This is a full spoiler review for the third episode and everything prior of Stranger Things: Season 3. Check back for more Stranger Things 3 coverage throughout the week.

Synopsis
With El and Max looking for Billy, Will declares a day without girls. Steve and Dustin go on a stakeout, and Joyce and Hopper return to Hawkins Lab.

Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Kerry, Dacre Montgomery, Maya Hawke, Cara Buono, Jake Busey, Cary Elwes, Randy Havens, Priah Ferguson

Directors: Shawn Levy
Writers: William Bridges (written by), Matt Duffer (created by), Ross Duffer (created by)

Stuff really ramps up in ‘The Case of the Missing Lifeguard’ with El and Max out tracking down Billy, Joyce and Jim’s blow up and then discovery, Nancy and Jonathan’s rat case, Dustin’s Russian theory coming true and Will, Mike and Lucas’s friendship being pushed to the limits.

Jim is a lovable character and that’s one thing that David Harbour brings to the role, which is really evident in this episode. I had no sympathy for his ass-hole nonsense and whining as the episode began. He shut down Joyce so hard when she’s out her basically solving mysteries by herself, and he’s not giving her any room to sell him on the magnet case. But when Jim gave his speech about wanting Joyce to feel safe, and her family to feel safe, you see the man inside and his true nature shine through. This was my favourite scene of the episode, with both David Harbour and Winona Ryder delivering a great performance with all their stuff this episode really.

Count this as the episode I joined the ‘Robin is great fan base’. While it was fun to see Steve get life advice that rings true from Dustin, Robin was off solving the case. Not only cracking language barrier but then also what it meant and who’d a thought the Russians wouldn’t literally be right under their noses. Maya Hawke is fitting right in with the Stranger Things kids.

During the premiere, I was thinking about how much older the kids look this season, but you really do notice it with the flashbacks to Season One used in this episode. Plus you have a friendship being pushed to the edge between Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will. Once four friends who couldn’t be separated, now growing up into teenagers in different ways. Will isn’t in the wrong this episode for wanting some time alone without Lucas and Mike on about their girlfriends, but at the same time — he’s the one of them who lost the most time — but Mike and Lucas also do deserve to threat over their romance lives. Seeing it all erupt into Will tearing down his fort in a fit of rage and tears was sad to watch.

I’m glad the team up of El and Max is continuing, but I still felt bad for Mike when El spied on the boys to find him saying ALL the wrong things. C’mon El, spying like that isn’t nice. But it does lead the girls on their mission for this episode which is, as the title says, the case of the missing lifeguard and what exactly Billy has done with her.

As far as Billy goes, I guess I can’t hate him anymore? I don’t think we’re dealing with Billy at all anymore, or that’s what I’m gathering. He’s been taken over by the ‘him’ that Will warns the others of. The creature has fully returned and somewhat taken over Billy’s body, and I guess Heather as well. Seeing as the episode ends with them killing, or at least knocking out Heather’s family I have to assume the creatures new plan might be to take over as many bodies within Hawkins as it can. It’s interesting it seems to have memories of El as well, although not fully, but seemed to recognise her as the girl that shut down the giant crack last season.

Again, Nancy, I feel so bad for her and want her to just punch those dudes at the newspaper so bad. So I’m hoping this rat story will lead them into something big.

It’s also in this episode you can piece together that all the men of Hawkins are being somewhat crappy, or at least naive while the Women lead the charge of chasing down missing people, solving weird magnet and rat cases.

Things are starting to go a little crazy in Hawkins again and with everyone so spread out you can’t help but wish it wasn’t the 80’s and we had some social media happening. Imagine a world where any of these characters just what’s happening in their separate scenarios.

‘The Case of The Missing Lifeguard‘ Air Date: 04/07/2019
Stranger Things 3 is currently available to stream on Netflix