Stranger Things: Season 3
‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 returns with a better story and a more interesting villain
The kids from Hawkins are experiencing the first phases of love, and in their confused moments they fight once again for a better world.
The Duffer Brothers’ reminiscing horror thriller, ‘Stranger Things’ has returned with its third installment and keeping up with its grimly atmosphere of Season 1 and Season 2, ‘Stranger Things 3’ sees its creators at their best while the actors flounder upon their characters' newfound teen hood. What continues to remain on similar grounds is the show’s tendency to pay an incessant tribute to the long-gone ‘80s while relying heavily on the pop sensations of the time. Set against the mid-year 1985, the show tells a riveting story painted in neon bright but firmly settles on its confused state of being the decade in between revolutions.
We go back to Hawkins, Indiana, where the lead characters are experiencing a life led by hormones and immense enthusiasm about the whole idea of rebellion. Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and his old love, Eleven or El or Jane (Millie Bobby Brown) find it difficult to keep their hands off each. They become the perfect couple in town during their summer of love, leaving an overly protective, Hopper (David Harbour) in utter dismay about his adopted daughter’s involvement with the boy. Meanwhile, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) tries to fit in with friends who are experiencing the first bout of love but fails to gain their floating attention, as Will continues to remain the ultimate victim on the show.
Dynamics change within the group as the kids try to keep up with the evil around them. (IMDb)
Meanwhile, new friends begin to enter their dynamics. Dustin’s (Gaten Matarazzo) so-called girlfriend, Suzie occupies a large part of the narrative as for the longest time she is left without a face with only a dramatic description by Dustin who seems to have gotten closer with the former high school, Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) now working at Hawkins’ newest mall, Starcourt Mall. As already mentioned, ‘Stranger Things 3’ heavily lies on its predecessors from the ‘80s while creating the perfect setting for a horror show, with a mall serving as the ultimate hunting ground for the strange creature.
Season 3 has given us the most interesting villain of the show so far. (IMDb)
The impending doom of the creature grows volatile in the third season as it finds itself a new host. Steve’s archenemy, Billy Hargrove (Darce Montgomery), is quite expectedly the creatures new host but, unlike Will, Billy’s fear for the monster is more within than without. Billy’s character occupies one of the most interesting spots on Season 3 as compared to his single-layered insecured bully who had taken over Steve’s kingdom and had easily proved to be a more sinister villain. Billy, who was the show’s human villain in Season 2, gradually trudged upon the murky line between the real and the surreal. His character served as the much needed bridge between the two dimensions, a role that was earlier partially fulfilled by Barb and mostly by Will.
However, what is refreshing about the season is that the Duffer Brothers took immense care to keep the horrific factor intact. They have given a structure to the show that could have easily lost its ground had it not managed to live up to its own expectations. ‘Stranger Things’, since Season 1, has paid attention to every single character and by tracing their development over the course of the three seasons it seems with every season the characters became more intertwined with each other than the previous one. Season 3 sees more unity amid disputes in the group and the execution of every character is commendable, considering the actors have managed to retain the persona of every character in spite of their off-screen fame. It can be said that ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 has returned with more vigour wrapped up in curious romance.
