From the Cold (War) opener, to the tantalizing ending scenes that leave us wanting for next season already, I can honestly say—while not being the best season, that laurel still belongs to the first one—that this is my favorite season of the show, to date.

I will always listen to that theme, never skip the title drop at the beginning. It’s a classic, at this point—something everyone and their brother knows and can hum along to, even if they’re not avid viewers of the show. Production value is up (due to the Duffer Brothers’ reputation and studio budget increase, no doubt), and the creature effects have never been better, though the showrunners have always opted for the raw, visceral aesthetic of their monsters. Themes of family and “moving on”—mostly from the events of S2—as well as growing up from childhood, as we’ve seen many of the actors have done, permeate this season. It all blends together really well, and the Duffers continue to show off their knack for visual storytelling. That one shot of Nancy backing into and knocking over the kids’ bikes sticks out to me, in this instance. As we’ll touch on in more depth later, some characters step out of the wings to provide more central effects on the story and present more agency within the in-show universe, while others continue their already-established and fleshed-out arcs.

Major spoilers from here on out for the third season of Stranger Things!!

 

Firstly, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: The ending, foremost to this discussion…

It’s no small thing that Hopper decides his time has come to an end (at least, as far as we know), that the best thing he can do for El is let her grow on her own and make her own choices. That sacrifice of his in the final episode, while sad and definitely a gut-punch, I feel is not the end for the character; the last sequence depicts a Soviet gulag where they are housing and grooming a new, mysteriously-acquired Demogorgon, where the soldiers specifically refer to an “American”—a captive, we can guess, but…from where? Did that gateway-opening device the Soviets have in this season, when it malfunctioned, simply send those affected to the Upside-Down—unscathed save in the surface world, like Thanos’s Snap? All those scientists that got zapped in the beginning…those at the end, as well…Chief Hopper…were they all just teleported to the Upside-Down, awaiting retrieval, like young Will in S1? That’s my theory, anyway; so, when the gulag soldiers are discussing possible victims to throw to the captive Demogorgon, and the one says, “No, not the American,” that’s actually Hopper, fresh back from the other place and interned in this far-flung hell-hole, where—in S4—he’ll have to pull off a daring escape and make it back to Hawkins. I do like the chemistry that has continued to develop between him and Joyce, too, though we may not get to see it come to fruition for a while; that scene with Murray in the car was perfect, and had me laughing so hard I had to actually rewind to see what I missed. He is—and has been, since mid-S1—my favorite character, and I hope to see him resurface, in the next season.

Cara Buono—Mike’s mom—steps out of the background, giving due, motherly advice to the struggling Nancy. She, too, has a lot more to do and say this season, and takes charge of her life instead of having others do it for her. Her line, “If you believe in this story, finish it,” really shook me, and pushes Nancy to action, to seeing it through to the end, wherever it leads her and despite her bosses at the paper not paying any mind to crackpot theories and hear-say. This speaks to the whole traditional Americana and family values versus the new, independent mindset; as well as growing up and, even—as we see in the final sequences of the season—apart, the kids are faced with the truths of adulthood and that their parents won’t always be there for them. It all wraps back around to the misfit family they have found in each other, though.

Mama Steve returns!! His pulls a close-second as favorite running character in the series. Not as crucial a role as in last season, but his dynamic with the kids, as “The Babysitter”/surrogate big brother to many of them, is allthewhile entertaining to watch. While all the kids continue to be awesome, and maturing into talented actors in their own rights, a new character, Robin (Maya Hawke; Little Women (2017), Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), piqued my interest in this season. Hers is a…complicated one; a potential, love-tense equal to Steve (it would seem) in the beginning, by the end, we learn that she’s not really “his type”. The writing-in of a girlfriend character in the next season would be cool to see, especially if a young actress of note were cast—maybe Florence Pugh…? As well as introducing yet another new face to the ever-increasing “Round Table” of kid and young-adult characters aware of and acting against the paranormal goings-on in Hawkins, it would add another layer of complexity to both her character and the story as it moves into the late ‘80s or, certainly, the ‘90s. Plus, Steve’s friendship with and acceptance of Robin into the group may sour if the choice in girl is less-than-desirable or she is increasingly nasty to “his kids”. Lots of ways they can explore this new arc and the character’s relation to the rest of the group.

 We also get a more “independent young women” take on events, from El and Max’s points-of-view, as a mid-season break-up between El and Mike sees her and Max becoming closer friends. It’s Max that tells El not to let anyone use her for her gifts, and to speak up when she feels she’s being suppressed or downtrodden. A model attitude for all the young girls, watching at home. Like a more relatable, age-appropriate Carol Danvers. They kill it, as far as believability goes—what, with Max being such a new addition to the group. I look forward to that developing further, especially with the friends now being separated by great distance, come the finale. Could’ve done with a little less (or no) Erica—Lucas’s little sister—as a lot of her scenes were eye-rollingly obnoxious and drawn-out, but maybe this slap of preternatural reality will be enough to grow her up by next season.

I’m glad the Duffers are changing things up more than just representationally, though. The introduction of the Cold War/Soviet element in this season is expertly grafted into the story, and adds—everyone with me, now—another layer of complexity to the events in and around the fateful town of Hawkins, Indiana. There’s a sense of intrigue, as we see the Russians moving along with their experiments quite literally under the nose of this once-sleepy, Middle-America town; though they don’t get too far with their Stateside work, thanks to Dustin and select others, I kept watching to see what new secrets surrounding them would be uncovered. The creators clearly aren’t losing traction, this many seasons in, and I’m glad—bodes well for future seasons of the show, as we learn more about the Upside-Down as its own world.

The show has officially ventured into cheesy, meta territory. While always kind of tongue-in-cheek with its material—marketed as a blatant nostalgia trip for Gen-Xer’s and those fond of 1980s pop culture—Stranger Things has earned this new, silly framing. The showrunners at Netflix know people will tune in, anyway, just for the name, and with the numbers this season has elicited for the streaming service, hype clearly isn’t slowing down, anytime soon. Some suspension of disbelief must be had, throughout, but that’s sci-fi for ya. I felt the Soviet Spetsnaz solider that’s introduced as this kind of “clean-up” guy is a bit too Schwarzenegger from Commando­-y, but, again, the show’s earned that level of meta cheesery with its reputation and fan-base.

Lots of things are introduced, however, but not always thoroughly-explored; the green, corrosive substance, for instance—while we see it being inserted into the Soviets’ “Key” device, at one point, maybe as a stabilizing element—is never fleshed out. Where did they acquire it? Is it synthetic? I also had a problem with the Starcourt Mall… Is it all a cover-up for the Russians’ cloak-and-dagger dealings, or are only a select few stores within Soviet-run? While the flesh-and-blood incarnation of the Mind-Flayer, introduced in S2, is cool and all, I have questions about that, as well. Are all the Flayed truly dead, when they’re assimilated into the larger organism, or are there people in pods somewhere beneath the abandoned steelworks that require rescuing? I did like the aesthetic of it, though; very much John Carpenter’s The Thing, while also incorporating aspects of Invasion of the Body-Snatchers in the characters of the Flayed impersonators—even the hive-mind connection the Tethered seem to have in Jordan Peele’s Us, as well as the brutal take-over and conversion elements reminiscent of the Halo franchise’s Flood aliens. Hope for more being explored with all these things, as the characters have time to take stock and truly investigate possible, future counter-measures against this determined evil, leading into S4.

“The Battle of Starcourt” finale episode is certainly the most action-packed, to date, but this is also the most action season we’ve had, so far. It’s all been building to this—the Mind-Flayer coming into the surface world, other evils finding out about and exploiting the power of the Upside-Down, and character arcs seeming to come to ends that are both shocking and unexpected to fans.  We’re left on a longing note, despite not being left with too many hints. The final sequences seem kind of…empty; following Hopper’s alleged death, Eleven reading his secret letter to her and Mike, and the Byerses moving out of the Hawkins community—with El in-tow—we don’t have an idea of where the future of the show will go. I’m not skeptical, though. I have faith in the Duffers and their writing team to pull yet another rabbit out of the hat and blow us all away again, next season.

Full of new and exciting twists that are as unpredictable as they are breath-stealingly shocking, Stranger Things, Season 3 is fantastic. Not as dark and brooding as S1, but keeping the complexity and anticipation to tell further stories I liken to S2, this season has everything a devoted fan could want…and more. It stays true to its horror-suspense roots, while offering new takes and twists to keep things fresh for existing fans, and enticing the new to catch up. The music is great, and cameos by the likes of Jake Busey (Starship Troopers, Shane Black’s The Predator), Paul Reiser—once again!!—and Cary Elwes (Liar Liar, The Princess Bride) are fun for filmies to pick up on.

Final ‘Risk Assessment: ****/*. Can’t wait to see where the Duffers take the show in the future, as I’m sure the groundwork is already being laid for the fourth season and beyond.

Looking back—and not knocking the amazing work Andy and Barbara Muschietti have done and are doing—I’d’ve loved to have seen what the Duffers’ rendition of Stephen King’s IT would have looked like…