Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 – Season 2 (2026) 💙🩵💙 Review

Quippy Title: Somehow, Hawkins has returned

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we?

Oh boy more Stranger Things, what can go wrong? Also yep we’ve gotten to the point of Ghost Demogorgons! What is even this franchise anymore?

And yes, y’all didn’t read that title wrong. Tales From ’85 got a second season in the same year. Season 1 only came out a few months ago, and now we already have another eight episodes. What makes that even stranger is how little marketing I saw for Season 2. This thing basically showed up, said “Hey, remember that animated Stranger Things show from earlier this year?” and dropped another season.

After Season 1, I wasn’t exactly begging for more. I didn’t think the first season was terrible, and there were things I genuinely enjoyed about it. The animation was gorgeous, I liked seeing the gang back around their Season 2 ages, and Nikki Baxter was a genuinely good addition. But it also had the massive problem of supposedly taking place between established seasons while introducing events and characters that nobody ever talks about afterward.

Season 2 had an opportunity to improve upon that.

It did not.

Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

Season 2 takes place in February 1985, still between Stranger Things Seasons 2 and 3. Hawkins has seemingly settled down after the events of the first season, and the Hawkins Investigators Club hasn’t encountered anything supernatural for a while. Valentine’s Day is approaching, relationships are causing problems within the group, and the kids are assigned a school project involving the history of Hawkins.

Also get this, the show takes place during Valentines day, yes Valentines day. We’ll thats certainly new for Stranger Things, also why there still snow? Don’t ask me why, don’t think the show knows why.

Naturally, because this is Hawkins, things don’t remain normal for very long.

Mysterious glowing blue flowers begin appearing around town, strange supernatural activity starts occurring, and the gang becomes involved in another mystery involving Hawkins’ past, an old legend surrounding a man named Bloodaxe Bill, and something that initially appears to be a ghost.

That’s about as much as I want to say without spoilers, because the actual explanation for what’s happening is so ridiculously complicated that I’m saving that insanity for later.

Character Rundown

The original gang is obviously back, including Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and Max, alongside Nikki Baxter from Season 1.

Nikki was one of my favorite things about the first season, and she’s still one of the better additions here. This season gives her more personal material involving her mother, their financial situation and Nikki worrying about whether they’ll be able to remain in Hawkins. I still like Nikki as a character, which unfortunately makes one particular decision at the end of this season even more frustrating.

Dustin remains Dustin, and I actually enjoyed some of his interactions with Charlie Dandridge. Charlie gets substantially more material this season because his family history becomes connected to the larger mystery surrounding Hawkins.

Eleven, however, felt weird to me. I understand that she’s spending more time around Mike and his friends and therefore would gradually learn about movies and pop culture. That’s completely reasonable. But there are moments where she feels less like Eleven gradually learning about normal childhood and more like the writers have simply turned her into another member of the nerd group. Part of what made early Eleven interesting was that she didn’t understand all of their references because she grew up inside a laboratory.

The season also gives Eleven several lines that are clearly supposed to sound badass.

We’ll get to those.

Then there’s Lucas and Max, whose relationship becomes a source of drama because Lucas wants to do something romantic for Valentine’s Day while Max hates the holiday and thinks it’s corporate nonsense.

And I’m sorry, but I couldn’t bring myself to care about whether these two were going to stay broken up.

I’ve seen Stranger Things 3.

Mike Wheeler gets quite a bit of focus this season, particularly through his anxiety surrounding Eleven. Valentine’s Day is approaching, Mike wants to take the next step in their relationship, and yet every time he gets an opportunity to actually say what he’s thinking, his nerves get in the way. I don’t mind exploring Mike’s anxiety because it fits a kid who has been through an absurd amount of terrifying stuff, and there are some nice moments between him and Nancy because of it. Mike is perfectly fine this season, although once again the show’s placement in the timeline limits how worried I can possibly become whenever it tries putting him in serious danger.

Lucas Sinclair spends a lot of the season dealing with Max and their completely different opinions about Valentine’s Day. Lucas wants to do something nice and romantic for her, while Max wants absolutely nothing to do with the holiday, eventually causing problems between them. Lucas also gets pulled back into dealing with Jeff and Charlie, and initially I actually liked how the season used their history from Season 1. Unfortunately, that eventually develops into one of the dumbest bully subplots of the season. Lucas himself remains likable, but the relationship drama doesn’t have much tension when we already know where Lucas and Max’s relationship goes afterward.

Max Mayfield absolutely hates Valentine’s Day and views the whole thing as a corporate holiday designed to make people spend money, and honestly, fair enough. The season does give Max more personal reasons for why she isn’t exactly excited about the holiday, so there is some genuine character material underneath her arguments with Lucas. My problem is less with Max herself and more with the show trying to make their relationship problems feel suspenseful. This takes place before Stranger Things 3. We already know this isn’t the end of Lucas and Max, so stop looking at me like I’m supposed to be terrified that they might stay broken up.

Will Byers remains the quieter and more emotionally sensitive member of the group, and considering everything Will has already experienced with the Upside Down, he naturally approaches some of the strange events happening around Hawkins differently from his friends. I do wish the season gave him more substantial material of his own, because Will has one of the strongest personal connections to the supernatural side of this universe and that should make him incredibly valuable in a story like this. He’s still perfectly likable, but he never felt like one of the season’s standout characters to me.

Charlie Dandridge surprisingly gets substantially more to do this season after being one of the bullies in Season 1. He becomes much more involved with the main story, and I actually enjoyed watching his relationship with Dustin develop. There are moments where they’re joking around together and Charlie realizes Dustin is finally beginning to understand his personality, which was genuinely entertaining. Unfortunately, the season also starts piling increasingly elaborate material onto Charlie, and some of it contributes to my growing feeling that Hawkins is apparently the smallest town in human history. I’ll save exactly what I mean by that for spoilers.

Jeff Nelson annoyed the absolute hell out of me. The season initially remembers that Jeff has history with Lucas and the others after everything that happened in Season 1, and that actually makes sense. Then Jeff’s gang steals the group’s camera, the gang takes their own camera back, Jeff gets angry over what happens to his base, and suddenly we’re doing another generic bully revenge storyline. It gets even dumber once Jeff starts acting possessive over Charlie hanging around with the main group. Jeff, buddy, you have previous experience with these people and the bizarre situations they get themselves into. Maybe use your brain for approximately five seconds before deciding everybody is conspiring to steal your friend.

Hey heres a question, whatever happened to Billy? Did this show forget he exists!?

Anna Baxter returns as Nikki’s mother, and much of her storyline revolves around the family’s financial problems. That gives Nikki’s story some grounded stakes because she’s genuinely worried about her mother and whether they’ll be able to continue living the way they have been. Anna isn’t one of the biggest characters in the season, but her financial struggles give Nikki something more personal to deal with beyond whatever supernatural insanity is currently happening around Hawkins.

And then keep Daniel Fischer and Bloodaxe Bill completely out of the non-spoiler Character Rundown. Their importance and what the season does with them belong in your Spoilers section, especially because Daniel’s role is one of the season’s major reveals.

Pacing / Episode Flow

Season 2 is eight episodes instead of Season 1’s ten, and you might think losing two episodes would result in a tighter story.

Somehow, it doesn’t feel that way.

The opening episodes actually had me wondering when something important was going to happen. There’s Valentine’s Day drama, the school history project, Nikki’s financial problems, Charlie and the bullies, the mysterious flowers and several other pieces being moved around the board.

Then the back half goes in the complete opposite direction.

Instead of feeling slow, it becomes absurdly complicated.

By the time the show had explained exactly what the flowers were doing, what the creatures coming from them were doing, what the supposed ghost actually was, how everything connected to the Upside Down and what the villain’s plan actually involved, I felt like someone had replaced a fairly simple supernatural mystery with a flowchart.

Season 1 had its problems, but at least I could describe its central threat without sounding like I was recounting a fever dream.

Season 2?

Just wait for the spoiler section.

Pros

The animation is once again gorgeous. Flying Bark continues to give the show expressive characters, great lighting, colorful environments and some really creative creature animation. Whatever problems I have with the writing, the artists absolutely showed up.

I also still enjoy the novelty of seeing these characters at their younger Season 2-era ages. There is something inherently fun about returning to this period of Stranger Things, especially because the first three seasons remain my favorite era of the main show.

Nikki continues to be a likable character, and giving her family actual financial problems provides her with something grounded among all the supernatural insanity.

There are also scattered character interactions I enjoyed. Dustin and Charlie surprisingly have some fun moments together, and I liked watching Charlie gradually become more involved with the group instead of remaining nothing more than the generic bully he started as.

And again: the animation really is excellent. I wish I liked the story anywhere near as much as I like looking at this show.

Cons

Unfortunately, almost everything surrounding that animation disappointed me.

The biggest problem is the story itself. What initially looks like a relatively straightforward supernatural mystery eventually becomes one of the most unnecessarily convoluted Stranger Things stories I’ve seen.

Then there’s the continuity problem.

This series takes place only months before Stranger Things 3. Season 2 introduces another enormous supernatural incident involving the entire group, new Upside Down biology and major discoveries about Hawkins history.

And we’re supposed to accept that everybody just… never mentions any of it again.

There’s also a generic bully revenge subplot involving Jeff Nelson that drove me insane. Jeff was involved with the supernatural events of Season 1. He and Charlie were literally victims of them, and Lucas and the others helped save them. Yet this season eventually requires Jeff to behave like he has absolutely no concept of why Charlie suddenly hanging around with Dustin and the others might indicate that something supernatural is happening again.

Instead, Jeff becomes jealous because apparently the group is stealing Charlie from him.

Buddy.

You were there last time.

Lucas and Max’s breakup also did nothing for me. You cannot build the suspense around whether an established relationship will permanently end when this story takes place between two seasons where I already know exactly where that relationship goes. Their disagreement can reveal things about their characters, absolutely, but treating the breakup itself as dramatic tension doesn’t work when I’ve already watched the future.

Finally, this season somehow makes Hawkins feel even smaller than it already did. Everybody is connected to everybody, old characters return in increasingly elaborate ways, and new historical mysteries somehow circle back around to people we’ve already met.

Also remind me how is it tbe gang faught against plant Demogorgons and a ghost Demogorgon all before season 3? And became friends with a new comer named Nikki whos not integrated into the group, but will never be brought up by season 3!?

Idk, domt ask questions i guess, silly me!

Final Thoughts

I gave Season 1 some leeway.

It wasn’t great, but Nikki was a good addition, the animation looked fantastic, and I enjoyed seeing younger versions of the gang again. It felt like a harmless animated side adventure even though I had serious questions about how any of it was supposed to fit into the established timeline.

Season 2 keeps the gorgeous animation.

That’s about the only major area where I think it maintains what worked.

The story is worse. The continuity problems are worse. The supernatural mythology becomes needlessly convoluted. The relationship drama lacks tension because we know what happens afterward. The bully subplot becomes irritating. And the season introduces another gigantic adventure that everyone apparently collectively agrees never to mention once Stranger Things 3 begins.

At this point, I’m becoming increasingly worried about Stranger Things as a franchise. The more this universe expands, the more it feels like every new story needs to add another hidden event, another secret piece of Hawkins history, another monster and another retroactive connection.

Sometimes less is more.

Early Stranger Things understood that.

Tales From ’85 increasingly doesn’t.

Also I dare you to try telling me this is canon to the main timeline, go on, also Netflix plz stop with these spin-offs. Im done with them, so I hope this is it when it comes to Stranger Things and we can put this franchise to rest once and for all.

Rating

4/10

The animation is doing some heavy lifting here.


—

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING ⚠️

Everything from this point onward contains full spoilers for Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 2, including the identity of the Lich, Daniel, Bloodaxe Bill, the Golem, Nikki’s ending and the finale.

If you haven’t watched the season and actually care about being surprised, stop here.

Because now I need to explain whatever the hell I just watched.

Spoilers

Well firstly Hopper leaves out of town to retrieve an award, wow how convenient, the show got rid of him pretty fast, so much for him I guess, anyways.

Let’s begin with what I initially thought this season was doing.

The gang investigates the history of Hawkins and learns about Bloodaxe Bill Dandridge, a man remembered as a murderous miner. As they dig deeper, however, they discover that history lied. Bloodaxe Bill wasn’t the monster everyone thought he was. Samuel Hawkins was responsible for his death, and Bill’s reputation was destroyed afterward.

Meanwhile, there’s a mysterious ghost-like creature running around Hawkins.

I thought I understood where this was going.

The ghost is Bloodaxe Bill.

He’s been murdered, his name was dragged through the mud, Hawkins covered up the truth, and now his spirit has returned.

You know what?

That’s actually a pretty good ghost story.

NOPE.

The supposed ghost is…

Daniel Fischer.

Yes.

The villain from Season 1.

WHY!?

Why does Hawkins constantly need to feel like twelve people live there!?

And this is where I’m going to attempt to explain the supernatural plot, because merely typing this makes me feel like I’ve suffered a head injury.

Daniel’s real body is trapped inside the Upside Down. His consciousness can project into Hawkins through a network involving the mysterious blue flowers. Those flowers feed upon fear. The blue Demogorgon-looking creatures called Hate Sprites help transport pollen and energy. Daniel’s ghost-like projection becomes what the kids call the Lich. There are wooden Demogorgon-like Golems, and eventually Daniel inhabits a gigantic Golem that serves as his physical avatar while he tries to generate enough fear to open another Gate and escape.

So…

Daniel is a ghost version of a human inhabiting a Demogorgon-like wooden Golem while controlling glowing blue Demogorgon sprites that spread pollen between glowing blue fear-powered flowers so he can open an interdimensional portal.

What.

The.

Fuck.

🤣

And remember: we’re supposed to believe this happened between Seasons 2 and 3 of Stranger Things. And reminder folks this all happ

Nobody ever thought this was worth mentioning again!?

Also whats with the power scaling level? Somwhow Daniel the ghost Demogorgon is somehow stronger then the freaking mind flayer!?

“Hey, remember when Hawkins was covered in glowing fear flowers and Daniel became a giant wooden Demogorgon?”

“No.”

“Cool.”

The Bloodaxe Bill story eventually reveals that Samuel Hawkins murdered him and rewrote history to make himself the hero. Charlie is also revealed to be Bill’s descendant.

And that’s another twist where I just went:

Okay?

Charlie being Bloodaxe Bill’s descendant gives him a personal reason to care about clearing Bill’s name, but it doesn’t make Daniel’s story more interesting. It makes Hawkins feel smaller again because naturally one of the bullies we’ve already met just happens to descend from the guy at the center of Hawkins’ century-old historical conspiracy.

The kids’ school project ultimately helps expose the truth about this historical murder.

Imagine assigning some kids a local-history video and they return having overturned a century of accepted Hawkins history.

Teacher:

“A-minus. Fascinating discovery, but your audio levels were inconsistent.”

Then we have Jeff.

Ohhhhhhh, Jeff.

Jeff and Charlie were involved in Season 1’s supernatural events. Lucas and company helped save them. Jeff owes Lucas a favor. Lucas eventually uses that favor to get information about Charlie.

So far?

Fine.

Then Jeff’s gang steals the group’s camera. The gang steals their own camera back, Jeff’s base gets messed up during the process, and Jeff becomes pissed at Lucas.

Petty bully behavior, but whatever.

Then Jeff sees Charlie and Dustin getting along.

Charlie and Dustin are joking together, with Charlie basically telling Dustin that he’s finally starting to understand him.

Jeff walks in and reacts like the Hawkins Investigators Club is performing a hostile takeover of his friendship.

They’re stealing Charlie from me!

JEFF.

YOU AND CHARLIE WERE BOTH INVOLVED IN SUPERNATURAL SHIT WITH THESE PEOPLE LAST SEASON.

Wouldn’t your first thought be:

“Oh shit. Is something happening again?”

Apparently not.

The finale is dealing with Daniel’s enormous fear-powered Golem, Mike being trapped inside it, blue flowers powering everything, Hate Sprites, the Gate, burning the flowers and explosive mine tunnels.

And apparently what this climax desperately needed was:

angry teenagers.

Then we have Lucas and Max.

Lucas wants to do something romantic for Max for Valentine’s Day. Max hates Valentine’s Day and sees the whole thing as corporate nonsense. They argue and break up.

Show:

“OH NO! WILL LUCAS AND MAX SURVIVE THIS!?”

Me:

“Yes.”

I watched the fucking television show.

Their actual disagreement could’ve been interesting character material, particularly because Max has personal reasons for reacting to the holiday the way she does. But don’t try using the status of their relationship as suspense when this story takes place between established seasons.

Then there’s Eleven.

The show increasingly writes her like she’s simply another nerd in the group. I’m perfectly willing to believe Mike and the others have shown her movies. In fact, there’s a scene establishing that she’s watched the first Star Wars.

But the scene itself becomes hilarious.

Someone compares Daniel to Darth Vader.

Eleven asks about Vader not always being evil.

Mike explains:

“She only saw the first movie.”

Great! Everybody now understands that Eleven hasn’t seen The Empire Strikes Back.

Nikki then basically goes:

“Right, and just like Daniel, it turns out Vader is Luke’s father.”

Eleven:

“Wait, Vader is Luke’s father?”

😬

NIKKI!

MIKE LITERALLY JUST TOLD YOU WHERE SHE WAS IN THE SERIES!

The movies were already several years old in 1985, sure, but Eleven spent most of her childhood IN A LABORATORY.

Give the girl five minutes to catch up! 😭

Then the finale gives Eleven some lines that I think are supposed to make me jump out of my seat cheering.

Facing Daniel:

“Hey, you ruined my Valentine’s.”

🤦‍♂️

El, buddy.

He’s an interdimensional pollen ghost controlling a gigantic wooden Demogorgon.

I don’t think Daniel gives a shit about Valentine’s Day.

Later, while fighting him and trying to rescue Mike:

“My friends. Leave them.”

Ohhhhhhh.

Daniel’s finished now.

Forget Eleven’s telekinetic powers.

She gave him a stern talking-to.

And finally…

Nikki.

This one might irritate me most from a continuity perspective because the writers practically hand themselves the solution.

Nikki’s mother is struggling financially. Nikki worries about money. Their situation becomes bad enough that there’s a genuine possibility they won’t be able to remain in Hawkins.

There it is!

That’s your explanation!

Nikki isn’t in Stranger Things 3 because she and her mother moved away.

Simple.

Clean.

It fits perfectly.

Instead, near the end, Nikki’s mother announces that she got a job at the Hawkins school.

They’re staying!

HURRAY! 🤪

…

THEN WHERE THE FUCK IS NIKKI IN STRANGER THINGS 3!?

You had the answer.

YOU WROTE THE ANSWER.

Then you deliberately took the answer away!

And that’s ultimately my biggest frustration with Tales From ’85 Season 2. It doesn’t merely tell an unnecessary story between established seasons. It keeps making that story bigger, stranger and harder to reconcile with what comes afterward.

A giant Golem.

Daniel returning.

Fear-powered flowers.

Hate Sprites.

A century-old Hawkins murder conspiracy.

Bloodaxe Bill.

Charlie discovering his ancestry.

Mike being swallowed by Daniel’s Golem.

Eleven fighting another major supernatural threat.

Nikki remaining in Hawkins.

And then a few months later:

Stranger Things 3

Everyone:

“Anyway, summer!”

4/10.

The animation deserved a better story.

Speaking of Stranger Things, heres a funny review of Stranger Things from our good old pal Abaddon, from Netflix’s Haunted Hotel. He’s apparently become a certified reviewer as well.