Can I just say “squee?” It’s a term used to express excitement and great delight. Kind of like “squeal” but shortened to reflect today’s text-messaging sensibilities. So, what’s got me all jazzed up? The Stranger Things season three trailer. Netflix released it earlier this week and upon watching it, I went straight into fanboy mode. All my wild-eyed wonderment will generate some pushback from Stuart Sweet, my critical colleague with an eye for anachronisms. Frankly, I’m too excited to care. I’m all about Stranger Things, but not enough to make me fully trust Netflix.
If you haven’t already seen it, let’s take a look at the Stranger Things season three trailer:
What to Expect from Stranger Things Season Three?
Wow! That was almost too amazing for words… almost. Truth is, I have plenty of words to describe this awesome trailer. I’m not going to make plot predictions though. I already tried that with the season two trailer. With Stuart just waiting to catch me slipping, I’m a little shy about sticking my neck out. Let’s take a quick look at what I think are some of the highlights from the trailer instead:
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The action takes place on and around July 4, 1985, just six months after events in season two.
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More great music: Motley Crue’s Home Sweet Home and The Who’s Baba O’Reilly.
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Carey Elwes plays the mayor of Hawkins, IN.
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The character of Robin is played by Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman.
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Jake Busey, son of Gary Busey, has a role.
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Lucas’s sister seems to have joined the group.
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There’s a terrifying new monster, which hopefully references something from Dungeons & Dragons.
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There’s also a scary-looking guy with a suppressed handgun. (Likely another government thug.)
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The kids build some kind of gigantic antenna, which is likely to draw criticisms from Stuart.
It seems that season three will show that as the kids from Hawkins are growing up, the problems that plague are evolving. There’s a new monster, and it looks like it might have been created in another government facility. Are the government baddies fiddling around in the Upside Down again? If that weren’t bad enough, the feds have sent a hitman to clean up its mess. Okay, I guess I made some predictions after all. Go ahead and rip me up for it, Stuart!
A Much Needed Disclaimer
If I don’t say this, Stuart will call me out as a hypocrite. All my excitement about the latest trailer seems to go against what I said in December about the Stranger Things season three titles trailer. When I wrote that post, I was very critical of what the title trailer implied. I had two specific issues with it:
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Season three returns to the eight-episode format unlike the nine episodes of season two.
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Some of the episode titles – The Mall Rats, The Source, and The Birthday – were rather simplistic.
There was something else I discussed in that post. It was my suspicion that Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) might die in season three. I found a Hollyscoop video that reports on a short video Brown put shared. She broke down in tears after season three filming wrapped. Is it because she’ll never see her Stranger Things castmates again? I counted only two nosebleeds in the latest trailer, but I don’t know if this means anything or not. At the very least, it’s something for fans to consider.
Netflix is Still on Thin Ice with Me
I haven’t forgotten what I said in that December post. Back then, I was debating whether to keep Netflix or let it go. (We recently downgraded our subscription level after Netflix announced a price hike.) Mrs. Buckler and I are watching less and less of the big red streaming service. We honestly tried to watch some of the latest programming, particularly The Umbrella Academy. What a slow-moving, ambiguous piece of garbage that was! Seriously, if you can’t get me interested after three episodes, you’ve lost me. Since then, we’ve turned our attentions to various HBO original series.
So yeah, Netflix is still on my personal chopping block. It’s all riding on the success or failure of Stranger Things season three. Show creators the Duffer brothers really have to come out swinging with this one, especially after season two. It just didn’t have emotional resonance as the almighty first season. With all of that said, I’m still looking forward to the upcoming third season. I’m still a Stranger Things fanboy, after all, so I had to squee a little.
