Stranger Things - Season 3

Like the previous season, I'm giving this one four stars, although it is considerably weaker. It lacks the excellent atmosphere that I liked so much at the beginning of the series. Instead, it is filled with humor which didn't amuse me much and made me dislike Sheriff Jim Hopper. The creators turned him into a comic character, which I don’t think was a step in the right direction. (09/01/2019)

I think the third season of Stranger Things is a bit of an embarrassment. The incredibly cool girl with great powers is barely featured, preferring to focus on other not-so-interesting teenagers with weird haircuts and one supposedly amusing love story. At least the soundtrack and actors are still great, although plot-wise, it is not as charming as previous seasons. (10/25/2019)

I can’t say I’m disappointed, it’s still too well narrated and formally gripping for that, but there were already some things that bothered me. It’s very clear now that the show is at its best when it fully focuses on the characters, while saving the world feels somewhat forced and unoriginal. I can partially forgive that because the show it’s clearly built on parodying 1980s tropes and ridiculing the incompetent and irrational Russians (with the exception of their Terminator, whom only fat Rambo could beat). But then, among the over-the-top wanderings in a top secret underground base and the road trip with the funny Russian deserter, there are these deadly serious and at times very brutal scenes, which are great on their own, but don’t quite fit together with the rest. Overall, however, I don’t have any major complaints, it still has its author’s signature and a unique atmosphere, and every episode has something to offer, not to mention the sophisticated way it arranges the communication and the continuity of the information. I’m looking forward to the next round, but I no longer expect the pure originality of the first seasons. 85% (03/15/2020)

The wait for this season was the longest so far and so the expectations were logically the biggest. But it was well worth it. The third season is dope. Eight fantastic episodes, which again make use of everything that this series is famous for. In the beginning, the season relies mainly on the 1980s atmosphere, before the story fully unravels in the second half. It was great to see the crowd around El again, even though they’re getting older like the rest of us. In addition, I liked how during this season, I’ve grown fond of certain characters I would’ve never expected to like. I was really sad at the end. And as this season was very heavy on emotions, I must say that the third season is the best and most memorable thing I’ve seen as far as series go this year. I can’t wait for the next season! (07/23/2019)

The portal to another dimension no longer leads anywhere and has become secondary. At first, I felt similarly awkward as many people around me, but then the Duffer brothers take the reins in the last two episodes and it becomes a ride. Teenage love gushes forth in a mighty geyser, friendships are cemented, character transformations show a willingness to move on, a Soviet Terminator pops up here and there, and then you just lovingly savor the individualities. Like the phenomenal conversation in the vomit-stained toilets of the mall and with it the ice cream goddess Maya Hawke, the never-ending story when it all bursts into the right genre and the injection of distilled milking straight into the tear duct. The magic is gone, but the rest of the world keeps on spinning... and the upside down too. (08/27/2019)