Edit: season 4 was really great and it seems the Duffer brothers DID step it up and pulled out their magic which is great to see!

This is my first review because I really needed to say something for this once great series. Don't get me wrong, I loved seasons 1 and 2 but season 3 is something else.

I think what happened is that the shows creators ran out of ideas or got new writers. Everything feels forced and cliché. The acting is still great but the characters are put into environments where they don't fit or they have already tried it on and there's no reason for them to try it on again. The show feels like it lost it's soul due to the cost of charm and comedy.

The plot runs thin and is super watered down and dialogue is mostly cringe (the Coke product placement is...ugh). There are too many side plots and the characters don't feel like the characters much. I knew immediately from the first episode that something was off, it was too much of teen romance and relationships. Hopper's character did a complete 360. I get that they grew up/ moved on/ changed but something still feels weird.

The ending was a bit emotional but I still don't get the generic Russians plot, it wasn't anything original.

Overall, it feels like I'm watching a low budget comedy/thriller monster movie which is a parody of the show with decent acting and I am so disappointed. I really hope the Duffer brothers step it up and pull out their magic in season 4 because I know that magic from season 1 is somewhere in there.