My favorite child character throughout the series is Dustin, and man did he rock the house this season! Despite all the courage he’s built up in the past from taming DemiDogs, he is remarkably susceptible to sneak attack surprises from well-meaning friends. Poor Lucas has to wash his eyes in recovery from Dustin’s quick-draw of Farrah Fawcett Hairspray – right before they all receive a surprise of their own. Dustin’s got a new girlfriend from Summer Camp!

Nobody believes Dustin’s account of a too-good-to-be-true girl who is a genius, nerd, and beauty, but he prepared for this! He invented a construct that will allow him to contact Suzie long-distance using radio frequency on their walky-talkies. The catch is that they must journey to the top of a rural hillside in order to gain a signal, and this is fully dependent on whether Suzie is even available at that time. The friends wait for hours, and when there’s no reply, they all go home, leaving him very disappointed and with no proof to show for his claims. However, what he does hear after everyone leaves is a cryptic Russian message. Thinking fast, he records the transmission and brings it to none other than Steve, who is accompanied by Robin at the new ice cream store in Starcourt Mall. Oh, and Robin is fluent in three languages already, so decoding Russian is a cinch for her.

After infiltrating the Russian base below the Mall, they get caught along with Lucas’ sister, Erica. Steve and Robin take on the Russians, giving Dustin and Erica a chance to escape and get help. While he and Erica are traversing air duct passageways, they get stuck, and Erica nags Dustin. She makes the point that at the rate they’re going, after estimating the distance they’ve covered, they are likely to escape in 12 days. Dustin is amazed at her affinity for arithmetic, and observes that despite all her constant mockery of nerds, she is in fact one of them. She vehemently denies this, until he points out her My Little Pony backpack. He makes the case that unicorns and adventures fit right into the fantasy category, which includes a massive nerd fan-base. She tries to get under his skin once more, wondering why he knows so much about My Little Pony, until he shuts her down by saying “Because I’m a nerd.” Knowing she’s cornered in this debate, she resorts to a smoldering glare.

At LAST comes my favorite scene in the entire season! Who knew that Toothless could serenade, am I right??? For those who are still wondering, I am referring to the great reveal of Suzie’s character which is broadcast to everyone on the radio headsets! In order to save the world from the MindFlayer, a very important code is needed to unlock the Russian vault which contains the keys to closing the Gate of the Upside Down realm. The Russian scientist revealed to Murray, Hopper, and Joyce that the code is Planck’s Constant, but is unavailable to give them the exact number (for reasons that will be explained in the next post.) Nobody in their team has this formula, but Dustin knows someone who will – Suzie the science genius from Summer Camp! However, in order to deliver this code, Suzie has an ultimatum of her own – she demands their special song: “The Neverending Story.”

I’ve gotta hand it to the Duffer Brothers (Directors/Producers) – they nailed the feel of the 80’s with the cultural atmosphere all around!

Dustin sings tentatively at first, knowing that everyone is listening over their radio signal, but as she joins in on the other end with increased vigor, his enthusiasm grows in their stunning duet! Seeing the adorable genius dancing was enough to make my spirit soar and join in the moment by singing along and moving with the rhythm! Of course, she delivers the code immediately after, thus bringing the band one step closer to saving the world!

Admittedly, Dustin’s character arc was not as strong as many of the others, since his personality remains pretty constant in this season. He still deserves acknowledgement for that epic romantic ending! Now, on to a character that did have a significant arc – Will.

Will has suffered not one, but two severely traumatic incidents in the recent past. The first was when he was trapped in the Upside Down with the DemiGorgon. The second was when he was possessed by the Shadow Monster – AKA the MindFlayer. All things considered, he seems to be adjusting pretty well back to his normal life. Yes, he still gets flashbacks and his spidey-senses tingle whenever he feels that the MindFlayer is up to no good. But instead of succumbing to panic attacks or being confined to a psychiatric institution like ANY NORMAL PERSON would be, he keeps it together and makes note of these occurences. If that isn’t a freaking testament to his mental fortitude, then I don’t know what is!

However, that’s not to say that he’s completely gotten away unscathed. He’s lost a couple years of what would be a normal childhood with his friends. Naturally, he would want to go back to the way things were, but with the addition of girl party members and teenage hormones, well… it’s not the same as it used to be. He frequently finds himself as a triple-third wheel, meaning that Mike, Lucas, and even Dustin all have girlfriends now – even if Dustin’s is supposedly imaginary. The drama blowout is real, especially when Max and Elle both kick his guy friends to the curb.

In an attempt to cheer them up, Will does something incredible. He designs an entire D&D campaign! For those of you who have never played Dungeons and Dragons, let me explain… That is a TON of effort, involving hours upon hours (sometimes days and weeks) of research and intense creative exertion! He does this so they can enjoy the company of each other, just like they did in the old days before their entire world flipped Upside Down.

Unfortunately, his work goes entirely unrecognized and unappreciated, since both Lucas and Mike would much rather bemoan their miserable states without present girlfriends. Having had enough, Will justifiably storms out – only to have Mike chase him. Then he’s subjected to Mike’s petty excuse of their behavior when he implies that Will doesn’t understand because he’s not “interested in girls.” This leads to the grievous scene where Will returns to their makeshift fort alone in the rain, and tears it down. If anything, this is a symbol of him demolishing the remains of a childhood that he desperately wished to hold on to.

In the midst of his grieving, he senses malicious intent coming from the MindFlayer. As Mike and Lucas arrive to truly apologize, he brushes it aside, recognizing the horrifying gravity of what’s happening in Hawkins. “It’s back,” he states. To his credit, Will rises valiantly to the occasion – not in a loud or flashy way, but in his quiet resilient strength. He provides intel to the nature of the MindFlayer, and he goes with his friends to help them take it down – knowing full well that he is exposing himself once more to this nightmare made flesh.

By the end of the season, Will has matured tremendously. He still loves his friends, and when they balk at seeing his D&D materials in the donation box, he reassures them. No matter where he’s moving, they will always be his true party members.

By the way, a new dynamic duo has come to Hawkins! Steve and Robin co-star as Scoops Ahoy extraordinaire’s as well as American hero secret agents! Robin slips in on the action when Dustin brings the Russian message to Steve, and has far more skill in landing the translation. Not only that, but she deciphers the cryptic code! And while Steve is absolutely useless in academic terms, he’s the only one that’s able to match the background music to a mechanical horse ride in the mall. Together, they realize the Russians aren’t in some base across the world – they’re right under their noses in Hawkins!

After enlisting the help of Erica, Lucas’ younger sister, they manage to infiltrate the operation. Unfortunately, the key to being a Secret Agent is to be secret… and not get caught – to which they fail miserably. However, Steve achieves that shining moment where he FINALLY wins a fight, and with a trained Russian agent at that! During their dash to escape, they realize that their best chance of everyone getting out–and still exposing the Russians–is for the two smaller kids to crawl through the vents and bring back-up.

Here’s where the torture begins, and amazingly Steve manages to stay strong throughout this grueling ordeal! In an effort to weaken them, the Russians tie Steven and Robin together (most likely to have one crack at the other’s pain when the next level of torture arrives.) They are left alone, and Robin is convinced they are going to die, so she admits to Steve that she was “obsessed” with him in high school. She goes further to confess that all losers want to be cool, popular, and accepted. Steve mentions that those things really aren’t that important in life, but as you live, you learn from your mistakes.

When the Russians return for further interrogation, they inject Steve and Robin with a drug in order to loosen their tongues, which leaves them loopy for hours. The crazy thing is… they’ve been telling the truth the entire time! Despite playing at American Secret Agents, they truly are just kids that work at an ice-cream shop! Right before they start losing fingernails, Dustin and Erica come bursting in for the rescue! Using an acidic green goo to cause a diversion and a shock stick to push their way through, the kids haul their drugged friends up through the secret entrance back into the movie theater! Hiding in plain sight while watching “Back to the Future.”

Erica is charged with keeping an eye on them in their drug-crazed state, but in a moment of distraction, they slip away into one of the mall bathrooms. After vomiting out the remainder of the drug’s effects, Steve reminisces over their high school days, regretting that he didn’t spend more time with Robin. He remembers Dustin’s prior remarks about having an incredible girl right in front of him, and goes on to list all of Robin’s great qualities. She temporarily withdraws after hearing his confession, but then clarifies that when she said she was “obsessed” with him, she meant because she had a crush on another girl that couldn’t stop looking at him in their same class. After this revelation, Steve sits back, processing for a moment. Robin shifts, feeling awkward and vulnerable. To Steve’s credit, he begins joking with her once more, singing goofy songs to lighten the mood and reassure Robin that their friendship is still good and whole.

After the crisis is averted and the mall destroyed, they look for new jobs together, and Robin vouches for Steve in the local movie shop. It takes a lot of convincing (since Steve is clearly not prepared), but she’s able to win over the awkward manager with wit and charm. It seems we can look forward to more spy-work in the future from this awesome team!

That’s it for Part 2 of the Stranger Things: Season 3 review! The final part of the analysis will be released in the next couple of days. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, and I hope to see you back soon!

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