What Does The Ending Of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Mean For Season 3?

It was one of the few blockbusters from 1984 not referenced in season two of Stranger Things, but it’s a near-certainty that Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max saw Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in its opening weekend. The sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark was a massive hit, and darker than the original. Not unlike the sophomore season of Netflix’s break-out hit. Where Temple of Doom had child slavery, Stranger Things has Will being infected by the shadow monster, Eleven teaming up with a band of murderous “MTV punks,” and Joyce’s warmhearted boyfriend getting killed by a “Demodog,” among other, let’s say, “setbacks” to befall the residents of Hawkins, Indiana.

But everything returned to normal in the finale. Or did it? [evil laugh]

After closing the gate, defeating the shadow monster (Mind Flayer), and shutting down Hawkins Lab, Lucas and Max and Mike and Eleven (!) finally kissed at the Snow Ball; Dustin and Will danced with Nancy and a girl who’s a little too into the “Zombie Boy” thing, respectively; and even Hopper and Joyce found comfort in each other. Of course, the warm and fuzzy feelings were short-lived, because unbeknownst to them (and to paraphrase Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”), something evil’s lurking from the Upside Down.

Eleven’s breach-sealing underground efforts apparently didn’t do the trick, because season two’s Big Bad (not Billy) is roaming the Upside Down, and it’s sights are square on the school. How is that possible? We’ll have to wait until next season to find out for sure, but remember that Dustin and Steve stored the dead “Demodog” in Joyce’s fridge, and the beasts thrive in the cold.

Netflix hasn’t announced a premiere date for season three yet, but the episodes will take place at least a year after the finale. “Even if we wanted to hop into the action faster, we couldn’t. Our kids are aging. We can only write and produce the show so fast,” co-creator Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter. “They’re going to be almost a year older by the time we start shooting season three… You can’t start right after season two ended. It forces you to do a time jump. But what I like is that it makes you evolve the show. It forces the show to evolve and change, because the kids are changing.”

The Duffer Brothers considered ending season two on a “totally happy note,” but they ultimately decided it against. “The hope we wanted people to get out of it is that this thing [is still out there],” Ross Duffer said. “They’ve shut the door on the Mind Flayer, but not only is it still there in the Upside Down, it’s very much aware of the kids, and particularly Eleven. It had not encountered her and her powers until that final episode. Now, it knows that she’s out there. We wanted to end on a little bit of an ominous note on that level.”

That’s a problem for future Eleven, though. For now, let her enjoy a waffle (possibly with some Dustin-approved nougat) in peace.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

×