Stranger Things Season 2's Best Homages & Easter Eggs

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the second season of Stranger Things, streaming now on Netflix.

Part of the reason for the runaways success of Stranger Things' debut season was its embrace of 1980s nostalgia, not only in its setting but in its loving tributes to science fiction and horror films of the era. And with the return of the hit Netflix drama this weekend, those homages continue, so we've pored over each of the episodes to find the seemingly countless callbacks and Easter eggs.

Some of the references, like Sean Astin's joking nod to his role in The Goonies, are obvious, but others are a little more esoteric, although the Alien franchise and The Exorcist certainly received their fair share of love from series creators the Duffer Brothers.

Although we undoubtedly missed some of the allusions, we're pretty sure we caught most of them across the nine episodes in Stranger Things Season 2.

MadMax

Stranger Things 2 boys playing Dragon's Lair

The episode's title, a reference to the nickname of Hawkins, Indiana, newcomer Maxine "Max" Hargrove (Sadie Sink), is also a clear nod to Mel Gibson's titular character from the Mad Max franchise.

When the boys are playing Dragon's Lair, Dustin's frustration isn't unfounded: That game was incredibly difficult, and pricey, costing 50 cents rather than the typical quarter, making it a risky proposition for young arcade enthusiasts in 1984.

The Terminator is playing at the theater, having been released on Oct. 26, 1984.

Will's answer to the what his favorite Halloween candy: Reese's Pieces is a polite nod to Steven Spielberg's 1982 sci-fi fantasy classic E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, whose influences on Stranger Things are inescapable.

The scenes involving Will, Joyce and Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) are reminiscent to the first act of the influential 1973 horror film The Exorcist, specifically, in ineffective medical personnel working to determine what's wrong with a possessed Linda Blair.

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Trick or Treat, Freak

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When Eleven approaches Hopper with the intention of trick-or-treating, she's wearing a ghost costume made from a sheet, another callback to E.T., in which the kids similarly disguised their alien so he could go out with them on Halloween.

The boys dress as the Ghostbusters, but that's rather obvious. An even better homage occurs when Hopper gets slime on his hand and tries to shake it off in exactly the same manner as Peter Venkman did in the library scene in the first act of the 1984 horror comedy.

Think back to A Nightmare on Elm Street and you'll notice that Nancy heads to Tina's house to act like "stupid teenagers." The names and activity are a clear nod to Wes Craven's 1984 slasher film.

The Pollywog

Dustin decides to take in an adorable creature he found in his trashcan believing it to be a pollywog, or tadpole. He even feeds it some of his 3 Musketeers bar, possibly after midnight, and names it D'Artagnan, or Dart for short.

The parallels to the 1984 horror comedy Gremlins are, unmistakable, particularly in the critter's aversion to light, and in its grotesque metamorphosis as it grows from something cute into something horrific.

Will the Wise

Stranger Things 2 Dart grows up and reveals his true nature

When Eleven opens the door to the basement in the cabin in the woods, we couldn't help but recall a similar scene in the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead.

In Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien, a Xenomorph begins its lifecycle as a small chestburster, but then sheds its skin and grows exponentially. We see an homage to that when Dart molts, breaks out of his aquarium home and feasts on the Henderson family cat, Mews. Interestingly, in Alien the cat was the only one (other than Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, of course) who avoided being eaten by the Xenomorph. Here, however, it was the first to fall victim to this Demodog. We can detect another connection between Stranger Things and Alien in the casting of Paul Reiser, who appeared in the film's sequel.

Dig Dug

Stranger Things 2 Hopper exploring the tunnels

In the original Evil Dead, some vines/roots get a little frisky with a young lady. Somewhat similarly, vines attack and cover Hopper in a nod to the Sam Raimi film.

This episode is the one in which Sean Astin, who played Mikey in 1985's The Goonies, joke about X marking the spot of pirate treasure on a map.

In Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It, the children are linked by a blood oath. Similarly, in this episode, Nancy and Jonathan have identical scars in a callback to an episode from Season 1. Their scars have forever bind them, just like the kids in that classic novel.

Dig Dug is a classic arcade game from the era, shown each time the kids venture into the arcade. It's all about tunnels in search of monsters, pretty much the premise of Season 2 (although they don't use air pumps to blow up the Demodogs).

The Spy

Stranger Things 2 Joyce talking with the doctors

Winona Ryder channeled the mother from The Exorcist in yet another nod to the classic film when she demanded a roomful of doctors to tell her what's wrong with her child. As Will was similarly possessed, the scene is remarkably familiar.

There are Alien and Aliens references galore with the discovery of a skin discarded by a now much larger Demodog. Further references to Aliens occur as becomes clear they aren't just dealing with one monster but many. Also, Reiser's Dr. Owens echoes his Aliens character Burke in telling Joyce she needs to trust him. One more nod to Aliens and we can move on: The beeping sound and the radar imagery showing the signatures of the men and the Demodogs are lifted almost directly from that film.

We can link back to Jaws in the scene where Dustin and Steve are walking down the tracks dropping meat in a manner similar to chumming the water.

The Mind Flayer

When it becomes necessary for someone to switch the power back on at Hawkins National Laboratory, it's a direct nod to Jurassic Park, which admittedly didn't premiere until 1993.

We can thank Dustin for naming of the junior Demogorgons as Demodogs, but we can't help but recall Gozer and Zuul from Ghostbusters in yet another nod to the horror comedy.

Another reference to The Exorcist pops up when Will communicates via Morse Code to close the gate. Similarly, in The Exorcist, Blair's Reagan spells out "Help Me" through subconscious communication.

Demogorgons aren't the only critters to derive their name from Dungeons & Dragons. The Shadow Monster that's haunted Will is rebranded as a Mind Flayer by Dustin. They kids then open the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual to page 70 to reveal a monster capable of possessing intelligent beings with its psychic powers.

The Gate

Stranger Things 2 Will expels the Mind Flayer

The Exorcist homage reached its climax in this episode with Will having the Mind Flayer literally exorcised from his body due to some portable heaters and his mother's refusal to give up.

When Hopper and Eleven are face to face with the gate, the shadow of the beast appears through from the Upside Down. It looks eerily like the head of a Xenomorph in another nod to the Alien franchise.

Now streaming on Netflix, the second season of Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery.