Just finished, lots of thoughts but overall really liked it. A couple quick things: 1. Billy’s actor was really great, and I thought Hop, El, Joyce, Mike and Steve were really well acted too. 2. My favorite performance came from Maya Hawke, who was super charismatic as Robin and interacted super well with Dustin and Steve. I know it isn’t shocking since her parents are both elite actors, but still cool to see a newcomer do so well on the show. 3. The mall was such a great set piece. 4. Two things that I wish we got was more Dustin x gang interaction and any time at all in the upside down.
This show does a great job of bringing in new characters and having them fit in/stand out/steal our hearts. So many other similar shows fail in that area but they always nail it.
I think the Billy flashback scenes kind of shed more light on the racism for season 2. Clearly his dad was a piece of shit, and we can only assume he was probably racist. I see it as a case of the kid being raised around it and getting it from the parent. Also, I’ve read some interviews with Mille and David and both pretty much confirm Hopper is still alive.
The whole Billy arc this season did nothing for me. I felt like there was no stake in his redemption because he was already brainwashed the whole season, so as a result the redemption arc was inconsequential because we see none of the behavior that the flashbacks were supposed to explain. It felt really lazily done to me. Also, I wasn't really engaged with Dacre Montgomery's acting because so much of the character this season relied on either Visual Effects or his robotic monotone, I never really knew how to feel. Also his death was cheap and pointless imo and completely defeated the point of that subplot because, other than his final act heroism, we never see the impact of a reformed Billy on Max. Who once again, seems bizarrely affectionate towards him which conflicts the fact she was so willing to stab him right in the jugular last season.
Idk I personally think crying is a pretty appropriate response to seeing your sibling get stabbed to death seconds after breaking out of a monster’s mind control, even if he was a piece of shit. Like even with real abusive relationships that don’t include the kind of narrative “redemption” that Billy gets, emotional connections often supersede how one is supposed to “logically” feel towards their abuser ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Kind of want this for Halloween but also wish they partnered with someone to make a high quality version because it’s such a great shirt.
What do you mean “oddly”? And Max was weird about Billy the whole season, not just when he died and that reaction was understandable. It’s like they hoped having her behave that way would add to us feeling sad about him even though every single thing he did was terrible for two seasons.
Finished this last night and I dread waiting a another year and a half (at least) for Season 4. I actually just watched Season 2 for the first time a few weeks ago, so it was awesome to just only have to wait a few weeks to jump right into Season 3. The end of Episode 8 was brutally emotional for me, absolutely loved the letter scene. Could have wrapped up the entire series after that and I would have been OK with it, I think. Equally emotional was the earlier scene in the series of Will destroying his fort (or whatever that was). The whole Hopper and Joyce bickering got old pretty quick but I still enjoyed all their scenes together for the most part. I wasn't really sure what they were trying to do with Hopper for most of the season. Like, most of the time I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt for all that he's been through then other times I was like, alright dude, you're going way too far. Murray was fantastic this season. Loved the Russian Scientist. Robin was a delight and her and Steve were awesome together. Didn't love Erika...thought her character was way too forced. After I watched Season 2 a few weeks ago, I went back in this thread to that era and it seemed a lot of you didn't like Billy. Obviously, Billy is a piece of shit, but I thought he was so well acted that I loved every second he was on the screen. Asshole or not, I just thought he really commanded every scene he was in. Really sad to see him go because he was one of the characters I enjoyed most. That Terminator dude was terrifying. As a huge fan of The Terminator when I was a kid, I loved the callback. Wish they'd find more to do with Will. He's like the essential part of the entire series, yet the only time they really focus on him is when he can feel the monster coming back. No way Hopper is dead. He's either the American prisoner or he's in the Upside Down. Curious to see how S4 will handle it.
Have you seen pictures of Harbour IRL lately? His beard is huge, I'd like to think he was growing it out for S4.
I mean I don’t want Hopper to be dead but the end was just so emotional because of it. It would almost feel cheap if/when he comes back.
The scene with them calling the “Philadelphia Public Library” is straight out of Three Days of the Condor and I love that.