Stranger Things Netflix series catch-all

I loved S3! Robin is such an awesome addition. I wish she was my bestie. Erica is an awesome addition too, the wee brat. The 80s' everything was simply amazing. So good!

I was just reminded of this Erica moment.

Spoiler:

Murray: "I'm sorry, why is this 4-year-old speaking to me?"

Erica: "I'm 10, you bald bastard."

Oh! How I laughed!

Erica was a bit much, grating at times, funny at other times. Now Mike, not sure if it's the writing or the actor, but I just plain didn't like him. Will was pretty much ignored as a character.
I think they could have done a bit more with Max and Billy, but maybe it's because I don't have season 2 fresh in my mind.
Robin is a good addition.

Still liked this new season.

I don't think we're supposed to like Mike this season. He's a 13 year old boy with a girlfriend. Nothing can penetrate that level of smugness and attitude except the crazy eyes of said girlfriend's father who happens to be a chief of police. Two of the most satisfying scenes in this season were IMHO Hopper laying down the law in the truck and Mike hugging his mom (implying some character growth).

They needed to dial back the sass on Erica a notch or two in a scene or two. It got tiresome and it's just not believable for her to be so totally un-phased by everything going on.

Besides his (understandable if not commendable) disrespect towards Hopper, Mike was shockingly rude to his mom a couple of times this season. Like they're in the basement and his mom calls for him to come to dinner and the way he yells at her... I mean I get that meatloaf doesn't rank in significance compared to the war council against the Mind Flayer but mom doesn't know about any of that and you will not help your cause by being grounded.

Yeah, I think that's all intentional. True fact: All 13 year old boys are horrible sociopathic monsters that want to see you suffer and sup upon your tears.

That's just science.

I love that Stranger Things puts forth real characters with actual faults, and failings, whom we then see grow, and improve upon, as oppose to societal constructs of innate perfection, where an error is either the end, or a frequent source for chagrin as stirred by those apparently ever to stumble. People falter. People improve. People move on. Given the age range of the youthful cast, and the emotional turmoil experienced by Joyce, and Hopper, amongst the chosen era, I appreciate where the creators have taken us, and how.

I haven't bonded with television characters with such investment in quite some time. Their journeys from season one through to season three were so good. I'm excited to begin a rerun with knowledge of what is to come, to see what I may have missed, and how scenes may now take on additional meaning.

Hey, I'm all OK with characters having faults. It's just that I specifically hated Mike. Thinking back, I wanna give thanks to Billy for giving Mike a... time out.

I’m four episodes in:

Spoiler:

Really enjoying it, but the idea that Steve, Dustin, Robin and Erica would just decide to infiltrate the heavily armed Russian secret base without telling anybody stretches my incredulity meter to breaking point. The fact I’m willing to let go the idea there is one under the mall in the first place should indicate how much I’m willing to forgo some of the ideas in this season so far

i mean, it's basically a love-letter to pretty much all trashy eighties genre kids movies so, going by THAT logic, i didn't really have a problem with things like that.

Ha!

I even don't have indredulity issues with the fact that Gygaxian D&D monster crawl out of another dimension, which can only be reached if you are willing to let your nose bleed. I just love it!

The only minor perk I had was the mouthy Erica - but even little sisters is something of the 80s movies.

Peoj Snamreh wrote:

Ha!

I even don't have indredulity issues with the fact that Gygaxian D&D monster crawl out of another dimension, which can only be reached if you are willing to let your nose bleed. I just love it!

The only minor perk I had was the mouthy Erica - but even little sisters is something of the 80s movies.

Oh granted, but given that’s the central plot point of the series. By now you go into it knowing it’s there right?

It’s just after everything those kids have been through telling Hopper what’s going on would be the minimum you’d expect them to do? I get they are trying to be all Goonies, but it’s almost a step too far for me.

Bit of an oddity I admit given everything else that’s going on but for some reason I did watch that bit thinking ‘oh come on!’

I love the transition from "kids" to "meanagers". I love how both Mike and Hopper are so clueless about their own toxic masculinity. And I love how Will is frustrated by how left behind he is by all of it.

I went through puberty in the 80's. It was like that.

pyxistyx wrote:

i mean, it's basically a love-letter to pretty much all trashy eighties genre kids movies so, going by THAT logic, i didn't really have a problem with things like that.

Pretty much all of this.

bhchrist wrote:
pyxistyx wrote:

i mean, it's basically a love-letter to pretty much all trashy eighties genre kids movies so, going by THAT logic, i didn't really have a problem with things like that.

Pretty much all of this.

Mike's dad being the quintessential 80's parent that allows for their children's shenanigans.

Sorbicol wrote:

It’s just after everything those kids have been through telling Hopper what’s going on would be the minimum you’d expect them to do? I get they are trying to be all Goonies, but it’s almost a step too far for me.

Kids becoming teenagers thinking they're equipped to handle every situation? That adults could not or would not understand?

Seems accurate to me.

They also have a friend with literal superpowers.

Don't they try to locate Hopper when things start to get entirely out of hand only to discover he's on route to Illinois?

Just about every review I've read has included a line about how the Mind Flayer managed to remain in Hawkins after Eleven sealed the gate, but I thought the show made it pretty clear that while some of it's physical matter remained, it was completely inert and the Mind Flayer was completely locked behind the Gate. It didn't regain control of that mass until the Gate was reopened by the Russians (at which point it took over rats and merged them until it had enough mass to flay a human (Billy). So did the half dozen different reviewers miss this or did I imagine that explanation myself?

Yeah I think maybe the main group was theorizing on how the mind flayer could be controlling Billy & crew but they didn't have knowledge from Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica on the Russian base and partial gate at the time.

Stele wrote:

Yeah I think maybe the main group was theorizing on how the mind flayer could be controlling Billy & crew but they didn't have knowledge from Steve, Dustin, Robin, and Erica on the Russian base and partial gate at the time.

I understood that that explanation was the best the kids could come up with based on what they knew at that point (plus it was mostly right, they just didn't ask why it took so long for Will to be able to sense it if it had been in their dimension/universe this whole time), but why did so many reviewers parrot it when they'd have seen the scene with the "dust" reactivating after the machine was started?

re Hoppper and Mike:
To me, their behavior felt plot-driven.

Spoiler:

Because it felt plot-devicey to have an over-the-top jealous dad threaten Mike's life so he'd lie to El so in turn they would break up to have more separate subplots converging in the last few episodes.

Jealous-Hopper didn't really feel like the previous Hopper, and a-hole Mike felt even more a-hole than previous seasons.

Also, it felt like we wanted a mean, bad Hopper transition into a cool Hopper so we'd be affected even more by his death.

It ultimately was (because it was a major plot point) , but think it also felt like a very natural progression for both of them, particularly as it'd been going on for the past six months and this was the first time Hopper ever really confronted them on it. A-hole Mike was more of an a-hole than previous seasons because he was a 13-14 year old boy who is in his first ever relationship which happens to be with an super-powered girlfriend who has saved the world twice (and he likely gives himself more credit than he's due for his role in those events). Jealous Hopper has always had a problem with people who challenged his authority and Mike and El were literally laughing at him while they were doing it. He couldn't bring himself to confront El over it for fear that she'd run away again, so he blew up at Mike.

Took a while but finished. Much better than the last season, the character development was handled really well towards the end, Hopper, Joyce and Eleven especially. The end was a tad........ well, we’re all of the opinion that

Spoiler:

Hopper jumped through the gate to avoid getting vaporised

right? Looking forward to season 4. Assuming Netflix can afford it!

Sorbicol wrote:

Took a while but finished. Much better than the last season, the character development was handled really well towards the end, Hopper, Joyce and Eleven especially. The end was a tad........ well, we’re all of the opinion that

Spoiler:

Hopper jumped through the gate to avoid getting vaporised

right? Looking forward to season 4. Assuming Netflix can afford it!

Spoiler:

Yea, they were a bit TOO careful to avoid showing hopper in the last scenes in the facility; plus the end of the his speech was a little on the nose with "For your old man's sake leave the door open 3 inches"

I finished Season 3 the other day. I liked it! I appreciate that they keep it to 8 episodes. I wish they'd dialed Hopper back a bit, and I thought Mike was a bit grating, but generally this was pretty fun and engaging.

Lies! It's only 11 hours and 55 minutes. What a disappointment.

mrlogical wrote:

I finished Season 3 the other day. I liked it! I appreciate that they keep it to 8 episodes. I wish they'd dialed Hopper back a bit, and I thought [teenager in love] was a bit grating, but generally this was pretty fun and engaging.

Give me all the Stranger Things!

Show dudes, slow down. I still need to get #3 on the docket for this year..

Recreational Villain wrote:

Show dudes, slow down. I still need to get #3 on the docket for this year..

News flash: It's great!