Comment by tsss

All of what you said is accurate, but the problems are unfixable at this point, for two reasons:

1. Millie Bobbie Brown, the actor of Eleven, is unfathomably stupid (watch any out-of-character interview with her) and the role has simply outgrown her acting abilities. They can't make Eleven do anything interesting because Millie can't act it.

2. Writers have introduced so many supporting characters and separate story lines that it is impossible to give any of them enough screen time for proper character development.

There are other major writing problems with the show, like the overreliance on cheap 80s culture references, but I think the main problem is with the characters. The writers simply don't understand what made the first season so good.