Stranger Things 3: All you need to know to be ready
Carolina
Argentinian Carolina has an extensive movie background in the cinematic universe. She is our resident TV analyst and a seasoned expert in global streaming platforms. She showcases her comprehensive knowledge through her love for Netflix 'Originals', Frozen, The Good Place, and The Dragon Prince.
Stranger Things is one of the most popular Netflix series around, and in this article, I’ll be getting you up to speed. Although I won’t be dropping any major spoilers about Season 3, there may be some minor ones which is worth bearing in mind.
Being released on Netflix on July 4th, Stranger Things 3 is just around the corner. It was a long wait since season 2 because last year we didn’t have anything at all.
Stranger Things has become one of Netflix’s flagship series since it was released back in 2016, and its success has kept growing with each season.
If you still haven’t yet watched it, go to binge it on Netflix now! And if you want to refresh some facts about the previous seasons and characters, keep reading, and we’ll take a little walk through Hawkins.
But, what is Stranger Things about?
Stranger Things is an American sci-fi horror web television series created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers and released on Netflix.
Set in the ‘80s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the premise goes around a laboratory established in the town that performs secret experiments for the government, and by accident, they end up opening a portal to another dimension known as the “Upside Down”.
The series is perfectly set in the ‘80s, full of winks at the nerd and geek culture.
It also pays tribute and shows influences by the movies from that time like E.T, IT, Stand by me, The Goonies; and going further into the ‘90s, Twin Peaks and The X-Files influences are notorious too.
You’ll also see the classic board game Dungeons & Dragons pop up throughout the show.
Entertainment weekly on initial release of Stranger Things called it a “monster mash of Reagan-era pop culture”.
Season 1 or how Will Byers vanishes
November 1983, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), a 12-year-old boy living in Hawkins, Indiana, vanishes leaving no trace.
His mother, Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) begins desperately to look for him, and she finds help in the town’s police chief, Jim Hopper (David Harbour).
Meanwhile, a young girl with psychokinetic powers called Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) escapes from the laboratory where the experiments take place, and meets Will’s friends: Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) who are looking for traces and clues of where Will could have gone.
What they don’t know is if Will is trapped in the Upside Down after a monster abducted him.
Season 2 or the attack of the Shadow Monster
A year after the events of the first season, Will Byers, now apparently recovered from his traumatic experience in the Upside Down, is still affected by the influence of this parallel dimension and haunted by the monsters that inhabited it.
Other people with powers similar to Eleven’s appear, and they’re the proof that the laboratory has been doing experiments on children for a very long time.
The Demogorgon that was defeated previously is, in fact, one of the many creatures that belong to the Upside Down, meaning there are a lot of them in all shapes and sizes.
Talking about monsters, Will is possessed by one of them: the Shadow Monster and the Demadogs start breeding in our world, one of them even becomes Dustin’s pet.
The gang has a new member, Maxine or Max, who goes under the MadMax nickname at the arcades. She joins the group and helps them to defeat the Shadow Monster that resides inside Will.
Even though the ending of season 2 is promising with happiness with the kids finally finding the well-deserved peace and romance blooming in their teenage hearts, Hawkins is a doomed place, and of course, more bad things are about to happen. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have a third season.
What to expect in season 3
The whole band is confirmed to be back in this new season, and along with them, the entire gang of grotesque creatures that inhabited the Upside Down.
The Shadow Monster also known as the Mind Flayer is going to be back as the great boss because what we saw in season 2 is probably the tip of the iceberg of its true potential.
It doesn’t matter that the laboratory is now closed, and the gate to the portal has been sealed, the consequences in our world are already here.
Probably, we will get to know more people like Eleven in a more profound way than in the previous season.
It’s worth keeping your eye out for Maya Hawke who will be playing alternative girl and Dacre Montgomery who takes up the roll of Billy in the latest season.
And it’s very likely the Duffer brothers will be shifting the current narrative style of children involved in an adventure solving a mystery, like in Spielberg’s retro movies, for a more John Carpenter’s style of teenagers facing a horror menace like in Halloween franchise or Nightmare on Elm Street.
Whatever they have up their sleeves for this upcoming season it will be exciting, horrifying, and full of nostalgia for sure.
Is there a Season 3 trailer?
Yes, of course. If you want to get yourself in the mood for Season 3 or want to check out what it’s all about, have a quick look at this spooky trailer.
Is Stranger Things season 3 only available on Netflix?
Yes, Strange Things is a Netflix production which means the worldwide rights for airing the show belong to Netflix.
You’re unlikely to see Stranger Things Season 3 or any of the previous seasons available on any other services especially as Netflix is now available almost globally.
So if you don’t have Netflix your only way to watch this popular TV show is to sign up for an account.
Summary
Stranger Things 3 is finally hitting Netflix this 4th of July after a year and a half of waiting after season 2.
It’s time to recap all 17 episodes or binge them all together to be ready for this third season full of mystery and horror.
There’s even a Stranger Things cobranded Ice Cream coming out in honour of the latest season and that served up in Starcourt Mall.
And in the case you still haven’t seen it, it’s the perfect moment to give it a chance and enter into the 80’s through the Duffer brothers’ creation full of winks and homages to sci-fi and horror classics, and while you’re at it a dose of nerd culture.
If Stranger Things isn’t released on your region of Netflix you can use a VPN service such as ExpressVPN to unlock it and watch anywhere in the world.
