How much stranger could things be for the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana? Very strange. Season Three of the Award Winning Show “Stranger Things” was released in its entirety on July 4, 2019, coinciding with the Independence Day celebration in the United States. The show created by “Duffer Brothers,” Matt and Ross, centers around the town as mentioned above as they deal with peculiar occurrences over a period and time.
The first season saw the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), whose mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) has been searching for him feverishly finding a remarkable way to communicate with him without being able to see him. The boy unbeknownst to her was transported to a strange place known as the upside down that parallels the real world with the exception that everything appears dark, with strange creatures inhabiting the realm.
The second season explores more of what is in the world in tandem with how we came in contact with the entities presented in it. Naturally, the series also sought to give more character development to the individuals in the series, namely Eleven affectionately called ‘El’ (Millie Bobby Brown) who has telekinetic powers and is the first line of defense against the entities of the upside down.
The cast is further bolstered by the talent of David Harbour who portray the local Sheriff Jim Hopper, who is befuddled by the occurrences yet, places his shoulder against the wheel in trying to stave the attacks on the citizens. This season is no different in character development as the directors continue to flesh out character lines for the medium sized cast it holds including the friends of Will, (Mike, Max, Dustin, and Lucas) and their high school associates Nancy Steve and Billy.
The latter of the high school associates is the antagonist for the season, and we witness an evolution of not only his character but the level of performance given by the actor Dacre Montgomery. Previous seasons showed us this character performing minimally as he was a high school sweetheart of sorts, turned into a “Bad Boy” styled character.
Credit: @stranger_things
The script gives us an even more intricate view into the characters’ lives as they continue to find themselves as they transition from preteen into their teenage years. Ultimately, the themes and storyline presented in this season is a true progression and representation of the human experience.
No doubt, continuous character evolutions had a significant role in this season’s success as several character developed even fuller arcs which included; Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke) and the precocious Pria Ferguson- younger sister to Lucas portrayed by Erica Sinclair.
What confounded viewers as Stranger Things is originally released on Halloween every year and was expected to have the same done in 2018 was the July 4 released date. This showed to be a strategic move that complimented the plot of this season as the events in the story also unfold around the July 4 weekend celebrations. This season was full of surprises for viewers but also the dark and gritty setting that fans had looked for, for so long from the series.
For instance, the big bad was introduced early in this season, and the stakes always appear higher. In the eyes of our mind we hope and believe that all the characters we have come to know and love will survive but with the constant fast pacing behind this seasons’ direction- we lose hope several times.
This amounts to one of many good things about Season 3.
The season does not come without its harsh criticism; The Truth Initiatives released a report labeled, “While you were streaming: Smoking on Demand.” The report states that all the episodes had a considerable amount of smoking in it; however, it cites Netflix as a whole for the tripling of instances of smoking in its TV Shows and films. What this means for the future of the streaming service and the “Stranger Things” has yet to be seen, but given the 40 million streams Season 3 has seen in its first four days of being on the platform, smoking will be significantly reduced with possible advisories before each episode.
Nevertheless, this season has brought a revitalized perspective to the series, with fans left asking, “What could possibly be done next?”
Season 3 of Stranger Things receives 4.5 out of 5 Paws.
