A Few Things Before Binge-Watching Stranger Things This Weekend

Before you watch Stranger Things this weekend, let’s take a look at what we know, what we think we know, and some outlandish theories.

A year is a long time to wait for the next season of your favorite streaming series. That’s how it’s been for me as I clamored for Stranger Things’ second season. If you read this column on a semi-regular basis, you might already know that I’m a huge fanboy for this Netflix original series. I’ve practically been giddy this week as we countdown to the Stranger Things season two premier. I’m going to binge watch it this weekend, of course, and I believe many of you will, too. As we plow headlong into the best series on Netflix, I’ve shared some things we should look for as the series unravels before our eyes.

Here are the things we know about season two of Stranger Things:

  1. Season two takes place during the fall of 1984, roughly one year after the events from the first season.<br /><br />
  2. This season features nine episodes instead of eight. That extra episode is a huge gift from the Duffer brothers to us Stranger Things fanatics.<br /><br />
  3. The episodes are titled: “MadMax,” “The Boy Who Came Back to Life,” “The Pumpkin Patch,” “The Palace,” “The Storm,” “The Pollywog,” “The Secret Cabin,” “The Brain,” and “The Lost Brother.”<br /><br />
  4. Eleven is still alive, she still loves Eggos, and she’ll make an appearance in Hawkins, Indiana.<br /><br />
  5. The monster in season two is much bigger than the creature from season one. The beast towers over the town of Hawkins itself!<br /><br />
  6. Season two will be filled with plenty of accurate 1984s references, including The Dragon’s Lair laserdisc video game, Ghostbusters, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Reagan/Bush ’84 campaign signs.<br /><br />
  7. Barb might be dead but her memory will live on in season two. In fact, the Duffer brothers have said that there will be “justice for Barb” in season two. I’m interested to see how this will play out.

Here are some things that I suspect might come to pass during the second season of Stranger Things:

1. In season one, the Duffer brothers feature scene-by-scene recreations from the popular 1980s movies by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and George Lucas. Judging by the season two ComicCon trailer, I caught what I believe are at least two references of that:

  • A scene of a teenager at an outdoor party spitting out beer is very reminiscent of a similar scene from The Lost Boys.<br />
  • Scene of someone in a flame-retardant suit using a flame throwing to blast a tentacled creature is very reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing.

2. It appears that the Upside Down is threatening to engulf the entire town. Much of the action might be centered upon trying to keep this from happening… and preventing the gigantic monster from killing everyone. (I’m sure that the two concept are connected.)

3. The Thessalhydra from the boys’ last Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game (season one) is the monster in season two. Remember that the first season began with an AD&D game that framed the narrative for the events in the series. Season one also ended with an AD&D game in which the boys faced the “Thessalhydra,” a many-headed dragon. This Thessalhydra could be a foreshadowing to the huge monster in the trailer, which look similar to a beast with many heads.

4. Nancy Wheeler might dump Steve Harrington to date Jonathan Byers. I can see this happening, too. The two became awfully close in the first season, and that distant stare she got after giving Jonathan the camera could hint at Nancy’s deepening feelings for Jonathan. The popular girl looking past high school status to date the nerdy-but-caring guy is a common 1980s teen movie trope. Season two is set in 1984 and the Duffers have faithfully recreated the ’80s teen film vibe throughout this show. If this eventual romantic connection is made in season two, I won’t be surprised.

With Stranger Things being so enigmatic and mysterious, it gives rise to many fan theories. Many of these are based upon the latest and last season two trailer.

Here are two things that one Stranger Things fan believes might be revealed in season two:

  1. Eleven is Hopper’s daughter. Admittedly, this isn’t a theory of mine. It comes from a popular YouTuber who allegedly has plenty of in-show evidence to back up his claim. If you want to check it out, his YouTube handle is Planet Calvin and he has plenty of fan theory videos on his channel. As a Stranger Things fan myself, I prefer to view Calvin’s videos after I binge watch the second season. Because of that, I don’t have a thought either way on this theory except to say that I expect to be surprised.
  2. Will is the season two monster and Eleven will fight him. This is another one of Planet Calvin’s theories and it makes sense. Will was in the Upside Down, he coughed up a monstrous slug in the final episode of season one, and he has visions of the Upside Down and the gigantic Thessalhydra monster. (Yes, I’m calling it that now.) In the season two trailer, Will is seen in a hospital gown at Hawkins lab. Like Planet Calvin’s other theory, I’m reserving judgement on this one… for now.

See You on the Other Side…
By the time you read this, I might already be done with Stranger Things second season. In the meantime, I’m interested in your thoughts and theories about this amazing and refreshingly original Netflix series. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below. It will be interesting to read what you have to say about Stranger Things season two.

About the Author

Jake Buckler
Jake Buckler is a cord-cutter, consumer electronics geek, and Celtic folk music fan. Those qualities, and his writing experience, helped him land a copywriting gig at Signal Group, LLC. He also contributes to The Solid Signal Blog.