10 Stranger Things Season 2 Reveals that Are Breaking the Internet

The first episode of Stranger Things opens with a seemingly unrelated scene far from Hawkins that’s so different, you might think you started watching the wrong show. But soon the context becomes clear: Eleven isn’t the only one out there with telekinetic abilities. In the opening minutes of Season 2 we meet Eight, and Stranger Things sets itself up for a much larger plot that extends far beyond Indiana. Eight is Eleven's "sister" named Kali who is using her powers to get revenge on the "bad men" from the lab.

As plot details began to emerge prior to this season’s release, one question kept popping up everywhere: “Is Will evil?” In the first few episodes of the season, we see Will begin to understand the feelings of the shadow monster—and even become possessed by it. When doctors ask Will about the monster’s intensions, he’s excluded from the carnage: “To kill. Not me, everyone else,” Will responds. And after being possessed by the monster in Episode 3, Will says he can still feel it inside of him days later. “He likes it cold,” Will tells his mom to explain his dropping body temperature. As we get further into the season, the shadow monster is even able to speak through Will, and in order to sever the tie between the two, Joyce (literally) sweats the monster out of Will.

While Barbara’s parents were noticeably missing after her disappearance (read: death) in Season 1, they appear almost right away in the new season, an apparent nod to those Barb stans. She wasn’t forgotten, this storyline pleads, and she will be avenged. Her parents hire an investigative journalist to take the case, and Nancy grapples with being unable to tell her parents the truth: Barbara won’t be coming home. By the end of the season, Nancy gets some justice for Barb. Her death was blamed on an “experimental chemical asphyxiant, which had leaked from the grounds of the lab.” Her parents get a funeral and some closure.

Contrary to popular belief that Eleven would spend a chunk of the season stuck in the Upside Down, she actually escaped the same night that she defeated the demigorgon. She ran to Mike’s house, only to find it swarming with officers looking for her—and hoping to drag her back into a lab. Instead, she wanders the woods until she’s found by Hopper, who takes her to shelter in his family’s old cabin and takes care of her. When Season 2 picks up, it’s been almost a year since she disappeared—and Mike certainly hasn’t forgotten.

Eleven finally learns about her mom in Season 2, a woman named Terry Ives. El was kidnapped when she was just a baby named Jane and taken to the labs to be subjected to experiments, becoming the character she is today.

After Will draws out his dark visions of the Upside Down, Hopper and Joyce realize that he’s drawing a series of roots—and that’s what’s killing the pumpkins. When Hopper investigates, he discovers an elaborate series of tunnels, a direct link to the Upside Down just under the soil. Anyone else getting Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets vibes? It’s in the pipes!

The Polliwog is another example of the “spreading” of the Upside Down. The mutant creature transforms from tiny and (kind of) cute to a faceless monster that eats the cat. Not the ideal house pet.

Nancy drunkenly tells Steve that their relationship is “bullshit” and she’s been pretending to be in love with him. After their split, Nance and Jonathan are closer than ever and spend one steamy night together. Cue the teenage angst.

While Dr. Brenner, the man Eleven calls "Papa," isn't around in Season 2, that doesn't mean he's gone for good. Eleven gets a vision that suggests that her former captor may be still alive.

Bob is the new Barb. Joyce's new man in Season 2 gets eaten by the demogorgons when he's SO CLOSE to escaping the Hawkins Lab. Maybe now Joyce and Hopper will finally get together. Bob isn't the only victim of Season 2. Along with virtually all of the employees of the lab, Dustin's cat Mews is brutally killed by a demogorgon. Justice for Mews!