Dear Void,

Let’s all collectively acknowledge that Stranger Things 2 is narratively flabbier than the first season. Eleven’s side quest serves primarily to set up future seasons and artificially delays her reunion with Mike et al, and I am not okay with that. The side quest is also unsatisfying because the love and wonder that has been poured into the Hawkins nerd world is nowhere to be seen in depicting Kali’s Detroit gang. For the sake of  future seasons, someone please tell the Duffers that punks are people, too.  Similarly Nancy and Jonathan go to find the (otherwise absent though allegedly effective) kooky journalist so that they can supposedly bring #justiceforbarb, but really it’s so they have an extracurricular bonding experience (what, defeating the Demogorgon wasn’t enough?).

That all said, the rest of the season is both tubular and bitchin’. Specifically:

I love Hopper and Eleven as a profoundly dysfunctional family unit of two utterly broken people.

I love Hopper supporting Joyce through her grief.

I just love Hopper.

UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT: Bob was okay, but I’m glad he died so no one I’m more emotionally invested in (i.e. Hopper) had to.

I love Joyce having to be supernaturally strong to torment the shadow monster out of Will.

I love Jonathan clinging on to Nancy and weeping because of what is happening to his brother.

I love Steve Harrington doing his gosh darn hardest to keep the kids out of trouble and/or alive.

I love Steve and Dustin especially, and that buddy comedy is the only spin off I want to see from this series.

I love Karen getting to briefly flirt with the sexy stranger (hey, she doesn’t know Bill is a hate-crimey creep – and no he does not get a pass on being awful just because his dad is awful, too).

I HAD DIGDUG ON MY COMPUTER AT HOME AND YOU CAN BET YOUR REMAINING REAMS OF DOT MATRIX PRINTER PAPER I WAS GOOD AT IT.

I love Nancy taking the gun, again (I don’t love Nancy telling Dustin girls his age are ‘dumb’ just to make him feel better about himself, though).

I love Dustin being vindicated by Dart’s appreciation of nougat.

I love Dustin swearing up a storm.

I love the kids’ reunions and innocent lil’ smoochfaces.

I love the understated affection between various characters, and the importance of just holding hands or being in the presence of someone.

I love Eleven (or are we supposed to call her Jane now?) and Hopper basically descending into hell so she can save the world with a jedi mind trick her big sister taught her.

Ugh, it’s all just so good and pure and true and oh look my life is now basically watching this show on a constant loop.

Fireball. Run. Eggos. Freak. Snowball.

Fireball. Run. Eggos. Freak. Snowball.

Fireball. Run. Eggos. Freak. Snowball…