After the smash hit of season one, the Netflix original “Stranger Things” is back and stranger than ever.

The show that became a major proponent of the “retro revival” sweeping pop culture returned last Friday with 1980s spunk to spare. Season two picks up nearly a year after the events of season one, and it is immediately clear that things in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, will never be the same.

The large cast of characters are all trying to cope with the pain and guilt from their experiences with the Hawkins National Laboratory, and the dimensional rift it accidentally opened. Everyone is trying to heal, with little success.

Will Byers is back from the “upside down,” the dark alternate dimension of our world, but he is not the same. Haunted by terrifying flashes back to the upside down he can’t explain, Will is trying to live a normal life, but he isn’t able to ignore the visions for long.

Meanwhile, Eleven, the girl from Hawkins’ lab with telepathic powers, is back in hiding. Season two explores where she has been and how she is learning to live outside of the laboratory. She may, however, not be as far away as her friends Dustin, Mike and Lucas believe.

Despite all of the characters’ efforts, things won’t go back to the way they were.

The dimensional rift is growing, with Hawkins’ lab trying desperately to close it. When strange things start happening in the area around the lab, everyone is once again plunged into the realm of monsters and other dimensions.

Overall, I loved season two of “Stranger Things.” The introduction of several new characters was seamless, as if they had been there the entire time. This season addressed so many of the questions that I had after watching season one and tied up so many loose ends that I felt it was a perfect continuation of the plotline.

Even though the show deals with crazy monsters and special abilities, it feels grounded in reality. Hawkins seems like any other small town from the 1980s, and with all the pop culture references sprinkled throughout the episodes, it doesn’t feel too unrealistic.

The plot itself is rich with twists and turns, one of which I was caught completely off-guard for. Unlike the previous season, which eased into the action, season two launched straight into the questions I wanted answered while bringing up multiple new mysteries.

Despite all the strengths season two had, it had one downfall. Episode seven interrupts a major development from the previous episode, so right when viewers are ready for answers, they are greeted with a cut to a different character’s storyline. It wasn’t just the sudden switch that I didn’t enjoy, it was the content of the episode. It felt incredibly out of place, as if I had accidentally switched to a crime show. I felt like there were too many questions from the previous season surrounding the character of Eleven that were suddenly answered all in one episode, and it lacked the usual excitement and wonder that I’ve come to associate with the show.

Overall, I loved season two of “Stranger Things,” as it was a natural continuation of the show. It didn’t feel forced or too desperate to recapture the nostalgia of the first season, and had a lot of great references connected to last year’s episodes. It was a riveting season that I devoured in one day, and I would highly encourage others to take a weekend to watch it all.