The wait for the next series of Stranger Things finally ended on the 4th July when Season 3 dropped on Netflix.
Stranger Things was one of those TV masterpieces that I was never sure would survive a second or even third season. The first series was beautifully put together and putting so much lightening in a bottle more than once is nigh on impossible.
Season 2 managed to maintain the magic and showed that the series could have legs. We waited extra long for season 3 but boy was it worth it. The Duffer Brothers have created a fun, enthralling, funny, entertaining, shocking and fascinating slice of television.
On the face of it the third series shouldn’t work as well as it does, a mall built by Russians over a secret lab sounds ludicrous but it works. What works are the kids. These and not the monsters are the stars. The tone is a bit different now that they are older but they are still the best part.
We get to see the children be more effective than adults yet again and display their unique skills to defeat evil. The team is expanded upon this year adding Robin and Erica to the team who join up with Steve and Dustin. With such a large cast it was obvious that they split off into teams and it was great to see each contribute to the plot until they finally all came together in the finale.
What a finale, action packed and touching. It had great weight and changed the dynamic completely. Poor Joyce Byers she doesn’t have much luck does she?
Winona Ryder again excels herself as Joyce and her plot with Hopper, Murray and Alexei was a treat to watch. Eleven continues to be an intriguing protagonist and its nice to see her develop as a ‘normal’ child.
The Scoop Troop were my personal favorite mainly due to the four outstanding characters in it, Dustin always being one of my favourites. Will was reduced to little more than a Mindflayer detector but then he was a key part of the past two series.
The denizens of the Upside Down are definitely as creepy as ever and portrayed in terrifying realism. I m not a horror fan but I am able to manage the mindflayer and his minions.
Stranger Things is delightful blend of sci-fi and horror tropes subverted by the lens of kids. Its 1980’s setting is masterfully nostalgic and its humour keeps the show from becoming too depressive.
Season 4 is greenlit and I am less concerned about it than before. Stranger Things is a finite thing, due to the child actors, pretty soon they will be too old to have the same impacts and so roll on season 4 we have loose ends to tie up and cliffhangers to fix.
Into the Nebula 
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