Are you from the future?
It's not meant to be a twist. She was queer coded the whole show.
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Stranger Things 3 |OT| Keep the Door Open Three Inches
- Thread starter BDS
- Start date
It's not meant to be a twist. She was queer coded the whole show.
Ups, ment to write 7th episode.But yea, I would've liked them to end up together.
The impossibly cool girl who doesn't need a man's validation is often a queer stereotype. Despite her obviously caring about Steve, she has no problem razzing him and never tries to hold his gaze, because she doesn't want his affection and she's not attracted to him. Yet she'll be the first to admit that his attractiveness brings girls to their store. She cheers him on in his pursuit of other women, in her own way, and she doesn't have any other male friends to speak of. Nor does she ever seek male attention.
None of that means she has to be gay, but those are common ways that media suggest someone's sexuality if they don't want to outright spell it out.
And, tbh, the only reason Steve even comes onto her is because Dustin kept pushing him to, and the situation had caused his adrenaline to spike. Under normal circumstances he would have just known that she wasn't into him.
I finished this and thought it was great with the exception of the cliffhanger. After 3 seasons, there is always one more starts to get tiring.
Besides, my personal take away from this show is that it's about growing up. The kids become teenagers and the teenagers become adults throughout these 3 seasons. That final scene with the main characters adds some closure to the end of their wonder years, it's time to grow up and move on.
Also I would also say that the adventures they go on reflect the adventures you and your friends go on albeit without the super natural stuff. The core idea is there, you and your friends need to do something (go camping, travel somewhere, make something etc) but due to your naivety you're not quite sure how and working that out is the adventure but in the end, you have grown up, reality takes over and you inevitably drift apart as people move, their interests change or they get responsibities.
Besides, my personal take away from this show is that it's about growing up. The kids become teenagers and the teenagers become adults throughout these 3 seasons. That final scene with the main characters adds some closure to the end of their wonder years, it's time to grow up and move on.
Also I would also say that the adventures they go on reflect the adventures you and your friends go on albeit without the super natural stuff. The core idea is there, you and your friends need to do something (go camping, travel somewhere, make something etc) but due to your naivety you're not quite sure how and working that out is the adventure but in the end, you have grown up, reality takes over and you inevitably drift apart as people move, their interests change or they get responsibities.
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This show is pretty much impeccably written and directed and cast. Really impressed. Give the folks behind this show more work after this is over. It's better than it has any right being. There's an 80s Speilbergy vibe too when it comes to the characters, so it's nice to see someone "gets it" when it comes to making characters feel real.
I just finished the season, can someone please explain to me
why Hopper just chilled next to the machine after killing that dude???? I mean he literally could have been back to the control room where Joyce was in like 5 seconds. He just stood there WTF, stupid way to go out for him if he is not coming back somehow.
That swirling arc of electricity or whatever stopped him. But considering the alternative he should have at least tried, I agree. Also a convenient way for him to jump into the upside down for S4.
Watched the last 3 episodes this weekend, I think that was my favourite season so far, really enjoyed every episode and the characters all got chances to shine. Had some really great stand out sequences. Just super fun all round! Glad this is such a hit for Netflix.
Might go back and start a re-watch of the whole lot...
Might go back and start a re-watch of the whole lot...
i have so many thoughts and questions!! sorry if they've already been answered but this thread is 43 pages long lmao. spoilers for all eps
in no coherent order lol
1. something that really bothered me this season was how cool everyone was with murder. hopper was mowing russians down with a gun, 11 was squishing them with cars, the kids were ready to kill. it was all portrayed to comedic effect but i was really just like, "wow el just killed like 5 dudes is she okay..?". i felt like that could have been explored in a lot more detail. hey 13 year old how do you feel about being a mass murderer, that must be kinda rough on your conscience. it also cheapened the death of alexei bc he was just the russian that hopper managed to not kill. he got like 10 minutes of characterisation so we were sad when he died, what about the 30 other dudes that were gunned down?
2. i didn't catch whether or not the news report thing at the end of ep8 mentioned this, but why was the town so chill with the fact that hundreds of people suddenly went missing? the flayed included like whole families and children and old people and whatever. they all just kinda died, what were the consequences for this?
3. i was so fuckin relieved when robin was gay just because i couldn't deal with the amount of romantic subplot this season crammed in. there's a giant ass lovecraftian horror threatening to kill everyone you know and love, is this really the time to insert 5 minutes of cheesy back and forth? in fact there seemed to be quite a few moments where i was screaming at the screen like, 11's bleeding out on the floor! do we need the comedic banter now!? you're in the middle of an underground russian war facility thing, do we have time to be arranging dates and singing and talking about our feelings!?
4. does joyce not realise she has like.. two kids? she's always like WILL ARE YOU OKAY AFTER THIS TRAUMATIC EVENT? and i'm like lady your other kid was there too!!! give him a hug too!! actually in general the parenting this season was wack. "where are your children?" "idk they've been gone... for a few days... i'm sure they're fine"
1. something that really bothered me this season was how cool everyone was with murder. hopper was mowing russians down with a gun, 11 was squishing them with cars, the kids were ready to kill. it was all portrayed to comedic effect but i was really just like, "wow el just killed like 5 dudes is she okay..?". i felt like that could have been explored in a lot more detail. hey 13 year old how do you feel about being a mass murderer, that must be kinda rough on your conscience. it also cheapened the death of alexei bc he was just the russian that hopper managed to not kill. he got like 10 minutes of characterisation so we were sad when he died, what about the 30 other dudes that were gunned down?
2. i didn't catch whether or not the news report thing at the end of ep8 mentioned this, but why was the town so chill with the fact that hundreds of people suddenly went missing? the flayed included like whole families and children and old people and whatever. they all just kinda died, what were the consequences for this?
3. i was so fuckin relieved when robin was gay just because i couldn't deal with the amount of romantic subplot this season crammed in. there's a giant ass lovecraftian horror threatening to kill everyone you know and love, is this really the time to insert 5 minutes of cheesy back and forth? in fact there seemed to be quite a few moments where i was screaming at the screen like, 11's bleeding out on the floor! do we need the comedic banter now!? you're in the middle of an underground russian war facility thing, do we have time to be arranging dates and singing and talking about our feelings!?
4. does joyce not realise she has like.. two kids? she's always like WILL ARE YOU OKAY AFTER THIS TRAUMATIC EVENT? and i'm like lady your other kid was there too!!! give him a hug too!! actually in general the parenting this season was wack. "where are your children?" "idk they've been gone... for a few days... i'm sure they're fine"
1. El has killed people before. Years before. S1 showed her kill quite a few Lab Employees and Soldiers. Her sense of morality around killing to protect herself or her friends is not typical because she was raised by Brenner, who when she killed the very first lab employee who she felt threatened by, praised her for it. Hopper is a Vietnam Veteran. So not only has he been trained to kill enemy soldiers, he's very likely done it long before joining the Police Force. And Russian Soldiers invading his town, threatening both the country and Eleven, would absolutely be seen as enemy combatants. The Russians he killed were all also direct threats to him, Joyce, and Murray.
2. The town absolutely wasn't "chill" with it. Rewatch the news report in the finale and read the headlines and articles if you'd like to see specifics. The deaths have become National news and the town is outraged at the Gov't.
3. The "shared trauma" comment between Nancy and Jonathan is actually a real thing. Intense stressful and life threatening situations do draw people closer to each other. But as for why this happens when it happens in the show, the answer is pacing of storytelling. If you keep things at a dramatic/action climax constantly, it quickly becomes fatiguing for the viewer and lessens the impact of the drama/action. So events need time to breathe and reset.
4. There's no doubt that Joyce cares about what Jon's gone through as well but he's been quite a bit less than Will has and is an adult. Will, as a burgeoning teen, is still very much a child and so Joyce is naturally going to focus more on Will in these dangerous situations because he's in a far more perilous place mentally, emotionally, and even physically. As far as the other Parents... that's a combination of the 80's being a time period where parents (especially Middle Class parents in Middle America) were perfectly comfortable with their kids being gone all day and staying over at friends, etc... , a staple of 80's kids/teen focused movies (Goonies, John Hughes movies, etc..), and the fact that once the threat is real, the action takes place over roughly one day/night. The kids actually do go home or to a friends house every night during the first portion of the season (Will, Lucas, and Mike have scenes in Mike's basement... Max stays the night over at El's... Nancy talks to her mother about her job... ). The show just doesn't focus on interaction with their parents every time this happens.
2. The town absolutely wasn't "chill" with it. Rewatch the news report in the finale and read the headlines and articles if you'd like to see specifics. The deaths have become National news and the town is outraged at the Gov't.
3. The "shared trauma" comment between Nancy and Jonathan is actually a real thing. Intense stressful and life threatening situations do draw people closer to each other. But as for why this happens when it happens in the show, the answer is pacing of storytelling. If you keep things at a dramatic/action climax constantly, it quickly becomes fatiguing for the viewer and lessens the impact of the drama/action. So events need time to breathe and reset.
4. There's no doubt that Joyce cares about what Jon's gone through as well but he's been quite a bit less than Will has and is an adult. Will, as a burgeoning teen, is still very much a child and so Joyce is naturally going to focus more on Will in these dangerous situations because he's in a far more perilous place mentally, emotionally, and even physically. As far as the other Parents... that's a combination of the 80's being a time period where parents (especially Middle Class parents in Middle America) were perfectly comfortable with their kids being gone all day and staying over at friends, etc... , a staple of 80's kids/teen focused movies (Goonies, John Hughes movies, etc..), and the fact that once the threat is real, the action takes place over roughly one day/night. The kids actually do go home or to a friends house every night during the first portion of the season (Will, Lucas, and Mike have scenes in Mike's basement... Max stays the night over at El's... Nancy talks to her mother about her job... ). The show just doesn't focus on interaction with their parents every time this happens.
Just watched the new IT (the kid that plays Mike was awesome in it). I read the book in the 80s and saw the first movie so I knew the story well. I knew Stranger Things took inspiration from King, but seeing it again really highlights the similarities of "kids take on horrifying shit".
^------------ if that's a spoiler, please remove it, haven't finished the season
Anyway, I only just finally realized those Scoops Ahoy ads on Spotify I've been getting aren't just an ad for the show, but also for actual ice cream products. I need to get that ice cream boat!
Anyway, I only just finally realized those Scoops Ahoy ads on Spotify I've been getting aren't just an ad for the show, but also for actual ice cream products. I need to get that ice cream boat!
Amazing season, I absolutely loved it.
Season 4 speculation
i think Hopper is alive and well in Russia, he blatantly jumped into the portal and either spent time in the upside down or it was a portal that took him to Russia where he's been captured.
Season 4 speculation
i think eleven will be trying to gain her powers back and will be looking for Hopper in the hope he's alive and she'll find him but not have a clue where he is and get the gang back together to try and find/rescue him.
I haven't finished the season yet but something that keeps bothering me cause I forget parts of season 1 and 2. Outside of the main characters is the town aware of what was happening at the lab at the end of season 1? And season 2?
Season 3 starts with no one else even being aware of the events so I am assuming no one else knows.
Season 3 starts with no one else even being aware of the events so I am assuming no one else knows.
Even Mike's parents don't know what really happened. I don't even know if they're aware of El.
i thought it was weird that L didn't move in with Mike but then I remembered his parents aren't aware of any of the weird that has happened, so she had to go with Joy.
I just finished season 3 and I feel the same way. There were a lot of moments in S3 I did like but some of the major plot points seemed random and just required too big of a leap from logic.
For example, how did hundreds of military Russians in uniform end up in an underground facility in a midwest town near the height of the Cold war? How would no one notice in a small town an influx of Russians? Why did the Hawkins police force get snapped out of existence this season? And so on.
That said, I'm surprised so many people are assuming Will is gay. Just because he doesn't like girls yet doesn't automatically make him homosexual or asexual. There are a lot of boys and girls who are simply late bloomers and they don't get sexually attracted to their preferred gender until a little bit later. It's an old stereo-type to assume any 12-13 year-old boy who isn't obsessing over girls and humping trees must automatically not be heterosexual. It's that stereo-type which causes some boys to act-out and over compensate by being overly aggressive to appear "normal" when nothing was wrong with them in the first place.
I'm through episode 6. I'm watching it with the wife and we have to wait to watch until the baby is asleep so it's slow going at the moment.
Man the
really reminds me of
Man the
mind flayer
Aldrich of the deep from DS3. Being a sludge monster that consumes people to get bigger.
Just finished it. It was goofier than past seasons but I think I enjoyed that? The characters were more exaggerated and corny than they used to be sometimes a bit too much. Also at times I felt like things were too silly to be believable but it's also a show about weird monsters from another dimension and a girl with psychic powers. I guess it was the parts of the show that didn't revolve around the unexplainable that caught me as unbelievable. Like two teenagers and two kids,
But ironically, the Scoops Troop/Russian plot was probably the one I enjoyed the most just because of how fun it was so I can look past it being inherently goofy in concept.
One thing that bothered me is that the two black female characters that appear in the season, Erica and the receptionist at the hospital, are both sassy black woman stereotypes, at least that's how I felt about it. It annoyed me especially because the only other black character, Lucas is the comic relief/slightly slapstick character of the group.
The plot and the characters definitely push Steve and Robin in a romantic direction with the usual tropes for a romance between characters. There's like the trope of two characters not really seeing their attraction to each other while another character points out the "obvious" and tries to egg them on while they grow closer and realize their feelings after going through an intense situation together - I mean, the same thing was happening parallel with Joyce and Hopper. There's also Robin talking about how Steve never noticed her in high school. When you get to the part where you would have the usual confession scene, that's when Robin reveals she is gay. They led us in one direction that gave the expectation of one conclusion and then at the last moment revealed it was actually not the case at all. That definitely is a twist and a very intentional one.
I don't think it being a twist is really a bad thing though. I think they would've been a nice couple too but I also think they work as friends and I think Steve's reaction to the reveal showed a lot of growth in his character.
cracking a secret code and infiltrating a top secret Russian base but also managing to escape after being caught and getting out even with all those armed guards (did they not even have cameras down there?)
One thing that bothered me is that the two black female characters that appear in the season, Erica and the receptionist at the hospital, are both sassy black woman stereotypes, at least that's how I felt about it. It annoyed me especially because the only other black character, Lucas is the comic relief/slightly slapstick character of the group.
I was fine with the twist but it did surprise me. A lot of those hints you mentioned reminded me of Max in season 2. Like you said, none of that means she has to be gay. I think the fact that they didn't want to outright spell it out but then did towards the end of the season does show it was meant to be a twist.
The plot and the characters definitely push Steve and Robin in a romantic direction with the usual tropes for a romance between characters. There's like the trope of two characters not really seeing their attraction to each other while another character points out the "obvious" and tries to egg them on while they grow closer and realize their feelings after going through an intense situation together - I mean, the same thing was happening parallel with Joyce and Hopper. There's also Robin talking about how Steve never noticed her in high school. When you get to the part where you would have the usual confession scene, that's when Robin reveals she is gay. They led us in one direction that gave the expectation of one conclusion and then at the last moment revealed it was actually not the case at all. That definitely is a twist and a very intentional one.
I don't think it being a twist is really a bad thing though. I think they would've been a nice couple too but I also think they work as friends and I think Steve's reaction to the reveal showed a lot of growth in his character.
This. I think it was supposed to be a bit more of a shock so we can see the development of Steve as a character. It felt like it was supposed to catch the viewer off guard like it did Steve, but then show how Steve just handled it like the cool-bro he is.
I liked the season. More than Season 2, but less than Season 1. Season 1 had more mystery. That said, I don't know where the show goes from here. It actually was a pretty good ending note at the end of season 3, but we will get another it seems.
They need to lean in harder to these kids growing up (which is what the show is about as was the inspiration material that it takes from). Season 4 really needs to move the football with character development.
Still such a great show.
I'm at episode 4
I love this show so bad. That nostalgia feels. Whatever these guys wanna do next I'm in.
What's with the terminator/Arnold stand-in?
It's a little obvious with the reference.
It's a little obvious with the reference.
I love this show so bad. That nostalgia feels. Whatever these guys wanna do next I'm in.
I was really really really hoping they weren't going to trope them. The reveal was probably the best overall moment in the show
Loved this season. Can't really rank it since they're all so good, but the visuals and pacing was on point. Steve still the best character
The song wasn't the point. It was supposed to be a sweet and funny little scene. A short moment of levity after a ton of crazy shit has gone down and was about to start right back up again.
Yeah, their conversation at first was kinda cute but then it just made me go "What the fuck is this." I guess I'm in the wrong here because everyone seems to love that scene and I just outright hated it.
Almost finished with this season and goddamn did they go gross with the monsters this time around. Makes the first season look positively wholesome lol.
Steve still remains the MVP 👏🏻
Steve still remains the MVP 👏🏻
Loved this season. Lightyears beyond 1 and 2. I always liked the 80s trappings, the show always looked great and sounded great, but the stories and "homages" in the first two seasons were just not very good. Just felt like ripoffs and Winona Ryder was awful.
Now it feels more like a good 80s sci-fi horror / comedy rather than a direct ripoff of existing ones. And Winona is better at being wacky rather than constantly freaking out in hysterics.
Now it feels more like a good 80s sci-fi horror / comedy rather than a direct ripoff of existing ones. And Winona is better at being wacky rather than constantly freaking out in hysterics.
I'm not sure how the first two seasons were blatant rip offs when this season punches you in the face with its influences compared to the more subtle nature of the first two. Just look at the Terminator dude lol
Huh? they followed him because he was supposedly a stereotypical scary Russian. When he turned out to be a dance teacher I'm pretty sure they were staring at the girls in bright thong pants. I sure was...
The way it's cut it almost seems like Dustin is looking at the teacher, but like I said considering the Suzie scene that clearly wasn't the case.
Yeah the Terminator was the weakest part of this season. But there was nothing subtle about the first two season's ripoffs.
It was most certainly meant to be a twist, even if they did have some hints about it(as any good written twist should). They even had this scene specifically to set up the twist:
Binged this over 2 evenings, really liked it
But the "expectation subversion" with Robin was dumb yeah lol, too much of a gotcha.
But the "expectation subversion" with Robin was dumb yeah lol, too much of a gotcha.