Posted December 1, 2019 by Amy Smith Uncategorized

TV Series Review: Stranger Things (Season 3)

The third season of the hit series Stranger Things dropped on the 4th of July this year on Netflix and instantly became their biggest success on their streaming surface. Created by the Duffer Brothers, this series brings back the beloved cast including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder and David Harbour to name a few, but also added a few new faces, most notably Maya Hawke. In this series, the characters have to deal with strange things happening around their town of Hawkins, particularly focusing on the new mall that opened up in their area, when they discover that Russians are trying to re-open the upside-down and that the Mind Flayer is still alive.

There are three main storylines in this series that essentially split the main group up, taking them on very different journeys to reach the same final conclusion. This is an interesting route to take, especially since some of the splits in the group feel odd at first but all of the teams overall make sense when their individual journeys progress. I also found the separation of the groups to actually feel natural, which I was shocked about.

If we are going to talk about the individual storylines, there are two out of the three which are incredibly strong and entertaining to watch. My favourite of the bunch though has got to be the team that includes Steve, Dustin and new members Robin and Erica, played by Maya Hawke and Priah Ferguson. Not only are these characters the strongest in terms of personality and humour, with a majority of the jokes being made by this team, but the storyline as well is the most interesting and bold out of the three.

There is a heavy sense of nostalgia with this show, due to it being set in the 1980s, but this may be the heaviest of it so far. Just like with Avengers: Endgame earlier this year, this series also makes use of referencing Back to the Future to focus in on the nostalgia, and I loved every moment of it obviously. The show feels completely stylised to emphasise this, continuing the trend of the fashion and hair choices, as well as making a huge deal of a mall coming to a major city, something which only seems natural to us nowadays.

The second of the three storylines that I very much enjoyed was that between Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, played by Winona Ryder and David Harbour. These two are completely captivating in their roles and actually have the most character development of anyone in this series. They still play this story of whether they like each other or not, and it actually comes across as adorable and charming, whilst not being overpowering to the story. Their main storyline has a great journey that they must go on and we are introduced to characters during this which are absolutely hilarious.

It is unfortunate to say, though, that the main group that we all started watching the show for and fell in love with have the weakest story here by far. A big factor of this story fell on the relationship shared between Eleven and Mike, played by Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard. Yes, this is a show that focuses on teenagers, but in a sci-fi show like this where there is a dark and fascinating place like the Upside Down and creatures like the Mind Flayer to defeat and high risk involved, I am not a fan of the fact that a majority of the main storyline was seeming to be taken over by a love story that I have never fully become invested in.

When going into this season, I was expecting there to be major risks taken with putting the characters in serious risk of death. They have played it relatively safe in previous seasons, so I wanted the creators to be bolder in the battle sequences. Whilst I can see the progression of this, they still never reach the full potential. They do make a bold move near the end of the series, but I still feel that this is a decision that can be turned back and still not have many major repercussions, which I hope they decide not to do. It still feels a little safe for the world that was created inside of this show, and could just go that little bit further to be truly dark and horrifying.

This may be the weakest season yet, but it is still an entertaining show and continues to have so many possibilities going forward. This season took several risks, and it ended up being those riskier moments and the new additions that I enjoyed the most from this season. I would still recommend checking this show out if you are one of the few that have not seen it yet, as each season feels refreshing yet familiar and has a great balance of tones for anyone to get into.

Have you checked out season three of Stranger Things? Is it your least favourite of the series like myself, or is this your favourite so far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section and let’s have a discussion.