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Stranger Things 3 |OT| Keep the Door Open Three Inches
- Thread starter BDS
- Start date
Not if you're disliking the show. I've watched all of S1, S2 and half of S3 without fast forwarding. Once we got back to the usual and repetitive searching through buildings or travelling to places with very little dialogue or progression I was reaching for that fast forward button alright. I found S3 dragged out in many places with little payoff for the most part, they'll need to change the show up for me to come back for S4. YMMV.
That's how you roast a post. Nicely done.
The more I stew on it the more I love it and he wait for season 4 is going to really suck. Legit getting Burger King right now ( haven't had it in years)and reading these impressions.
For some reason when Jim died i was expecting it at all, i misread his expression towards Joyce. Needless to say I was wreck well after the letter El wrote.
I want to say he's in the Upside Down but I feel like it would undo some of the best moments of this season
I want to say he's in the Upside Down but I feel like it would undo some of the best moments of this season
Been thinking about this season before putting thoughts down, but overall I'd put it between 1 and 2. It has a tighter pacing and handling of bringing the cast together than the latter, but many of the actual characters and the gravity of events are lacking to the former. Apologies for the long post.
On Characters
Plot-wise
The effects and overall cinematography was quite amazing too, with the chief throwback to aspects of The Thing and Terminator being quite impressive. The Starcourt Mall was very on point, as was all the products and styles.
Very enjoyable season, but I hope the writing can once again match with the production as a whole instead of shining with only some aspects. No idea how they are getting the cast wrapped into what was set up for Season 4, but hoping they focus on what is going on now that they checked off just about everything on the 80s homage list.
On Characters
El, Robin, Dustin, and Steve were great. There was a lot of heart there and they were the most fleshed out and...honest, to what they were without the writing sacrificing parts of them to drive contrived drama. I thought they handled Robin's reveal beautifully and in a relatable way, and thinking back on what that tally board actually meant to her and other aspects probably made her the best inclusion of the show's run.
Max and Will sit in the positive end as well, though not as high as they are sort of sidelined despite being the two best equipped to deal with the respective circumstances (Billy and the Mindflayer). The former is there for El to bounce off of and make Billy having sex jokes (and to cry over his death), while the latter is further kicked about in killing his passion and childhood he hasn't even gotten to have for two-three years, while only serving as a proximity alarm.
Erica and Lucas sit somewhat in the issue end not because they weren't great. Erica was awesome in her interactions with Team Scoops and her discovery of being potentially a bigger need than her brother was amazing. But the issue was that they were written into stereotypes where it was probably important to break those. Lucas is the black male best friend who self stylizes himself as a ladies man while giving terrible advice, all while being the comedic relief and little more. Erica is the typical sassy, rude, talk big, in your face black woman that ends up needing a (white) man to bring her down to Earth. There's plenty of great stuff in there and fun to be had, but it's something they could have dialed a bit back and made them less stereotypical and one-dimensional.
Billy made for a great villain, but the ending was a bit unearned. Yeah, he was abused and his mom left his abusive dad and it's sad seeing how he started as a very loving and protective child. But that doesn't change how much of a racist and murderous POS he was even before the Mindflayer came along. Or are we ignoring how he attempted to murder Lucas and others throughout Season 2 under his own volition?
Jonathan and Nancy were just boring. The sexism in the workplace hardly went anywhere besides the well done scene between her and her mom. Also a missed opportunity, unless I missed it, of having Mr. Conspiracy Cupid, them, and Joyce in the same room. I just can't see why they left them intact with the move happening and Jonathan staying with his family. At least these two were smart and thought of their siblings when things started going upside down.
Mike was just as unlikeable, if not more-so, than last season. Only redeeming factor was that by the end he had apologized and was trying to be better. He's also one of the three characters that was written as inept in communicating. Not one word about Hopper dragged on the TroubEl in Paradise subplot.
And the other two, Joyce and Hopper. Hopper was somehow back to alcoholism and always yelling and bullying everyone. El being attached to Mike and Joyce moving are understandable stress points, but these issues go way beyond those. Joyce on the other end doesn't communicate what she's getting at and uncharacteristically stands Hopper up for an out-of-the-blue science pow wow with the Science teacher. Plus running around everywhere before even trying to figure out about their kids, knowing these sort of things always revolve around them. Their romance, while having some foundation to it, felt unearned and felt just a vehicle to push the Byers out of Hawkins with a final knife twist to a well traumatized Joyce.
As for everyone else...sort of one dimensional and cartoony. Got your big, scary Russians (except Smirnoff RIP), your bigger terminator model Russian, the sleazy and corrupt mayor, your pig office workers, and the Deus Ex Suziena (kidding, Suzie was the best amount of cute and cringe and perfect for Dustin).
It's a tribute to the 80's, yes, but so many of the characters fell short or suffered due to that push.
Max and Will sit in the positive end as well, though not as high as they are sort of sidelined despite being the two best equipped to deal with the respective circumstances (Billy and the Mindflayer). The former is there for El to bounce off of and make Billy having sex jokes (and to cry over his death), while the latter is further kicked about in killing his passion and childhood he hasn't even gotten to have for two-three years, while only serving as a proximity alarm.
Erica and Lucas sit somewhat in the issue end not because they weren't great. Erica was awesome in her interactions with Team Scoops and her discovery of being potentially a bigger need than her brother was amazing. But the issue was that they were written into stereotypes where it was probably important to break those. Lucas is the black male best friend who self stylizes himself as a ladies man while giving terrible advice, all while being the comedic relief and little more. Erica is the typical sassy, rude, talk big, in your face black woman that ends up needing a (white) man to bring her down to Earth. There's plenty of great stuff in there and fun to be had, but it's something they could have dialed a bit back and made them less stereotypical and one-dimensional.
Billy made for a great villain, but the ending was a bit unearned. Yeah, he was abused and his mom left his abusive dad and it's sad seeing how he started as a very loving and protective child. But that doesn't change how much of a racist and murderous POS he was even before the Mindflayer came along. Or are we ignoring how he attempted to murder Lucas and others throughout Season 2 under his own volition?
Jonathan and Nancy were just boring. The sexism in the workplace hardly went anywhere besides the well done scene between her and her mom. Also a missed opportunity, unless I missed it, of having Mr. Conspiracy Cupid, them, and Joyce in the same room. I just can't see why they left them intact with the move happening and Jonathan staying with his family. At least these two were smart and thought of their siblings when things started going upside down.
Mike was just as unlikeable, if not more-so, than last season. Only redeeming factor was that by the end he had apologized and was trying to be better. He's also one of the three characters that was written as inept in communicating. Not one word about Hopper dragged on the TroubEl in Paradise subplot.
And the other two, Joyce and Hopper. Hopper was somehow back to alcoholism and always yelling and bullying everyone. El being attached to Mike and Joyce moving are understandable stress points, but these issues go way beyond those. Joyce on the other end doesn't communicate what she's getting at and uncharacteristically stands Hopper up for an out-of-the-blue science pow wow with the Science teacher. Plus running around everywhere before even trying to figure out about their kids, knowing these sort of things always revolve around them. Their romance, while having some foundation to it, felt unearned and felt just a vehicle to push the Byers out of Hawkins with a final knife twist to a well traumatized Joyce.
As for everyone else...sort of one dimensional and cartoony. Got your big, scary Russians (except Smirnoff RIP), your bigger terminator model Russian, the sleazy and corrupt mayor, your pig office workers, and the Deus Ex Suziena (kidding, Suzie was the best amount of cute and cringe and perfect for Dustin).
It's a tribute to the 80's, yes, but so many of the characters fell short or suffered due to that push.
Plot-wise
Nothing really seemed to have a ton of consequence or didn't feel right.
Hawkins Post sexist plotline culminating in the assimilation and death of its top people? Nothing.
Resident Evil 2-esque Russian facility under Hawkins? Hardly a mention. Which btw, I know we're talking super powers and other dimensions, but the logistics make no sense in an otherwise rather grounded backdrop. No tremors from that amount of blasting? The amount of material that would need to be excavated out? We're talking thousands of trucks worth of rock and dirt and other excavated material. Unless that's what the Corrosive-Vials-of-Not-Water were for, though to direct and shape the excavation of that...just leaves a bit too much open.
30 people just are killed with the Flayer Amalgamation? Newspapers claim fire, but no one was hit with the thought that 30 people were a part of that thing?
Mrs. Wheeler and Billy? Nothing of it but as an unneeded excuse to get Billy on the road at night. Do we get much more insight on her and Mr. Wheeler's marriage or how she is with her kids, which always seemed a bit distant before the ferris wheel bit? Of course not.
Mall shutting down everything? Dropped by the 3rd episode.
And as mentioned with the individual characters, so much of it was driven by characters acting unlike themselves or not communicating at all to pad things out.
That all aside, I did enjoy the overall arc of the plot and liked how they included everyone into smaller parts of the greater whole to come together mostly by the end. The send off for the Bryers was well done, and the set-up for next season drove up the anticipation.
Hawkins Post sexist plotline culminating in the assimilation and death of its top people? Nothing.
Resident Evil 2-esque Russian facility under Hawkins? Hardly a mention. Which btw, I know we're talking super powers and other dimensions, but the logistics make no sense in an otherwise rather grounded backdrop. No tremors from that amount of blasting? The amount of material that would need to be excavated out? We're talking thousands of trucks worth of rock and dirt and other excavated material. Unless that's what the Corrosive-Vials-of-Not-Water were for, though to direct and shape the excavation of that...just leaves a bit too much open.
30 people just are killed with the Flayer Amalgamation? Newspapers claim fire, but no one was hit with the thought that 30 people were a part of that thing?
Mrs. Wheeler and Billy? Nothing of it but as an unneeded excuse to get Billy on the road at night. Do we get much more insight on her and Mr. Wheeler's marriage or how she is with her kids, which always seemed a bit distant before the ferris wheel bit? Of course not.
Mall shutting down everything? Dropped by the 3rd episode.
And as mentioned with the individual characters, so much of it was driven by characters acting unlike themselves or not communicating at all to pad things out.
That all aside, I did enjoy the overall arc of the plot and liked how they included everyone into smaller parts of the greater whole to come together mostly by the end. The send off for the Bryers was well done, and the set-up for next season drove up the anticipation.
The effects and overall cinematography was quite amazing too, with the chief throwback to aspects of The Thing and Terminator being quite impressive. The Starcourt Mall was very on point, as was all the products and styles.
Very enjoyable season, but I hope the writing can once again match with the production as a whole instead of shining with only some aspects. No idea how they are getting the cast wrapped into what was set up for Season 4, but hoping they focus on what is going on now that they checked off just about everything on the 80s homage list.
Nobody went missing. All the towns people that were "taken" were shown to be living their cover lives with their family until the final night, which was 4th of July. After which, the story is so big that it makes the newspaper in Indianapolis and the tv news despite the fact that the US Gov't came in and pulled strings to hide what actually happened. The Indiana Chronicle headline straight up says, "Citizens Demand Justice" in all caps. Another headline states that "Hawkins makes headlines around the nation" with a sub heading that says there's a state-wide scandal over the Mayor. By the time we get a few seconds to glance at the town, it's 3 months after the primary events of the season and people doing what people do. Living their lives. Because they have to.
What a weak season, I didn't care for it at all. I enjoyed watching it, but everything fell flat. At least I appreciate they didn't try to repeat the first season like they did with the second I suppose.
Still an enjoyable watch, just a very underwhelming season. Has some cool scenes here and there but overall it has nothing on the first season. It just seems like the creators have fallen in love with their own characters and nostalgia a little bit too much.
There was no mystery to it, the shows main draw/factor, because they revealed everything right from the start (the Russians, Billy, the Mindflayer, etc) and then we watched 3 groups trying to figure out for most of the season what's going when the audience already knows everything.
The humor was a complete miss, it felt forced and was never actually funny. Why do they keep repeating the trope of couples dancing around each other? How many scenes have they dedicated to that nonsense already? We already had so much of it with Nancy in the previous seasons, now they did with Hopper and Joyce. It was obvious what was going on from the start and yet they dedicate another dozen scenes to it and even have characters completely spell out multiple times what's happening. We got it, really. One character even named it stale and repetitive at some point. Yeah that's how that felt.
None of the characters had any development or arcs that went anywhere and any setups in the first few episodes were just abruptly left there. In fact many of the characters became very unlikable this season, if they did anything at all.
It didn't try to subvert any tropes, there were no twists, it all just ended so predictable, and without consequence. Even the ominous Mindflayer from the 2nd season never felt really scary this time around. And even the tease at the very end felt derivative and silly.
The humor was a complete miss, it felt forced and was never actually funny. Why do they keep repeating the trope of couples dancing around each other? How many scenes have they dedicated to that nonsense already? We already had so much of it with Nancy in the previous seasons, now they did with Hopper and Joyce. It was obvious what was going on from the start and yet they dedicate another dozen scenes to it and even have characters completely spell out multiple times what's happening. We got it, really. One character even named it stale and repetitive at some point. Yeah that's how that felt.
None of the characters had any development or arcs that went anywhere and any setups in the first few episodes were just abruptly left there. In fact many of the characters became very unlikable this season, if they did anything at all.
It didn't try to subvert any tropes, there were no twists, it all just ended so predictable, and without consequence. Even the ominous Mindflayer from the 2nd season never felt really scary this time around. And even the tease at the very end felt derivative and silly.
Still an enjoyable watch, just a very underwhelming season. Has some cool scenes here and there but overall it has nothing on the first season. It just seems like the creators have fallen in love with their own characters and nostalgia a little bit too much.
And you're intentionally doing everything you can to ensure the experience can never recovers by doing that. You're not even giving it a chance
The first 3 or so episodes were so-so but it picked up the pace after that. The Russian subplot is incredibly dumb in an awesome, 80s action movie kind of way (or as we would say in Russia, cranberries are alive and well in the US of A). Power Ranger dude is a compelling enough villain and, as usual, there's some nice cinematography and music. Overall, it's a pretty fun watch, but I feel like Duffers are treading the same ground they already explored in the first and second seasons.
Something ArkkAngel007 mentioned caused me to remember something.
Anyone else see the green potted plant in the
That's GOT to be a nod at Resident Evil, right?
Anyone else see the green potted plant in the
saferoom Dustin and Erica hide in right after they escape the Russians in the secret facility?
That's GOT to be a nod at Resident Evil, right?
I thought this was a great season. Splitting everyone up into 3 teams, each dealing with a different part of the plot worked really well although I wish they could have got them all back together slightly earlier, the finale felt rushed. The mall setting was great, and having the Russians as the bad guys was a great move, it was a throwback but was also relevant to the modern perception of the Russians as the 'bad guys' once again. Robyn was a great addition to the ensemble cast, and to the Dustin and Steve team. I kinda wished they brought back the other 'specials' from season 2, if only to make that episode more than just a throwaway.
Oh and I was kinda pissed the Russian general guy didn't get some kind of personal comeuppance, again seemed a casualty of the rushed ending.
Oh and I was kinda pissed the Russian general guy didn't get some kind of personal comeuppance, again seemed a casualty of the rushed ending.
Well...El seems to have lost her powers now. I think the specials are going to be needed next season.
Man. I don't know if it's simply being a father of two little girls but this show emotionally wrecked me at the end.
The 80s nostalgia is neat, and the horror sci-fi is neat, but in the end it's about giving a shit about these characters...and I do.
Hope they can finish this series strong.
The 80s nostalgia is neat, and the horror sci-fi is neat, but in the end it's about giving a shit about these characters...and I do.
Hope they can finish this series strong.
I think this season was a lot better than the previous one. I agree that a lot of high stakes showed no consequences with fake suspense knowing the outcome (however I would argue that has always been a problem with this series). The character interactions were great and liked how the new characters blended with the cast.
I started the season with a cringe but was pleasantly surprised towards the end. They need to seriously change the formula for next season as this series has serious fatigue unless they change place and characters. Season 2 introduced a greater scope ( El not being alone with powers and connections to other places) but in the end just forgetting it all like it did not happen.
I started the season with a cringe but was pleasantly surprised towards the end. They need to seriously change the formula for next season as this series has serious fatigue unless they change place and characters. Season 2 introduced a greater scope ( El not being alone with powers and connections to other places) but in the end just forgetting it all like it did not happen.
Thought it was a decent season. The formula is getting tired though. They made a good attempt at keeping things fresh by splitting up the group, but the cast is now so big that a lot of characters don't really get to do much and feel totally sidelined.
The meat monster was horribly ineffective, sucked the tension right out of that finale. Would have been way cooler to just have an army of Flayed storm the mall.
Not just you, although I don't have kids I definitely think that could contribute even more to the emotional wrecking. Haven't cried in a while, so I was trying to hold it in but the letter got me. I think it really captures the spirit of the show as a whole and drives home the message Stranger Things is trying to tell us.
It really hit me hard for personal reasons and because there are many parallels between that and things going on in our own world ATM. Really good stuff.
I agree, not just the rats, why didn't they melt real people
No not the exploding part, there were parts where they were just like running around. Exploding a practical effect rat would be cool though.
🙄
Honestly, we might be at the point where it's cheaper to CGI in a warehouse of exploding rats rather than crafting several dozen exploding practical rats. Any industry effects people in the thread, feel free to correct me.
Considering Stranger Things widely considered to be one of, if not the most, expensive shows on Netflix at this point, I'm not going to drag them for not going the extra mile and trying to replicate 80's era FX.
Ultimately, while it's a show set in the 80s, references the 80s and take its inspiration from the 80s - it's very much filmed in the 2010s. This applies not only to the visual effects, but the sound design, color grading, scripting, plotting, etc. I'd prefer not to have Kung Fury level of "we even made it look like it was filmed in the 80s!" aesthetics because, IMO, that's at best an "oh neat" moment and far more likely to just be distracting in its cheesiness.
Oh I agree for the exploding parts it's def cheaper, maybe even cheaper than getting a rat handler just for the scenes where they are running around and not exploding, just I think doing some of it practical would have fit better, seeing the CG rats running around while real rats are easy to come by just seemed visually like a stark contrast, it really stuck out for me and didn't blend well. I guess I just get disappointed when with such a simple thing it's like "fuck it, just use a computer".
Just finished this up last night and damn I enjoyed this so much more than season 2. I wasn't even really excited for this season because of how much of a wet fart season 2 ended up being, but this was great!
- Mike is still the worst character on this show
- Robin was an outstanding character and I hope she sticks around for next season.
- Poor Will. Dude just wants to hang out in his wizard robe and play board games. I understand it because he did lose 2 summers of life.
- El without powers? I really, really hope they come back next season because reasons. I don't want to see any of the other 'specials'. Ugh.
-I love that Steve gets his ass totally kicked in every season, it's a great running joke. Somehow he's still good looking.
- I REALLY hope that Hopper isn't the "American" in the cell at the end. That would totally ruin one of the most powerful moments on the show.
- Robin was an outstanding character and I hope she sticks around for next season.
- Poor Will. Dude just wants to hang out in his wizard robe and play board games. I understand it because he did lose 2 summers of life.
- El without powers? I really, really hope they come back next season because reasons. I don't want to see any of the other 'specials'. Ugh.
-I love that Steve gets his ass totally kicked in every season, it's a great running joke. Somehow he's still good looking.
- I REALLY hope that Hopper isn't the "American" in the cell at the end. That would totally ruin one of the most powerful moments on the show.
I think they need to hand off the weird powered season 2 characters their own spin off show for a bit. Let another showrunner handle them and feel them out, then maybe people will come to like them. I'm not someone who wants to wipe out this plot thread, but it definitely needs to be less jarring when/if they bring it back to the main show.
In regards to Mike:
The actor is fine. The writing isn't doing him any favors. Ever since the ending of Season 1, he's basically been defined by his relation to Eleven. Season 2 has him constantly moping about her until she shows up and then he's constantly worried. In Season 3 he's constantly worried she will get hurt by using her powers too much, annoyed that she broke up with him, and really wanting to express his love for her.
Mike at times doesn't feel like his own character. They really need to give him his own stuff this next season.
Mike at times doesn't feel like his own character. They really need to give him his own stuff this next season.
I think they need to remove El from the plot for better or worse. So much of the season was the cast standing back while El fights on her own.
IMO you now make two series, one with El going to find the other experiments to get her powers back, and the other is the rest of the cast adjusting to their changed lives and trying to find normalcy.
IMO you now make two series, one with El going to find the other experiments to get her powers back, and the other is the rest of the cast adjusting to their changed lives and trying to find normalcy.
That ship has sailed. Theres a reason they never addressed any of that this year. It's been swept under the rug after the poor reception that episode received.
I'd be shocked if we ever heard about them again.
OP
OP
Why does everybody keep using plural when referring to "special" characters in Kali's group? It's just Kali. I dunno if the episode just sucked so bad that nobody remembers it or it's a Mandela effect thing or something, but nobody in Kali's group had powers but Kali. It's just her.
You're preaching to the choir. No matter how good it is, CGI always takes me out of the experience. I'm immediately less invested because I know that none of it is really there.
It's one of the main reasons why I don't care for modern blockbusters. Granted, we've come a long way since the days of crappy CGI in the 90s. But it still looks fake to me.
I honestly think that storyline had potential. The problem was that the punk characters weren't interesting at all. The writing in that episode was terrible.
There is way more CGI then you will likely ever notice.
You notice bad CGI, you don't notice all of the other instances of CGI.
You're probably right. Stuff like removing objects and whatnot. But CGI creatures usually look fake.
It doesn't look like something actually filmed in the 80s, so no
Just finished. Really good season and better than series 2, although it had too many little irritating things to beat series 1 for me.
I didn't like the whole Mike and El "find yourself" plot. I didn't like Max last season and I still don't like her. She was part of the reason season 2 didn't work that well and that same problem continues into this season.
It's not that they can't introduce new characters well though, and there were plenty of new characters I enjoyed.
I liked Erica's addition, even if some of the lines she was given were too heavy handed. For some reason I also felt like they developed Billy a lot more this season too, even if I didn't relate to the attempts to humanise him at the end or make him seem "redeemed". He deserved what he got this year and was a great villain. In the end I wasn't a fan of Robin considering how she was unreasonably smart and sorted everything out just a bit too easily. Also special shoutout to Suzie, I couldn't stop laughing during the song segment with Dustin and I loved it - they killed it.
On the other hand, the whole theme of friends drifting apart was done incredibly well and I'm sure everyone who watches can relate to it. I think Will breaking Castle Byers is in contention for best scene this series.
I also wish there had been more of the upside down. I kinda miss it, since we only got a couple glimpses while looking at the doppelgangers. The whole horror thing worked well for the first 6 or so episodes since we didn't entirely know which human was possessed and what they'd do, but once they showed the big bad flesh monster it killed a lot of the suspense for me. We've been there done that, I needed something a bit more to keep me on the edge of my seat. They should have leaned in more on the possessed people angle to turn up the horror imo.
Also, I hope they don't bring back Hopper. It would ruin it.
I didn't like the whole Mike and El "find yourself" plot. I didn't like Max last season and I still don't like her. She was part of the reason season 2 didn't work that well and that same problem continues into this season.
It's not that they can't introduce new characters well though, and there were plenty of new characters I enjoyed.
I liked Erica's addition, even if some of the lines she was given were too heavy handed. For some reason I also felt like they developed Billy a lot more this season too, even if I didn't relate to the attempts to humanise him at the end or make him seem "redeemed". He deserved what he got this year and was a great villain. In the end I wasn't a fan of Robin considering how she was unreasonably smart and sorted everything out just a bit too easily. Also special shoutout to Suzie, I couldn't stop laughing during the song segment with Dustin and I loved it - they killed it.
On the other hand, the whole theme of friends drifting apart was done incredibly well and I'm sure everyone who watches can relate to it. I think Will breaking Castle Byers is in contention for best scene this series.
I also wish there had been more of the upside down. I kinda miss it, since we only got a couple glimpses while looking at the doppelgangers. The whole horror thing worked well for the first 6 or so episodes since we didn't entirely know which human was possessed and what they'd do, but once they showed the big bad flesh monster it killed a lot of the suspense for me. We've been there done that, I needed something a bit more to keep me on the edge of my seat. They should have leaned in more on the possessed people angle to turn up the horror imo.
Also, I hope they don't bring back Hopper. It would ruin it.
Just finished it. Liked it more than season 2. Not good enough to beat season 1. Rip Hopper, and Alexei. Felt bad for Will. Mike and Max are lame. Loved Steve, Dustin, Erica, Murray, and the best character of all time, Robin!
And wtf was and is the goal of the Russians? Like didn't they realize they would ultimately bring upon the death of the human race?
And wtf was and is the goal of the Russians? Like didn't they realize they would ultimately bring upon the death of the human race?
