Stranger Things Season 3 (2019) is yet another fantastic installment from the Duffer brothers. This 80's themed show has taken America by storm. MLB stadiums now have Stranger Things night which is pretty cool. You know you've achieved notoriety when this happens. After binging this show with family, I'm anxious to put everything down into writing so here we go! Spoilers may follow.
Let's remember where we are. This is roughly 7 months after the end of season 2. Steve is now graduated, Will is back to normal, El is socially progressing and our cast finds themselves in a normal routine.
The 4th of July is right around the corner, and our members are enjoying the sweet summertime. It's a great time for movies, malls are becoming a big deal (Starcourt in our story), and fashion is really starting to take off. Jonathan and Nancy intern at the local newspaper, Mike and El's romance is blossoming, Steve is working at Scoops Ahoy (ice cream parlor), Dustin is returning from camp and Hopper is experiencing being a father.
One new part of the show that I enjoy is the introduction of Robin (Maya Hawke). She is alongside Steve (Joe Keery), and she provides a cool personality that many people can relate too. She likes movies, is a band nerd and more. Steve and she have great chemistry. He finds himself at Scoops Ahoy in Starcourt next to her because he couldn't make it into school. Some of his confidence and suave is lost after he graduates, and it brings him down a little.
Now, Steve is already a redeemable character because of season 2 mainly. He actually became one of my favorite characters because he is willing to help instead of run away. He and Robin have a couple of really dramatic and really funny scenes. The episode where they are both drugged has award-worthy acting from them in my opinion. Also, we can't forget that Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) pairs with Steve strangely well along with Erica (Priah Ferguson). These four end up together for much of the season. Also, the thing with Suzie in the last episode is pretty funny and well done. Them traversing the secret Russian base is pretty great too.
Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and El (Millie Bobby Brown) have a fairly good story. There are a couple of teenagers who have a relationship and want to spend a lot of time together. Max (Sadie Sink) comes in and kind of messes with things. Hopper comes down on Mike and forces him to spend less time with El, so Mike ends up lying to El saying that he can't come that day.
I'm glad that Max and El have some fun together, but I am not sure what we are supposed to think about some things Max does. She convinces El to break up with Mike on fake terms then tells Mike he is trying to keep her from other people which isn't true. In the show, it's obviously mutual for them to be alone together a lot. It only gets more confusing when Mike apologizes for that. It costs some points in my opinion for this part.
Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) have another okay storyline. Their romance is presented well with some hardships involved, but their feelings outweigh it all in the end. They start an investigation that eventually leads to the Mind Flayer. This nasty creature returns by essentially melting people into its form. They end with the kids and help them fight this creature.
Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) are interesting, to say the least, this time around. They almost aren't the same characters. I'm not the only person who has noticed this either. Their personalities have changed. Hopper is no longer the straight-man character. He now uses wide-eyed expressions and is the comic relief. Of course, he made jokes in the first two seasons but not at every chance possible like now. He doesn't act much as he did before really.
Some of the points lost for this is gained back because of the last episode. Hopper is lost (so we think but he will back mark my words), and El sees his letter. It is moving and has the right emotional effect. Joyce Byers just acts off the whole time. The magnet thing got old quickly, and we see too large a shift in personality to justify. To clarify, both of these actors are awesome at their craft, and I don't blame them. For this issue, the Duffer brothers messed up. It is sad because I know how good they are with the other characters in the same season.
Billy (Dacre Montgomery) is a really important character this season. He, unfortunately, is succumbed to the Mind Flayer. However, he gets his hero moment sacrificing himself for El. This brings me to the plot. Part of the Mind Flayer never made it back to the Upside Down, and he is mad. He starts taking over people's minds and uses them for his bidding. It is a solid story to follow.
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