On the heels of a lengthy 20-month hiatus, Stranger Things returns to Netflix this month under a slight cloud of concern. Was the haphazard second season merely a product of growing pains? Or was it a sign that this inescapable behemoth of a series only truly needed to run for 10 tight and nostalgic episodes back in 2016?
Luckily, the first reviews for Stranger Things 3 indicate that the messiness of season two may have been worth it, with a streamlined season of blockbuster television that critics are hailing as a major return to form.
For USA Today, Kelly Lawler described season three as “exuberant and excellent”, and “nearly surpassing the creative heights of the first season and providing a path to keeping things strange for years to come”.
“It’s funny, gross, sweet, and fun, and by the end, the whole thing gets so massive and exciting, you’re likely not to remember a few of the hiccups along the way,” adds Germain Lussier in Gizmodo.
There have also been strong notices for series newcomer Maya Hawke, daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, who Vox has described as “deadpan and lowkey” and who comfortably steals the show from under the more established cast members. Lindsey Romain of Nerdist was also eager to sing Hawke’s praises: “I really loved new Stranger Things but I’m most excited for everyone to see it and fall madly in love with Maya Hawke, who is just wonderful.”
IndieWire also praised the show’s decision to pull back from its own mythology and instead ground its characters in earnest and more human drama. “By doubling down on relationship stories, Season 3 of Stranger Things delivers an oft-charming, deeper-than-expected, and ultimately enjoyable new chapter”, writes critic Ben Travers. “Fans will be happy, sceptics will spot problems, but it’s hard to fight the feeling that this mega-franchise still knows how to have fun.”
Before anyone gets too excited for a summer of 1980s nostalgia and adolescent love stories, however, Ben Allen at Radio Times warns that the season becomes increasingly bleak as it goes on.
“The equal of its predecessor in terms of pure enjoyment but still eventually devastating”, Allen teases, “with a shocking and emotionally-charged conclusion that will ring out on social media for weeks to come.”
But while most critics appear to have embraced season three, others have been slightly more cynical about the show’s return, and concerned that Stranger Things is almost too aware of what works and what doesn’t than a lot of the sheer ingenuity of its first season has been lost.
“Stranger Things has always been built on nostalgia and indulgence”, writes Brandon Katz in Observer, “[but in season three] it’s gorging on them like a hungry demogorgon. It is almost too self-referential, bogged down by repeated flashbacks that pull you out of the present and into the past”.
The criticism is echoed by Allison Keene at Paste. “The new season follows a pattern familiar to its past”, she writes.
“The stakes are continuously raised, which makes the small-town story feel increasingly improbable (even after you’ve accepted the supernatural), and yet the eight episode season somehow feels too long. There’s lots of action and plenty of fighting, but it starts so early that (especially for those who binge the series) there’s a definite fatigue as the final act goes on and on.”
Stranger Things 3 arrives on Netflix Thursday 4 July.
