STRANGER THINGS 3 : All grown up

I had my doubts for the third season, due to making us wait for so long and for the main cast becoming older. But they really out did themselves and kept me wanting more with the storyline. Visually, everything was on point and had great 80’s references such as the film back to the future and for Malls taking over small towns and pushing mom & pop stores out of business.

As the season starts, it shows us that the kids have grown up and have different interest now, other than playing in mikes basement. Relationships have been established between Mike & El and Lucas & Max , while Will byers is the single man out , while Dustin has spent most of his summer at a camp where he met Suzie! The gang welcomes Dustin back and Will expects everything to go back to the way it used to be, but the gang splits up and does their agendas.

The whole season we rarely see the whole group together until the end. Steve is working at the Mall for the Ice Cream place called Scoops with a new character Robin played by Maya Hawke who is Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s daughter. Steve and Robin have great chemistry and later down the road get themselves in big trouble including Dustin and Lucas’s younger sister Erica. They work together after Robin cracks a Russian code that was intervened through Dustin’s radio frequency. Erica has been labeled MVP of Stranger things 3. She surprises us that she is also a “Nerd” herself after doing difficult math equations in her head to solve distance and time through the Russian Underground Layer. On where they get themselves stuck in by going into a storage space turned into a transporting elevator. If it wasn’t Erica to agree to help them get into the storage room through the vents , they wouldn’t of helped beat the Russians.

Johnathan and Nancy got new jobs working for the Post and Nancy is trying her hardest to make a name while she already has an X against her being a woman in the business. She gets a phone call from an old lady saying that there are rats with a disease that are eating her fertilizer. She and Jonathan go to investigate further, so Nancy can get a good story and show her boss that she can work in journalism instead of going on coffee runs.

Billy Hargrove being the heartthrob of the town ends up being one of the main lifeguards at the Local pool. He really hits it off with the cougars of the town. He then talks to Mrs. Wheeler and tries to set up a date/ meet up at some hotel room after dark. When Billy is on his way to meet Mrs. Wheeler he gets into an accident and crashes by a steel mill where he gets attacked by an unknown creature and that’s where the real trouble begins. Billy plays a main part in this Season and I was happy for him to get for screen time but upset that he had to be the bad guy, which he plays very well. Billy stole the screen and was rated the top actor for this season, he really proved himself.

The final episode does get the gang together to beat the mindflayer who was then created using the people of the town to give him power. The final scenes with El and the gang end in the Mall, El then gets attached and part of the mindflayer gets into her leg and starts to infect her. Johnathan tries to help by cutting her leg to grab it out before it spreads, but El uses her mind powers to pull it out. She is still injured and not much help to the group. The scatters and strategizes to use the Fireworks that Lucas grabbed to blow up the mindflayer. The adults find their way into the Russian layer and work together to close the portal. Joyce is forced to turn the switch after Hopper was attacked by the mean Russian dressed in black. Hopper gives Joyce the ok to turn the switch to close the portal. Hopper knowing this means he will die, his eyes tear and gives a soft smile to Joyce, meaning its ok to do so and goodbye and I love you.

Now for those who didn’t finish the Season (why are you sleeping on it?) Do not read any further.

Season 3 left us with a lot to think about and a lot of emotions about the finale.

1. Is Hopper still alive?!

2. Wit El, will, Johnathan and Joyce leaving Hawkins, will there be a season 4?

3. Will EL get her powers back?

4. Why did Billy have to die?

There has been buzz and different articles saying that there are clues that let us know that hopper didn’t die. The number 1 rule is if you did not see the dead body, then they didn’t die. Just like in the first season, we thought el was dead but we didn’t see her dead body, just that she disappeared (Just like Hopper). At the end credits you see that the Russians mention in subtitles “Not the American” talking about the prisoners they are holding to feed the demogorgon. I do want Hopper to be alive but it will lose the impact when El reads his letter and all our crying was a waste. And also feel so bad for Joyce, another love interest of hers dies and she is just left alone, again. Articles online have said that the “American Prisoner “could be El’s papa, Dr. Martin Brenner. But then it was said that the Russians referred to Hopper as the American throughout the season. We will have to wait for Season 4 to find out and if so , it will be a rescue mission.

While the gang splits up, and El losing her powers, we have no idea how they will start season 4. Johnathan says that we’ll see each other during the holidays? Will El get her powers back and somehow find Hopper? This series could go on and on but I don’t think they should beat it like a dead horse. Season 4 should the final season for sure.

Final thought, why did Billy have to die? I understand he was labeled as the bad guy. His death was not mourned because hoppers supposedly dies right after and we as an audience forget about Billy and Max losing her brother. Billy was written off first episode when he was attacked. He played the bad guy well and we loved him for it. His character showed all emotions in this season. This season also opened us to the back story as to why Billy behaves this way and is a womanizer. His father was abusive and his mother abandoned him. Forced him into a new family and treated him like an unwanted child. So just like Barb and Bob, we should have justice for Billy.