Welcome back everyone! I hope winter break treated you well and that you’re feeling energized to dive back into classes again.

I spent a lot of my winter break relaxing and watching new television shows that I need to tell you about.

First and foremost, I finally finished “Stranger Things 2.” Warning: there will be spoilers in the next few lines, but I’ll try to not make them obvious.

In comparison to the first season of “Stranger Things,” “Stranger Things 2” feels like the sad sequel that viewers needed and deserved. It was not sad in the sense that it was not well done but that it was emotionally exhausting to watch. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say: Bob Newby deserved better.

I welcomed the idea of introducing another character like Eleven because there had to be more people with crazy mind powers in this universe. Eight, the respective new character, was introduced in the first 25 minutes of episode one. It was great; she was able to force people to see things that were not really there. I was so excited to see more of her, but then she did not show up again until the seventh episode in the nine episode season. I think everybody probably forgot about her until they got to that episode. My major gripe with the season is not putting her guest-star episode earlier in the season. It didn’t make sense to have it as late as it is.

This season provided a lot of character development for the cast, which I’m thankful for. Season three has already been confirmed by the creators, but I’m kind of hoping it moves away from the formula the show has been known for: There are weird underworld-type monsters. Will is the only character affected by them yet can’t do anything to defend himself. Eleven swoops in and saves the day.

I don’t know how they can make the show different, but I’m hoping they can.

After finishing “Stranger Things 2,” I needed to immediately fill the Netflix void in my life and moved onto another Netflix original, “Dark.”

“Dark” is a German science-fiction series that leaves you asking ‘Wait, what is going on?’ after every single episode.

Before I possibly spoil the series, I would definitely recommend binge-watching this show if you were a fan of “Stranger Things” but can handle more mature series like “Black Mirror.” This show is nuts. Watch it.

Have you ever felt like your everyday actions might be a part of something greater? Maybe that one person you held the door open for has a much greater effect on your life than you think they do? That’s the thing with “Dark,” everyone has some sort of effect on the lives of everyone else..

Netflix introduces “Dark” like this: “In 2019, a local boy’s disappearance strokes fear in the residents of Winden, a small German town with a strange and tragic history.”

Despite “Dark” spanning over three decades and things getting a little confusing at times, the show kept me on the edge of my seat. As the viewer, I kept trying to piece together parts of the plot as new information was presented. It was a show I spent a lot of time thinking about even when I wasn’t watching it.

Every single character had so much depth and involvement to the overall plot that I feel like I can’t truly dislike any of them. Jonas and Mikkel were my favorites, but I liked everyone in the series. I have no idea who is supposed to be the antagonist of the show – probably Noah?

I really did like this show but I need a second season! I hated the ending of season one, which was with some weird “The Walking Dead” scene where there’s a ragtag group of people with a tank. Like, what? And that was it! That was the entire finale.

I’m literally praying that season two gives closure on what happened in the past. If season two focuses on the future, I’ll be very upset. I mean, I’ll watch it anyway, but I won’t like it.

Currently, I’m finishing up “End of the F***ing World” on Netflix and watching a lot of Food Network reruns.