Stranger Things (Netflix show)

[Khev]

I really enjoyed this season overall. I am curious what happens in the next season. Overall been a really good show. The kids have really great chemistry and I like Hopper doing his Magnum P.I. impression.

Totally. Last Sunday David Harbour came to Mall of America to promote the show so I took my kids to see him and I was surprised at how fun and "jolly" he was in person. I guess I assumed based on the characters he plays that he'd be kind of a d*ck, lol.

 

[Matt S]

Loved the first four episodes, but the underground (and somehow hidden) secret Russian underground bunker that is 2 miles deep was really cheesy and pretty goofy. The Russians came off as caricatures rather than actual characters, with the exception of the one scientist who was shot by the T800 looking hitman guy. Really killed the middle part of season 3 for me. Final end ep was good, song and all.

And they really need to revisit the Upside-Down and give us some info on it. But the main draw is still the characters. If anything, 8 eps still feels too short. I do love the quiet moments with characters just interacting with each other.

 

[Khev]

My nitpicks:

Spoiler

1. Dustin's 1986 Ultra Magnus toy when it was supposed to be 1985.

2. Dawn of the Dead didn't hit theaters until a few weeks after the 4th (yes this is minor, lol, I guess we can pretend they were watching a sneak preview)

3. Dustin having to sing the entire Neverending Story song basically got Billy killed. It's kind of a bummer that I can't separate those two events because I did love the inclusion of the song. I just wish that those precious seconds didn't result in life or death for a prominent character.

4. I thought the Russian Schwarzenegger guy repeating the Die Hard lines "You won't shoot me, you're a police officer. You have rules" was just too on the nose even for an 80's tribute series like ST.

Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the entire season. Yes the giant underground Russian megacomplex was goofy but I enjoyed the story elements it provided so I give it a pass.

 

[Matt S]

My nitpicks:

Spoiler

1. Dustin's 1986 Ultra Magnus toy when it was supposed to be 1985.

2. Dawn of the Dead didn't hit theaters until a few weeks after the 4th (yes this is minor, lol, I guess we can pretend they were watching a sneak preview)

3. Dustin having to sing the entire Neverending Story song basically got Billy killed. It's kind of a bummer that I can't separate those two events because I did love the inclusion of the song. I just wish that those precious seconds didn't result in life or death for a prominent character.

4. I thought the Russian Schwarzenegger guy repeating the Die Hard lines "You won't shoot me, you're a police officer. You have rules" was just too on the nose even for an 80's tribute series like ST.

Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed the entire season. Yes the giant underground Russian megacomplex was goofy but I enjoyed the story elements it provided so I give it a pass.

Timing of that song was bad, granted. And I am sure the lighthearted tone of eps 5 and 6 were there to lighten a dark season, but yeah, they went too goofy with it

 

[Neal136]

My nitpicks:

Spoiler

2. Dawn of the Dead didn't hit theaters until a few weeks after the 4th (yes this is minor, lol, I guess we can pretend they were watching a sneak preview)

They actually were. It says so right on the poster as they're walking into the theater.

 

[Khev]

Oh wow, lol, well scratch that one off the list then.

 

[Prime Clone]

Since they've reached '85... any Goonies references?

 

[Khev]

Surprisingly no.

 

[darthviper107]

Finished this, really fun, I think it's as good as the first season. Also, production values are really high, FX are also fantastic and looks like they did them at 4K to match the film which is really rare.

 

[TaliBane]

Finally finished this season. Beautfully shot and the kids cast is still so superb - perhaps the best child ensemble ever committed to film. I enjoyed this season more than season 2.

And the non-sensical aspects (I would love to see how the Russians secretly constructed that) work in the silly context of a ridiculous mega-montser, and I never did figure out the gate/monster/zombies logic but the series has started to reveal its limitations. That the source material of 80s movies isn't really providing much deeper material to set off the maturing of the characters, so even though they are a bit older and they are going through teen stuff the story itself feels like a retread of season 1 (much has been written about the ST tropes - splitting into groups etc.)

Most of the stuff with Hopper and Winona was kinda dull and goofy - like it wasn't as cute or funny or entertaining as the show seemed to think it was (Winona's odd personal vibe seemed to show through in certain moments) but as always Eleven was a really strong core - in both performance and character - and Billy was pretty great in places.

And the 80s nostalgia just feels too milked. I liked it better when it happened to be set in the 80s and the characters say or use things that have pop culture resonance rather than a "nostalgia alert" flashin onscreen every few minutes. And the product placements - new Coke as an example - just feels ugh. Eggo was more accidental - the planning feels very capitalist, but maybe that's the point of the show (communists, not capitalists are behind the mall culture?)

 

[Star-Crunch]

Spoiler

i don’t know how much more heartache I can take after endgame, toy story 4, and now this lol

 

[snoop101]

Spoiler

Really sucks they killed Billy and Hopper.

 

[Lejuan]

Spoiler

Really sucks they killed Billy and Hopper.

The latter ain’t dead, I’d bet the house on it.

 

[Asta]

Hopper, P.I.

 

[Khev]

The latter ain’t dead, I’d bet the house on it.

Spoiler

Yeah I think we're meant to assume that "the American" in the Russian cell next to the guy who got fed to the Demogorgon at the end was supposed to be Hopper.

 

[greedo737]

I agree Khev

 

[Khev]

Otherwise it wouldn't have sat well with me that two seasons in a row

Spoiler

Joyce had to watch a man she cared about die in front of her.

 

[TaliBane]

That bit was SO subtle I'm genuinely surprised that anyone got it.

 

[Matt S]

That bit was SO subtle I'm genuinely surprised that anyone got it.

LOL - but, glad it was there, honestly

 

[snoop101]

Spoiler

Yeah I think we're meant to assume that "the American" in the Russian cell next to the guy who got fed to the Demogorgon at the end was supposed to be Hopper.

That seems way too obvious.