‘Stranger Things 2’ is a scary good follow-up

The problem that usually comes with creating something as warmly received and critically acclaimed as "Stranger Things" is that any and all attempts at a follow-up would inevitably be met with a heightened level of scrutiny.

Thanks to its meticulously crafted cocktail of nostalgia, horror, and humor, audiences hungrily gobbled up the first season of "Stranger Things" like a psychokinetic girl gorging on a box of Eggos. However, in film and television, success quickly becomes a double-edged sword, as the possibility of falling short of expectations tends to increase exponentially with each subsequent installment.

Fortunately, while "Stranger Things 2" offers more of the same elements that fans and critics enjoyed about its predecessor, creators Matt and Ross Duffer do things differently enough to not only justify the sequel’s existence, but also cement the fact that it’s a story worth telling.

Set about a year after the catastrophic events that befell the otherwise quiet suburb of Hawkins, Indiana, "Stranger Things 2" sees our protagonists licking their wounds, mourning their losses, and struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their day-to-day lives. We get a glimpse of the various ways they strive to cope (and, to some extent, live in denial) after their terrifying ordeal with the Demogorgon.

However, it soon becomes apparent that the horrors from the Upside Down are anything but gone. As new characters enter the story and more details surrounding the Hawkins incident come to light, things rapidly take a turn for the stranger — and it’s up to the survivors of the first season to prevent the ominously looming, otherworldly darkness from consuming their small town.

"Stranger Things 2" has the rather unenviable task of picking up and resolving dangling plot threads from the first season, and it does so with remarkable efficiency. Admittedly, "Stranger Things 2" starts a bit slow, but it manages to escape the jaws of tedium by shining the spotlight equally on its charming and compelling leads. Here, previously underdeveloped players have their own (rewarding) story arcs, fleshing them out and giving them bigger roles to play in the overall narrative.

This is especially the case for Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), who, after spending most of the first season lost in the Upside Down, serves as the central character of the sequel. Fan-favorite character Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) also resurfaces — to absolutely no one’s surprise, let’s be honest — this time embarking on a journey that takes her to rather unfamiliar territory.

By the end of "Stranger Things 2", you will have a difficult time identifying which of the main cast members you aren’t particularly attached to, simply because the show does such a fantastic job of making you care about all of them.

There's something strange about Will.

"Stranger Things 2" combines pop culture references, careful character development, spine-chilling sights and sounds, and a dash of mystery, ultimately succeeding in becoming more than the sum of its parts. Arriving just in time for Halloween and continuing the trend of high-quality, ‘80s-inspired horror productions, this show definitely needs to be on your holiday binge-watch list.

Without a doubt, the scariest thing about ‘Stranger Things 2’ would be missing out on it. — AT, GMA News