Suzie, Do You Copy? Stranger Things Season 3 Review

Stranger Things is one of those shows that raises questions such as "Have you watched Stranger Things yet?" or "What did you think of Stranger Things this season?" Everyone who watches it, is heavily involved with the characters, the plot line and the events in Hawkins, a fictional town in the state of Indiana, USA. The plot line is centred around a group of young friends, who are subjected to supernatural forces and secret government exploits, which leads them to uncover a great number of mysterious findings. But the thing that makes Stranger Things so distinct, is that it's set in the 1980s. The creators of the show, The Duffer Brothers, wanted to try and encompass classic 80s features into the action, with clear influences from movies such as E.T, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goonies and Halloween. However, despite the many influences, Stranger Things is practically in a league of it's own, intriguing people of all ages with the mysteries of a parallel universe known as 'The Upside Down'...

Season 3 of Stranger Things premiered on the 4th July 2019, which is the same date that the events are taking place in Hawkins. The season starts by reintroducing and familiarising us with the character relations that were budding in Season 2, whether it's the romance between Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), the father/daughter relationship between Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven, or the seemingly unexpected friendship between Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve (Joe Keery). The way in which The Duffer Brothers eased us back into Stranger Things through the eyes of the characters is brilliant, and it reminded me of how much I love the show. But things weren't going to stay normal forever, and the team have to come together to face off a new evil this year, as the return of 'The Mindflayer' brings chaos to the town, and causes problems with Joyce's magnets...Poor Joyce, she hasn't had much luck over the course of the series! What I love about Stranger Things, which has been apparent throughout every season, is how there are smaller groups that are dealing with different problems throughout the town, but by the end of the season, they all come together to share their knowledge. This ultimately leads to a standoff between themselves and the villains, which in this case, were the Russians.

The connections between the series' events, and the historical events of the Cold War tensions between America and The Soviets were done really well, and often provided a sense of humour that was light and refreshing, in between the relatively dark moments that this season had. Before watching Season 3, I read in an article that this season would actually be more lighthearted and fun than the previous seasons, and whilst I agree with this to some extent, there were some scenes that were quite eerie in their portrayal, but worked perfectly alongside this comical aspect. Billy, played by Dacre Montgomery, obviously got a lot more screen time this season, and it was great to see all of his capabilities as an actor; he had some particularly difficult scenes to shoot, but they all paid off. All the young actors are fantastic, and have been since Stranger Things began. To be able to act to that standard, and that quality at their age is really quite impressive, and I'm sure they will all have many opportunities brought their way in the near future. For me though, the standout actress on the show has to be Winona Ryder, who plays Joyce Byers. Her performance in Season 1 was simply captivating, and Stranger Things has really brought her back into the spotlight, as she was essentially the only well-known actress to be in the series. Season 3 gave her more screen time with David Harbour, and this on-screen relationship development brought out a new side to her character, proving to us (as if we needed it) that Ryder continues to be an exceptional actress, who lives right at the heart of the show.

It was also great to see the return of some characters such as Murray (Brett Gelman) and the introduction of new character, Robin, played by Maya Hawke. I had no idea that Maya was the daughter of Uma Therman, but it's clear to see in her acting that she has acquired her mother's talents. With the already relatively large cast, it was hard to see where Robin would fit into the storyline, but for new viewers, she must have seemed like she had been there from the start. From the moment she cracks the secret Russian translation, she's put straight into the action and becomes a character we love just as much as any of the others. Robin and Steve work serving ice cream at Scoops Ahoy in Starcourt Mall, which is where the majority of the action culminates. In a very similar sense to last season's 'Palace Arcade' which featured classic games such as Dig-Dug, Starcourt Mall is another signature 80s feature for the show. The classic fashion, prominent vibe, and atmosphere, brought about by the accompanying 80s music, weaves it's way perfectly throughout the series. Another classic 80s feature that makes Stranger Things so iconic is the general lack of technological communications. There are no mobile phones. No internet. The mysteries are solved using library books, and walkie-talkie's, which in turn, makes the investigation move slowly, and adds to the already heightened tension that the characters are experiencing.

Behind the scenes, it's great to see how much respect all the actors and actresses have for each other, and the Stranger Things set are almost like a small family. For me, this is one of the reasons that the chemistry coming from the different interconnected relationships is so special, and it's one of the reasons we all keep watching. The mystery and horror genre is easily successful if done right nowadays, but this love that the viewers have for the characters themselves is what makes Stranger Things so great. I was gripped just as much this season, if not more than last season, by the intense emotions that we all felt as viewers. It has come to my notice in recent years, that films with a typical sci-fi and horror genre, sometimes lack a great amount of emotion, considering the potentially catastrophic circumstances, but The Duffer Brothers create this perfect balance between emotions and events that just makes me want to watch it all over again. This, accompanied by the brilliant script writing that's present in Season 3, made it a truly fantastic watch, and I look forward to Season 4 to find out the fate of the fellow 'American'.......

Below, is an edited music video I did for the whole of Stranger Things to the song 'Sweetest Chill' by Siouxsie and the Banshees. It seemed only fitting to choose an 80's song, and I wanted to choose something that was dark enough to relate to Stranger Things as a whole, but still managed to include an added sweetness that we get from all the character relationships. I will be talking more about the video editing that I do in a later blog post, so make sure you look out for that if you're interested.

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