Stranger Things Season 3: Breakdown

Image Credit: Netflix

This post will explain some of the main themes and character arcs of Stranger Things Seasons 1, 2, & 3. So spoilers ahead. Stranger Things Season 3 aired on Netflix on July 4th, 2019. The following are my thoughts and opinions.

Growing Up

The party is back for a third season on Netflix’s streaming service. Of many new things this season brought to us, one is the theme of growing up. Several characters have grown up in the short year since the last season. We see new relationships have blossomed since we last left our teenage adventurers. Eleven and Mike have been dating all summer and driving Chief Hopper mad. All the “kids” from season one are now hormone driven teenagers. Season 3 has more themes of growing up than any other season yet. Lucas and Max are also dating. Dustin returns from Summer Camp talking about a mysterious girlfriend. Our main group has moved past the Dungeons and Dragons board and on to young romance…except Will. But i’ll get to that in a minute.

Moving On

Yet, beyond the teenagers, Chief Hopper and Joyce are both trying to move on as well. Joyce, still struggling with the death of her boyfriend Bob, is having a hard time letting him go. She sees him in everything she does. Hopper is also struggling. Struggling with two prepubescent teenagers making out in his home all summer. Hopper is still trying to figure out how to raise a teenager, and it’s proving to be a difficult task. He also wants to move on, as we see him attempt to ask Joyce out to dinner. Change has come to Hawkins, Indiana, and maybe this time it’s not so scary.

Image Credit: Netflix

Okay, So Will is the Worst

In the iconic first season of Stranger Things, Will gets kidnapped and taken to the Upside Down. His friends, with the assistance of Eleven, bring him back to the real world and defeat the Demogorgon. In season two, Will becomes somewhat possessed by the evil entity known as the Mind-Flayer. He spends the whole season in agony, and has a near-exorcism for the season’s climax. Will has gone through more than anyone else in the show (save for Eleven). So how about some redemption for his character?

Peter Pan

Unfortunately, this does not happen. Will is possibly the worst character of the season. While his friends want to hang out with girls, he wants them to hang out with him. He doesn’t understand their new obsession with girls. He wants them to play Dungeons and Dragons together like they did in season one. Will’s problem this season is that he refuses to grow up while the world around him continues to change. It’s not a bad arc for him, but it’s definitely not expected. Does any of these feelings get resolved? Well, not really. Will has brief conversations to his friends about his feelings, but this seems to be swept under the rug because of the new threat of season three.

Image Credit: Netflix

So Much 80’s

There’s a lot of change in Hawkins, Indiana this season. One of the many changes is a new shopping mall that has popped up in the center of town. This is a great nod to the time period that the show is set in. In the 80’s, shopping malls hit the peak of their popularity. But just as in real life, the mall in Stranger Things forces small businesses to close. They can’t compete with the booming competition.

The Russians are Coming!

Stranger Things follows another 80’s trope. That of making all the villains evil Russians. Some critics have called this out as lazy, and in poor taste. Yet, I think this fits the time period perfectly. Almost every action movie in the 80’s had a big, bad Russian guy. It makes total sense for Stranger Things to pay homage to this trend. This even fits some of the story elements. As we see people getting taken over by the Mind-Flayer, they become zombie like. They hint to this by starting the show off with a screening of Dawn of the Dead, which is scarily echoed later on. This season also gives off an Invasion of the Body Snatchers vibe, which also fits with the theme of Russians. The original Invasion was an allegory for Russian sleeper agents invading the U.S. But it’s not the Russians our heroes should be worried about.

Image Credit: Netflix

Afraid to Kill

One of the things I always berated this show for is its inability to kill off its characters. In season one, Barbara is found dead in the Upside Down EVEN THOUGH Will was in there longer. I get it, though. Story purposes; no problem. Sure, other no-name-soldier-bad-guys get ripped apart, but there are no stakes in that. In season two, Bob gets taken out by a Demodog (and so do more nameless soldiers), and that’s it. This show was obsessed with killing side characters.

WAS.

As I watched season three, I got the same impression. That is, until the bodies start dropping. Major characters in the town are killed; sacrificed to the Mind-Flayer. But, we also see the end of two of the main characters in the show. I’ll try to be vague. One death was understandable, and honestly, a little deserved. But the other really came out of left field. All I could think of was, “Where does this town go from here?”

Stranger Things Season 3 is now streaming only on Netflix.

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