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    Stranger Things Review: Season 3 – More of the same

    By Salome G
    | July 8, 2019
    TV Blogs

    In retrospect, I was not as critical as I should have been of season 2. While it was enjoyable, I didn’t like it much as season 1. For one, it suffered from underdeveloped characters. With a cast this big (and expanding every season), that’s hard to avoid. They certainly didn’t this season.

    [There will be mild spoilers.]

    Stranger Things S3 Poster

    This time around, for example, the show adds Cary Elwes as the hapless Mayor Larry Kline, who mostly exists to be beaten up by Hopper and a Russian super-soldier (Andrey Ivchenko). That’s right–the Russians are here.

    As it turns out, they apparently never got the memo about how dangerous it is to mess around with the Upside Down, because they’ve been diligently experimenting with it for God knows how long. To that end, they’ve installed a research facility underneath the new mall in Hawkins. Sure, that checks out.

    Meanwhile, our kids in Hawkins just want to grow up and have fun. Well, mostly. There’s a minor plotline running through the season about how frustrated Will is that his friends just want to hang out with their girlfriends, instead of playing Dungeons & Dragons. This is understandable, to an extent–Will’s had his growth stunted, in a way. Unfortunately, the show never spends enough time with Will to make his feelings clearer.

    Stranger Things S3 Sadie Sink Millie Bobby Brown Max Mayfield Eleven 2

    This is one of the major failings of the season. For all the time and talk about how everything’s changing, nobody really seems to. Or if they do, they change in ways that don’t feel true to their characters. Hopper is a prime example. While I didn’t find him as boorish as some critics, he is A Lot this season. And the weaknesses with his storyline are similar to Will’s. We can infer, for example, that Hopper is so gung-ho because he doesn’t want to lose a daughter again, but that’s just it–we have to infer it. The groundwork for that motivation is never set. It’s unclear what’s driving him exactly, but it ain’t police work.

    So while Hopper is drunkenly storming out of restaurants, Nancy (and to a lesser extent, Jonathan) do the bulk of the investigative work this season. They get to the bottom of this season’s Upside Down threat, because sometimes they come back…again. If there is a major failing this season apart from weak characterization, it is the sameness of the Upside Down plot. It’s grosser this time, so we can give them that.

    Stranger Things S3 Winona Ryder David Harbour Joyce Byers Jim Hopper

    But it still feels like the same ol’, same ol’. On the other hand, the season crackles with energy whenever we spend time with the “Scoops Troop,” the rag-tag group comprising Steve, his new Scoops Ahoy coworker Robin (Maya Hawke), Dustin, and Lucas’s little sister Erica. The latter is a particular delight. Seen only in brief glimpses last season, she really gets a chance to become part of the group this season and we’re all better for it. She’s smart and hilarious–her line to Murray is one of the best of the season.

    And this is a good season. I know it sounds as if I didn’t like it, but I found it much more bingeable than the last season. I just feel as if there were an even better season buried underneath this one. The early allusions to George Romero–the kids sneak in to see Day of the Dead–and some zombie-esque behavior hinted as a cool direction the show could have gone. That storyline, again, ended up turning into the much grosser one.

    Stranger Things S3 Maya Hawke Joe Keery Gaten Matarazzo Robin Steve Harrington Dustin Henderson

    In addition, Billy’s storyline might have been more interesting if it had been someone else, someone we trust. Or if we’d gotten to know Billy a little better before everything happens to him. As it is, it’s hard to feel sympathy for him, even when we’re shown his backstory.

    That’s not a problem when it comes to characters like Robin or Russian scientist Alexei (Alex Utgoff). We’re able to spend more time with them and their respective storylines end up being more moving as a consequence. The scenes with Robin and Steve are particularly well-done, especially the scene where Robin confesses her secret. Joe Keery and Maya Hawke apparently spent time workshopping that scene and it shows, specifically in its realness.

    That’s where the show is best. In its first season, they hit enough vintage beats that it really felt like a product of the 80s. But in this season, that old-school finish is starting to show signs of wear. It feels more like 80s dress-up than the real thing. It’s supposed to be a show that makes us nostalgic for the decade. But by the end of this season, it’s only nostalgic for itself.

    8/10 – Overall, this was a pretty good, bordering on great, season. But the repetitiveness of the Upside Down plotline is starting to drag the show down. I understand that’s the hook of the show, but it needs a bigger twist at this point. Unfortunately, the post-credits scene in the last episode hints toward more of the same in the next season (if the show is renewed for season 4). But the kids are changing. It would be cool if the show would, too.

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    NetflixStranger Things

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    19 Comments
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    Stargazer
    Stargazer
    4 years ago

    I give credit to the Russians because they built an elaborate and sophisticated research base under the US territory. That by itself is already a great feat, it even surpassed the skills of “The Americans”, pun intended.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    4 years ago

    It was brief, but I liked the tension between Mrs. Wheeler and Billy and just that whole “boy toy” thing the ladies at the pool had for him. Nice connection to that Fast Times at Ridgemont High scene.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    4 years ago
    Reply to  GabbaHey

    It would have been interesting if they’d given a bit more space to that, I think.

    0
    Reply
    GabbaHey
    GabbaHey
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    Agreed. I also used to completely hate Billy, but the childhood flashbacks this season made me feel just a little bit of sympathy for him.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    4 years ago

    Thanks for writing this! I had mixed feelings about Erica. Cute and smart, but she seemed really shout-y in that kid actor kind of way.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    4 years ago
    Reply to  murasaki

    Yeah, at first, I was wondering where they were going with her characterization, especially with the free samples bit, but I liked how she turned out to be a secret nerd.

    0
    Reply
    murasaki
    murasaki
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    I really liked the free samples scene. Such a smart-aleck kid thing to do. Curious if she gets more screen time in the next season.

    0
    Reply
    Bigfoot
    Bigfoot
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    “I’m not a nerd!”

    In those days, being called a nerd was not cool, so I can understand Erica’s denial, although she knew that she was a nerd. These days, being a nerd is cool and some of the richest guys on the planet today are nerds.

    0
    Reply
    Rick
    Rick
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    I am stunned that you like Erica! In my opinion, she’s one of the worst examples of the obnoxious, precocious, mouthy child that TV writers seem so enamored with… is it really charming to have a child that age constantly say “shit”, or call an adult a “bald headed bastard”? Would anyone in real life ever tolerate being around a child like that?

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Rick

    Well, definitely not in real life–I have a 10yo niece and she is not allowed to talk like that. She’s not even allowed to see TV and movies where people talk like that. But I see Erica as a throwback to kid characters in 80s movies.

    0
    Reply
    Rick
    Rick
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Salome G

    Maybe the obnoxious brat was a thing in the 80s movies, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t allowed to swear like that back then.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Rick

    Yeah, that’s fair. Also, I’m thinking of movies like the Goonies, which I loved as a kid younger than my nieces, but won’t let them watch because of the language.

    0
    Reply
    Stargazer
    Stargazer
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Rick

    In all honesty, most of us, if not all, were not allowed to swear, when we were younger, and while we were inside the home, in the school, or in the church. However, when we were with our friends, then we swore a lot. This is based on my observation only.

    0
    Reply
    Rick
    Rick
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Stargazer

    That may be, but Erica is always swearing directly to adults. It’s just ridiculous over-the-top behavior that TV writers think is so adorable…

    0
    Reply
    Stargazer
    Stargazer
    4 years ago
    Reply to  Rick

    Good point. This may give an idea to younger viewers that swearing to adults is fine. I hope the writers will tone down this kind of attitude on the next season.

    0
    Reply
    matthew martin
    matthew martin
    4 years ago

    Oh wow we disagree a little. I thought the season was nearly perfect. 10/10 for me.

    0
    Reply
    Salome G
    Salome G
    4 years ago
    Reply to  matthew martin

    Well, like I said, I did enjoy it quite a bit, despite my grouching. I just wish they’d sharpen it a bit. Also, this is the inverse of my enjoying Midsommar much more than you did.

    0
    Reply

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