 Welcome back to Comic-GunTV, we're all geek culture collides. If you're new to the channel, make sure and hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on future videos. Stranger Things 2 hit Netflix today and HOLY HELL! Right off the bat, we know this season of Stranger Things is going to be different. We open on a robbery in which the police begin chasing a van full of criminals and one of the group has the same powers as 11. D is number 8. Will mysteriously begins hallucinating that he's back in the Upside Down. A couple of new kids come to town. The girl's name is Max. Will's mom now has a romantic relationship with Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy. Will has to go into a facility for tests now since his trip into the Upside Down with the sheriff and his mom. Paul Reiser makes a rare appearance as Dr. Owens and damn he's really showing his age. He's almost unrecognizable since he's completely grey now and about 20-30 pounds overweight. In fact, the last time I saw Paul on TV was during the short-lived The Paul Reiser Show back in 2011 which only lasted about 7 episodes. We find out that the portals to the Upside Down are still opening and it's up to the US Department of Energy to continue to burn them so they don't grow out of control. It turns out the sheriff's been taking care of 11. In episode 2 we get a flashback of how 11 got out of the Upside Down and how the government is after her telling people that she's a part of a Russian attack. It appears that Elle and the sheriff have been developing a father-daughter relationship and they're both struggling with it. The back and forth between the boys during the costume scene is priceless and the revelation that no one else dressed up is something most of us nerds and geeks can relate to. Then is it just me or does there appear to be something going on between the sheriff and Will's mom? Like a potential romantic relationship or possibly a past romantic relationship? It's made abundantly clear that the new girl Max's older brother or stepbrother in this case is a complete ass hat. He's very controlling of her and we discover why. His father is very abusive towards him and so he takes it out on his step sister. Is it just me or does 11 look like a very young Elizabeth Perkins? You guys remember her right? She played Wima on the Flintstones alongside John Goodman as Fred. She also played Susan Lawrence in the Tom Hanks movie Big and Dory Walker in the 1994 Miracle on 34th Street remake. Look at them side by side. They're virtually identical. Dustin finds a small creature from the upside down in his garbage can that he takes home as a pet and names D'Artagnan due to them both enjoying the three Musketeers bar. It's revealed that Elle has been living with the sheriff for 326 days. Well not really living with the sheriff. More like living at one of his cabins apparently. They fixed up together and he's letting her live there while he lives at his place but still travels there to make sure she's okay and bring her food and help out. And then Shawn Aston. Shawn Aston plays the perfect stereotypical geeky mom's boyfriend. You can tell he was probably the school nerd as a kid. He does seem to genuinely care about Joyce and the kids too. Having a heartfelt talk with Will. However his accent doesn't really match with where he's from. He carries more of a Chicago accent even though he grew up with Joyce and Hopper. However it is pretty clear that even though Hawkins is a fictional town that it's located in the northern part of Indiana. Aston really lets his acting capability shine through. It amazes me that the majority of his work lately has been in the way of voiceovers. He's been playing Raphael in Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since 2012 and he's been the voice of Billy Batson and Shazam in Justice League Action since 2016. Not to mention video game voiceovers like Hercules and Kingdom Hearts, Lord of the Rings games, Minecraft and LEGO Dimensions. It astonishes me that Hollywood doesn't give him more mainstream roles. Paul Reiser also gives an awesome performance. His portrayal of Owens, a Department of Energy executive is outstanding. He plays the asshole role perfectly. He pretty much channels his character of Carter Burke from the 1986 Aliens. It's made pretty clear that both L and Mike have more than just friendly feelings toward each other as L gets jealous when she sees Max talking to him. I have to say that the best scene in the entire season was when the scientists begin burning the upside down tunnels and Will has an attack. Yeah, that face he makes in the scene? That's exactly the same face I make when, well, you know, this season becomes a journey for L who not only finds her mom but also tracks down 8. The girl from the first episode who has the same powers as L? Well, it actually turns out 8 doesn't have the same powers as L, but rather creates hallucinations. And both 11 and 8 consider each other sisters, with 8 being more of an older sister to 11 as there's an age difference there. Am I the only one that during the gas station robbery scene, where the music was playing over it, that it reminded of shampoos we're in trouble? L returns to help her friends and it's revealed that Will is a spy for the upside down creatures. Well, spy is a bit harsh. He became possessed by the main shadow creature. Dr. Owens turns out to be not as big of an asshole as originally thought. He actually helps Bob and the others try to get to safety, but sadly we end up saying goodbye to Bob. Maybe Chunk already got to the police. Maybe Chunk is dead. Don't say that. Never say that. Goonies never say die. Goonies may never say die, but they sure do die epically. I half expected Sloth to burst in and throw the demodogs off him and say, Hey you guys. Everyone in the series are fantastic actors, which we could expect from the more veteran adult actors, but the kids, all of them were exceptional. Each of them have this amazing ability to make the audience truly feel everything they're experiencing. And in pure badassery, L rejoins the group, taking out multiple demodogs in the process and walking into the house like the fucking terminator. When Joe takes on Billy in a knockdown drag out fight, I thought for sure that eventually Joe would finally kick Billy's ass. And he did for a time until Billy hit him over the head with that plate. But when Max jabbed that sedative into Billy's neck and then showed how much of a badass she is when she threatened him with Joe's bat, I couldn't help but get stoked. I mean, seeing that bat with the nails in it fly right down towards dude's crotch. Epic. Epic epic. Is it just me or does Joe seem really badass with that bat of his? Kind of like a heroic version of Negan. The mixture of horror, suspense, comedy, and action is perfect in season two. In fact, I'll even go as far as to say it is better than season one. I truly don't know when the last time was that I saw a movie or TV show that balanced everything so perfectly. You have the love triangle between Joe, Nancy, and Jonathan. You have the teen drama as well as the pre-teen drama. You have the science fiction aspect of the entire season. Then there's the familial bond of all the characters in the season. It's really too bad that Bob didn't make it to the end of the season though. Because he was really starting to grow on me as a character. But his death did give Joyce the strength she needed to force the creature out of will. The special effects in this season rank right up there with a big budget summer blockbuster. It really amazes me how amazing the kids, especially Millie Brown, who plays Eleven, are at acting. There are adults in the industry that get major Hollywood deals that can't even act as well as the main group. Paul Reiser really proved his acting chops too. By appearing to be an absolute asshole at the beginning, but then coming around and transforming into more of a respectable character and friend to the group. And you really have to feel for Dustin at the end. I mean, we've all been there, especially at that age. You know, you ask girls out, you ask them to dance, you get turned down one after the other. It's not a good place to be. But eventually most of us grew out of it. I wasn't one of the original fans of the first season. I actually didn't catch it until months after its release. But when I did, I really enjoyed it. But I will say without a shadow of a doubt, season two is far superior. I'm Shannon for Comic-ConTV. Take care guys.