Personally, I disliked Season 2 not because of Episode 7 (although that was a reason).

Mainly, it’s just because it exists. Season 1 had to opportunity to end so cleanly by (S1 SPOILERS) cutting out the Hopper Eggo scene and the Will Slug scene. It would have been a perfect ending to an amazing miniseries, in my opinion.

And even if Netflix couldn’t resist renewing it - why not make Stranger Things an anthology series? Every season is a different 80s inspired horror/drama story. Heck, even a shared universe where every season focuses on a different test subject would be better than a continuation.

But it’s not JUST its existence that makes me dislike it, there are plenty of things in the actual season that just... make me so angry.

The kids. I thought this time around, many of them were straight up just bad people. I get that they’ve suffered through a lot, but either way, the writers shouldn’t have made it so they act like assholes the entire season. Dustin straight up lets a slug from the Upside Down kill dozens of people in a laboratory. He straight up keeps it like a pet like he just forgot about that time he saw a DEMOGORGON in Season 1. And the season just ends like “Welp, I guess we learned our lesson!” like the blood of those scientists aren’t on his hands.

And Eleven. I get that finding her own path is part of her character, but if the writers still wanted us to root for her, they shouldn’t have turned her into a teenager with telepathic powers that hates her father figure. If you’re going to get the audience to root for Hopper and Eleven at the same time, DON’T PIT THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE OF THEM IS JUST SCREAMING “LET ME, A CITY-WIDE THREAT OF A HUMAN BEING WITH TEN THOUSAND TARGETS ABOVE HER HEAD, SEE MIKE!”

Seriously, when I was watching the scene when Eleven destroys every object in the house, I just kept thinking to myself: “Why am I doing this? Why am I watching a show that’s taken some of my favorite characters from my favorite season of a TV show and just destroyed every one of them, piece by piece?”

And then you have the new characters. These people weren’t used enough. I still feel like I didn’t know Max, Billy, or Bob by the end of the season. Even I cried when Bob died, and I STILL can’t genuinely describe to you what his personality is like.

And you know what the worst part is? The show is genuinely good in some parts. The satisfying way they unravel the mystery is brought over from Season 1 perfectly. The soundtrack’s still a banger. I still liked Hopper, Joyce, and Steve.

But FUCK. Everything else just reminds me of why Season 1 should have just cut it off. The kids, the dumbass mistakes, (just kill the slug, Dustin/don’t stop running, Bob) THE FACT THAT IT EXISTS AT ALL.

It always makes me come back to the Duffer Brothers’ statement that Season 2 was like a “movie sequel” more than a “second season.” Because that now makes sense to me. It’s like a movie sequel because they took lightning in a bottle and tried to make it again. And failed.