Stranger Things 3

I really wanted to cover season 3 of Stranger Things last week but I still had two episodes to go! It's one of my favourite shows and one that just gets binged every time.

It's now been 89 weeks since I covered season 2 of Stranger Things as the opening article on 1 Thing A Week. If you haven't already seen seasons 1 and 2, I highly recommend them and if you haven't seen season 3 yet, I linked to the trailer back in March:

Nailing nostalgia

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, Stranger Things gets almost every bit of nostalgia spot on. This series felt a bit heavier on product placement, but it didn't detract from the story or the 'oh shit, remember those' moments throughout. Watching this time around, it brought back memories of so many different movies and TV shows from my youth. They just really have nailed that 80s feel from everyones hair to their clothes and every setting.

Every episode feels so well crafted and there's not a scene that looks out of place. The special effects are great and fitting for the era too.

It's hard to talk about it now with spoiling it but it's worth saying that like season 2, there are some nice character evolutions and multiple story lines that all converge together really well. Even the ending was fairly satisfying...

Stranger Things 3 spoilers

It should go without saying, but don't read on if you don't want to read any spoilers...

Despite the apparent closure at the end of the final episode, the credits are a little different, as if they were made in the Upside Down, hang on for a few seconds and there's a scene that sets up season 4.

There are characters you may have long forgotten about (Paul Reiser or Brett Gelman for example) who are referenced or, in the case of the latter, return to great effect. In all three seasons we've seen characters come and go and there's not a single case where they're there as just furniture.

This season is no different, whether it's Lucas' sister, the Russians or Robin. S3E1 felt a little slow, but the same was true of the first season but it gathers pace from there.

We don't get to see much of the Upside Down this time around, but we do get to see a miniature version of the mind flayer from season 2 terrorising the town of Hawkins. I thought it was a good create to introduce and everything gets tied together with Will being able to sense the mind flayer and with the reintroduction of the Demogorgon from the first season.

Have you watched season 3 of Stranger Things? Looking forward to season 4?

Update

I came across this great fan made video of a VHS quality intro to Hopper, PI, inspired by Tom Selleck's Magnum, PI.

Update

Spoilers galore in this video, but here's Netflix's "10 Stranger Things Monsters Who Aren't Playing Around":

Update

WIRED got the Duffer Brothers together to talk about nearly every movie reference in Stranger Things, really good watch and so many memories.