We waited one year, three months, and twelve days.

On October 27, the hit Netflix original series, Stranger Things, released its subsequent season. Fans had high expectations for this addition to the timeline, and in my opinion, it delivered.

The Duffer Brothers, the writers and producers of the show, concluded season one with a lot of questions unanswered. The “weirdo” with superhuman powers, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), has unknown whereabouts at the conclusion of season one– not to mention the current state of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), who was previously rescued from the alternate dimension deemed the Upside Down, is also unknown.

Fans were eager to uncover answers to these questions and more, and season two left no rock unturned. Somehow, while answering any and all questions, The Duffer Brothers managed to further thicken the plot, expand on past characters’ already lovable qualities, as well as create complex, new roles.

Opening with an unknown character, season two begins with confusion. An intense, high-speed chase outside of small town Hawkins, Indiana seems to have no place of relevance; however, it ties together during a later episode. Soon after the extreme confusion, the viewer is comforted by the reappearance of Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Mike (Finn Wolfhard).

Instead of Dungeons and Dragons, the boys have graduated to the town’s arcade. As the boys are collectively “encouraging” each other as they play, Will gets transported back to the Upside Down– a terrifying alter-dimension where he was just recently rescued. Luckily, Mike snaps him back into reality, but not before he caught a glimpse of a terrifying shadow monster.

Will continues to be haunted by his relapses, creating an entirely new task for the gang to tackle– this time without superhuman counterpart, Eleven. This quest to save Will- again- begins to answer the question of his well-being. However, this isn’t the only question the Duffer Brothers chose to answer; Eleven’s situation has constant coverage, as well as developments between Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Steve (Joe Keery).

The character development throughout season two is majestic, especially with heartthrob Steve Harrington. Transitioning from the jerk boyfriend to a fatherly, mature young-adult, his character arc seems to be completed in the second addition to the series; a comforting completion at that.

While fans got to watch Steve’s character mature, they were also able to see the coming-of-age of adolescents Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will. Their acting skills aged along with them– a truly amazing phenomenon to witness.

The cinematography skills used to produce the second season of Stranger Things clearly exceeded those used to produce the previous season. All the monsters were brought to life with incredible realism; the AI used to create the shadow monster was especially impressive and realistic.

Season two of Stranger Things provided the answers to all the important questions. However, there are still lingering uncertainties that need to be cleared up in season three, which is likely to be released late in 2018. Without a doubt, fans will stay loyal for another year, patiently waiting for another addition to the Stranger Things timeline.

We may have waited one year, three months, and twelve days, but it was worth the wait.