Tonally it also felt more like some parodying going on with the 1980's which was kind of annoying. Part of my love for the first two seasons was that they played it very straight and the references didn't call too much attention to themselves. This season they broke that rule in a few places and I hope they get that under control for the remainder of the show. Most of them I didn't mind but again, they have to keep it more subtle for it to work like it did before.
I think you just hit the nail on the head for me with this statement.
I’ve been trying to figure out why I haven’t enjoyed this season as much as I had hoped, and you got it...much of this season feels like a weird parody of 80s “stuff” to me.
Where the first two seasons felt nostalgic, throw back, whatever you want to call it...lots of things in this season just seemed downright silly.
Russians building a giant base under a mall? Silly.
Said Russians being bumbling baffoons when it comes to guarding said base? Silly.
The design and aesthetic of that base? Silly.
A soldier that’s clearly meant to be a Terminator reference? Silly.
A weirdly out of place monologue about how awesome New Coke is? Silly.
Like, I don’t believe for a minute that the Russians wouldn’t have just shot the kids on sight when they were in the bunker. If they didn’t, they’d have certainly killed Steve and Robin once they realized they weren’t any kind of spies. They also certainly wouldn’t have let Dustin and Erica free them. And lastly, even if they did, they certainly would have disabled the elevator so they couldn’t escape.
I also just rolled my eyes when they were all in the cabin and see that Mindflayer Goo Monster is coming...
“Hey guys, we literally just saw that thing ripping trees out of the ground...but this couch in front of this door will keep it out of this rickety cabin. Oh, and even though Jonathan and Nancy saw Goo Monster turn back into goo to slide under a door, I’m sure that was only because the hospital’s floors were freshly waxed.”
Just groan worthy.
I also think the whole “they’re eating fertilizer” thing was just...awful. I’d have rather seen them do something where whatever bit of the Mindflayer was left, or whatever bit made it through when the gate was opened a little, got into the town’s water supply...or something. Really, anything other than eating and drinking chemicals would have been better.
I still enjoyed it, for the most part, because I like the characters...but I definitely feel like this season took a HUGE step backwards for me in the realm of storytelling. So much of it was just...I don’t know, dumb?