# Stranger Things 3. No spoilers until post 54 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575 "2019-07-05T16:01:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/21 "2019-07-08T00:11:19Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I believe they have aged in-show accordingly. > > Season 1 - 1983 > > Season 2 - 1984 > > Season3 - Summer of 1985 I don’t think you understand the nature of my complaint about youngsters growing up without my permission. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/22 "2019-07-08T03:23:32Z")
Just finished the last episode. I really enjoyed this season. I wasn’t sure about the first couple of episodes because they were being a little more ham-handed than usual at throwing in the obvious 80s cliches, but once the setting was established and the story got moving, it really picked up. At the moment, I’d say I liked it more than season 2. Season 2 probably has a more coherent story and a more consistent tone, but it was also a smaller story and that tone is so dark and dismal. Season 3 feels like it has more fun moments sprinkled in along the way, even though the story is still very dark and the antagonist looms even, uh… _larger_ than ever before. Season 1 is still the best, but S3 is quite good and I look forward to giving it a rewatch soon. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/23 "2019-07-08T05:06:17Z")
I totally missed that there was a mid-credits scene in the last episode. Good thing I was checking this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/24 "2019-07-08T06:25:35Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Just finished the last episode. I really enjoyed this season. I wasn’t sure about the first couple of episodes because they were being a little more ham-handed than usual at throwing in the obvious 80s cliches, but once the setting was established and the story got moving, it really picked up. At the moment, I’d say I liked it more than season 2. Season 2 probably has a more coherent story and a more consistent tone, but it was also a smaller story and that tone is so dark and dismal. Season 3 feels like it has more fun moments sprinkled in along the way, even though the story is still very dark and the antagonist looms even, uh… _larger_ than ever before. Season 1 is still the best, but S3 is quite good and I look forward to giving it a rewatch soon. I agree with all this. I think what really set season 1 apart was that the nostalgia factor seemed, I dunno, _organic_. Or at least unexpected. Seasons 2 and 3 feel like more forced I think. “Do you remember this song? Huh, do ya? And this shirt, funny isn’t it?” Season 2 was worse in that regard, I feel like they dialed it back just a little this time. I really want to watch season 1 again to see if I still feel that way seeing it now that I know the “formula”. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/25 "2019-07-08T15:24:46Z")
Barb, Bob, Billy. God help anyone in Hawkins, Indiana whose first name starts with ‘B’. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/26 "2019-07-08T17:09:54Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I believe they have aged in-show accordingly. > > Season 1 - 1983 > > Season 2 - 1984 > > Season3 - Summer of 1985 There was a 20-month gap between seasons 2 and 3. To match the actors’ real-world aging, season 3 should take place in summer of 1986. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/27 "2019-07-08T19:49:50Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I totally missed that there was a mid-credits scene in the last episode. Good thing I was checking this thread… What is the deal with this? It keeps happening in many different episodes. Is it a way to ensure that people watch the credits? If so, it’s a bullshit tactic. Credits mean that the show is fucking over and nothing else is coming. But if they are trying to get people to watch the credits, then they need to inform Netflix which will autoskip to the next episode 5 seconds after the credits start rolling. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/28 "2019-07-08T20:43:29Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > What is the deal with this? It keeps happening in many different episodes. Is it a way to ensure that people watch the credits? If so, it’s a bullshit tactic. Credits mean that the show is fucking over and nothing else is coming. > > But if they are trying to get people to watch the credits, then they need to inform Netflix which will autoskip to the next episode 5 seconds after the credits start rolling. FYI: You can turn that feature off in Netflix, I did so quite a while back. The credit tags use to be rare, but the Marvel Universe movies made them pretty common these days. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/29 "2019-07-08T20:54:08Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > That is a neat idea. “Next year” would be 1986. It would be interesting if the Soviets understand the danger of the upside down world and there is a joint US-Soviet mission to destroy it, perhaps leading to the real-life thawing of relations between the two countries. Perhaps a giant nuclear explosion is needed to destroy the upside down on the Russian side and Chernobyl is the cover story for it. The fact that two newspaper staff were missing might not be that big a deal, but there were an awful lot of other townspeople who also got goopified into that rat-monster creature. Surely that would’ve had a big impact on the town. That’s what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/30 "2019-07-08T21:00:05Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I’d prefer that this thread be open spoilers (with an all-caps warning in the thread title). I just finished the show last night, and I want to talk freely about it NOW, dammit, NOW. 😉 Guess you’re gonna have to get used to using spoiler tagsfor the time being. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/31 "2019-07-08T21:01:54Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > The fact that two newspaper staff were missing might not be that big a deal, but there were an awful lot of other townspeople who also got goopified into that rat-monster creature. Surely that would’ve had a big impact on the town. That’s what I’m saying. They had the ‘conspiracy montage’ and specifically mentioned that 30 people went missing, etc ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/32 "2019-07-08T21:22:13Z")
I like how they gave a nod to the Satanic Panic of the mid-80s. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/33 "2019-07-08T23:22:25Z")
OPEN SPOILERS! If you don’t want Season 3 spoiled, stop reading now. I just can’t get enough of that show. I’ve watched Season 3 twice now, and I think I’ll re-watch _The Battle of Starcourt_ again tonight. I love the characters, the actors, their chemistry, the shots, the effects, most of the plot, and much of the humor. I like how many secondary characters aren’t just discarded. Erica is back, as is Murray and little Holly. Some of the parents are shown, Karen most notably. On the other hand, bad people don’t often come back–the middle school bullies, Steve’s former pals, Joyce’s ex-husband. I would have liked to seen or heard something about them. The new characters were welcome additions. Erica (again), who I suspect was inspired by Dee from _What’s Happening!!_. Robin is the take-charge manager who can say the most when she says the least (her little “Steve…” in the stall is a case in point). And the enormously cute Suzie! Loved Cary Elwes as the crooked mayor, but it took me a while to place him. There were some really great shots and transitions. Especially the long shot of the kids in the car that refocused to be Billy’s view through the windshield. The battle with the itty Mind Flayer amid all the fireworks over El’s unconscious body could have easily been a promo shot, except that it gave too much away. Nothing they come up with can be funnier than Season 2’s “How was the pullout?”, but Dustin’s antics carried every scene he was in. If not him, then Lucas. Hilarious, both of them. No, I don’t think 3 was as good as 2. And they’ll never be able to top 1, except maybe technically, because the first one is always new and mysterious, something sequels lose. Still, I’m already stoked for 4. But, if there’s not a 4, this is a good point to end things. Hop’s final message to El. The Byers leaving town. The dissolution of the party. The only lingering major questions are whether El will get her juice back and whether Hop is somehow alive. One thing I still don’t get, though–what was the point of eating the Ajax and fertilizer? Was it to cause the human bodies to dissolve? The nostalgia wasn’t really there for me this time. During Season 1 and 2, I kept seeing things and saying _Hey–we had one just like that!_, but there was little of that for Season 3. But that’s fine–I’m there for the characters and the story now. Predictions for Season 4: Hop is alive, if not well. I doubt that he’s _The American_–I think that’ll turn out to be Papa–but I think Hop jumped or got sucked into the Upside Down. The crew from Hawkins will find him, and either he or El will remark on the door being left open just three inches. I absolutely think that the final destruction of the Mind Flayer will be with a Soviet-sanctioned nuclear blast. Chernobyl will be the cover story. [Got that idea from a post in the other thread.] That’s why, I suspect, Season 3 took place in 85, not 86. Placing it a year later would have kept the actors from aging out of their characters, but that’s not the way they chose to go. So 86 is significant in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/34 "2019-07-10T03:50:16Z")
Was there ever any explanation for what, exactly, was the purpose of that green acidic stuff that the Russians had in their lair? I’m wondering if I missed something about that. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/35 "2019-07-10T04:18:56Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Was there ever any explanation for what, exactly, was the purpose of that green acidic stuff that the Russians had in their lair? I’m wondering if I missed something about that. The cylinders plugged into slots radially around the the whirly machine. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/36 "2019-07-10T04:24:30Z")
Just finished it. It was good, but I think worst of the 3. The last few episodes really dragged to me. I feel like the monster plot took a back seat to the coming of age plot. Previous seasons blended the two much better…from what I remember. Fyi, DO NOT QUOTE SPOILERS! I’m on chrome on my phone and all the quoted spoiler boxes are visible. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/37 "2019-07-10T23:18:51Z")
Did they explain what the green stuff that melted metal like Alien blood the Russians had was? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/38 "2019-07-11T00:52:23Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Did they explain what the green stuff that melted metal like Alien blood the Russians had was? > [@Tangent](#): > > Was there ever any explanation for what, exactly, was the purpose of that green acidic stuff that the Russians had in their lair? I’m wondering if I missed something about that. > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > The cylinders plugged into slots radially around the the whirly machine. I guess that was all they showed about it. I don’t recall anything explaining specifically what it is or what it does. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/39 "2019-07-11T03:11:51Z")
Spore drive. Expect a crossover with Crytrek. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575/40 "2019-07-11T13:57:36Z")
I have a theory about the post-credits scene: the reference to “the American”, I mean. I think that since David Harbour was going to play the new Hellboy, it was a way to keep their options open- if he didn’t come back to the show it was a red herring and Hopper is dead; if he did make it back for season 4 it would explain why he was suddenly jacked— prison food + lots of pushups and sit-ups in his Russian prison cell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-things-3-no-spoilers-until-post-54/836575.md?page=3)