It’s true – Stranger Things is coming back for a second season. My sci-fi loving self is ecstatic and after starting this show mid-August, I, along with everyone else, will be anxiously awaiting for unanswered questions to be explained. The first season’s enthralling plot and lovable, quirky characters are enough to pull anyone in. So before I jump into the second season and all my burning queries, let me give a rundown of the first season. This means spoilers so if you haven’t seen the show and want to start it, watch all eight hour long episodes (worth it) and come back to this after your epic binge-watching.

I’ve never been good at explaining TV shows and movie plots without giving too much away, so bear with me. In the small, fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the disappearance of Will Byers causes a stir in the community. While everyone accepts the fact that this boy is dead, Will’s friends (Mike, Dustin, and Lucas) and his mother, Joyce, won’t rest until they find him again. With the Chief Hopper investigating the case, he begins to notice a weird string of events following the vanishing of Will. Problems arise along the way: Mike, Dustin and Lucas team up with a young girl they know as Eleven, who has "superpowers," to find their friend while Mrs. Byers and Chief Hopper go on their own rescue mission, putting the town at risk; the government is suspicious of the search parties; and the creature who took Will is hunting for more victims.

Now, if you watch the show, or did watch it, you know that Mike’s sister, Nancy, and Will’s brother, Jonathan, are heavily involved in this story as well. They happen to be possibly my first, big question for season two. (Here come the spoilers.) Not only does Nancy end up with Steve in the end (why – he’s a total mess,) but she doesn’t even seem phased by the fact that Barbara is still gone. Does she know what exactly happened to her? Is Barbara even still alive? What about her relationship with her brother now? Since they both know about the Upside Down, will they try to find Barb together? And Jonathan – he still has a bit of character development to go; what made him so timid around people? Will he ever admit his feelings for Nancy? (We all know it’s true.) At what stakes will he go to to protect his brother now that he's been rescued?

Then the biggest question from everyone came from the last ten minutes of the last episode: Hopper left the food in the box (Christmas cookies and Eggo waffles) which is obviously for Eleven. How did she survive and where did she go? That also means what happened to the creature, or what the kids call the Demogorgon? With that, we also saw that the creature attacked the head of the government group, Dr. Brenner. Did he survive, and if so, will he continue to hunt down Eleven and her friends? The last big ten minutes also included Will coughing up a sluggish, gelatin-like substance. Is this possibly the offspring of the creature? Or something else?

Here’s my theory for season two: Chief Hopper will try to keep the secret that Eleven is still alive, but try to reach out to the lady that lost her child, convincing her it’s her daughter. Mike is convinced she’s still out there (maybe she’ll use her powers and he’ll know it was her) and get his friends to search for her with him. But Will won’t be allowed to be a part of any of this because after Joyce lost him once, she won’t lose him again. Nancy also jumps aboard with Mike so she can find Barbara, meaning Jonathan might tag along, too (but she won’t allow Steve to join them because he still doesn’t get the whole idea.) They will have more suspenseful adventures with the Upside Down, learn more about the creature and the people who discovered it, and get into even more trouble with the government. Maybe there will be more innocent victims in the Upside Down. Maybe they’re at a different lab facility. It will become the characters’ goal to find and rescue all these people and kill any other creature that might cause this.

I am such a huge fan of this show and the way it was executed was practically flawlessly. It’s easy to follow, suspenseful without too many jump scares, and has a great setting with the most interesting characters. The spike in popularity is no joke and this could easily become one of the most watched shows not just on Netflix, but in television today. Fan theories are slowly going to take over as we all anxiously await this second season. (Did you agree with mine? If you have your own, comment below and we can start a discussion!) But alas, the wait for Netflix to film new seasons of any show is always a long wait, so be prepared to re-watch it before this next season arrives. I know I’ll be starting it again very shortly. Bravo, Duffer Brothers for creating such a well-rounded, enthralling TV show. Ten out of ten; would recommend.