That’s the inherent struggle within Disney and Star Wars; innovation can lead to good – sometimes great – ideas, but the cost is potentially alienating those who prefer things to stay constant or those too afraid to try new things.
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The first half of the season spends a lot of time laying groundwork. Whereas the first season was more character-driven, often choosing several characters per episode to focus on, now the show takes on a more plot-driven, serialized structure. There’s a trickle of information about Stormfront, and the side hustle she may be running to import supervillains into the country. There’s also a comic-relief arc running between episodes with The Deep (Chace Crawford), who has accidentally joined a sort of Scientology-like cult in Ohio.
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There is so much care, thought and detail put into the show it’s mesmerizing even on second watch. The era-specific cars, restaurants, technology and social issues is compelling television. This is absolutely Fincher’s doing, whose characters are often investigators, and by extension pays a lot of attention to details in his scenes.
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In many ways, this serves the Duffers well. Season two of Stranger Things is marked by a willingness to diverge from some of the things that made the first season so addictive. The nostalgia for 80s pop culture is less pronounced. There’s very little (if any) Dungeons and Dragons. The dynamics of the core group of kids are in flux. But this doesn’t reduce our craving for more; in fact, the show keeps us clicking the “next episode” button by folding in character development and narrative experiments, all to test what Stranger Things can be.
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True North Streaming is a semi-regular column highlighting some of the best new additions to Netflix’s Canadian service. Like many of you, every so often I get a pleasant surprise when I discover a cool movie or TV show that’s just popped up on Netflix’s often-maligned sister platform. These posts will help you filter through the often quirky mix of Netflix Canada’s offerings and find the most valuable ways to waste some time.
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