DeacsATS
Sam "Ace" Rothstein
I finally finished Stranger Things Season 3 and have no idea how anyone could hold this opinion. Season 3 was awful. God awful. The Russians were practically cartoon characters, the Russian complex apparently this complex secure compound and yet there was never any difficulty with it, the horrible teenage love spats (and that includes Hopper and Joyce) the over-emphasis on imagery, the lack of any real plot development around the Mind Flayer, the forced 80s nostalgia culminating in the singing of The Neverending Adventure. The whole thing was a chore. Season 1 involved almost no CGI and had a real sense of suspense, mystery, and terror throughout it. Season 2 took a few side stories but really nailed the ending. Both seasons 1 and 2 involved more development around the Upside Down. At a minimum, why were the Russians even trying to re-open the gate?
The over-empahsis on imagery really was strange in Season 3. Every episode involved these super contrasty visuals - the ice cream uniforms, the life guard and pool visuals, the July 4th celebration. Interesting, compelling plot went totally out the window.
Agree that S1 is by far the best. But S2 was terrible. I enjoyed S3... But yeah, it wasn't a classic.
On a related note, I watched The Neverending Story w/ my kids the other day, because it was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. And oh boy did it suck. I mean, the music is fucking awesome... But Atreyu's quest was ridiculously short. Pretty much nothing happens (aside from the nothing). The whole thing makes no sense at all. I was disappointed in my younger self. Immediately had to watch The Princess Bride to feel better about my nostalgia.