Fans are braced on the edge of their seats for the fourth season of Stranger Things, but in the meantime, season three leaves much to savor. Characters experienced many highs and lows in the third season, things that give the first two seasons a run for their money and leave fans forming several theories of their own while laying in wait for the next season.
With Halloween season in full swing and fans looking to their favorite horror shows, it’s the perfect time to delve back into season three as a refresher for what will come next–or at least to remind one’s self of some key things that occurred. Many fans might have watched the past season in a bit of a binge-blur, making it difficult to discern when one ended and the next began. It can be helpful to look back and fondly recall what happened in the very first episode of a season.
Dustin Returns From A Trip
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Dustin returns from a summer away from his friends and offers viewers the perfect vehicle for themselves returning to a show they had been away from since season two.
In this way, viewers are just as excited as Dustin is to reunite with the old group of pals he left before camp–but this is also the perfect transition for fans to discover that that old group is not quite the same as they last found them.
Nancy Calls Jonathan Out For His Privilege
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The will-they-won’t-they drama of Nancy and Jonathan as in the past now, but conflict is far from being them.
The two might be together, but things aren’t perfect, as fans find in the scene where Nancy and Jonathan fling themselves out of bed realizing they are late for work–work at a job where Jonathan is considered an equal amongst the men, but Nancy is completely undervalued, as she points out in their hectic commute.
Hopper’s Heart To Heart
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Hopper is a full-fledged father now, having embraced his position as Eleven’s adopted guardian. Unlike season two, where he faced some typical father-teen conflicts that many can relate to, Eleven and Mike are now openly dating and Hopper is confronted with a whole new level of parenting.
As a result, Joyce tries to help him plan a heart-to-heart with the teens–a foreign concept to Hopper, which does not go well.
The Ladies At The Pool
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Billy is objectified from day one. People hate him for his personality, but they love him for his looks. Fair enough, some might say, considering he has a completely hateful personality which sees him being mostly abusive to others or otherwise manipulating them to his own means.
However, it’s still a bit creepy when the local women in town, who could all be his mother, schedule their tanning around his lifeguard shift, posing when he comes out of the door.
Nancy Is Mocked At Work
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Nancy’s claim that she isn’t taken seriously at work is soon proved when she delivers the men their lunches at attempts to share her pitch for a story.
It’s an idea that is legitimately better than any the men have been discussing, and which they pretend to humor for a minute before turning her suggestion into a joke, commenting on her inability to get their sandwich orders correct, as if that’s all she’s good for.
Dustin Reveals He Has A Girlfriend
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One of the most memorable things from the first episode is Dustin’s claim to have a girlfriend. Nobody believes him, and when he tries to prove it, he can’t get a hold of her via radio–something that does make her seem fake.
Watching Dustin be completely head over heels for somebody is new and exciting though, considering the sad state viewers last saw him in, being rejected by girls at the Snow Ball.
Steve Is Rejected
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Steve is a school hot-shot in season one and could get any girl he wants–something made obvious by his friends’ confusion at his decision to choose Nancy, someone who isn’t popular at all.
In season two, Steve is knocked down a bit in social status by Billy joining the school and starts leaning more toward a comedic character than one there for eye candy. In season three Steve’s progression has hit a climax, and his character has completely shifted from the cool-guy archetype to the sympathetic dweeb who can’t get a date.
Billy Hits On Mrs. Wheeler
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All of the local women at the pool fawn over Billy, but it isn’t until Billy makes a move on Mrs. Wheeler that viewers realize he might actually be interested in her.
Mrs. Wheelver obviously has a crush on Billy, but one wouldn’t be surprised if he were just playing with her feelings for his own amusement. But when he asks her out on a date, and viewers see him driving there practicing what to say, things become real.
Billy Is Abducted
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Fans will never know exactly what would have happened between Billy and Mrs. Wheeler, firstly because she chooses not to show, but secondly because he never gets to the motel.
He might have shown up and been angry or even disappointed, to have been stood up, which would have been fascinating to see. Instead, he is thrown off the road by a mysterious entity–at this point–and dragged into an old warehouse, setting off his dramatic season three arc.
El And Mike Cause Friction In The Group
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El and Mike are finally reunited, something fans waited for all of season two. But as with most things, the reality is not the same as the idea. Mike and El are adorable together, but they are also just like any other teenagers–obsessed with each other, and unable to see outside their own little bubble.
It’s a bit sad to see them prioritizing their relationship over hanging out with the group, something Dustin and Will, in particular, do not take lightly.