Stranger Things recap: Big moments from the first two seasons

Season 2 recap

Stranger Things 2 introduces us to a gang of rebel types which includes experiment number Eight, but she comes up later this season.

While Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will are reunited at the arcade, Will gets another flashback or glimpse into the upside down and doesn’t seem to want to share it with anyone. Back at school, we meet Billy and his skater-girl step sister Max who have moved into Hawkins, Indiana.

We learn that Will is seeing Dr. Owens to help figure out what these visions are and to help him cope after his trauma from season 1 and that Eleven his alive! She has been living in a secret cabin in the woods, being looked after by Hopper. However, being in the cabin has been rough, as she misses Mike and the relationship they had formed throughout season 1.

During the boys’ time trick or treating with Max, Will has another encounter with the upside down and these are happening more and more as time goes on. We get a clearer view of the bigger, more menacing monster that is looming over Hawkins. Dustin finds a little creature in his trash can and of course, brings it to school.

After it escapes the classroom they are keeping it in, Will finds it which triggers another “vision” into the upside down. Taking advice from Bob (Joyce’s new boyfriend), he stands his ground and begs it to go away, but it ends up forcing itself into Will’s body, like some kind of virus.

Everybody starts to learn that Will is connected to this “shadow monster” and through some strange drawings figure out that there is a set of tunnels in the upside down running underneath the ground in Hawkins. In the meantime, Eleven finds how to get to her mother’s (Terry Ives) house through her powers and visits.

Learning about what her mother went through and a possible “sister”, or another experiment, she heads out to find her. We then see number Eight again, named Kali. The experience with the gang allows Eleven to harness her powers to their fullest potential and makes her realize that her friends and family need her back home.

Eleven returns home by surprise and the gang realizes that they need to get to Will without the shadow monster knowing.

Through Will tapping morse code, they learn they need to close the gate to the upside down to stop the monster. Joyce, Jonathan, and Nancy take Will to the cabin in the woods to burn the monster out of Will, using its dislike of heat to their advantage. Hopper takes Eleven to the gate and she closes it using her new-found strength.

Once all is said and done, Hopper gets an official birth certificate for Eleven, now “Jane Hopper”, from Dr. Owens.

We then get to see the Snow Ball dance that Mike promised he would go to with Eleven in season 1. The pair dances together and we get to also see Max and Lucas dance together as their relationship had developed as well over the season. While everything is fine in the real world in Hawkins, it doesn’t seem to be good overall as we get one last view of the shadow monster, or the Mind Flayer, hovering over Hawkins Middle in the upside down.

Want to see a video of the Stranger Things cast sharing their recap with added clips? Check out this video from Netflix below:

Are you doing your own Stranger Things re-watch to prepare for the new season? Let us know in the comments!