Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street

Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street is a solid second episode of the first season. It continues where the pilot episode left off and remains consistent throughout. My only quibble is that the house party where Nancy and Jonathan go to felt a bit too awkward for my tastes, but that's doesn't matter because the rest of the episode retains the same stuff that made the first episode a great start.

The story is still intriguing with a raw and tear-jerking scene with Winona Ryder and Charlie Heaton. There's also a little more back story for the other characters aside from Joyce and Jonathan. The kid protagonists Mike, Dustin and Lucas share their chemistry that feels natural thanks to Wolfhard Matarazzo and Mclaughlin's solid performances. Natalia Dyer, Shannon Purser (who played Barbara in the first episode) and David Harbour continue to deliver excellent performances and Millie Bobby Brown continues to excel as Eleven in a very well-written flashback revolving around her character. The cinematography is still gorgeous with a brilliantly lit atmosphere it retained from the first episode and the music score is still impressive, continuing to compliment the 1980s decade and setting perfectly.

Overall, a solid second episode of the first season and remains as consistent as Chapter One. Thumbs up from me. :)

The spoiler free review follows...

In the second episode of Stranger Things, the added 10 minutes over the pilot run are efficiently utilized, resulting in a little more back story on our characters, while our kid protagonists make an important discovery in the woods. However, not everything is okay, as a scene near the end involving a camera and a house party becomes excruciatingly awkward to watch.

Winona Ryder steals the spotlight, while Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Shannon Purser (Barbara) and David Harbour (Jim Hopper) give assured and confident performances. The score and cinematography remain awesome, resulting in another grossing chapter, albeit down a notch from the pilot.

I think I can safely say that miniseries like these benefit a lot from singular directorial work throughout, as it helps the series evolve more naturally and coherently, making it feel as if you are watching an extended movie rather than separate episodes. (Also, of course, the concurrent availability of following chapters helped the case substantially.)

The scenes involving the children are the most engrossing, with a natural chemistry between all of them. Winona Ryder as the mother in mourning absolutely excels, as mentioned above, and her scenes with Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) are raw and tear-jerking.

Verdict: 8/10 with the camera scene undermining the rest of the positive work a bit. The episode ends with one hell of a cliffhanger, though, and you'll be streaming episode 3 in a heartbeat.

The first focus of this episode is the strange girl, eleven (el for short) who is being hidden by the boys. She is obviously in danger, but the boys are afraid of the most basic things, like getting caught. It is revealed that this person, whatever she is, had telekinetic powers. She also can't seem to tell them anything that helps. It does appear that she knows who Will is. The search continues for the boy. Meanwhile, as Will's mother goes bonkers from worry, Will's brother keeps trying to figure things out. He even pays a visit to his father, but it is fruitless. Meanwhile, Nancy Wheeler is a focus. She is the older sister of one of the boys, and she is wanting to put a little bad in her life (she is a serious straight A student and a goody two shoes). She is at a party at the conclusion of the episode when things heat up (for her personally and for the whole thing). It also seems that Will's house is haunted by something.

The Duffer Brothers' homage to '80s sci-fi/fantasy continues with teenage geek Mike (Finn Wolfhard) sneaking runaway mystery girl Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) into his home, where he tries to work out who she is, and what her connection is to missing school friend Will. Meanwhile, Mike's older sister Nancy (Natalia Dyer) is out partying with boyfriend Steve (which will undoubtedly put her in some kind of mortal danger for the next episode), Will's mother Joyce tries to make contact with her son via the telephone, and the 'bad people', led by Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) continue their hunt for Eleven.

Although the story isn't progressed all that much in this second episode, the likable characters ensure that the time passes quickly, with all involved putting in sterling performances. The references to Spielberg movies continue, with nods to ET (sinister scientists, Eleven hiding in a closet) and a Jaws poster adorning a bedroom wall, while fantasy fans might make a connection with the title of this episode and a classic tale from Season One of The Twilight Zone.

Anybody that was captivated by 'Stranger Things' first episode "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" will undoubtedly expect a good deal from any episode to follow on from it. Speaking as somebody who was near-blown away by that episode and had high expectations for this one, to see how it would build upon what was set up so well in "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" and to see how the rest of the show would fare after such a strong start.

"Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" was a good second episode that did build well upon what was introduced while having enough to set it apart on its own. At the same time, it was also a bit disappointing and isn't anywhere near as great. There are a lot of the same fantastic things still that was seen in "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers", but somehow "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" didn't feel as focused or as inspired.

There are so many good things here in "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street". The production values are superb. Very stylish and atmospheric, with some truly beautiful images that one can't believe such high quality comes from a Netflix show. Not to mention the highly impressive special effects that put a good deal of big budget films in recent years to shame. The music has a wonderful 80s nostalgic vibe while also being quite haunting, enhancing the atmosphere beautifully.

Writing is thought-probing and has a lot of brains and heart. The humour is gentle but very subtly witty and funny, while there is a poignancy (without being too sentimental) and tension. Enough of the episode has some creepy suspense, intriguing mystery, inventive sci-fi, affectionate nostalgia and a few tear-jerking moments (including a beautifully played crucial scene with Winona Ryder). The characters are still interesting and Finn Woolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown are still excellent. Ryder is a big improvement here and is poignant.

However, tonally "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" isn't always focused. The tone shifts weren't as seamless or as skillfully balanced this time and some of it is on the muddled side from feeling a bit too hectic in pace. Especially in the final third, where things get really awkward and excessively weird at the end.

Some of the dialogue isn't as good this time, though it's fine most of the time. Tending to sound awkward later on. The pace could have been more secure in spots, some of the latter parts are on the disorganised side.

In conclusion, good but not great. 7/10