10 best scenes in Stranger Things 3

Recently I made list where I chose 10 best scenes in Stranger Things from season 1 and season 2. It was actually even harder to choose 10 scenes just from season 3. This is my favorite season so far and I just keep reweatching it. The wait for season 4 is already really excruciating, so let's take a look at some of the best moments again:

10. Eleven Fights Billy (3x04 The Sauna Test)
At that point in the series we are used to Eleven winning every fight. That's why I was absolutely shocked and startled watching the ending to this episode. After a brilliant sequence where the gang confirms Billy is the new host, Billy gets out of the sauna room and fights Eleven, who only manages to win this one because of the help of her friends. That's the moment where you realize this season the villain is so much more powerful than before.

9. There's More to Life Than Stupid Boys! (3x02 The Mall Rats)
The one thing missing from the previous seasons of the show were meaningful interactions between women. But it all changed in season 3 where we got all those lovely scenes between ladies, especially Max and Eleven. By far the most delightful one is the moment where Max takes Eleven shopping, helps her find her own style and enjoy her life, away from her dad and her boyfriend for once.

8. You Don't Mess Around with Jim (3x02 The Mall Rats)
Forget Avengers and Thanos. The best and the most intense showdown of 2019 was Jim Hopper and Mike. When Hop - through his winning blend of anger and intimidation - gets Mike to back off and for the first time in months he doesn't have to suffer his presence in his home, we are treated to adorable scene of him being really pleased with himself and eating breakfast. But when the scene cuts to him happily singing in the car the very same song he did that iconic dance to in season 2, I absolutely lost it and couldn't stop laughing.

7. Suzie is Real (3x08 The Battle of Starcourt)
This was the one moment during season 3 during which I started cheering and I never do that. Throughout the season Dustin keeps mentioning his girlfriend Suzie. Everyone doubts she is actually real, even Steve. And it's only in finale when we suddenly, right in the middle of all the action, go to Utah. I was like "what are we doing there?" because swept in all that was happening I forgot this is where Suzie was from. And there she was and I cheered. In a truly adorable scene the duo reenacts Neverending Story song. And honestly what is wrong with people who blame Dustin and Suzie for what happened? It's extremely disturbing that they are blaming anyone in a fictional show in the first place, but since they have to, instead of blaming the grown up man who forgot the number, they choose to blame innocent kids? Come on. Anyways the scene is lovely and the reactions of the rest of the group, particularly Steve and Robin, to Dustin and Suzie singing are simply hilarious.

6. ...And You Were Happy (3x08 The Battle of Starcourt)
We knew Billy since season 2 and as a hateful person and a bully. Near the end of season 2 we saw why Billy was like that - we got to meet his terrible father who started the bullying cycle by being terrible to Billy. When Eleven looked inside Billy's mind she saw his memories and she mentions them to him which in turn gets Billy to wake up enough to decide to protect Eleven, even if it means losing his own life. It's a very moving scene and Millie Bobby Brown and Dacre Montgomery act the hell out of it. It's also accompanied by some of the most beautiful cinematography in the entire show.

5. You Let Us In (3x06 E Pluribus Unum)
This is one of the most chilling endings to any Stranger Things episode yet. Eleven goes inside Billy's mind to find out where Mind Flayer's nest is. Trouble is, he keeps her trapped there long enough to tell her - through Billy - that the monster's sole purpose is killing Eleven, since she is the only thing that can stop him. He then proceeds to tell her he will also kill her friends and then everyone else. We do see a glimpse of real Billy in there, letting a single tear stream down his cheek. We then see the people possessed by Mind Flayer descend to his lair, fall into pieces and become one with the monster.

4. But...Tammy Thompson Is a Girl (3x07 The Bite)
In this beautiful scene Steve starts revealing to Robin just how much he likes her. We are set up to believe she likes him that way too, because she previously talked of being obsessed with him. But it turns out the reason for that was that the girl she liked was in love with Steve. Steve is very confused at first but quickly realizes that this means Robin likes girls. And in a beautifully surprising twist of expectations we have from similar scenes in other series or films, instead of lashing out or acting hurt, Steve immediately shrugs this whole thing off and simply starts talking to Robin like a friend, mocking Tammy Thompson's singing skills. It's such a charming, mature way to handle that moment by the writers and beautiful behavior from a male character. Come to think of it, the quality of male characters in this series is really unmatched by any other show right now.

3. Joyce Closes the Gate (3x08 The Battle of Starcourt)
This whole sequence is a masterpiece of editing, suspense and emotions. As Billy sacrifices himself to protect Eleven, Dustin yells to Joyce over walkie to close the gate. She looks at Hop, now standing right near the gate, who nods at her to do it. He smiles one last time, she cries and turns the keys. And then....he is gone.

Except he isn't really dead. Because if he is then I will lead a riot that will make a reaction to Game of Thrones s8 look like nothing.

2. Every Scene with Joyce and Hopper Together
You cannot possibly make me choose between Joyce showing Hopper that magnets lost their magnetism while he is freaking out at her for standing him up, Hopper waking up after he got his ass kicked and looking lovingly at Joyce, after which he promptly vomits, and of course these classics: Woah. What? He's running. YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! or How can you just sit there being calm? I am not calm! Our kids are in danger! YOU SAID THEY WERE AT THE FESTIVAL!!! WHICH IS, LIKE, 10 MINUTES FROM THE GATE!!! and of course Joyce throwing that gun and then Hopper getting her out of there and in sheer panic, yelling at her to drive. Hop and Joyce, pardon, Antique Chariot and Wheelbarrow, could and should have their own detective show and it would be my favorite thing ever. This is one of those "will they/won't they" pairings that we just know are going to finally happen exploding in romance but we love to see them bicker anyways. Once they finally kiss I'm pretty sure my TV will fall from the wall.

1. Hopper's Letter (3x08 The Battle of Starcourt)

I get emotional during films and TV series but I rarely audibly sob. But this scene gets me every time. First time I saw it, I cried through most of the last 30 minutes of the episode but this moment brought me to wail. Then the second time I watched that I cried even harder. And yesterday when I rewatched it for the third time I straight up acted like I was in Midsommar. This scene is so moving - from Joyce, being so distraught that she has to leave Hawkins, now that the only man that made her smile is gone, to everyone saying goodbye to each other and finally to El reading Hopper's beautiful words about him finally feeling things again now that she is in his life. The scene delivers one more funny part, Hop asking El to keep the door open three inches, but at that point we are all crying too hard to laugh. And there's also hope - the music choices in the series are brilliant and often times significant and the music that plays during the ending is Peter Gabriel's Heroes, which we heard when everyone thought it was Will's body being found, but in reality Will was alive in The Upside Down.

Oh yeah.

He'll be back.