Stranger Things 3, eps. 1-4: Hawkins, Indiana, will never be the same again

It's hard to grow (the show looks easy)

The most What is striking since the first half of Stranger Things S3 shows how much the series has become adult. Yes, physically, our child heroes have become teenage heroes. But rather than struggle with that (and, say, rush to produce as much as possible before the actors get older and seem unlikely out of college / high school), history has developed logically to account from the life difference almost an adolescent life – and it perfectly connects this mature material to the dark and disturbing amusement of the series.

Initially, what occupies and complicates the life of Mike, Eleven and the gang is not another demon prince, these are the requirements of puberty. The band has partnered to some extent – Mike with Eleven, Lucas with Max, Will and the dying dreams of another D & D series – and is striving to set a new standard. Regardless of the larger group dynamics, what do healthy encounters look like for Mike Wheeler and never been kissed by Elew? The new (still) dad, Jim Hopper, certainly does not think he's seeing it, as most home nights involve Mike and El kissing all night, and the fallout from this has workout effects for the early series. Until now, the only time we see all the kids together, is maybe when they welcome Dustin home after his summer camp.

Fortunately, everyone has a lot to do as a couple. The boys (Mike, Lucas, and Will) have the most basic task in the first place: they are heartbroken, do not understand relationships, and simply have to overcome a fleeting pain. This only further widens the gap – in his best performance so far, Noah Schnapp (Will) gets a remarkable sequence in the third episode, while he gives Mike some of his mind after the show is over. constant hyper-focus on girls pushes him. to engage. Mike is unwilling to defend himself ("I do not try to be a fool, but," he began. "We are no longer children, what did you think? Would we ever have a friend? Are we going to sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives? "), sending Will stumble for a little time to think … that finally proves crucial for the group's ability to detect the fact that something is happening in the city.

The girls, meanwhile, act: eleven have always had the ability to mentally teleport elsewhere when their senses are meaningless, she and Max are spying on boys before teleporting telepathy.His older brother, Billy (actually the jerk of a note from last season), revealing that maybe the 39 Upside Down has not been so clearly isolated from the real world.The two groups come to the same conclusion in ways r adicately different before coming together to do something about it, engage in a smooth action sequence whe They have to lure a possibly demonic Billy into a public sauna in order to make him lose some of Mind Flayer (exploiting the knowledge that they discovered last season).

A sequence like this may not have existed in previous seasons. There is a repeated feeling of real danger: Billy has almost stabbed his sister; El being suffocated by a human – it would have been "too much" felt. The show has always been TV-14 (the very first episode involves a monster looking for a young child and lab workers being murdered by something supernatural), but its cast and its content have now reached the same level. Barb (and Bob!) Are dead for that.

Fortunately, everything is not going well in the CW drama around Hawkins. As fun as it is to watch our heroes decipher all the mysteries and tackle the dangers that lie ahead, the undeniable power of the series stems from the fact that the public loves these characters and wants to see them be themselves. Looking back on the first half of S3, the most enjoyable moments probably come from Hopper, who continues to be agitated (fighting the hangover but collecting clues of a larger problem alongside Joyce Byers). , always able) or time spent at the mall with Scoops crew Ahoy – Steve, his new colleague Robin and loyal customers Dustin and Erica.

These sequences work extremely well because not only do we get more of what we like from the characters, but their continued ability goes against what you expect from all the comic relief. Maybe Hawkins will need Eleven again to be at the center of any hope of fighting evil, but Hopper and Joyce or our international ice cream detectives will inevitably have a role to play in linking the bigger puzzle.

Stranger Things S3 renews our trust in this world (and its potentially expanded universe) in the future. There are clearly more ideas to explore from Hawkins: new life challenges, bigger evils, more impact on life elsewhere (and we are not even talking about potential girlfriends from the Mormon camp sequestered in Utah). Just as inevitably as the woes of the season will connect, our heroes will also reconnect in a larger group and discover how to defend themselves. And finally, if the Russians play again with Herculean forces, humanity does not yet know how to control or contain, well, HBO reminded us how it was in May.