mosylu

I saved up the third season of Stranger Things for my staycation, so I could binge it at will. I wound up watching about two episodes a night, which was all the gore and squish that I could take. Don't get me wrong! I loved it (and I'll list why behind a spoiler cut) but that was a lot of horror for me.

MAX AND ELEVEN. One of the things that kept S1 and 2 from being perfect for me was the Smurfette priniciple playing out through all three stories. Sure, there were badass girls and women driving the story (Nancy! Joyce! Eleven!) but they were always surrounded by a team of boys and men. We finally got the embedded female friendship we deserved and it rang so true to me. There's a kind of platonic passion about tween BFFs that's hard to quantify but you know it when you see it. El and Max running around the mall giggling, the pair of them using El's powers for mischief, Max lecturing El on baby's first feminism, the way they held each other at terrifying or heart-wrenching moments, even their last hug goodbye with Max practically strangling El. It just rang true. I've heard that Sadie and Millie are friends in real life and I believe it. (ADDED LATER: I just remembered the character of Eight, from Season 2, but it was a totally different dynamic. Eight was sort of like a big sister, but the kind who makes you lie to your parents for her and teaches you to smoke in the bathroom, and one with her own problems.)
Billy sent honest-to-god chills down my spine, even when he wasn't possessed by the Mind Flayer. There's just nothing behind those eyes. And yeah, we got a whole very sad story about his very sad childhood of abuse, plus an eleventh-hour-fifty-ninth-minute turnaround, but a reason is not an excuse. I'm not venturing onto the Tumblr side of this fandom because I don't want to see all the "but he really was nice deep down inside and cared about little kittens" apologists. A character can have a sad backstory, do some good things, and have a family that cares about him, and still be stomach-churningly awful.
Robin was a delight. I got spoiled for her coming-out scene even before I started watching, so that wasn't a shock to me. I'm glad, because I think I would have definitely shipped her and Steve. But as it was, I just enjoyed their bickering and their teamwork. Having been four years old during the events of the show, I don't know how realistic his reaction to her coming out was, but it was beautiful.
I was kind of meh about Nancy and Jonathan and their storyline this time around. Nancy came off as a little bit spoiled and wide-eyed in her indignation at the patriarchy. Although I really enjoyed her getting to slam a fire extinguisher into the face of the guy who mocked her and laughed at her.
Joyce and Hopper finally - ! Oh, wait, they didn't. I swear to god they need to just rename this show to Joyce Byers Can't Have Nice Things

Also there was lots of spurting blood and nasty action-movie Russians and that was fun too.