The vibe here is bleak, heavy, and quietly terrifying. Dustin straight up admits that everything they thought they understood about the Upside Down is wrong, which is a wild thing to drop this late in the game. Meanwhile, Eleven is done playing defense and goes on the offensive, teaming up with Kali, her long-lost sister, to finally hunt Vecna down. Max and Holly are still trapped inside Henry Creel’s mind, which feels less like a subplot and more like an existential nightmare waiting to happen.
And then there’s Steve and Dustin. No bickering. No jokes. Just “You die, I die.” Cool cool cool, definitely not emotionally preparing us for something awful.
Volume 2 lands on Christmas Day, with the series finale arriving on New Year’s Eve. Netflix really said, let’s ruin every holiday in one go. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.
