I never watched the second movie--it's too bad that didn't hold up. (Though I've now requested the books from the library to see if the books do the same--I think they did. It doesn't seem like it would be a hard metaphor to keep going with, but...huh.)

I wonder if that's why it didn't do quite as well as some of the other YA-audience stuff coming out at the time--just too hard for neurotypicals to relate to :D Here comes the overwhelming urge to rewatch it!