Stranger Things

Y'all watched the post credits scene right?

I come into the Stranger Things thread and here I find a bunch of crazy talk.

After watching all of season 3, I still place season 2 in last by a long shot. Season 2 took a big dip in quality, IMO, and I think season 3 rectified that for the most part. Nothing will top the freshness of season 1, so that is still the best season, but I think 3 had the strongest finale of all the seasons.

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Agreed. Season 2 just seemed like a hot mess compared to seasons 1 or 3, which were both cogent and well-paced. Honestly, I don't remember a lot of consistency in season 2... just confusion trying to follow everything and figure out what the heck was going on.

Season 3 was once again stable, good storytelling, with the fun running jokes and character details we've come to love and expect.

And yes, I did watch past the credits.

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I just started S3 last week, 3-4 episodes in and it is great. Str8 80's culture porn. New characters with good roles, old characters with expanded roles, dissent among the group, that weird year when some guys are chasing girls and others are still kids, Hopper, that guy from Princess Bride , Russians...


I still say the only memorable thing from S2 was Billy's wig.

I gave up halfway through season 3. It started to parody itself, and after I watched 'Dark' season 2 - Stranger Things just paled into insignificance compared to it.

The main reason why the show's quality is declining is due to prior knowledge. You know the characters, you know all about the Upside Down, inside and out and the stories have become nothing more than predictable. It was meant to stop at season 1 and proceed with an AHS template, but they continued the story because people loved the characters. This puts me on the fence about season 3 because there were things in it that made me wish they had kept going with the original plan as well as amazing things that I was happy I got to see. I didn't mind season 2 because it still had the element of mystery. It just started out to be really boring because the epilogue is 3 episodes long. Season 3 told you everything that was going on and then had you sit and wait for every inevitable beat. (And I have a mountain of other issues but we'll save that for YouTube lol)

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Ami-Scythe

I'm an easy mark for 80's culture. Kinda like being 3 drinks in before anything else happens. There is already a grin on my face and I'm ready to see what happens.


That said. Whether it is real or perceived, some characters seem to have become over-exaggerated. Hooper and his sidekick are the main offenders. It's kinda cartoonish at times, but hey

It may be me, but I think they really dialed up the cheese. There are 2 episodes left and it seems to be more pronounced than previous seasons. Hopper seems to be way over-the-top now, unlike before.

Reportedly a season 4 has been confirmed by executive producer Shawn Levy. But no one seems to know when it might be out.

I finished with S3 and enjoyed....seeing my buddies again.


If I'm going to say that S2 is forgettable because of a poor story, S3's story is probably just as poor. Why are the Russians doing stuff? The Mind Flayer is...not the Demogorgon or The Spare Parts monster? It really feels like a band that had a first album, which is songs they've been tuning up for years and each album after is just grasping at straws.


Pretty sure most of these kids can't act, except for Max. Eleven grinds every scene she is in to a halt, except maybe the tearjerker stuff. The cast seems to be too large now, maybe it always was. What did Will do this season, outside of rub the back of his neck? Who had the idea for the Neverending Story song? We not gonna flesh out any of the backstory, the numbers gang, Papa?



That said, I really enjoyed it. This is textbook, "I missed my friends" viewing and that allows it to skate on the particulars.

Totally agree on the first/last lines of your post. That's kinda where I'm at. Fun, familiar, and still genuinely amusing. They got me. I care about the characters and I know it's gonna be a fun watch.

I'd assume the NeverEnding Story bit is mostly because that was a huge part of everyone's lives who grew up in the '80s. I can remember Yoda and his brother watching (and loving) that movie when they were wee tots.

The rest was quite enjoyable, partly because it was much more coherent than season 2 and more like season 1. If it was TOO much like a caricatured version of season 1, so be it. Every show does that to some degree. I remember watching sitcoms in the '70s and noticing that after a few seasons. Welcome Back, Kotter... Barney Miller... Taxi... all the great sitcoms ended up making their favorite characters cartoon versions of themselves. Even the actual cartoon series did it, especially The Simpsons.

I suppose that's why it didn't bother me. I always considered this show fun entertainment. I don't compare it to Dark precisely because it's not meant to be compared to that show. Apples and oranges.

I too have a soft-spot from childhood for the movie. It was definitely checked out from the Forsyth County Library In light of that, a bunch of people are in life or death situations, climaxing the show and it just felt out of place. Maybe if it could have had its own moment, separate from the finale, I would have been able to enjoy it.


I'm with you, there is no comparing this with Dark other than "kids and weird stuff".

Stranger Things 4 teaser out. Slightly spoilery, but if it's in the teaser you're not going to avoid it for long anyway:

Ice level!?

Whaaaaaaaaaat? Noooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy. (intense sarcasm)

Also anyone remember when this show was about an innocent group of kids encountering a psychic girl with ties to government experiments who help them find their friend? Good times.

I think the Duff Bros. were exposed after last season. s2 was a misstep and s3 would have been even more so, if it wasn't slathered in 80's gravy.

I liked both seasons actually.

I'm not saying they're bad, they've just taken a wild turn since season 1. Which is your favorite season?

Reportedly there's going to be a Christmas or early 2021 release.