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nauru-1's Replies
They don't even have the balls to call out Hopper for his season 1 secrets that have aged horrifically this season.
Season 1: 10/10
Season 2: 8/10
Season 3: 4/10
Season 4: TBD, closer to 2 than 3
That's why I only said apparently.
This is all I know: https://thedigitalbits.com/tag/stranger-things-season-3-4k
Apparently there is one being shipped out.
I don't like the massive scale either, but the real travesty is the character writing lately.
I'm the complete opposite. Season 3 is such a low bar to top thanks to the character work.
Season 1 for sure. Season 2 has its highlights if not quite as magical and balanced. Season 3 is the worst by far on the messaging alone.
I think they made some contrivances with him in the storyline, but to me he comes across better than most involved.
I don't like the fakeout death, but I also don't think he finished the season redeemed by any means.
Season 1: Diversity Day
Season 2: The Client
Season 3: A Benihana Christmas
Season 4: Goodbye, Toby
Season 5: Stress Relief
Season 6: Gossip
Season 7: Garage Sale
Season 8: Pool Party
Season 9: A.A.R.M.
There would have been a few unsatisfying loose ends the way they left it after 1, but the writing sure has had its issues since. I hear you about the mystery element, but as someone who embraced the show especially for its connection between the characters I would argue the arcs are really where they've dropped the ball since.
Yeah it's not explicitly stated, but it's a reasonable enough explanation to me.
Can be explained by the hunter in the woods who had a run-in with her, as seen in the season 2 flashback.
I think what confounded me the most in terms of social politics was the empowerment angle they put in with Max and El. Max was actually pretty dismissive about El's instincts with Billy, regularly speaks on her behalf, and continues to the beat the drum about El using her powers as a first solution to the girl's detriment. And despite what's going on with her brother, she also continues to devote an inordinate amount of time fixating on badmouthing Mike and Lucas all without not really acknowledging any of her shortcomings anywhere.
I don't think Stranger Things had very good lessons for any of the characters involved in this scene. If being a bit smug is all it takes for an authority figure to mislead, threaten, and blackmail a young teen boy who is mostly a good kid, that's a pretty sad world. By the sounds of Hopper in the scenes prior to this, it's also not like he had a very good attitude about El having this boy in her life in the first place despite all the history the character is well aware of. And that's despite the fact that Mike treats Eleven with so much more respect than the grown man Hopper offered Joyce most of the season.
The whispering might not have been Mike and El's finest hour, even if I do think there are some extenuating circumstances including the attitude Hopper already had on display with them previously while actually respecting his rules. All that said, I don't think anything excuses how Hopper as the adult chose to deal with that. Making a kid feel like a loved one is on death's door however temporarily and then cornering them in a closed space is pretty inexcusable to me. With no regrets either. The way he talked about and to Mike, it was as if he had no regard at all for his place in El's life or their history.
I disliked the mayor too; I guess it just matters to me the lines characters draw even against obvious antagonists. I would be mortified by any of the characters resorting to torture so easily.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure how you perceived it is more in line with what the show probably wanted something to think, but the approach they took had the exact opposite effect for me. Keep in mind for all his issues in seasons 1 and 2, I cared a lot then. To me, it was like the real Jim Hopper died in episode 1 of season 3. It's not exclusive to him; the show's framing of several matters I found quite troubling this season.
I actually found Hopper quite horrible in season 3, which is a real shame.
He started off on the wrong foot by getting joy out of sabotaging Mike and El's relationship, and I sensed total disdain for Mike through and through despite him being the one who always has his adopted daughter's back. It's quite crazy to me how he shows no regard for the rules he put in place for El as long as she isn't with Mike.
His treatment of Joyce wasn't much better, dismissing her concerns despite their history and yelling at her most of the time. They were going for humorous banter - completely unlike their characters before this - and it came across to me as so off-putting and unlikable. And although I don't care about the mayor, the way they have him using intimidation and violence Taken-style, as opposed to having to such measures only when backed into a corner, left much to be desired too. I was missing all of his best qualities in this season. He came across as an angry, immature, unwell man who didn't actually own up to anything.
People will probably focus on the letter he wrote, but this doesn't work for me. First off, this was done before he displayed most of this toxic behavior, and I would argue the message itself is more questionable than most people think. He's idolizing a time that doesn't really fit how things ever were with the characters.
At minimum, the show didn't do anything to convince me that El isn't better off with a different parent than him.
I was always partial to Stranger Things, but I'll take either IT movie over ST3.
There are a lot of choices I found very questionable in season 3. The bigger issue to me in this particular situation though is how they made me turn on Hopper so much I wasn't saddened by it.