Category: Games

The following contains SPOILERS for all of Stranger Things Season 3 on Netflix. Below, you can also find links to all the individual episode reviews for Season 3, for those who’d like a more focused take on a specific chapter, followed by our full (mostly spoiler-free) Season 3 review.

• Chapter 1 – “Suzie, Do You Copy?” Review
• Chapter 2 – “The Mall Rats” Review
• Chapter 3 – “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard” Review

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Warning! Full SPOILERS follow for Stranger Things Season 3, episode 2, titled “The Mall Rats.” For a refresher, be sure to check out our Stranger Things Season 3 premiere review right here. 

What in the hell is wrong with Billy? Sure, the guy’s no saint, but kidnapping his co-workers and having visions of slamming Karen Wheeler’s (Cara Buono) head into a wall isn’t his usual style. Firstly, it’s a relief that Dacre Montgomery’s Billy isn’t gone for good. Billy and Max were great additions in Season 2, so it’s nice to know that their complex sibling relationship could potentially be explored further down the road. But with Billy seemingly under the control of the Mind Flayer, how much of “Billy” is really left?

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This story contains full SPOILERS for Midsommar!

Ari Aster’s Midsommar, the follow-up to his 2018 critical hit Hereditary, is partly an open homage to folk horror films (à la The Wicker Man), partly a death-colored fable, and partly a straight-up revenge fantasy. Midsommar takes place in a very, very remote Swedish village (so far north that the sun doesn’t set) wherein a group of American tourists get caught up in a once-every-90-years solstice festival that comes complete with odd games, exotic meals, ineffable traditions, and a haze of dread that only grows as the film progresses.

I recently chatted with Midsommar writer-director Aster who helped break down the film’s ending, its dark themes, and the many strange rituals depicted in it. Here’s what he had to say.

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Warning! Full SPOILERS follow for our review of Stranger Things Season 3, episode 3, titled “The Case of the Missing Lifeguard.” For a refresher, check out our review of episode 2, “The Mall Rats.” 

“The Case of the Missing Lifeguard” takes a thematically darker turn from the previous two chapters’ more playful tone. Joyce and Hopper’s somber trip back to Hawkins Laboratory gives us one more heartbreaking look at Bob Newby before he is torn to shreds by Demodogs. David Harbour and Winona Ryder are pitch-perfect in the scene where Hopper tells Joyce that all he wants for her is to feel safe in Hawkins. Even before their journey to the lab begins, it’s hilarious to watch Hopper’s jealousy towards Mr. Clarke outwardly erupt – especially when it’s clear that Joyce has no interest in poor nerdy Scott beyond finding out what’s up with her darn magnets.

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Warning! Full SPOILERS follow for our review of Stranger Things Season 3, Episode 8, titled “The Battle of Starcourt.” For a refresher, be sure to check out our review of “The Bite.” 

Stranger Things’ third season has been an emotional roller coaster from start to finish, with both the kids and adults undergoing profound character transformations. The final battle against the Mind Flayer’s pet is a visual spectacle (especially Lucas’ barrage of fireworks), but the real narrative meat takes place during the heartfelt character interactions sprinkled throughout this stirring finale.

Let’s start with Billy, whose journey from bad-boy a**hole to martyr is heartbreaking. Dacre Montgomery and Millie Bobby Brown give excellent performances here, with the Duffer brothers favoring compelling visuals over an abundance of dialogue. It’s just too bad Max will never get a chance to spend time with the “new and improved” version of her brother.

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Warning! Full SPOILERS follow for our review of Stranger Things Season 3, Episode 7, titled “The Bite.” For a refresher, be sure to check out our review of “E Pluribus Unum.” 

The penultimate episode of Stranger Things Season 3 is a bloody affair with jaw-dropping battles, a scary new monster, and a surprising departure for one of our favorite new characters. The fight between the Mind Flayer’s host beast and the kids is a great showcase for how the series has improved on its use of special effects. The creature is really terrifying up close, making it difficult to tell where the practical and computer-generated effects come together. The show has had its share of spectacular set pieces this season, but watching the monster attack the kids from both inside and outside the house is a unique and suspenseful twist on previous battles.

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