Next in the Queue: Stranger Things Season 3 Review

STRANGER THINGS IS BACK!!! Queue the opening theme!

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For those of you who don't know, I live and die by Stranger Things. I'd say I'm the shows' biggest fan but you know there's someone out there who's probably bought all of the merchandise and stalks the actors. And I can't afford that merch...yet. Season 1 came out July 15th 2016 and if I didn't have to work the next morning, I would've binged it all night. But it didn't catch until August-September 2016 (and of course Halloween) because Netflix hadn't yet had huge hits, and none on the proportion of this show, so word still traveled slowly. But I was there Day 1, OG fan, spreading the 80's coming-of-age/sci-fi greatness gospel across the land. Enough of the ST elitism, let's get on with the S3 review...

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By now many of you have started, if not finished, binging Season 3 of the Netflix hit and they had a minor stroke of genius by dropping this on the long July 4th weekend. As you can tell anything with the "Stranger Things" branding on it gets me excited but when that initial trailer combined the summer setting and The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (Teenage Wasteland), I knew I was in for what could be the best season yet. The second trailer switched gears into a much much darker tone. We definitely got flavors of both trailers. Season 3 was not only the fun summer experience we all had as kids but it was dark, really dark (especially the Sauna Experiment). 

I'll start off with my negatives, because there ain't many. First off, this kinda started in Season 2 but Mike is the common teenage ass now. I completely understand where the character is coming from and Finn Wolfhard (best name in Hollywood) does a great job with what he's given. Teenagers are notoriously hard to bring to screen because they suck in so many ways; we all realize this when we grow up a bit. The fact that the Duffer Brothers and writing team have made so many of these teens likable until now is beyond impressive. Mike has the rose-tinted glasses on the young-love relationship and as the presumed 'leader' of the party, he kinda takes a stronger stance to issue so he takes it out on authority figures like his parents and Hopper, as we all did back then. But he takes it out a little too much on his friends at time. 3 INCHES MIKE!

The biggest negative of the season is just a product of the Duffer's creativity and refreshing the story based on growth and movies they base each season off of. That negative is - separating the characters too much. The first two seasons were so great as they combined an awesome story and world-building, with great characters that we can all relate to (I'm a Dustin all the way). Basically, they're not just plot or character-driven. But it was evident that there were a lot of subplots this season due to separating the characters; Max/Lucas/El/Mike/Will + Dustin/Steve/Robin/Erica + Hopper/Joyce + Nancy/Johnathan + etc. Too many and half of them came together by episode 4 but they all didn't come together until episode 7. Stranger Things thrives off of all of the characters' chemistry and they just weren't together enough. Speaking of Dustin! In the 2nd season he was separated a lot from the party too and even more so this season! Give my man and those shiny pearls some love!!!

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Onto the positives because that's all this show is! As I mentioned the summer setting was perfect and this show was begging for it. Plus the idea to implement the new town mall, "Starcourt Mall," was a great device and overall Swiss army knife for the season. Whether it was the shopping scenes with Max + El vs the boys, to the Scoops Ahoy! gang solving mysteries, or just the giant battle. Starcourt continued to capture the 80's like no other media does and utilized very well. Speaking of the Scoops Ahoy gang! HA give us the spin-off! The Robin-Steve dynamic was pure John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, etc.) flavor and not only made for great comedy bits the whole season but really powerful emotional bits. Then you add classic Babysitter Steve and sidekick Dustin back into the fold, it's like Dustin never left for summer camp. Erica was a nice touch of sprinkles on top of the sundae too.

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The boyfriends vs girlfriends dynamic with the kids was hilarious and all too relateable (we've all been in Will's shoes) but the best part to come out of it for me was the Eleven-Max dynamic, arguably carrying episodes 1 and 2. Girls just wanted to have fun.

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From the minute Joyce is helping Hopper with his speech in the store to the very last scenes of episode 8, you could tell Winona Ryder and David Harbour were having a blast this season. Their dynamic was much more laid back and comedic. Joyce was not forced to be crazy and chain smoking but got to be stronger and more effective. Plus Hopper thrives as a father, not so much as a boyfriend, but as a cop-dad he peaks.

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Here comes the MVP of season 3 - Billy. Dacre Montgomery as Billy in Season 2 came in as quite the scene-stealing villain and I loved him more than most, especially that scene with Mrs.Wheeler. I was rooting so hard for this affair to go down and what they choose to do with Billy and Mrs.Wheeler was perfect for me. It was proof the Duffers just want to make a lighthearted show. Aside from them, Billy gets a very painful and emotional arc. He has to go through quite a lot and like Steve went from bully to babysitter in season 1, you really understand where Billy comes from during this season.

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Overall, Season 3 ranks right behind Season 1 for me. When it's all said and done, I may be a Season 1 purist so it may always rank at the top but there is NO bad season, I love all of them. Season 3 was darker, more original than 2, and really emotional. The plot was probably the most messy with a ton of subplots but the monster was really cool. The jokes hit but what hit harder was Episode 8, more than any This is Us episode, maybe more than any Toy Story. The ending of this season takes advantage of what was perceived a fear for Stranger Things - the kids growing up. Instead they embrace it; they embrace that there are so many changes when you grow up and in the moment it is scary. It will never, not be scary, but we all have to grow up and life changes around us. No matter what is in the dark, no matter what the future holds for us, some part of us will always be kids and remember our best times as kids. So while many, including myself, thought they had to rush 5 seasons out before the kids grow up, the Duffer brothers decided to embrace it as a strength. Allowing them to tell refreshing stories with changing characters. There are so many directions to go with this rich world, and Hawkins, Indiana is just too small to hold the kids anymore. 

I'll be rewatching all the way until Season 4 - Ryan, TGYK