How Stranger Things Season 2 Tackled Social Issues

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

Stranger Things contains a lot of deep cuts, blending mystery, horror and sci-fi to win the hearts of fans of comic books, board games, video games and everything from the '80s and '90s. However, the show is more than a mere trip down nostalgia lane -- it's also a coming-of-age story, one that folks of all ages can connect with thanks to how relatable its characters and situations are.

Whether it's a first kiss, social anxiety or the "monster" obstacles we have to overcome in life, Stranger Things speaks to us. In doing so, it also tackles real world issues head-on, thanks in no small part to the show's creators, the Duffer brothers, having been socially awkward growing up. While Season 1 addressed the topics of teenage sex, high school social pressures, young love, and of course, parents losing their children, Season 2 turns it up a notch, tunneling even deeper and making bigger statements.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Will Byers' (Noah Schnapp) PTSD is evident after being freed from the Upside Down. However, his infection by the Mind Flayer means he's still connected to the dark dimension, reminding him of the torture from the Demogorgon's kidnapping. The Duffers subsequently detail how tough it is for Will to regain a sense of normalcy. His mental fatigue leads to seizures, which break his body and eventually his mind, providing an opening for the Shadow Monster to possess the boy.

The approach to Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) PTSD, however, is more subtle. Sequestered in Chief Jim Hopper's (David Harbour) cabin, she's kept secret and protected. In this isolation though, she experiences flashbacks of the Demogorgon, the Upside Down, foraging alone in the real world, and the trauma of the MKUltra program. While Will is trying to reconnect with his identity, Eleven is trying to discover hers in the first place, a very different type of mental burden for someone so young. Both cases end up illustrating how tragedy at a young age leaves a lasting impression.

Child Abuse

In flashbacks to the MKUltra program at Hawkins National Laboratory, we see Eleven and Kali (aka Eight) tasered in order to fall in line. It's scary watching kids abused in order to train them as soldiers, but it's a stark reflection of certain societies in the world today. They're not treated like humans but like weapons, which informs how they turn out -- vengeful and dangerous -- as seen with Kali's lust for revenge.

Later, we witness why Billy Mayfield (Dacre Montgomery) is such a vagabond. At first glance, he seems like your typical high school jock, raging because of his testosterone levels, but after failing to keep an eye on his sister Max (Sadie Sink), the source of his anger comes to light. His father, ticked that Max is missing, verbally berates him with angry homophobic and sexual slurs. He then physically assaults Billy, reminding us that kids' behaviors often reflect their home environment.

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Bullying

Season 1 had a lot of this, so it's no surprise that it persisted at Hawkins Middle High a year later. You may not mind teens ribbing Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and the rest of their geeky squad for dressing up in Halloween costumes at school, but seeing them harassing Will and calling him "zombie boy" shows an utter lack of compassion, hurling insults at someone who was kidnapped and thought dead.

Sadly, this is the harsh reality we live in. The Duffers, however, neatly tuck a public service announcement into the show courtesy of Bob (Sean Astin), who was dating Will's mom, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder). He advises Will to be brave and stand up to bullies. Max also takes a very aggressive stance towards Billy's bullying of her friends at season's end, reiterating that bullying isn't acceptable at all.

Racism

This isn't stated outright in Season 2, but you can't help but read between the lines when it comes to Billy's dislike for his sister's love interest, Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin). Billy telling Max to stay away from Lucas, whom he never met, is really odd, because he despises his step-sister. He never shows any sense of feeling protective of her, so why those icy stares towards Lucas?

The language Billy chooses as he forbids Max from seeing Lucas packs a lot more venom and hidden subtext within. Hopefully, more context will be provided in Season 3 as to Billy's treatment of Lucas. After trying to beat the poor lad senseless without reason, one can only assume that he's really not comfortable with Max dating a black kid.

Nancy Wheeler's (Natalia Dyer) guilt over how the U.S. Department of Energy covered up Barbara Holland's (Shannon Purser) death in the Upside Down cost her her relationship with Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), but with her new beau, Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), she set off on a course of justice. They became Hawkins' very own version of WikiLeaks, recording an incriminating conversation with the man who took over the lab, Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser), and then releasing it to the public.

As a result, the lab was shut down, with reports emerging that a chemical leak killed Barb. It's not the full truth, but still, it's justice for Barb, and more so, closure for her friends and family. The Duffers also teach us that even though Hawkins may be a small town, whistle-blowing against corruption and injustice can still effect big change.

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.