All 9 Episodes of Stranger Things Season 2, Ranked

Happy Stranger Things day!

Happy Stranger Things day everyone! We are going to get our first look at episode one of Stranger Things 5 tonight. So, to maintain my (and hopefully your) excitement as we push through to that Thanksgiving release date, I am continuing my rewind through the series. I just published my review of Stranger Things 2, so check that out if you haven't yet. Many consider this the weakest season of the show, but I still find it to be pretty great. So here is my ranking of all nine episodes.

9. Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister

Everyone's favorite episode! Right?

Alright, alright. Let's just get it out of the way: this episode sucks. Honestly, as an episode in and of itself, it's not a terrible one-off story, but as far as contributing to the season-long arc, it's just super weird. Eleven has been on her own for most of the season up to this point, and she finally meets Kali and her gang. I actually enjoy the relationship between Eleven and Kali, but I find the additional characters to be really off-putting and annoying. They feel like they were written to have vibrant, memorable personalities, but instead, they just come off as cheesy. Beyond that, this episode breaks up the pacing of the season so we have a break after the massive cliffhanger that The Spy left. It's just a weird backdoor pilot that feels like a bump in the perfectly paved road that Stranger Things is.

8. Chapter Four: Will the Wise

A continually slow build that teases some big things

In every other season, episode four is this big, slam-bang midseason finale. And there's a reason for that. Oftentimes, Stranger Things can be a bit slow or meandering from the jump. Right when it feels like it's getting to be too much, however, the fourth episode will often just kick things into high gear. With season two, it feels like the big midseason climax is in episode five, so episode four really feels like it's just not getting going. It's still a decent enough episode with a fantastic performance by Noah Schnapp, but it feels like its trying a bit too hard to replicate the magic of season one with Will drawing the tunnels and plastering it all over the Byers house. This episode is necessary for the arc of the season, but it is definitely not the most exciting hour of Stranger Things.

7. Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak

A solid but somewhat drab second entry

After the first episode teased the dangers of the Upside Down as well as the awkward growing stages of our characters, episode two explores that in full force. We get our first true look at the gargantuan, Lovecraft-ian Mind Flayer as well as the party's first interactions with Max. Obviously, the Ghostbusters costumes and the Halloween-centric episode is just so much fun and so iconic. It feels like this episode has the feel of classic Stranger Things while maybe not having the best plot developments and still meandering a bit. Still a fun episode, but again, a part of the slow beginning of season two.

6. Chapter Three: The Pollywog

A frustrating mix of high highs and low lows

This episode has a lot of highs, but also some pretty low lows. I find the entire Dart plot line to be incredibly frustrating, and that's much of the focus of this episode. This episode does also focus on Hopper and Eleven a lot, too, though, and all of that is fantastic. So it's a relatively mixed bag. I think the thing that gives this episode the edge over the ones below it is its great character development. Obviously Hopper and El are big pluses here, but we spend a lot more time with Bob and with Will to understand both of them a little bit better. So, again, a solid episode. But this is what makes the beginning of season two so frustrating. The beginning just struggles to do anything that pops.

5. Chapter One: MADMAX

A still fun but bleaker reintroduction to Hawkins

Chapter one of season two does a great job of reintroducing us to Hawkins and these characters. It doesn't have the same magic and automatic charm of season one, but it's fun to see these characters in a different scenario. Everyone has a little bit of PTSD, so we see that affecting the whole group. We actually get to spend time with Will. There are tons of new great characters introduced: Max, Billy, Murray, Bob, Owens...all of them are introduced in this episode. So it does a lot of great character building and setting the stage for the second season and the rest of the show. In and of itself, it isn't as magnetic as season one, but this is a very solid reintroduction to the world of Stranger Things.

4. Chapter Five: Dig Dug

The first truly exciting episode of the season

This is where season two takes off. It takes a second, but once Hopper gets stuck in those tunnels and Bob realizes that Will's drawings are a map of Hawkins, Stranger Things 2 never looks back. This episode just transitions into hard-hitting, exciting moments that feel like some of the best of Stranger Things. The Mind Flayer begins to feel like a true threat. The final image of Will seizing in response to the scientists burning the tunnels is horrifying. This episode makes a quick, dramatic turn into act two of the season, and it is so much fun.

3. Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer

A thrilling and emotional build to the climax

Episode eight feels like it has two parts to it, and both are fantastic. The first is what episode seven should have been. The escape from Hawkins Lab. The heroic sacrifice from Bob Newby. The first half of this episode is just a thrilling, unrelenting action sequence that culminates in a tragic moment. After we lose Bob, all of the various groups that have been separated throughout this entire season come together and begin to plan for how to take down the Mind Flayer. Interrogating Will is so much fun. The banter between the group feels like a breath of fresh air after they've been separated for the whole season. And, of course, Eleven's epic return is so satisfying. This episode does what Stranger Things does best: build towards an epic finale.

2. Chapter Six: The Spy

An incredibly fun episode that introduces the greatest duo in TV history

The Spy is one of the best underappreciated episodes of the show. Obviously it gifts us one of the most glorious duos in the history of fiction. Dustin Henderson and Steve Harrington are so much fun. Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo's unlikely chemistry is just crackling, and it all originates in this episode. Beyond that, however, this episode gives us some of the most twists and action sequences in the show. The entire junkyard showdown with Steve taking on the Demodogs is so fun. The reveal that Will is still under the Mind Flayer's control and is the spy, but not the spy for the good guys is effectively shocking. I believe that this episode will have pivotal implications for season five, so that is the cherry on top one of the best and most underrated episodes in the show.

1. Chapter Nine: The Gate

A perfect conclusion to the arc of the first two seasons of Stranger Things

Many people say that Stranger Things could have ended after season one. Honest to God, the only season I think it could not have ended after is season four. Season two's finale acts as a great conclusion not only to itself but to the entire arc that began in season one. The Gate is the ultimate catharsis of the first season. Will is finally freed of the curse of the Upside Down (or so he thought). Eleven has returned and is able to attend the Snow Ball with Mike. Hopper has the daughter figure that he's been needing for so long. Hawkins Lab has been destroyed. These are the perfect cappers to so many of the great plot lines set up since season one. There are so many beautiful moments between characters: Hopper telling Eleven about Sarah, Steve accepting Nancy and Jonathan's relationship, Nancy dancing with Dustin...it's just so, so great. The Gate is just an incredible, epic ending to this season. And it is absolutely perfect.