On the whole, Season 3 was a big disappointment. Whereas Seasons 1 and 2 had almost all their episodes being good to brilliant (with only one misstep in Season 2), pretty much half of Season 3 was less than decent (with the premiere being particularly disappointing) with only two episodes being outstanding and another two being good but not great. On the whole, the suspense and tension weren't as strong, the advancement of plotting and characters only came in spurts and some of the writing was surprisingly juvenile.
Part of me was actually expecting quite a lot from "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt", despite the season not being up to top standard. Primarily because the previous two seasons had absolutely brilliant season finales. "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt" is every bit as brilliant thankfully and is at its best spectacular. It is one of only two outstanding episodes from Season 3, the other being "Chapter Four: The Sauna Test", and gets my vote as the best episode of the season. Everything that a season finale should be and it improves pretty much on everything that was disappointing about most of the season.
Had no issues with almost any element here, other than the slightly out of place musical number that should have been featured in another part of the episode or excised. That though was not enough to mar the episode, not when the execution of everything was as good as it was.
The visuals are of outstanding quality. Very stylish and atmospheric, with some truly beautiful images that one can't believe such high quality comes from a Netflix show. Not to mention the highly impressive special effects that put a good deal of big budget films in recent years to shame. The music has a wonderful 80s nostalgic vibe while also being quite haunting, enhancing the atmosphere beautifully. The performances are excellent across the board, absolutely no sore spot in this aspect.
Character development is illuminating and investable in one of the few episodes of the season to advance any of the characters in progression. Hopper is at his most interesting all season here and is closer to the older Hopper than the less appealing one he was this season. Writing has lost none of its brains and heart, while there is an ominous creepiness there is some genuinely funny and gentle humour, an affectionate nostalgia and poignancy without any cheese or melodrama. The story is darkly suspenseful with plenty going on (without being too crowded).
With the ending being very exciting and emotionally powerful. The tragic elements here are very shocking and also heart-breaking, not feeling like a cheap way of getting rid of a maligned character or feeling abrupt and indicative of an actor being fired mid season as has happened with some shows. There is plenty of depth and complexity in the mystery.
Spectacular season finale and it was a shame that most of the previous episodes of the season were not indicative of how good 'Stranger Things' was at its best. 10/10.
Part of me was actually expecting quite a lot from "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt", despite the season not being up to top standard. Primarily because the previous two seasons had absolutely brilliant season finales. "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt" is every bit as brilliant thankfully and is at its best spectacular. It is one of only two outstanding episodes from Season 3, the other being "Chapter Four: The Sauna Test", and gets my vote as the best episode of the season. Everything that a season finale should be and it improves pretty much on everything that was disappointing about most of the season.
Had no issues with almost any element here, other than the slightly out of place musical number that should have been featured in another part of the episode or excised. That though was not enough to mar the episode, not when the execution of everything was as good as it was.
The visuals are of outstanding quality. Very stylish and atmospheric, with some truly beautiful images that one can't believe such high quality comes from a Netflix show. Not to mention the highly impressive special effects that put a good deal of big budget films in recent years to shame. The music has a wonderful 80s nostalgic vibe while also being quite haunting, enhancing the atmosphere beautifully. The performances are excellent across the board, absolutely no sore spot in this aspect.
Character development is illuminating and investable in one of the few episodes of the season to advance any of the characters in progression. Hopper is at his most interesting all season here and is closer to the older Hopper than the less appealing one he was this season. Writing has lost none of its brains and heart, while there is an ominous creepiness there is some genuinely funny and gentle humour, an affectionate nostalgia and poignancy without any cheese or melodrama. The story is darkly suspenseful with plenty going on (without being too crowded).
With the ending being very exciting and emotionally powerful. The tragic elements here are very shocking and also heart-breaking, not feeling like a cheap way of getting rid of a maligned character or feeling abrupt and indicative of an actor being fired mid season as has happened with some shows. There is plenty of depth and complexity in the mystery.
Spectacular season finale and it was a shame that most of the previous episodes of the season were not indicative of how good 'Stranger Things' was at its best. 10/10.