Chapter One: The Hellfire Club

This episode felt like a 4 hour movie. In a good way. Really, congrats to everyone on the production team. Fantastic work, really.

I feel like they've handled the grief max is feeling quite well. The whole episode felt a bit slow as a beginning episode but I suppose that's because there's a lot to come. It's good to see what's happened since we last saw them all.

The excitement of this series to be returning cannot be understated here. I wasn't 100% sure there they were going to go with the series but starting off a year down the line helps all of our characters be able to grow after the battle of Star Court. Some still grieving and some that have accepted the fates of the characters around them.

Starting high school for any kid is a tough thing but having this as the point where the series starts i was thinking this was going to be some coming of age for the first half of the series but it really wasnt! This jumped 2 footed into the new story and not missing a beat. With the actors being older theres a lot more they can play with in terms of horror and story line which certainly shows through in the ending of the opening episode. This was dark, grewsome and whole heartily scary at points, Lets not forgot that there were some truly funny moments in the series which just proves this has not lost its charm.

Overall with 7 episodes being released i cannot wait to burn through these but al want to make sure that i enjoy these. Waiting this amount of time and finishing them in a weekend is not the one for me. Roll on episode 2!

It's not the best episode of the show or anything, but I still enjoyed watching it and it wasn't agonizing or boring to watch, because it has a good direction and knows how to keep the scenes not boring by good editing.

I was the biggest critic of season 3, because how it repeated what season 1 and 2 already did with the whole "one of them seeing a monster and trying to tell everyone, but no one believes him and everyone is fighting each other, until the last episode where they realize he was right and there was in fact a monster and they team up to defeat it" plot that was already done in the previous seasons and was just embarrassing to see, and also them butchering the character of Hopper for no reason whatsoever just to add some drama and conflict in the story.

But I'd lie if I say this is not a well-made show. The production is amazing and feels as authentic as it can be, the direction is really good and the editing helps the scene to be more interesting and not boring.

The only thing this show is lacking in, is the writing, and the clichés are really annoying.

Like how many times have we scene this bully cliché and every time it was so fake and uninteresting that makes you roll your eyes?

I really this particular cliché and I don't know why they can't other ways to do it or make it feel more authentic.

Other than that, it's the first episode of the season after a really really long hiatus between season 3 and 4, and I can't really blame them for spending time with the characters and introducing the new ones.

And I really commend them for taking their time and not cram everything in 40 minutes like Disney Plus shows, the only thing MCU shows are disappointing and don't reach their full potential is the weird 6-episode per season and under an hour episode limit they have. So it's a nice to see a show that takes its time for a change.

Although I hope next episodes pick up the pace and don't have as much as fluff this episode, and also, I really really hope they don't do the same plot from season 3 which was the same plot as the 2 before like I describes above, and give us a fresh and new experience and they stop butchering Hopper or any other character.

Eleven has a tough time at her new California school, whilst the remaining crew are part of the Hellfire Club at Hawkins High School.

This is an incredibly entertaining episode with great 80s nostalgia and horror-genre filmmaking.

The plot's primary focus is to set the scene following the events of the previous season and establish the lives of certain characters split between different locations. It does this incredibly well with great cinematography, editing, colour grading, and use of music.

I love the scenes that bounce seamlessly between the two locations using audio transitions from similar conversations taking place between certain characters.

It does a solid job of generating intrigue and suspense in the plot with a new threat shown via the experiences of certain new characters. This involves some very effective horror sequences that combine imagery and sound to frightening effect. All of it is done in a very retro way of course.

As ever the nostalgia is done brilliantly and rather than being for the sake of it serves the plot and tone of the episode very well. All the songs, cultural references and movie homages are perfect. The intercut basketball/Dungeons and Dragons sequence is particularly entertaining and impossible not to enjoy, especially if you are an 80s child like me.

All performances are excellent.

For me it's an 8.5/10 but I round upwards.

To be honest, the long break between seasons made me think I would feel disconnected watching the new season. But, they do a great job at bringing you back into the world and vibe of Stranger Things, and make you feel like it never left. It also seems like they are ramping up the horror this season, which intrigued me.