By: Jesse Striewski
Every once in awhile, a cultural phenomenon will come along that changes the landscape of things as we know it. Since 2016, the Netflix series Stranger Things has been doing just that. With the show’s third season having been out now for just under a month, it’s due time to analyze the series’ latest outing (and with as few spoilers as possible, of course).
The skeptics out there may find it a stretch for yet more freaky events to find their way to the same basic group of kids in the same small Indiana town (circa 1985), yet it still works. The writing is still witty, the main cast still (mostly) stellar, and the atmosphere is still as spot on as ever.
David Harbor and Winona Ryder again lead the way as Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers, while Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo continue to stick out above the younger cast as Eleven and Dustin, respectively. Newcomer Maya Hawke (daughter of actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) is a welcomed edition to the cast as well.
Without revealing too much about the story, this time around there’s multiple sub-plots that involve everything from the usual hideous creatures, to Russian conspiracy. Eventually the puzzles are all put into place before everything is interconnected at the Starcourt Mall, and all hell truly breaks loose.
There’s definitely no shortage of options to choose from when it comes to shows to watch these days. But it’s rare for one to be as well thought-out, put together, and engaging as this show has consistently been. Every nail-biting episode leaves you hanging on for the next, and each new episode delivers. Instead of relying on dumbed-down sex and gore like so many other movies and shows, Stranger Things has managed to focus on the human side of things perfectly.
Watching this series with my family for the past three years has reminded me of being a kid in the ’80s, watching eventful shows like V in complete wonder. I’ll take that feeling again any day.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
