Stranger Things

grumblethorn said:

So this is free of sjw rot?

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Random lesbian character reveal that serves absolutely no purpose to the plot.

Better than s2 but not as good as s1.

The magic of s1 for me was the gradual reveal of Eleven's power/abilities, every time she used her powers it was another "whoa" moment. The highlight being saving Mike from the cliff jump.

S2 and also S3 suffer because we know what Eleven can do and telekinesis isn't that amazing when it's being used for 100th time. At least s3 seems to be aware of this by having her lose her powers.

I also think the "big bad" is played out at this point.

Edit: Also, Will had Jon Snow s8 level dialogue for most of this season.

grumblethorn said:

So this is free of sjw rot?

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It is there, but kinda subtle. I'm only on episode 7, but the more I think about how the season has played out, the worse I think it is. Good overall so far, but it reminds of how The Big Bang Theory lost focus on what made it good.

TJT said:

I feel the lesbian reveal honestly cheapened the season because you would have otherwise had a very touching moment of bonding and love with Steve and Robin. Which I am sure would be decried as tacky and expected. But I thought this was replicating the 80's level of tackiness? That's the charm!

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I was only 4 in 1985, but I find it hard to believe people especially teenagers were as comfortable coming out, or as accepting as that scene made it out to be

Jozu said:

I think most young men go through that phase. Although at different levels, we all can relate to a friend who grew up faster, or slower, or was exposed to women first etc.

I was the nerd type, being a virgin until I was 16, and basically until I was 18. Meanwhile a couple of my buds were ploughing chics and chastised us other homos for playing games.

I turned it around in my adult years, but some never do. One of my buddies hasnt gotten pussy in like 18 years.

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I just find it a shame that that's "turning it around" -- Nothing beats those game binges. The ideal is to still have them but have a woman that's not an awful person to not just go along but be a part in the binge, and then create offspring that grow up and join the party.

Namon said:

In Utah via ham radio.

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Even before Utah, he was the first, macking on Mike's sister in S1 and rolling his tongue noise in Season 2

Fedor said:

Steve called Jonathan a queer back in season 1.

they pulled a reverse jerkass homer with steve's character throughout the seasons

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Steve has gone through world bending shit and has had his own opinions upended about himself. that's why I think he is okay with others.

Another one is Lucas and Max. Interracial couples weren't kosher until the mid-late 2000s. I don't mind a little alt-history there because I'm tired of racial tensions resurfacing in RL.

Finished this tonight. As a kid from the 80s and a big borrow buff, this is how you do big monsters. All this cgi crap these days, and this is the first show to get it right. Played out? Maybe a little, but I appreciated it. I'm definitely intrigued to see what's really going on with the Russians.

I didn't really like that the Russians had a secret lair under the mall. It just felt so... Way beyond any realm of believability. Especially how big it was. Just a minor gripe.

The lesbians or race thing didn't bother me, and in fact it never has. It's just never been a personal issue. Although if they wanted it to be true to the 80s they wouldve been persecuted.

I wonder where the show can go from here. Next time these guys film they're gonna be mid teens. Will was already taller than his mom.

Jorren said:

I was 16 in 85. In a small mid-western town, they would not have been cool with the interracial couple of kids, and I really doubt coming out as a lesbian would have gone over very well. Alt-history in this case is OK, cause it is 2019 so whatever.

Y'all are ignoring the real triggering part of the show. New Coke. That shit was disgusting and almost destroyed the Coca-Cola company.

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That's what made that scene so funny (new coke)

The coke ads were just egregious, great season though.

question on ending

Finished season 3 today, a bit too scary at parts for the wife but we both really enjoyed it. Probably pretty tame for people who watch horror regularly. I'd agree that season 1 is better for sure, but this isn't too far behind. Season 2 was a bit of a mess.

I didn't like the Russian stuff for a while, but by the end I realized one thing: Russians were the bad guys always in the 80s, and they would pop up in the stupidest places with the flimsiest backstories. So this totally is digging deep into that trope, once you realize that its pretty enjoyable. I mean its completely ludicrous that they built a $1 billion facility 2 miles underneath a mall staffed with 100+ Ruski's in the middle of America and are tapping enough power to power a high electron collider but that IS TOTALLY 80s - Red Dawn, No Way Out, Invasion USA, Air Force One, Rocky IV, etc.

In fact they bite hard into the tropes from The Terminator to ruskis to 7-11 to Malls to teen romance to jocks/nerds to back to the future to new coke. All if it works really well I think, although it does come right up to the edge of collapsing into silliness. The duet at the end had me in stitches although I can totally see how some people would HATE it.

The one thing I'd say is the story is kinda spinning nowhere, the Illithid Mind Flayer has lost a lot of its fearsomeness because now this is three times where a bunch of kids (along with 11 of course) have kicked its ass, if a bunch of M80 fireworks will hurt it so much how long would it really survive against a M134 minigun or apache chopper? They sorta failed to up the stakes this season, I hope the end stinger goes somewhere meaningful and not just a location fake out.

re: the ending

One of the most remarkable aspects is just how tight some of these episodes are. There were a couple where the episode ended and you go 'wait...that was only an hour?!?'. Even with some bits that go on too long, seemingly intentionally, there is a lot of story packed into 8 episodes.

Does this make Dustin the world's first brony?

Oh and Maya Hawke is definitely the real deal.

This season was kinda what I expected it to be. I also don't see how they do another season.

Good quality, it's not a complaint. The actors are aging out. The only thing they can do, really, is reboot buffy/veronica mars going forward. Which... They might be able to pull off. But they do better to make it something new and call it a sequel series rather than a continuation.