Stranger Things - Season 3

[The Big Peat]

First season of Stranger Things I've watched and I loved it.

 

[Dave]

I've seen the end now, and yes, it probably was the best season, but it was different. It was much more action filled. Therefore, it is hard to compare. The same as comparing Alien with Aliens. Two different things.

 

[ctg]

In a move unlikely to surprise anyone, Netflix has officially announced that there will indeed be a fourth season of its mega-hit series Stranger Things. The announcement comes with its own brief teaser, featuring spooky imagery from the Upside Down and the phrase "We're not in Hawkins anymore" as bells ominously chime.

It’s official: We’re getting a 4th season of Stranger Things from Netflix

 

[HareBrain]

I've watched all three seasons in the last couple of weeks. Loved 1, liked 2, and 3 was watchable but rarely more. I don't think that's just an effect of fatigue. 3 didn't really introduce anything new except the Soviet involvement, which brought with it a whole load of credibility problems for me. I guess the other new aspect was a load of arguing about relationships, especially at points where surely people would be more concerned about the survival of themselves and the world. I've run out of interest in squelchy monsters, and sadly, the post-credits bit at the end of the last episode leads me to think we'll just be getting more of the same in season 4. (Having said that, I'll still watch it with enthusiasm, at least at first.)

 

[Mr Orange]

did a bit of a lockdown/parental leave binge of all 3 seasons over the last couple of weeks and this is a short summation of my views:

Chapter 1 is great: The introduction of the characters and the monster is really well done, although there is not so much character development as the season is mostly plot driven. Still, it's a great plot with drama, action sequences and twists in all the right places. I really struggled to not watch the next episode every time.

Chapter 2 is also great: Not so plot driven as we've seen (almost) all of it before, but the character development is what holds this together more. Bit more of a jump-scare season than the first. I still really enjoyed it but it was more for the characters (especially Eleven).

Chapter 3 is definitely a step down (in my opinion). The plot is so-so and seriously stretches credibility at times, and the character development is overblown and even annoying at times. This season is much more of a typical 80's production with 80's writing, instead of the clever modern productions set in the 80's that the first two seasons were.

Speaking of character development, while is love Eleven's, the character arc I got the biggest kick out of was actually Steve "The Hair" Harrington's.

I think it will be interesting to see how they do the next season. Hawkins is a mess and I read somewhere that they may be setting a lot of the story elsewhere. Which will be hard to do without changing the whole show.

Oh and then there's this:

 

[HareBrain]

This season is much more of a typical 80's production with 80's writing, instead of the clever modern productions set in the 80's that the first two seasons were.

Yeah, they did the retro too well.

 

[Mr Orange]

Yeah, they did the retro too well.

Excellent way of putting it HB, that's exactly what they did

 

[Hugh]

Well, I've just watched Season 3 having had a bit of a gap after Season 2.
My thoughts are almost exactly the same as @HareBrain who wrote back in March 2020:
I've watched all three seasons in the last couple of weeks. Loved 1, liked 2, and 3 was watchable but rarely more. I don't think that's just an effect of fatigue. 3 didn't really introduce anything new except the Soviet involvement, which brought with it a whole load of credibility problems for me. I guess the other new aspect was a load of arguing about relationships, especially at points where surely people would be more concerned about the survival of themselves and the world. I've run out of interest in squelchy monsters, and sadly, the post-credits bit at the end of the last episode leads me to think we'll just be getting more of the same in season 4. (Having said that, I'll still watch it with enthusiasm, at least at first.)
I found the first two episodes dull and annoying, but then it got going and at times put me through the emotional wringer. However, I doubt that I'd bother watching if it wasn't for Seasons 1 & 2. When something's really good, like Season 1, I become sufficiently involved that I don't find myself picking holes in the plot or getting annoyed with the writers, whereas in Season 3 this no longer holds. I'm pissed off that the writers have (presumably) decided to move Hopper to Kamchatka, but then I felt the whole presence of Russia in the storyline to be totally unnecessary.
Of course I'm still sufficiently hooked that I'll be watching Season 4 before long.