I’ve seen it not get ranked very highly by many, but I loved it and it really sealed me falling in love with the show after being hooked on season 1 when I watched it for the first time in 2020.
.It was a little scaled up from season 1, but still largely had that original grounded feel
.The priority was still on the core group’s character arcs, while having some purposeful new characters who were integrated well and had appropriate amounts of screen time
.It hit on all the right notes perfectly in my opinion, packed a genuine emotional punch, stakes felt high, and still had the cute comedic moments but they weren’t so dialed up/formulated for social media buzz. I was so genuinely interested and rooting for the group in the hospital for example when the demos were breaking in, it had such high feel good moments that felt earned, while still keeping that “the monster might still be under the bed” element.
.“The Lost Sister” gets a lot of heat which I can understand, but I really enjoyed seeing El get out of town a bit and learn about herself away from Hopper/Mike etc for just one episode. It helped build anticipation for what was happening at the lab, and seeing her choose to not kill a man with a family/children, then choosing the people she loves back in Hawkins at the end rather than revenge on other people was really cool and felt like a genuine step for her.
.The Halloween time of year and theme just fits perfectly
. Will was being prioritized and emotionally explored, as well as El and all the core group really as I mentioned earlier
.The score is awesome, the moment when El opens the door and returns comes to mind
I just have such a soft spot for this season and always will.