Day 3- Least Favorite Season
Season 3- The Season of Extremes
It was a toss up between season 3 and 1 being my least favorite. After watching the rest of the show, season 1 is hard to rewatch because it is truly just so different from the rest of the show. I watch that and want to almost get back 'to normal' with the rest of the show, if that makes any sense.
But it's still really good. And I realized I still liked it. I just don't necessarily need to see a rehash of what season 1 was like some other fans do. (I would take the core 4/OG party interacting more. They deserve too, this group of best friends that got tied up in all of this).
Season 3 though...? Season 3 is complicated. While every single season has things I dislike/don't appreciate it. Season 3 was the only season where I was rolling my eyes, groaning, and actually mad at stuff.
Don't get me wrong. There's a lot to love about Season 3. The finale is one my favorite episodes of the show for so many reasons. It is also the funniest season of the show by far. I don't think this is necessarily for the best though, and I will get into that later, but the humor does make the season an enjoyable rewatch.
I also specifically love Joyce/Hopper (and Murray and Alexei). That duo that turns into that group of four (and then 3... RIP Alexei my beloved) is wonderful. Joyce/Hopper's banter throughout the whole season is top tier and I watch compilations of those two in season 3 all the time.
And then, we can't forget about the scoop troops. The return of Dustin and Steve working together- my favorite duo reunited and better than they were before. Plus, the introduction of Robin- whom I adore. And then Erica officially getting a spotlight, who is also great. The whole Russian base plot investigation between these four is great. I happily watch it every time and again, laugh a whole bunch.
So... Lot's of good. Where's the bad?
(Eleven and Max are actually perfectly fine and sweet. Nothing bad or good here. So, one last 'good' note that I didn't fit in sooner sorry.)
The rest is kind of bad. Or really bad
The 'least bad' (out of the bad) for me is the Nancy/Johnathan stuff. To be honest, neither of these two are my favorite characters and I won't talk about them much on this 30 days. But I'll bring them up here because I get annoyed by their plot a little during this season. It drags (up until they join up with the younger teens), a lot.
I also don't enjoy the fallout Johnathan and Nancy have. It's realistic and I see both sides. It's very much a both sides issue- Nancy was getting treated like shit at their place of work. But she also comes from *some* privilege, growing up comfortably in middle class. Johnathan didn't have that same luxury and needed that job. He needed to keep his head down so that way his family could keep food on the table and so that way Johnathan could gain experience in that field and advance, make something of himself. Don't get me wrong, that place treated Johnathan a hell of a lot better than Nancy, and Nancy had every right to hate that place and want to rebel. But to put the apology mostly on Johnathan was not the right call. It was a complex situation that needed a more complex apology other than "Nancy you were more right; I was more in the wrong."
My next issue pretty much comes from everyone in the party that *isn't* Dustin Henderson. The group of five left alone for half the season- Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, and El.
Lucas/Max is... Fine. They don't become a couple I'm invested in until season 4 though because of what they pull in season 3. And it's just like, a couple of lines that piss me off.
They broke up and got back together 5 times in the period of like six months (And Lucas had to fight to get her back every time? It was never on Max to do something?)? Like I know they are young teens, and that lack of relationship stability for emotionally immature young people is somewhat realistic. But at the same time, you can't expect me to be hyper invested, believe these two are endgame if they are doing such shallow shit as a couple. When you do tropey stuff like that (for humor or whatever reason), you risk portraying things you don't want to portray. And in this case? All I see from Lumax in season 3 is 'Immature kids dating because hormones.'
El/Mike aren't worse for me then Lucas/Max- both couples are doing the same thing and are literally foiling off of each other. But the Mileven fight just takes up so much space this season and I just don't care about it. Like, come on. Let's move on to actual plot. The Mileven fight really shows how slow of a start this season has and it hurts this season for me big time.
I also want to touch on Mike and Will because it needs to be said- what was the point in them fighting and then doing nothing with it for the whole season (for two seasons actually)? Like okay, I have seen the hardcore Byler shippers dissect every detail of those two. So, I am sure they can tell me 'why' in their eyes. But as a viewer not hyper looking for Byler, what am I left with story wise?
Will leaves Mike's place after a big fight, after hurtful things are said, after a season of those two being so cute and supportive to each other and Will being devastated from how much things are changing. He's so upset, he goes and destroys Castle Byers- his safe place that kept him alive in the Upside Down.
Sure, Mike and Lucas come after Will through a raging storm. That's sweet. But they don't ever really go into just how upset Will was because Mind Flayer back. Okay, sure, that's fine. Stakes have risen again- time to buckle in folks. But we can focus on the Mileven drama just fine still- apparently- why can't we focus on addressing just how upset Will was even on a friendship level? Why do we have Will do something so monumental and then ignore it for the rest of Season 3 and season 4? (Even if they address it in season 5, sorry, this isn't good writing. It comes across as the writers trying to juggle too much.)
My final issue with this group of five is how little all of them matter except for El.
The younger teens aren't good for combat much- but they are going against a possessed, can 100% fight, Billy. They have intelligence and can plan and strategize, but they aren't fighters. The older teens, the adults, are the fighters. The only fighter in the younger kids is El because of her superpowers. So, we have so many scenes where El is just doing everything and the other four look on with just... Stupid looks of concern. Again, it really shows this dragging (pace wise) problem.
Now then... We get to my biggest issue. Billy Hargrove. I will let everyone walk away now that doesn't want to see Billy bashing because I'm sorry, I'm gonna Billy Bash.
I'll go more in depth on my dislike of this character when I delve into my least favorite character another day but for today, I'll just focus on season 3 and my personal feelings.
I didn't care that Billy got possessed. Even knowing his backstory, I just didn't care. I was rooting for him to perish to the Mind Flayer in episode one. And then he didn't. And now I have to follow the long drawn-out mystery of this guy as we all wonder ''oh what is Billy doing oh no."
And come on... No suspicion from Max when Billy actually called the girl his sister in front of others? Fucking please. Idiot stick stop bashing people's heads in please. It's so annoying.
In general, I really feel like the other characters took so fucking long to figure out what was going on with Billy and the Mind Flayer and everything. It's probably partially because I just personally didn't want to see this character in a noteworthy role, so all of his scenes felt so long. And Christ, that Sauna trap episode was just particularly so agonizingly long to sit through.
Both the good and bad do create one final issue I want to touch upon... This season suffers the most from tonal whiplash and I have to admit; I don't like it. In general, if you are divided on a season, you are going to experience tonal whiplash probably. Understandable.
But my tonal whiplash comes from the fact this season is arguably the darkest villain wise (The mind flayer is made up of dozens of melted people. Kids, adults, everyone. Many people died but we are having so much jovial humor in this season you don't really get to ever feel how severe of stakes that is. Maybe that's on purpose?)(And don't even get me started on the tonial whiplash present in the Russia plot, which I happened to like overall)
In comparison, Vecna/Henry/001 and his plots are also dark in season 4, don't get me wrong. But there's less humor in that season so it's a little less 'whiplashy' for me.
Ultimately. Season 3. Stuff I love. Stuff that makes me want to scream. I will still rewatch this season, but I will probably end up skipping lots of parts unless I'm committing to a full rewatch.