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There’s also a shopping spree at the Starcourt Mall that’s so joyful, it’s likely to give you Night of the Comet flashbacks; Cary Elwes going so sleazetastic as Mayor Kline, you’ll never watch The Princess Bride the same way again; and the near-unthinkable: moments when you’ll feel more than loathing for narcissistic bully Billy. (I know it’s hard to believe.)
If there are quibbles to be had with Season 3, the biggie is probably that initially the central plot hinges on characters for whom we don’t care nearly as much as we did poor, beleaguered Will in Seasons 1 and 2 (and that’s if we care for them at all). So the stakes feel, at least at first, unusually low. We don’t worry that good won’t defeat evil in the end, and we aren’t concerned about the characters in the eye of the storm. The size of the cast is also an issue. You get some of everybody, sure, but when you’re done with your Season 3 binge, you’re likely to be left thinking, “Huh, there sure wasn’t a whole lot of [spoiler] or [spoiler] this season.”
But again, those are quibbles. Mainly what you’ll be doing when you’ve finished your binge is trying to catch your breath (the finale is epic with a capital E, P, I and C), drying your eyes (it’ll also give you feels that you never even knew were feels) and wondering whether you’ll remain on the edge of your seat all the way until Season 4.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: Season 3 of Stranger Things is a thrill ride that you won’t want to end.