Stranger Things 3 poster featured Television 

Five Thoughts on Stranger Things 3‘s “Suzie, Do You Copy?”

By | October 1st, 2021
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome to this week’s installment of the Summer TV Binge of Stranger Things, looking back at season three, episode one, released July 4, 2019:

“Chapter One: Suzie, Do You Copy?”
Written and directed by the Duffer Bros.

It’s June 28, 1985, and the newly opened Starcourt Mall is the place to be for the kids and teens of Hawkins, but it’s wrecking the economy of the town’s main street. Hopper is worried about how much time El and Mike are spending together, while Dustin is eager to introduce his friends to his new girlfriend, Suzie, whom he met at science camp. Steve, Jonathan and Nancy all have new jobs, while Karen Wheeler mulls having an affair with Billy Hargrove. The piece of the Mind Flayer that was in Will reawakens in an abandoned steel mill, and begins possessing the town’s rats.

1. It’s the Russians!

The season opens with a prologue set the year before (in-between seasons one and two), where a group of Soviet scientists unsuccessfully try to open their own portal to the Upside Down, with what is basically a laser cannon. The cannon fails and overloads, incinerating those nearby the device, and prompts General Stepanov (John Vodka) to give Alexei (Alec Utgoff) only a year after his imposing henchman, Grigori (Andrey Ivchenko), adds his mentor (Yasen Peyankov) to the death toll. Even though Stranger Things is set during the Cold War, it is still a surprise that the Russians are actually the bad guys now, and that Gorbachev’s Soviet Union comes across as monstrously as the Empire from Star Wars.

Alexei listens as Grigori 'retires' his mentor

2. It’s the Summer of ’85

Stranger Things 3 is a summer blockbuster, not only in the aesthetic of its summertime setting, but tonally: the season shakes off the serious approach of ’70s filmmaking that early ’80s blockbusters still had, and emphasizes the comedy, just as mid-80s films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom embraced the inherent shlockiness of their genres, and were less earnest than their predecessors (like Raiders of the Lost Ark.) Critics may balk at the Duffer brothers treating all ’80s culture equally, but it refreshes the show in a necessary way, and provides a lot of additional levity, especially as all of its Upside Down elements become grislier. (Two words: exploding rats.)

3. Hopper and the Trouble With Teens These Days

Hopper was a prime target for criticism that the season went overboard in its tonal shift, and it is odd to see him behave so obnoxiously over Mike hanging out in El’s bedroom, if you’ve watched the second season finale recently, and remembered how good he actually was at handling and listening to kids. But as Joyce says, they’re not kids anymore, they’re teenagers, and there is this unspoken subtext that Hopper is worried Mike might coerce his daughter into doing something she doesn’t quite understand (after all, she could barely speak when he found her a mere 18 months ago.)

When Hopper yells, it's actually because he's afraid

Furthermore, teenagers are scary, and I have never related to Hopper more than when he tries to have a honest conversation with the two loverbirds, and decides to just say Mike’s mom called after they make fun of him. I love that the only place Hopper feels comfortable telling off Mike for disobeying him is in his car, it’s such a funny contrast to his conversation with El in the previous episode, and it definitely reinforces that he’s better at one-on-one conversations than speaking in front of a crowd. Also, Hopper is seen drinking, so he’s definitely struggling to stay lucid on top of the heat.

4. Growing Older Sucks

A major theme of the season is that the kids are growing apart as they grow older, and it’s already all over this episode: Lucas, Max and Will are annoyed by Mike and El constantly spending time away from them, and Will expresses disdain that Nancy is involved with his brother. Dustin becomes worried that his friends have forgotten about his return until they surprise him, and during the hike to set up the ham radio tower to speak to Suzie, Will complains that they should have just stayed in and played Dungeons & Dragons.

Continued below

Nancy and Jonathan have graduated high school, and are now working at local newspaper The Hawkins Post, which is run by a sexist, all-male editorial board. Meanwhile, as was foreshadowed in season two, Steve didn’t get into college, and is working at the mall’s ice cream parlor Scoops Ahoy, where his childish sailor outfit neutralizes any impact he has on the ladies. (Not that pick-up lines like “Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me?” would be any less corny.)

As Steve’s sarcastic new colleague Robin (Maya Hawke) would say, it all sucks.

5. The Last Temptation of Mrs. Wheeler

Billy has become a lifeguard and teacher at Hawkins’s swimming pool, where he’s the eye candy for the town’s older women, including Karen Wheeler. I know Billy loves being ogled at, but Mrs. Wheeler should know better than to thirst over an abusive 18-year old, and entertain his proposal for an affair, even if her husband is a lazy, old neglectful jerk. Fortunately, when she sees Holly sleeping on Ted’s lap before heading out, she remembers what she risks destroying, and that she can’t deprive her youngest child of the stable upbringing Mike and Nancy had. You have to give her credit for that: Billy, meanwhile, pays the price on route when the Mind Flayer attacks his car, causing him to stop outside the abandoned mill, and to be dragged into its basement.

The Mind Flayer must disapprove of Billy's attempted homewrecking

Other Things:

– Hopper’s insistence that El’s door be open by three inches is actually a throwback to when she would ask Mike not to close the door on her, because of her memories of solitary confinement; that she’s fine closing the door is a reminder of how much she’s grown.

– The Ultra Magnus toy in Dustin’s house is an anachronism, as the character was not introduced until Transformers: The Movie was released in the summer of 1986.

– Hopper definitely shaved his beard to look more like Tom Selleck on Magnum, P.I.

– Seeing Joyce watch Cheers is a little distracting, thanks to Ted Danson’s resemblance to Matthew Modine.

See you all next week for “Chapter Two: The Mall Rats.”


//TAGS | 2021 Summer TV Binge | Stranger Things

Christopher Chiu-Tabet

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can't speak Cantonese or Arabic.

EMAIL | ARTICLES


  • STRANGER THINGS. Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022 Television
    Five Thoughts on Stranger Things 4‘s “The Piggyback”

    By | Jul 23, 2022 | Television

    Welcome back to our weekly look at Stranger Things season four, today we’re looking at the finale:“Chapter Nine: The Piggyback”Written and directed by the Duffer Bros.The party in Hawkins enacts their plan, while El “piggybacks” from her location to confront Vecna in Max’s nightmare. Hopper, Joyce and Bauman return to the gulag after realizing the […]

    MORE »

    -->