That happened by accident. The government was trying to use El’s remote viewing to spy on Russia. They had no idea she was going into another dimension. While she’s spying she tells Brennan she sees something else in there (a Demogorgan) and he tells he to approach it. When she gets up to it it touches her and that…

I actually found this season to be more exciting, or at least more propulsive and energetic, than the prior two. Where I agree with you entirely though is how the show deals tried and true, basically predictable emotional arcs, yet nearly always nails the landing because the cast is so good. It’s also been great at…

Between this and Fleabag, I’m kinda loving the Gelmanaissance.

If I remember season 1 correctly, didn’t all happen by accident? Like whatever experiments they were doing with El somehow got them in contact with the Demogorgon and El accidentally created the gate in angst, then the government just kept trying to open ‘er up for science.

What were the Americans doing with the upside down? Why does anyone want to punch holes into another dimension filled with hellish uncontrollable monsters?

Considering Erica mentions seeing the cage when she’s in the lab and the stinger at the end, I believe the Russians are doing what bad guys try to do with any otherworldly force in sci-fi: weaponize it. 

I didn’t have many gripes with the season; I was invested and damn I loved everything involving Steve and Robin.

yes! I agree, when this episode took like 15 minutes just to establish what all the characters have lost, how it affected each of them individually, and how things will have to change for them from now on was what sold me. it reminds me of how S1 actually had a genuine sense of these characters’ inner lives (just…

Agree energy source- I just figured that it was a way to work a gratuitous nod to the plutonium from Back to the Future, since it open the same way and made the same exact sound when opened.  And that was also for energy.

I suppose if I have one gripe about this season, it’s the fate of all those poor townsfolk who were taken over by the Mind Flayer. I guess chalk it up to my similar feelings about Barb in season 1, but I just kind of hate when characters are used and victimized and never get a chance to be saved. The show really…

The last one. The Soviets were using it to power their machine. There's a shot where you can see the cannisters plugged into it.

This show is three for three with the season climaxes; it’s continually impressive to me how smoothly they knit everything together.

Right, Erica saw that cage when she and Dustin were escaping, and the Russians had a Demogorgon at the end. Looks like they wanted to build an army of creatures or something.

I didn’t quite get that either. It seems like they were required to ingest those chemicals so that they could turn to flesh sludge, but I don’t remember any explicit confirmation of that.

That’s just crazy.  Barb is clearly the Mind Flayer.

Yeah, I binged season 3. What else do you do on a July 4th that’s hotter than the 9th ring of hell?

I loved it. Period. Warts and all.

I even hope, in my heart of hearts, the American in the Soviet gulag is Hopper rather than Bauman (although Bauman would be cool, too!). Hell, I bought that Glenn could slither under a…

My understanding was that Joyce had to move away. She talks to Hopper about having to sell the house, presumably because the mall has made the store she works at go out of business. I assumed she and the kids were moving because she found a job in a bigger city.

One plot hole: perhaps I missed some bit of dialog, but just what was the the Mind Flayer constructing with those chemicals and fertilizers?  

Alternate theory: the “American” being held captive could also be Dr. Brenner, who was confirmed to be alive in Season 2, though his whereabouts were never established. It would make sense that Brenner fled the country after the events of season 1 and somehow fell into the hands of the Russians, which would explain…

I think my biggest problem with the series is I don’t understand what the Russians were doing. For awhile I thought it was going to be the Russians trying to invade the US via a sneak attack by coming through the upside down, but I don’t think that’s the case? They were just.. trying to access it, like the US…