That's most evident in how the season is structured and how characters paired off or grouped together in ways that generate the most excitement, humor, and intrigue. Much of the season feels as like it’s putting lessons learned to practical use. Her relationship with David Harbour’s now-mustachioed Jim Hopper morphs into a Maddie and David-style Moonlighting endlessly bickering will-they-or-won’t-they, as the two spend the majority of the season investigating strange goings-on that would have otherwise gone unnoticed were it not for their unique shared experiences with the Upside Down. Joyce finds greater agency and purpose this time around, beyond worrying about Will and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), or simply waiting for things to happen. Winona Ryder’s Joyce benefits the most, though that may be a result of her not having nearly enough to do in seasons past. And yet, despite its adherence to the rule of progression, the season also finds room to develop its characters’ relationships with one another in meaningful and surprisingly poignant ways.
It’s like a carnival ride that never stops and rarely slows down. What’s remarkable about the episodes is that, over the course of their easily bingeable eight-hour runtime, Stranger Things 3 is in a constant state of motion. Yes, there is a new monster, and yes there is an additional threat to the people of Hawkins, one that hails from a more idealogical Upside Down and affords the season a chance to tip its hat to a certain piece of campy ‘80s Cold War propaganda by John Milius. Netflix sent screeners ahead of time, albeit with a spoiler list a mile long, so there’s only so much that can be revealed about the season. Stranger Things is also attuned to the particular frequencies of its seasonal setting: the need to be outdoors, the people-watching opportunities at the community swimming pool, the grimy lure of carnivals and festivals, and the air-conditioned commerce contained within the unique biosphere of the shopping mall - one complete with its own cineplex showing Back to the Future, Cocoon, and more. It doesn’t take long, however, before season 3 illustrates why the languid days of summer are the show’s ideal setting: this is the Netflix version of a summer blockbuster, not coincidentally set during a time when summer was still the primary stomping ground for such theatrical spectacles. It may be a bit counterintuitive that the best season of Stranger Things transpires over its characters’ summer vacation, rather than the more thematically appropriate season around Halloween, when the environment is cold and grey, when streets and lawns are blanketed in dead leaves and jack-o'-lanterns decorate front porches.
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