It’s “the summer of love” in Hawkins, Indiana.
The highly-anticipated third season of Stranger Things finds Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) finally enjoying their fully-realized feelings for each other in the summer of 1985 after sharing a sweet slow dance and long-awaited kiss at the Snow Ball at the end of season 2.
Brown and Wolfhard addressed playing this new dynamic during an interview on Good Morning America on Wednesday.
“Was it fun with this on-screen romance or was it a little awkward?” GMA anchor Michael Strahan asked in a sit-down with the show’s six youngest cast member.
“No, there’s nothing awkward about it,” Brown and Wolfhard both chimed in.
The pair spoke to the importance of the solid real-life friendship they’ve established since they started shooting Stranger Things in 2016. Being so close made it easy “to get in and out of it,” Wolfhard said. “The [Duffer Brothers] made a really comfortable set.”
“And we’ve been doing it for three years,” Brown echoed. “We’re comfortable. And afterward we’re kinda just like, ‘alright chill, let’s go back to school.’”
For Eleven, this stage in her evolution from escaped lab subject to a somewhat-acclimated member of society marks a major turning point her development. Through deepened relationships, she establishes some semblance of normalcy in her life – at least, as “normal” as one can be while possessing supernatural and psychokinetic powers. One of those relationships is her female confidant Max (Sadie Sink), who acts as a solid support for Eleven and showcase of girl power among the initially all-male friend group.
“The first two seasons they primarily focus on the friendship within the boys,” Sink said on GMA. “So, I think it’s so important that we have a strong female friendship on the show and especially [between] two strong characters like Eleven and Max.”
In contrast to these heartwarming displays of camaraderie, Stranger Things 3 also promises to be its bloodiest.
“It’s definitely gorier, which is pretty cool,” Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, revealed. “If you don’t like gorier stuff, I mean watch it anyway…It’s not for the faint of heart.”
Fans be warned. This time around, the hit Netflix series may display its brightest show of ’80s nostalgia yet, but don’t let the crew socks and “booty short” combo fool you, the monster-fighting teenage posse still means serious business.
Watch the full GMA interview above. Stranger Things 3 is set to hit Netflix on July 4.
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