Binging the third season of Stranger Things left fans with all the feels and lots of unanswered questions. Some people found themselves ruining their Fourth of July weekend with that finale, which kicked everyone in the gut before leaving them just a ray of home a few moments later.
While the Duffer Brothers and Netflix have always ended Stranger Things with an ominous preview of what’s to come, they certainly haven’t left fans dangling with a cliffhanger like this one. Naturally fans made plenty of memes to sum up their reactions to this intolerable cruelty and the jaw-dropping season itself.
We See His Face
Missing Iron Man after Avengers: Endgame after months of clues that it would be Tony’s last appearance in the MCU is one thing, but none of us were prepared for losing Alexei in Stranger Things season three after falling for the scientist just a few episodes prior. It was Barb and Bob all over again,
It was especially painful for Murray, who may have found his first friend in the snarky Russian, and DeviantArt user THECLOUD96 demonstrated these feels with a painful parallel between Spider-Man missing Stark. It’s a meme that gets you in two ways, since it’s kind of funny but also true. Poor Alexei.
Tempted By Pennywise
Pennywise memes are often hilarious, and this one of the clown promising the third season of Stranger Things in the sewer is definitely a funny one. There is ZERO hesitation to get down into that sewer to watch the season, even though certain doom looms near. Viewers know to expect one of our beloved characters to bite the dust, and in this case, we said goodbye to three. Maybe.
This No Guilt Fangirl meme works so well because it not only demonstrates how willing we all are to endure the pain and suffering of the show we love so much, but also the actual parallels between the show and Stephen King’s It, of which there are many.
Justice for Billy
At the beginning of season three, Billy would have been the one character nobody would have mind seeing flayed after the events of the previous season. A racist, violent jerk would be much easier to see bite the dust than any of our beloved characters, yet somehow Billy managed to worm his way into our hearts.
Between flashbacks of his painful past revealed by Eleven, Max’s own complicated feelings toward her stepbrother ranging from fear to loyalty and Billy’s own final moments spent attempting to protect his stepsister and her friends, he got the Justice for Billy following this meme made by LynBattersby calls for.
Only In 2019
Sure, Stranger Things season 3 takes place in the 1980s, but in 2019 people decided to storm Area 51 for answers, using social media to organize the bizarre action. While many were left wondering why so many people weren’t as passionate about storming an issue that would actually matter, others couldn’t help but apply it to Stranger Things.
This Mind Flayer meme is so funny because it’s timely and suggests what the people who wanted answers might have found had they been granted the access they so desired. What if it hadn’t been aliens they discovered, but creatures from the Upside Down, as A_MarieMemes speculates here?
Will The Wise, Playing D&D Forever
Fans ached for Will Byers this season. Even though he wasn’t being controlled by the Mind Flayer or whisked away into the Upside Down this season, he was left out while all of his buddies got girlfriends. In this meme by @matt_jones46, Will’s feelings of being left out are sadly captured.
According to the Duffer Brothers’ original pitch and some clues within the series, Will is likely gay, and Mike even makes a cruel comment about it in the third season. He and Lucas also make it clear that they’d rather be making out with girls rather than playing Dungeons and Dragons, which Will hopes they will continue to play together. Hopefully Will meets an interesting boy in his new town in season four.
Batman And Robin
One of the best things to emerge from season three of Stranger Things was the dynamic duo that was Steve and Robin. Not only did Robin bring some much-needed LGBT representation to the show, but she is a cool, fun new character who is smart and matches Steve in snark. She’s the best friend he never knew he needed, from the time the Russians drugged them both to the time he needed her in order to get a new job.
Fans love to speculate about what season four will have in store for “Batman and Robin,” and this meme helps us celebrate these awesome friends, complete with Steve’s demogorgon-fighting bat, which he may need just yet.
The Stranger Things Boys Steal Things
One of the best memes of the summer features the major boys of Stranger Things and what they’re known to steal. None of these characters have merchandise-swiping identifiers; instead, they are known to steal people, from your girl, which Jonathan did during the second season, to your kids, which is a joke about Steve, the world’s best (or worst) babysitter.
Billy’s now known as Mr. Steal Your Wife, given that he likes to seduce cougars, but the surprise of the season was Alexei, who stole fans hearts before he was offed, a theme that the Duffer Brothers seem to enjoy torturing viewers with each season.
Three Inches
Hopper needs the door open THREE INCHES, as @weeniememe reminds us. It’s another take on a hilarious popular meme, this time on the Drake reaction meme, that really gets the point across. Hop’s not asking for much when Eleven and Mike hang out, so when his three-inch rule isn’t respected, the chief of police sees red.
Of course, Hopper’s not nearly as mellow as he looks in this meme, and his actual reaction to Mike while taking the teenager home was an example of how much an adult can overreact and mishandle a teaching moment. Once again, had he listened to Joyce, he wouldn’t have driven a wedge between himself and his daughter.
The American?
All of us were Hawkeye (Ronan) in this post-credits moment of Stranger Things, as this meme demonstrates. The American? What American? While the Duffer Brothers may very well be serving us a red herring, and many fans believe it could be Dr. Brenner in the Russian cell, Hopper’s body was never seen, which means that hope really isn’t lost. That just makes the wait for season four all the harder to endure.
If we’ve all grieved Hopper for nothing, the Duffers are heart-crushing sadists. If Hopper is alive and we have to wait to find out, they’re heart-crushing sadists. They really can’t win at this point, but neither can we after that finale.
The Magnets. Have Lost. Their Magnetism
Joyce Byers always seems to be fixed on something. During the first season, it was Christmas lights. In the second season of the show, it was her son’s well-being after his ordeal, and in the third, it was the magnets. If only people listened to Joyce, so much heartache could have been avoided.
In this image, @maurauders_ita hilariously uses one of the Internet’s favorite memes regarding explanations and throws in an emphatic Joyce against a disbelieving Hopper. Perhaps Hop would have gotten his date, had a different ending and be living happily ever after with Joyce and their family had he taken her seriously.
