Stranger Things 3 (2019) Review

Stranger Things 3 (2019)

Season 3 of Stranger Things follows the Party, who suspect that when Eleven closed the gate, they trapped the Mindflayer in their world, with it taking possession of Max’s brother Billy, as Dustin and Steve stumble upon a secret Russian base under the mall. 

With the third season of Stranger Things, it feels like the show decisively wraps up a multi-season arc that started way back in Season 1, with Will’s disappearance, effectively tethering him to the Upside Down and it’s creatures. As we saw in Season 2, Will’s connection acted as a doorway for a new creature, the Mindflayer, to make it’s presence known, though it’s not until this season that we get to see the monster in full, Cronenberg-ian effect. Seeing the Mindflayer take over Billy and use him to amass victims is darkly terrifying, but it’s knowing that the typically cold and abusive Billy is under there, frightened and afraid, relating a feeling of empathy out of us, that makes this season one of the greater ones.

I’d say out of everything so far, this is the show at its peak 80s setting as well—bright and flashy clothes, malls, Terminator-like Russians, references galore from Back to the Future, Magnum P.I., and The NeverEnding Story, and of course, a vile monster that looks ripped right out of the most haunting Cronenberg film imaginable. All of this culminates in the battle for Starcourt Mall and frankly, that explosive finale, mixed with Hopper and Billy’s sacrifices, lends itself to Stranger Things having never been better. Just feels like these multiple seasons of characters, storylines, and motivations all come to a head to create the show at it’s peak. 

Season 3 sports another brilliant cast, starring Cary Elwes, Andrey Ivchenko, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Alec Utgoff, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, and Millie Bobby Brown. Once again, it’s the supporting actors who shine the brightest, with Hawke, Keery, and Montgomery delivering on the seasons darkest, funniest, and most heartfelt moments, as the main cast takes a bit of a fractured backseat. 

Stranger Things 3, directed by the Duffer Brothers, is arguably the show at the top of its game, going as full 80s as possible, but also just giving us a conclusion to things set in motion in Season 1 while never losing that Goonie-ish quality the show has constantly shot for in letting them be kids, at least till next season. 

8.8/10