Stranger Things Season 3, the One where no one can catch a break.

Man what a shot this is, who knew one could grow to not only like, but absolutely adore one of the secondary antagonists of the previous seasons especially when even in this season he was an antagonist for most of it, okay, he was one of the flayed but still...

And also... is it just me or does Mrs. Wheeler saying no to Billy actually make it so you want to see them together even more?

Yeah I ship those two, fuck you.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Just like in the last season, we begin this season with most characters in a very good place, El and Mike are together, so are Lucas and Max, Hopper is being... Hopper...

Will is returning to normal, and is exceptionally annoyed by all the couples around him, I mean can you blame him?

Given that his brother is in a relationship with Nancy Wheeler and so is his best friend.

Who he probably has a crush on, his other friend and not to mention his girlfriend is a new member of the gang.

And then when Dustin returns he also has a girlfriend...

Poor Will just wants to play DnD....

I guess as a queer man myself, I get him the most, I mean you might think that it gets easier if you are bi or polysexual and I am probably pan, but... it doesn't, it doesn't get any better...

Your friends will always find the world a million times easier than you, whether it comes to relationships or something else.

Moving on from that personal sob-fest, the fact that Dustin has a girlfriend now comes into play in the story multiple times, mostly as a joke, as she is supposed to be hotter than Phoebe Cates and more genius than any of them...

Obviously no one believes him, until she comes into the picture to tell them what Planck's constant is.

And then everyone believes him.

And judging by their reaction, I don't know which is more of a torture for poor old Dusty-bun.

Oh no!

See I am doing it too.

But like every season of Stranger things, this season is definitely not all fun and games, in fact, while it is a lot more light hearted, with a straight up musical number right in between a serious scene, I would argue that it is precisely this light heartedness that makes some of the losses so much worse.

Take Hopper for example, who in this season has graduated from loving dad, to loving dad who also gets angry at his daughter's boyfriend while also hitting on one of his closest friends.

And it takes Ol'baldy to step in once again in order to get Joyce and him to realize already that they have feelings for each other.

But just like last time, Joyce's love life cannot catch a break, it's like the writers have a vendetta against her or something.

That they would even kill off one of their main cast members just in order to keep her single...

Come on Duffer bros, I mean I know Duffer is in your name, but come on.

Why do all the Kids get to be happy while the adults just die meaninglessly...

It's so sad...

I am not crying, you are!

But this season is finally when I took the time to clock it in my stupid head that... shit this ain't current day!

Its set during the cold war!

So that's why they don't have mobile phones...

Oh and this time the secondary antagonists are commie scumbags.

What?

I thought I would play into the characters. Guys come back!

But them being here in order to open the portal is definitely interesting as it brings into focus one of the most important aspects of interdimensional travel, which so far was over looked.

Location matters!

The portal can't just open anywhere.

It sucks for all the flayed though because a part of the mind-flayer got stuck on this side of the portal when it closed, and whilst it is inactive with the portal closed, while the Russians try to punch it open with their... "key".

The Flayer is active again, and while unable to crossover fully, it uses what little part of it is over the border to control as many people as it can starting with poor Billy...

Man, all the kid wanted was his mom.

And I say Kid because that is all he is at the end of the day, it is like when his mom left, he just stopped growing up.

And all the anger and Frustration comes out in the form of an asshole.

And somehow at the end of it all, he was the only Flayed who didn't melt and join into the Flayer monster, I guess because the Flayer probably found him more useful as an individual or maybe he developed some resistance to it, or maybe it needed his access to El's memories.

Who knows, I only know that the Story reason is clear, it is so that he can stop the Flayer in a last act of Heroic sacrifice.

Idk, its a brilliant story, but the Nerd in me sure does rage.

Yes, I guess in this season Lucas's sister also got a main role, alongside new series regular, Robin, and I am glad that for once in the all of show history, they resisted simply making her the new love interest for Steve.

I mean they have great chemistry, but that's all they have.

Robin was obsessed with Steve not because she was into him, but because she was into the women who were desperately into him.

And the thing is, even after this reveal, Steve and Robin are still genuinely close, but man, poor Steve literally cannot catch a break can he.

Like My man basically got fucked by his dad, and then had terrible friends who in an attempt to be supportive after a misunderstanding on his part of his girlfriend cheating on him, pretty much slut shamed her and fucked him over.

So when he tried to make amends and got back together, then a drunk girlfriend told him that he is bullshit.

So when he goes to apologize again this time she just goes off with Jonathan.

No! Steve! You are not a bad boy friend!

FUCKS SAKE!!!