Both were established early in the season’s pilot episode, and the threat they represented was clear. In season 1 of Stranger Things, Hawkins Lab technicians led by Brenner were the show’s lone human antagonists, while the Demogorgon was the only monster in the series. Rather, season 3 of Stranger Things proved unable to keep all of the proverbial plates that it set up spinning early on in unison, and as a result, lost tension with meandering digressions. In fact, Dustin, Steve, and Robin’s pursuit of the Soviets was a refreshing comic relief subplot, but it didn't truly fit into the bigger picture right away.
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None of the season’s subplots were notably weak by themselves. However, since Stranger Things season 3 was busy telling the tale of small-town bully Billy’s possession, there was little time for this plot to pay off as anything more than Hopper boorishly asking Joyce out repetitively despite the recent death of her boyfriend, Bob Newby. Similarly, Hopper’s sudden infatuation with Joyce Byers was obviously intended to make his (apparent) death more poignant. While Hopper’s struggle with parenting Eleven was ultimately turned into a touching moment by his (short-lived) self-sacrifice, his explosive anger at Mike (and Mike’s unexplained newfound arrogance) was set up for a single scene and never addressed again. While the setup/payoff approach worked in cases like this, the sheer number of plot threads left dangling made emotionally investing in any one story implausible.
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However, Stranger Things is more of a drama than a comedy. At some points, this approach paid off handsomely, with the debut episode’s mention of Dustin’s presumably imaginary girlfriend Suzie setting up their eventual Never-ending Story singalong payoff in the finale. Where Stranger Things Season 3 Went Wrongįrom its opening scene introducing a Soviet version of Hawkins Lab to the Mind Flayer body-snatching storyline to the Mayor’s convoluted land-grab subplot, Stranger Things season 3 simply had too many story strands for viewers to become invested in any one story. Brenner, and Hawkins Lab as a whole, proves that Stranger Things won’t be focusing on Hopper and the Soviets as much as its familiar small-town setting, which is good news for fans disappointed by season 3 and its overstuffed story.
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The return of Matthew Modine’s villainous Dr. Fortunately, from the evidence seen in early teaser trailers, season 4 looks set to learn from this. Hopper’s character devolution, for example, was seen by some reviewers as the cost of a more broadly comic and less subtle tone. However, some critics complained that this faster pace left more plot threads dangling, and a handful of stories never received satisfying conclusions when season 3 reached its dramatic finale. Stranger Things season 3 brought a quicker pace and a lighter tone, two changes that many fans felt were for the better and improved the series. Related: Why Stranger Things References Jurassic Park So Much (Despite It Being '90s)
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However, Stranger Things is not without its problems, and the series has run into a few narrative dead-ends, particularly when the plot grows too byzantine to follow, as was the case in season 3. The talented multi-generational cast helps, although it wasn't until Stranger Things season 2 where emerging supporting stars like Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery got a chance to shine. It is not hard to see why the series became an outsized success for the platform and its creators, Hidden directors the Duffer Brothers.Ĭombining coming-of-age dramedy, monster-movie thrills, and a whole host of homages to Stephen King and Steven Spielberg alike, Stranger Things is a nostalgia-fest with heart and a solid story at its core.
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Debuting in mid-2016, Stranger Things was a word-of-mouth phenomenon that soon became a runaway hit for streaming service Netflix. Stranger Things’ second season 4 trailer shows that the Netflix hit will soon return to the Hawkins Lab storyline of season 1, a smart choice that will streamline season 3’s messy storytelling.