Stranger Things 3 dropped on Netflix during the week of July 4th. It follows the next adventure for the kids of Hawking, Mrs. Joyce Beyers, and Chief Hopper. The Mind Flayer is again on the loose and creating a zombie army it can control while the Russians are working on opening the portal to the Upside Down.
Season 3 was good but does not measure up to the previous two, as it lacks the same suspense and surprise. Or maybe the Duffer brothers’ formula has become too predictable.
The story is told in 8 episodes which kept the plot moving and allowed little to no time for the story to slow down and feel too prolonged. Every episode left me wanting to know what happens next rather than finding a good stopping point to give up for the night and retire from television watching.
Unlike the previous seasons, Season 3 takes place during summer vacation for the kids rather than during the school year. From the start, it is evident that the children are growing up and growing apart. It is because of the Mind Flayer and the danger that really brings the group back together to fight alongside each other again.
The show continues to impress audiences with its special effects of the Mind Flayer and the total immersion into the 80s culture. The setting and timeframe of the show play more like a character than just a place for the story. Because the show takes place during the mid-80s, it is a time before the internet, cell phones, and the technology we have today to make instant communicating easy and this is a hurdle the team always contends with (even though the Mayor does bust out an impressive Zack Morris phone)
Hawkings itself is a rural town in Indiana that borders a huge forest and hosts a scientific governmental lab. It is the lab that starts the events for the show in Season 1 and continues to be an important location throughout the series. The town is big enough to make it hard for the team to communicate easily but small enough that they can traverse it quickly. Dustin uses a radio to communicate, but it doesn’t always work due to distance or battery issues, but Jonathan or Steve can drive from one side of town to the other in minutes.
The only real fault I found this season, other than the predictability, is the way it was shot. It felt like 3 or 4 different shows at times because there are only a few scenes where the entire cast is on screen at the same time. We get a show about Nancy and Jonathan, who are working at a newspaper and trying to break a big story. Next, El, Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will are investigating the Mind Flayer as Will can sense that it is back. Then there is Dustin, Steve, Erica, and Robyn who are working on investigating some strange going-on in the Starcourt Mall. Lastly, Joyce and Hopper are investigating why Russians are trying to reopen the portal to the Upside Down. All these stories tie into one another and it all becomes clear in the final two episodes on how it is all connected. Doing it this way, however, made the series feel disjointed at times.
Overall Season 3 of Stranger Things is better than Season 2, but neither has the same magic as the inaugural season and the show is really starting to plateau. The Duffer’s probably have a good 1, possibly 2 seasons left, and like all good things, it will need to come to an end. The children are getting older and rising in the ranks as celebrities, creating problems with scheduling. Finish the story and the end the show on a solid note. Maybe in 10 years revisit the show and revisit Hawkins. The kids can reunite as adults coming back to the town for a High School reunion and noticing that something strange is going on in the old neighborhood. Just a thought.
Hopefully, Season 4 sees the characters interact more with each other and they cross paths more often than they did this season. I am also expecting Season 4 to answer the question on what happened to El’s “sister” from the previous season as no mention of that subplot was even given. I hope this side plot wasn’t completely dropped and answers will come in the future.
