 We thought we saw the last of the Mind Flayer, but even being trapped in the upside down hasn't stopped it from once again infiltrating the small town of Hawkins. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Matt Rogers and join me today as we talk about Stranger Things 3. Stranger Things 2 dropped all the way back in October of 2017, so it's almost been two whole years since we've had a new season of Stranger Things, but was it worth the wait? Before we get started, major spoiler warning, I definitely recommend watching it from start to finish before watching this video. You have been warned. We're thrown back into Hawkins a fair while after the events of last season. We find our heroes have really settled back into their small town life, and really not much has changed, except for a major new hotspot, Starcourt Mall, which really turns out to be a hive of most of the events of this season. And what a beautiful 80s-themed mall it is, which brings me to the first thing I loved about this season. The aesthetic, they absolutely nailed it. It's got a really vaporwave, outrun vibe going on. It's got neon lights, bright colors, vibrant fashion. The tucked-in pull-up shorts were fantastic, but the cinematography for me made this the prettiest season so far. They really pinpointed the 80s movie vibe as well. As usual, the absolutely incredible synth soundtrack. But also with a very 80s intro, with titles overlaid over a bedroom pan around, very reminiscent of a John Hughes-type movie. I actually really enjoyed the first two episodes of this season. Not much was going on, but it was kind of like a peek into the life of the characters of what they do in their downtime. Which, if you ask me, really helps flesh out the characters that we've come to know so well, especially Eleven, who's awkwardly trying to fit in with everyday life in Hawkins. Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour really killed it this season. Their characters have always been lovable, but I really feel like we got to see their acting chops this season, especially from David Harbour. David Harbour is actually doing quite well for himself lately. He was the lead role in this year's Hellboy, although the reviews were not that great. But we saw so many sides to Hopper this season, I feel like he played all of them perfectly. Speaking of great characters, Murray really did it for me this season as well. He went from a kind of forgettable character last season to being a real standout. I loved his rant at Joyce and Hopper, and that conversation between him and the Russian guard, hilarious. But let's talk new characters, so we had Maya Hawke join us this season, who plays Steve's co-worker at Scoopzer Hoy. Now, Maya is actually Uma Thurman's and Ethan Hawke's daughter. And it is hard coming into a show this late in the game, but I really liked both her acting and her character. We also had Lucas's younger sister Erika have a bit of a bigger role than she had previously. They gave her a bigger part due to her flash in the pan performance of last season, but her dialogue is all just snappy comeback she delivers with sass. And apparently we're just supposed to find her hilarious. Speaking of annoying characters, Nancy and Jonathan are just so boring. Their chemistry is cringey. And I find myself just not caring about their solo storyline in the first half of the season. If you ask me, Nancy probably shouldn't have got a bigger role after season one. But speaking of relationships, it really feels like they gave the fans what they wanted this time round. We held out for a kiss from Mark and Eleven and we got a lot of that. People shipped Billy and Karen Wheeler first episode. That's what we got. People shipped Hopper and Joyce. It looked like it was heading that way, but uh... went a different direction, but we'll get more into that later. But there seems to be a lot of love going on. Pretty much everyone has gotten together with someone else. And I was actually relieved to hear that Robin was gay because that relationship would have been way too predictable. But getting back to the story, just after we get comfortable in the first couple of episodes, everything is thrown upside down. There were some pretty intense scenes in that steel mill. When the Mind Flayers monster is feeding on the civilians of Hawkins, that is some pretty dark stuff. They definitely stepped it up in the violence department this season. It reminds me of series like Harry Potter where it starts out as a family-friendly flick and just gets gradually darker from there. But the darker tones definitely didn't affect the writing. In fact, the writing this season was borderline flawless. If I was to tell you this season was going to have underground Russian bases, it does sound far-fetched, but somehow it makes sense. And how the kids' mundane teenage problems tie into the bigger picture problems was brilliant. They really nailed the pace of this season as well. It seems slow and the storyline doesn't progress very quickly, but it never gets boring and it's easy to watch all the episodes in a very short amount of time. It's really refreshing when a story branches out into all different storylines but ties it back into one neat little package at the end. Speaking of the end, this is where we're going into major spoiler territory. Again, you've been warned. The end fight scene with the Mind Flayers monster was so beautiful. The fireworks and the neon lights in the middle of Starcourt Mall was so epic and just fantastic to look at. Speaking of which, the special effects in general this season were absolutely outstanding. They really stepped up their game and looked like they got a lot bigger budget this time round. The detail in the monsters was incredible. But going back to the very opening scene of the season, that beam emitter starting up for me looked extremely fake. But apart from that, fantastic work in the special effects department. But let's talk about the absolutely tragic ending to this season. Throughout the season I was expecting that they were going to have some sort of major death because I think it needed it. And boy did we get that. At first I thought it was just going to be Billy, which is pretty major in itself. But then hopper, that hit hard. Joyce finally says she may not move and agrees to go on a date with him, which we're working up to the whole season. And just like the end of last season, Joyce again loses her love interest. That whole scene was heartbreaking enough, but then the letter. That whole monologue was absolutely soul crushing. Eleven's reaction to this news too was just so hard to watch. In credit to Millie Bobby Brown for her acting in the finale it was so good. But now the band's all split up, Eleven's going to live with Will elsewhere. It doesn't leave us with a very happy ending. But the creators of The Duffer Brothers have said that this show is going to be a four-season show, so it's not quite the end yet. But what did you think of the third installment of Stranger Things? I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say and I'll be chatting with you in the comments. But if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe for more Stranger Things as I'll soon be uploading my recap for this season, so hit that bell. But until next time, thanks so much for hanging out. If you had a good time, then spank that like button. And if you're subscribed during this video, then walk on the board. This is Matt Rogers, and that is all.