Just finished Stranger Things 3 and I AM GUTTED, this show just cut my heart out and broke it into tiny little pieces.

No spoilers but this is me rn:
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    I binge-watched the whole thing yesterday and the final episode also broke my heart. From Billy’s death on, I was a wreck.

    How did you feel about the whole season, overall? I was kind of just ‘meh’ about it…

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      SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS S3 AHEAD

      I felt just a little sad for Billy, mainly because Max was sad (I haven’t forgotten the racist a-hole he was in S2 even when he wasn’t a Mindflayer host), and honestly he was SUCH a foul person that I didn’t 100 percent get why Max was that sad about him, they never seemed to have a good relationship as stepsiblings and S2 clearly implies he was abusive to her – she threatened his goolies with the nail bat ffs!

      Overall, I really liked Season 3, and I love its character development and the independent storylines each set of characters got, and the acting was brilliant as always but the end completely gutted me – I’d always hoped Joyce would be truly a mother figure to El someday, not like this 😭. And just when I was starting to feel happy about Winona Ryder getting more to do this season….

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      Still spoilers

      I’m wondering how S4 is going to go ahead with the Party broken up and El gone though, those kids and their chemistry are the best part of the show – and I’ll really miss it.

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      I really disliked that most of the characters were separated. What really made this show shine for me was the friendship, and it just really didn’t click until the last half or so.

      For me, this had to be the weakest season. It might just be me, but it felt like this season was way more violent. And maybe even took itself too seriously with the whole Russian plot. I preferred it when the conflict was contained to Hawkins itself and the government lab.

      I just really wanted more of the fun banter. I think the writers just packed in too much plot for me. (Which is funny, because people mostly want plot.)

      Also, I’m still hoping Jim is alive, since the Russians were heard saying there was an American prisoner at the end. And to make the next season work, I’m sure everyone will conveniently end up back together in Hawkins.

      As for Billy, it wasn’t so much that I was sad he died. I was struck more between how he was as a child, before the abuse by his dad changed him (as well as mom leaving), to what he was in S2.

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        I thought it was a good thing to have some change in their group dynamics, some of it the natural result of growing up (Mike and Lucas moving on from D&D and clashing with Will as a result, El and Max becoming friends), and some as accident (Dustin getting separated with Steve – a huge improvement over last season’s terrible ‘Eleven runs away to the city’ episode, in terms of having one character do something on their own for a lot of the season, because Dustin and Steve actually have great chemistry as characters). I also liked Nancy’s arc this season, it is sadly relatable in terms of being a young woman constantly put down by chauvinist ‘jokers’ in a male-dominated workplace. Even Karen Wheeler’s mini-arc was very nicely handled – it felt true to what we know of her from S1 and 2 (I’ve been joking for ages that Mike’s dad is useless and his mother just wants her kids to talk to her but obviously they aren’t telling her their big secret).

        I can’t say I understand the whole ‘Russians want the Demogorgon’ plot reasoning but I felt the gate was almost like the Sunnydale hellmouth from Buffy – I guess if the US government knows about it and wanted it open, another might move in once they go away?

        I had a brief flare of hope at the mention of the American prisoner at the end too, but I’m not holding my breath there. I do wonder what’s going to get the kids all back together again now, if Joyce has left Hawkins.

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          I do understand the kids are, well, not kids anymore. But I still couldn’t help but feel bad for Will or that the relationship drama was so, so boring. Now Steve and Dustin make a great duo. And I really actually liked Robin and hope she’ll have a role in the next season. The way Nancy’s bosses treated her was awful and so blatant. I’m glad the writers had this arc, as well.

          The whole Russian thing just confused me. Was their purpose in opening the gate even explained? But maybe this is just a hint of what’s to come next season.

          I’m only holding out hope for Hopper to be alive just because it makes zero sense to kill him off. I think at some point there’s only so much a person can take. El has had a pretty awful childhood. And how much loss and horror can a person handle before it’s just too much? I thought S3 was pretty dark and maybe it’ll be even more so in the future.

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            After rewatching the first few eps, I actually thought the conflict between Will and the others was quite well written, and was supposed to make us feel bad – they’re moving on to other interests and relationships that take them out of their little unit of 4, and that’s a normal part of growing up even though they still care for each other. They’re out of sync for possibly the first time in their lives due to non-Upside Down reasons, and it really sucks because it makes sense that after what he’s been through, Will would want things to be the way they always were but Mike, Lucas and Dustin are discovering normal teenager things. With a weaker cast that didn’t have the kind of chemistry they do, it wouldn’t have felt genuine, but it does.

            I did like the new development of Max and El becoming friends though (and also found Mike and El’s relationship ‘breakup on training wheels’ hilarious) but I thought the show kicked into gear in a big way once the kids were together, and especially once Jonathan and Nancy joined them.

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            The thing I love most about this show is how it gives a sense of nostalgia. Of being a kids and still seeing magic in the world. I guess I’m just worried that once they’re shown growing up, it’ll be just like any old boring story.

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    Me too, me too. Want to form a support club? I have chocolate and tissues to contribute..

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