TV Review: Stranger Things Season Three

Is Stranger Things Still Strange Enough?

By Joanna Patzig

Stranger Things is way too consumable, I found myself binge watching the third season at an alarming rate -- just like I did with the first and second. It was great, the perfect series to watch while I stayed in with a cold. Season three is rich with that winsome nostalgic humor the show is known for, and dramatic coming of age stories as the characters grow up. The only pitfall Stranger Things faces is becoming predictable as the series continues. 

Stranger Things is set in the eighties, so it’s appropriate (and trendy) that it follows the tradition of campy eighties movies. It’s often compared to the Goonies for good reason. With a large cast of characters and 1985 in full effect, the social cartooniness of the season felt spot on. It opens with the town of Hawkins totally captured by the new Star Court Mall and it’s big chain stores. There’s a middle school kind of awkwardness to the show as the characters do their best to have normal lives post gate closing in season two. The really awkward part is when the characters are faced with this eerie otherworldly danger for the third time and they themselves recognize that this is a repetitive plot where Eleven will once again have to save the day. 

That being said, season three does bring some pretty interesting side plots and new characters that drive the episodes along. There is LGBT representation, and Erica (played by Priah Ferguson) becomes a hilarious and central figure. Billy (played by Dacre Montgomery) returns with superb and menacing complexity. The list of endearing characters and foibles just goes on and on, filling the long episodes with heartwarming dialogue. 

The eighties aesthetic is highly memeable and satisfying, the villains are humorous, and most importantly the monsters are still scary cool at times. If you’ve stuck with the series this far, you know how captivating that can be. The combination of touching relationships and sci-fi indulgence makes up for the lack of real suspense. After all, it is like a campy eighties movie where you know things will work out in the end. Stranger Things season three walks the line of horror, tragedy, and camp with the self awareness of an established fantasy, and the resulting finale is accordingly impactful.