“You’ll get there one day, but until then, Princess Daphne is still mine,” Lucas tells Dustin after his character in the arcade game Dragon’s Lair gets incinerated. The season starts off by showing that the gang is still up to what they were doing when we last saw them. However, when the new girl in school, Max, shows up to class the next day and immediately draws the interest of Lucas and Dustin, it becomes clear that Lucas’ comment might have been foreshadowing some tension between the two friends.
While Max hasn’t shown any interest in becoming friends with the gang as of yet, it’s pretty likely that she’ll join the group in the next few episodes. The prospect of the show introducing another love triangle this season has me a bit worried, as this could just be an easy way of driving a wedge between the gang, only for them to reunite when things get serious at the end of the season. However, based off the way the show handled the dynamic between Jonathan, Nancy and Steve last season, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic.
Speaking of the teenagers, Steve and Nancy are still together, with their relationship seemingly getting pretty serious. Jonathan and Nancy remain friends, but it’s hard not to notice a hint of jealousy whenever Steve is around.
One thing I didn’t expect to see this episode was Barb’s parents, who invite Steve and Nancy over for dinner. Based off this episode, it seems like the show is going to address one of the main complaints from last season. Many felt that Barb’s disappearance was awkwardly ignored in season 1, and while I felt focusing on other more interesting story elements was the right call, this episode did a great job at capitalizing on an unfinished storyline. Seeing Barb’s parents talk about how they’re hopeful she will be found was devastating, and knowing that Nancy is partly responsible for Barb's death made things even more gut-wrenching.
While there were some great character moments this episode, the season premiere also gave us hints at some of the show’s biggest mysteries. The cold open confirmed that there are others with psychic powers out in the world, and that they aren’t exactly following the advice of Uncle Ben Parker. We also got to see that Will has been visiting a doctor to cope with the side-effects of his stay in the Upside Down, and then got to see that the doctor’s motives might be a bit more sinister than it initially seemed.
But the biggest revelation of the episode predictably came in its final scene, with Chief Hopper housing Eleven, and adorably making sure she has her fair share of Eggos. How Eleven got there will surely be explained soon, but seeing her in good hands was definitely a relief.