Top 11 best moments from Stranger Things season 3

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“For the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches”

Guys, I’m still not over this moment. It’s hard to even discuss, but given how beautiful it was, I must.

At the end of season 2, Mike and Eleven officially became a couple, and when season 3 begins, they can’t seem to get their hands off each other. Papa Hopper isn’t too pleased with all this touchy-feely “behind closed doors” stuff and insists they keep the door to Eleven’s room open at least three inches at all times. We all know how bad Hopper is with emotion, so he’s basically useless when it comes to letting Eleven know how he really feels. So, per Joyce’s advice, he writes an emotional speech for Eleven that he never actually gives. Instead, the speech turns into a heartfelt letter about how much he cares for her, what it’s meant to have her in his life, and all the hardships that come with life.

We only hear it after Hopper has died, when Eleven is reading it, and it is devastating. I’m clinging onto the hope that Hopper will get to deliver that speech in person because I refuse to believe he’s gone. He’s got to be in the Upside Down or in the Russian prison from the post-credits scene, right? RIGHT?

Anyway, here’s Hopper’s speech, courtesy of TVGuide.

"There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you both about. I know this is a difficult conversation, but I care about you both very much. And I know that you care about each other very much, and that’s why it’s important that we set these boundaries moving forward so we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable, trusted, and open to sharing our feelings. Feelings. Jesus. The truth is, for so long I’d forgotten what those even were. I’ve been stuck in one place. In a cave, you might say. A deep, dark cave. And then I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life. For the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy. But lately, I guess I’ve been feeling distant from you. Like you’re pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night, making triple decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching Westerns together before we doze off."

"But I know you’re getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I’m being really honest, that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change. So I think maybe that’s why I came in here, to try and make stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that’s naive. It’s just not how life works. It’s moving, always moving, whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it’s sad. And sometimes, it’s surprising. Happy. So you know what? Keep on growing up kid. Don’t let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from ’em. When life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you’re out of that cave. But, please, if you don’t mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches."

It’s gonna be a long offseason.