DO NOT CROSS HERE IF SPOILERS OFFEND
DO
NOT
CROSS
HERE
IF
SPOILERS
OFFEND
DO NOT CROSS HERE IF SPOILERS OFFEND
AmonWarmann:Thisseason
sees Stranger Things’ core
foursome deal with something
just as terrifying as shadow
monsters or the Upside Down
— the inescapable fact that
they’re growing up. With that
growth comes girlfriends: Mike
has grown closer to Eleven (to
Hopper’s great chagrin), Lucas
and Max are a couple, and even
Dustin has found someone
to sing epic duets with. After
spending the majority of the
last season as the host for the
Mind Flayer it makes sense that
Will would try to hold onto any
semblance of normalcy with his
friends — aka many games of
Dungeons & Dragons — but
eventually even he accepts
change. Indeed, with it being
hinted that he’s on the cusp of
discovering his own sexuality,
Will could be the one to have
experienced the biggest
changes by the time we catch
up with him next.Stranger
Things:
Season 3
JamesDyer:FromTheThingtoTerrorVision
andevenTheBlob, the’80swereawashwith
amorphousmonstrosities,whichhaveallfedinto
Season3’sMindFlayer.Thatit impartsa piece
ofitselfintoeachhumanit possessesis an
enjoyableriffontheBodySnatcherstrope,as
is theideathatmultiplepossessionscansmush
togethertoforma moreformidableblobbeast.
Butwhiletheexecutionis fun,it’shardtosee
a toothymoundofdogfoodfulfillingthepromise
ofthegiant,portentousfigureseenattheendof
Season2.Theglimpseofa fullDemogorgonin
theendcredits(asopposedtoSeason2’slesser
Demodogs)mayhintata returntotheoriginal
pan-dimensionalterrorinSeason4.2 THEMINDFLAYER
1 THEGROUP
ALL GROW UP
IS REVEALED
3 THEPOSSESSIONOFBILLY
James Dyer: A general purpose douchebag in
Season 2, Billy steps it up a notch this time
around, not only taking his bellendery to
the next level but becoming the first of
the Flayed and driving the Mind Flayer’s
evil agenda by recruiting more
(unwilling) bodies for it to
possess.Amon Warmann: The Mind Flayer’s ultimate
goals are still frustratingly simplistic in Season
3, but its near single-minded desire to kill
Eleven gives focus. The first trailer (released in
March) made it look like the big monster had
already been revealed, but in hindsight it turns
out to be a marketing misdirect. It turns out that
this was only a prelude to a much, much bigger
monster — that’s impressively rendered with the
show’s increased budget — and it’s formidable
enough to even wound Eleven. What will the
Shadow Monster unleash on our heroes next?