Written by Briah Krueger
Some generations will say they had The Twilight Zone, others will say they had The X Files, and in our case, we can spell it out in Christmas lights that we have STRANGER THINGS.
The Duffer brothers have gifted this generation with a phenomenal phenomenon of a show. And we’ve been on the edges of our bingeing couches waiting for season 3 to unveil what’s next for our beloved show. The third season will consist of eight episodes and be released worldwide on July 4th 2019, and to prepare ourselves for whatever lies ahead of our Stranger Things journey, let’s recap the shows creation and development as a whole.
There’s a lot of ground to cover, so make sure you’ve got your walkie-talkies, plenty of snacks (3 Musketeers are a must), Eggos, and your nifty little baseball bat with all the nails in it—it’s time for a Stranger Things recap!
Back in 2016, when the show first premiered, it shook Netflix audiences to its sci-fi core, and obviously left us wanting more when the season ended. There’s nothing like it! This show not only has one of the most unique storylines we have seen on screen in a while, its cinematography is aesthetically pleasing, but it is so personal and makes you feel engulfed in the world the Duffer brothers have created. The show’s soundtrack is magnificent, and can we get a round of applause for its iconic theme song that gives us chills?! Though these are elements of the show that make it the masterpiece it is, it wouldn’t be the same without its award-winning cast. It is fantastic, and in some senses rare, that we have had the pleasure to see the cast physically grow up along with their characters and see the deep development within each character. That is something huge in a good story: good character development. The Duffer brothers have made sure that each character was well developed, and we even got more characters in season 2! This is why we fell so in love with these characters, because the Duffer brothers take good care of making sure we felt a connection with them, and that connection and development didn’t cease to exist in season 2.
Both seasons of the show have tons of quotes and moments we could cover, and it’s difficult to pick out just a few, but we’re going to separate the two seasons are dissect them individually.
SEASON 1
From the very first episode we get such a good understanding of not only the time Hawkins is in, but also the roles and personalities of the characters. The Pilot is a crucial episode for a TV show’s life expectancy, and the Duffer brothers [of course] nailed it. The pace of the storyline and each episode was nicely laid out, and we automatically feel a connection to the characters.
Season 1 gave us many hilarious moments:
Touching Moments:
Heartbreaking Moments:
Well, we know every time someone cries we’re pretty much drenched in tears as well, but here’s some real tearjerkers.
And of course, the awesome and iconic moments:
When season 1 ended, it left us with a broken heart for Mike and Eleven (still not over it), conflict between the relationships of Nancy with Steve and Nancy with Jonathan, and our grievance of Barb #JusticeForBarb. We had high hopes for season 2, and lots of questions that needed answers. And the Duffer brothers delivered graciously.
SEASON 2
Stranger Things fans were excited yet nervous for its season 2 arrival, for the fear that it wouldn’t live up to its fantastic first season. But man were we shocked at how amazing it was, and I think its maybe even slightly better than the first season! I love the dynamic of relationships the Duffer brothers gave us in season 2, they really spoiled us with that. We get the relationship of Hopper and El, Steve and Dustin, Mike and Will, Max and Lucas, Hopper and Joyce, El and her lost sister, Bob and Will, and for crying out loud, Dustin and Dart! There’s even more that we can think of, but the important thing is that these new relationships didn’t take away from the plot we were already given and in fact, it enriched it and made the story even more compelling.
As an audience, we crave to see those deep and emotional relationships build between characters. We were touched and moved by the relationship between Hopper and El and how much we got to see of their relationship, plus how many different emotions it had. El even found new relationships with lots of people, but most memorably, her lost sister. You could really tell how much it impacted her and meant the world to her, and it was in this episode we saw how strong El has become and what she is capable of.
And, but of course, we were thankful for Bob and all his cheesy jokes and how happy he made Joyce, but we were secretly still hoping and eating up those Joyce and Hopper moments. Lastly, a quick shout out to Lucas’s little sister whom made us laugh on several occasions during the second season.
Now, let’s take a peek back to the character development for a moment here!
In the beginning of season 1, we see Steve as the bad boy and we don’t care too much for him in the beginning, but then those sly Duffer brothers make us feel all sorts of emotion for him towards the end and especially in season 2. Our hearts go out to him!
This scene killed me. And it was also the starting point to our deep empathy for the poor guy. Then there’s Steve and Dustin’s relationship, it really blossomed. Dustin’s first words about Steve is that he’s a jerk, and by the end of season 2 Steve is driving Dustin to his first school dance and their hair is all matchy with hair products. For many, Steve’s character developed into one of the favourites! Now that’s some screen writing talent right there. And can I just say one of my favourite things that came from season 2 (amongst many) is the hilarious comparison the world inspired after the season aired that Steve is the “Mother Role” of the gang.
Now, we also see a deep development in Will and how much he is still connected with the upside down; Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship grows into romance; El transitions from ‘Pretty’ to ‘Bitchin’; and one of the most heartbreaking realisations was seeing how poor Max and her step brother Billy’s relationship was. We are just so appreciatively engulfed by all these developments and emotions, not only are we connected with the characters, we are connected with the world that they’re in. And that’s why I believe season 2 was such an outstanding comeback.
As an audience we learned A LOT in season 2, about the upside down, character’s backstories, how we’re definitely not over Bob and so much more.
So, what were we left with? We finally got another Mike and El kiss at the Snowball dance, as did Lucas and Max and during the Snowball, we are shifted into the upside down where we see the shadow monster has returned. There are lots of memorable moments in the show, characters we love, characters we’ll miss, and hopes and wishes for the third season. What can we deduct from the trailers of the third season, and what do we want to happen? Onwards!
SEASON 3
From the trailers released, we can get a sense for what the season will be like and make some predictions of our own and might I say, I think we’re really in for a spectacular season! Based on our research from the transition of the first season to the second, I’ll bet we can look forward to further character development, new and progressing relationships, and more hilarious moments. Each season has had its iconic moments and fashion, and I mean come on, what’s better then some 80’s summer threads? And from what we see in the trailers, El seems to be there the whole time, so we can look forward to some much-needed Mike & El moments. So, let’s discuss what we know, and our predictions.
Here’s what we know:
- We’ve got an 80’s carnival summer vibe
- The characters have matured and they’re growing up (and El’s vocabulary has gotten better!)
- The shadow monster is out for revenge
- Jonathan got a haircut
Within the trailers we can see some new faces, but we’re reassured that the gang is still close and awesome as ever, and it even looks like El and Max become besties!
Predictions:
- We can look forward to a huge battle scene
- Maybe Hopper and Joyce will finally get together
- From the voiceover the trailer provided, along with the scene it showed in the trailer, it almost looked like some of our favourite grown-up characters (Hopper, Joyce) might be possessed by the shadow monster as Will was in season 2.
- Something is up with Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship
- Steve finds a new gal?
- And it appears Dustin is kind of feeling left out by the gang, so there’s some conflict between the party members
Just from the trailers alone we get chills! So, we can’t even begin to imagine what the Duffer brothers will put us through in their epic third season that hits Netflix on July 4th!
