “Young Kali” – hinting, perhaps, that there will also be an “Old Kali”. The blood dripping from her nose confirms Kali possesses powers similar to those of Eleven – while the "008" tattooed to her wrist implied she had been part of the same MK Ultra-esque covert programme at Hawkins National Laboratory. He crashes to a halt as they zoom into the night. Their A-Team style van appears to be cornered, until passenger-seat occupant "Kali" – is it significant she shares her name with the Hindu death goddess? – performs a Jedi mind trick causing the cop on their tail to believe the tunnel into which they have disappeared is collapsing. Things go a bit Lost Boys as a cold open tracks a gang of snotty, tall-haired punks in Depeche Mode leathers leading police on a merry chase through Pittsburgh. We love Stranger Things for the monsters and Eighties references – but also for these moments of plain-spun, unforced humanity. "Dinner first – then dessert," says Hopper as he comes home to find Eleven hasn’t bothered with her supper.
They make for an agreeably unlikely double–act – the hard-bitten police chief with the soft exterior, and the determined child often overwhelmed by the confusing world in which she finds herself. This time, people are watching and waiting. Twelve months ago Stranger Things crept up on us (much like the extra-planar monster hiding in the woods outside Hawkins, Indiana). Last week's " final trailer", meanwhile, garnered an incredible 12 million YouTube hits over the course of a few days – confirming Stranger Things as belonging in the same popularity league as Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
STRANGER THINGS SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 RECAP SERIES
After all, what other TV series had the audacity – or the mass appeal – to drop its first teaser snippet during Super Bowl half time? If anything, Stranger Things 2 (the retro sequel title a nod to the show's Eighties setting) arrives under a weight of crippling expectation.
Second time around, the element of surprise is obviously absent. Stranger Things became a wildfire sensation when it debuted on Netflix last year, its runaway popularity catching even the streaming giant off guard. The Duffer Bothers’s earnest mash-up of Stephen King, John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg and The Goonies spoke to audiences jaded by a dark and self-serious television landscape – with the return of Winona Ryder an additional lure to ageing Gen Xers and a lack of fashionable irony appealing to Millennials.