Stranger Things 3
Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo
Director: The Duffer Brothers
There’s no denying the fact that in a span of just three years, 2 season old Stranger Things has carved out a niche for its audience. The show, which popped up out of nowhere in 2016, turned the world upside down and became the most comforting summer binge watch.
The latest season, Stranger Things season 3, which is currently streaming on Netflix is in the same ballpark. The latest installment sets the tone of the third season right from the first episode, Suzie, Do You Copy? The kids from Hawkins are growing fast. Now, they are teens and have a new set of problems. They are into relationships and they have parents who are dreading those relationships. All this while, something is creeping towards them.
The looming dangers and their worst nightmare, the Demogorgon has been set free, one more time. Apart from the Mind Flayer, the kids also have to put up a fight against the villainous Grigori (Andrey Ivchenko). The kids are finding it hard to cope up because the last united group is now divided into teams and everybody is kind of trying to solve the mystery with their own detective skills. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are big boys with girlfriends, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) has returned from a month-long vacation and has teamed up with Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin (Maya Hawke), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Max (Sadie Sink) are now best friends. While Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) are reporters for Hawkins Post, Will (Noah Schnapp) is feeling out of the place and Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) are struggling to keep their children safe. Also, Hawkins has got a hot fresh face in Billy (Dacre Montgomery).
Phew! Too much happening with too many people. But the makers have converged all the stories in such a cohesive manner that none of it appears out of place or hurried. The show has upped their game in terms of visual drama. For instance, in one of the early episodes, you see rats running in a basement like they’re moving forward with bagpipers beats and next they start exploding like strawberry popcorns.
While the first three episodes set the scene explaining what’s happening where and who’s doing what, the next two seem a bit stretched and the last three pick up the pace with El once again showcasing her Jean Grey avatar full throttle. With a little innocent humour, coupled with some nerdy moments, everyone gets to play their part.
Unlike the previous seasons, the Duffer Brothers have made sure that the new season is balanced in terms of humour and thrill. The show succeeds in its quest by putting up a grim, scary, and action-packed season that keeps you on the edge. Also, some extra attention has been paid to the cliff-hangers. If you make it to the end of an episode, there’s hardly any chance that you’ll skip the next one. The background score adds a cherry on the top.
Stranger Things season 3 has learnt from its second season and is back with more chills and thrills.
Rating: 4/5
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