by Alea Jeremiah 
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” is back for it’s third chapter and you better believe the pressure was on for the Duffer Brothers. The show had millions hooked from season one but in my opinion, it’s gained a significant amount of fans throughout the years. Everyone was patiently waiting for season three … about a year longer than it should’ve been released. Having the release date so far from season two definitely had me nervous. But as I sat down to binge the entire thing, I was not disappointed.
 
Unlike the two previous chapters, we are taking place during the summer of 1985. This already means the fashion is great as well as the music. A brand new mall is the focus of the Hawkins locals and it’s as retro as it gets. Throughout the season all of our beloved characters are going through their own separate things. Mike and Elle are dealing with their newfound relationship which isn’t all rainbows. Max and Elle are becoming closer and it’s honestly the cutest friendship you’ll ever see. Dustin is off with Steve and his new coworker Robin, and Joyce and Hopper are in their own sort of emotional limbo. Can’t forget Jonathan and Nancy, they’re off at The Hawkins Post doing internships.
 
This season really shows a big coming of age for the boys. They aren’t little kids anymore, they’re growing up, getting into relationships. This is heartbreaking for Will to experience because of everything he went through the past couple of years. It’s not so easy for him to move on and mature as quickly as the others. He struggles to accept the fact that all four of them aren’t just playing D&D in Mike’s basement like they used to.
 
One major player season three brought in was the Russians. You find out pretty early that the Russians are doing some sort of work on what looks like to be the portal that Elle closed back in season two. And where better for them to do this than right under the brand new mall. Some of this is a lot of information to process and can get kind of confusing but if you’re paying attention you shouldn’t have a problem.
 
The one character that shines out in this season, in an evil way, is Max’s brother Billy. You can see if you watched the trailers that the Mindflayer is back in Hawkins and is using Billy to do his bidding. I thought this was interesting because it kind of gave a human body to the Mindflayer rather than a spider-looking figure. You do learn a whole lot about Billy’s past and why he is the way he is and let me tell you, it is quite heavy.
 
Without going into too many spoilers or minor details, everyone is doing their own thing and each of their paths eventually connect in the end for the biggest battle in the show’s history thus far. When I watched the last two episodes of season two I thought there was no way they could top it. And that is exactly what they did.
 
The performances this season were nothing but excellent, not too surprised given everyone has been incredible the entire run. Like I mentioned before, Dacre Montgomery as Billy was one of the highlights of the show, he was an absolute scene stealer. I also loved the scenes between Dustin, Steve and Robin. Bringing in a new member might’ve been kind of risky but it worked so well. She fit the dynamic and I hope they plan on using her a lot more in future seasons. The visuals were stunning and the soundtrack was really great.
 
Overall, I was not disappointed with this season at all and I don’t think I would change a thing. If you haven’t watched yet, please do so! And bring tissues!

*p.s. stay tuned for an after credit scene during the final episode*

by Julian Spivey
I was thrilled by some of the surprising Emmy Award nominations this season – especially the nominations for Stephen Root and Anthony Carrigan for HBO’s comedy “Barry.” But as there are every year there were a handful of snubs that really got my goat.

Here are my five biggest Emmy nomination snubs: 

1. Susan Kelechi Watson (This Is Us)
I understand it’s hard to get nominated in any drama acting category this year when the academy was trying to get every freaking actor who’s ever been on “Game of Thrones” nominated, but I must say I’m shocked Susan Kelechi Watson didn’t received a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination for her excellent role as Beth Pearson in season three of NBC’s “This Is Us.” One could argue she gave the best performance on that series this past season and yet four other cast members received nominations and she didn’t. 

2. “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC)

I understand there are more talk shows on television now than ever, but I continue to be stunned that NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” snubbed year-in-and-year-out for Outstanding Variety Talk Series. The show is better than “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC) and “Late, Late Show with James Corden” (CBS) and yet those two received nominations over it. At least the excellent ‘Late Night’ writing staff continues to be recognized with an Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series nomination for the third straight year. 

3. D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place)

NBC’s critically-acclaimed comedy “The Good Place” has been getting some Emmy love with Ted Danson receiving a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and the show finally receiving a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series, but the snub of D’Arcy Carden who plays Janet in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series is frankly hurtful. For years Carden has been a force on the series and it really felt like this would be the year for her to breakthrough with a nomination. 

4. Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which aired its first four seasons on Fox and its past season on NBC, has always gotten the snub by the Emmys, which Andre Braugher pretty much being the only person affiliated with the show ever receiving a nomination … but, even those days seem over. Braugher is still doing amazingly hilarious work as police Captain Raymond Holt on the series, but the category is just chocked full of talent the academy couldn’t find a spot for him this year. 

5. Lily Tomlin & Jane Fonda (Grace & Frankie)

Lily Tomlin had been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the first four seasons of Netflix’s underrated comedy series “Grace & Frankie” and two years ago she was joined in the category by her co-star Jane Fonda. This year it seems the academy is done with the series as neither received a nomination, despite their work in the show’s fifth season being up to par, if not better than seasons before.