Stranger Things Season 2 Final Trailer Breakdown

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Hi everyone, and welcome to PlanetCalvin.com. I just want to say that first of all I will still be making videos, this is just a way for me to release more content more quickly, as far as my theories, those will probably always be in video form on my YouTube channel. After I watch season 2 I will probably make a few quick blog posts here about it, thoughts on season 2 kind of thing, before starting any theory videos I may develop, anyway, onto the trailer breakdown.

This trailer is so good, I seem to respect the Duffer brothers more every step of the way. The first big thing that stands out to me is the Shadow Monster

The Shadow Monster

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I’ve theorized many times that the large beast we see on the horizon is the Thessalhydra, which it may actually be, but this trailer makes it seem as though this entire creature is just billions, if not trillions, of tiny mist particles grouping together to form what looks like one solid creature. This is a lot like the metal Kryptonian beads in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, and if you’ve never seen those movies then Big Bender is another example of this, haha, tiny objects coming together to form one large object.

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We can’t rule out the possibility that the tangible Thessalhydra is projecting it’s physical form in the form of this black death mist from somewhere in the upside down, which could be an act of desperation because the Hydra is just too big to fit through the gate this season, but maybe the gate will be large enough by season 3? But if this shadow monster is the extent of the creature we will see in Season 2, then that easily explains how it is going to get into our dimension, those particles are going to break apart into a long snake like strand and squeeze through the original gate inside Hawkins Lab.

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And I think there is a good chance that this is what Hopper is running from as he is carrying will down that hallway. But unless we can see an actual tangible Hydra beast in season 2, we have to consider the possibility that this shadow monster is it and there is nothing else waiting to be revealed. But if this being is not a representation of a tangible creature of the same likeness, then I think it’s entirely possible that it is just a manifestation, a mental projection of a normal human mind, perhaps being broadcast unknowingly from Eleven’s own mind or possibly even from the mind of Eleven’s Mother(Terry Ives). As cool as this might be, part of me is convinced there is a tangible Thessalhydra in addition to this cloud-like one, the shot where Will sees it outside of the Aracade looks so solid, smooth rigid edges. I really think the shadow monster is just a representation of a physical creature much like the Mummy’s face in the sandstorms in The Mummy movies.

Eleven Finds Her Way Home

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I can not describe how excited I am to see Eleven standing in the doorway of Terry Ives home. This is really kind of a spoiler, but it’s so brief it’s little more than a tease at least in my opinion, we cant rule out the possibility that this is going to be the very last scene of season 2, but please don’t you dare have a cliffhanger as she stands in the doorway. I need to see Eleven reunited with her mother, that was the only problem I had with season one and if they give me that in season two I will no longer have a problem with it. Every character in season one got some form of closure except for Eleven and Terry. I need to see Terry’s face when she sees her daughter walk into the room, I need to see her eyes well up with tears, I need to see this hopeless broken mother filled with joy and warmth, and seeing as how Jane has been gone for 12 years, Terry’s reunion with Jane would be 100x more powerful than Joyce’s reunion with Will in Season 1.  I can almost guarantee that after she hugs Jane, Terry will actually speak a few moments later, bringing her entire struggle to an end. All she ever wanted was her daughter and everyone told her she was dead, which is the exact same struggle Joyce went through with Will.

I never realized it before I started watching the Walking Dead a few years ago, but I really enjoy seeing characters reunited, and don’t worry I’m not gonna spoil any of that show for you if you haven’t seen it, just know in many instances we get to see characters reunited. There’s just something so powerful about characters finding out that one of their lost loved ones is still alive. If done correctly a character reunion scene can be one of the richest and most emotionally impactful scenes in all of storytelling. And if we can see Eleven reunited with her mother it will be an incredibly special moment. After season one, I was actually so determined to see Eleven reunited with her mother that I created a fan-fiction video that did exactly that. (Terry’s Flower). That video will show you the kind of emotional reunion scene I would like to see. When I watched season one I never expected to get so emotionally invested in Eleven, she’s just so innocent and all she ever receives is pain, with the exception of some of the levity she experiences with Mike and his friends, she gets nothing, and outside of Mike it’s hard to say that anyone in season one treats Eleven like anything more than a science experiment, although Joyce was nice to her in the short time they spent together.

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There is a shot in the trailer of Joyce’s car is driving down a dirt road, much like the road Joyce and Hopper drove down when going to meet Terry Ives in Season one. I see one of two possibilities here, a little while after the events of season two, Joyce and Hopper bring Eleven to meet her mother, where she will stay from now on, but part of me thinks that Eleven might have stolen Joyce’s car and awkwardly drove to Terry’s house following a telepathic urge, honing in on her mother. The second option is probably cooler, but the first option is more likely and it would be a nice gesture for Hopper and Joyce to do, especially after they failed to tell Eleven about her mother after they met her in season one. If this is the case, there is almost no chance that Mike is not in the backseat beside Eleven.

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I just hope that Terry doesn’t die in season 2 and this is Eleven going to live with her Aunt Becky, which could explain the sort of angry look on Eleven’s face and the forced entry, which is also why I think Eleven stole Joyce’s car and came on her own, Joyce would have walked up with Eleven and knocked on the door. But it would make for a more powerful scene if everyone agreed to stay in that car and for Eleven to go up by herself, but why not knock first? Maybe she did knock, but Becky isn’t home at the moment and Terry never answers the door so this was Eleven taking the initiative before walking into the living room. But there is no way Becky left for work and locked the deadbolt behind her so Becky must be home, if we’re all agreeing that Terry never leaves that chair on her own, unless Becky left the house from a different door, ugh…..it’s crazy how many ways there are to interpret this shot, it’s still fun to speculate about though.

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In this door opening shot, Eleven is wearing the same clothing (minus the bag) that she is wearing as she tests her telepathic powers so it’s possible Eleven will meet her mother sometime before the climax of season two, which is very interesting.

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Terry Gets Electrocuted

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There is no telling if this is a flashback or a real time season two moment, and I can’t decide which I would enjoy more. I definitely want to know more about Terry’s backstory, I need more flashbacks of that, but I would also love to see a horribly scarred Dr. Brenner walk into Terry’s house and kidnap Terry, take her back to Hawkins labs where they shock her, possibly in an attempt to disrupt her broadcast of the shadow monster that is the Thessalhydra. The Duffer brothers could have easily left Terry out of Season two, if she was not an integral part of the plot in season two, why not avoid her character altogether until the series finale? I still believe she has a bigger role to play than we were led to believe. But the trippy video effect put on this Terry clip leads me to believe that this is a very vivid flashback to Terry’s painful experiments. There is no way Eleven could know about these, unless these are dreams that Eleven will have causing her to seek out her mother in the first place, or Eleven could see these Terry visions after she meets her mother and telepathically reads her mind. again there’s a lot of possibilities.

Eleven and the Eggo Box Confirmed

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There’s still no telling if Hopper knows exactly where Eleven is, but I think he does. In my Volume 2 Predictions video I said that I believed the CIA could have captured a passed out Eleven and then picked up Hopper to be her handler, maybe he occasionally brings food to that box as a kind of safehouse restocking and Eleven has been hiding in a cabin this whole time. Just imagine a scene where Hopper pulls a sleeping Eleven out of the black car’s trunk and carries her into the cabin. I’d like to think that Hopper would see Eleven as a burden, only dropping by to give her food and be on his way, eventually growing to care for her like he did with his own daughter.

We finally get to see Eleven taking food out of that box, which may not seem all that noteworthy, it’s just nice to see that loose end from season one tied up. We’re still not certain if the men in the black car are CIA or directly associated with Hawkins Lab. To me it all comes down to, would the Duffer Brother prefer the tension of Dr. Brenner still trying to find Eleven or the tension of Brenner knowing her location and occasionally dropping by to pay her a visit? I bet he has a horrible scar on his face now, a lot of tiny teeth marks, lol. Because Hopper met Brenner, it’s possible that he is kind of working for Brenner now too. There would be this whole awkward custody battle feeling, like Bad-Papa and Step-Papa looking after Eleven, which would allow Eleven to see Hopper in a positive light by comparison, maybe even illuminating a greater truth between them that only Brenner is aware of. But who knows how much time will be devoted to this topic in Season 2, I did just read that Episode 7 is supposedly all about Eleven, so hopefully it’s full of flashbacks to her time in the cabin over the last year and possibly flashbacks of her younger years. I think it’s clear that this episode was added after the fact, stretching what would have been another 8 episode season into 9 episodes. Considering how much fluff other shows have I wouldn’t mind Stranger Things sticking to 10 episodes per season from now on, even if it means we get a couple episodes per season that are just extended flashback sequences. I would love to see a young Brenner/Terry Ives flashback episode, man this almost feels like the Star Wars spinoff movies, lol. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t devour more Stranger Things content like that.

Eleven is going to Levitate in Season Two (Hopefully)

I previously stated the I think Eleven is going to take her powers to the next level in season two, which is pretty obvious really, the creators need to always be 1-uping their previous season in order to ensure each season seems slightly better than the last, you see this kind of thing in sequels too. There is a very intense few shots at the end of that trailer that show Eleven attempting to use her powers on something off screen, but they eventually show that she is attempting to move an old train car or semi trailer, seemingly in some old abandoned lot. This is obviously a huge step up for her, but surely this would be too big for her to move, but wait, Yoda said size matters not, haha, so yes, we will likely see Eleven fail to move the car, before deciding to try again and actually shifting or pushing it forward. I would assume this is actually taking place rather early in season two, but at least a few episodes before the final showdown. But beyond growing her basic telekinetic abilities I think the most obvious next power level Eleven could reach is levitation, and honestly I don’t see how Eleven could have a compelling fight with such a large Shadow Monster without lifting up off the ground.

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But we have to ask, is Eleven’s telekinesis enough to destroy this death mist, or are they going to reveal a new more epic power, perhaps electric hands and shooting lighting? Eh, even if you want to think of Eleven as a battery, this would be a little too similar to the Emperor from Star Wars and Eleven’s telekinesis is already basically The Force. Eleven even floated a Millennium Falcon toy in season one, the Star Wars influences are obvious, but I think something like this would be just a little too similar, although I can’t deny it would be cool if done correctly and I probably wouldn’t even complain if they revealed it in just the right way. If the Shadow Monster (Thessalhydra) is a mental projection of Terry’s mind, I think it’s very likely that Eleven will be able to part the mist without even using her powers, the particles will just naturally avoid her, but Eleven wouldn’t actually know this until she worked up the courage to face her fears, it’s this kind of thing that may even clue Eleven into her mother’s location and lead her to the source of this mental broadcast, her mother’s home.

The Shadow Monster Approaches Will Outside The School

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I’ve previously theorized that Will is going to end up outside the school stuck in a trance of the upside down, well now we have confirmation of what happens to him before the black mist begins to swirl around him. The Shadow Monster approaches him before dispersing and engulfing him.

Will Needs To Be Revived?

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Much like the season one finale, Will seems to require resuscitation, this time with a defibrillator. Wonder what caused this to happen. If the hydra didn’t actually want Will, why is he about to die? Is it possible some of the death mist got on him? You’d think that would give him a kind of frost bite look before it would outright stop his heart. This resuscitation is occurring at Hawkins Lab, but who knows if it is before or after Hopper is running with Will. If Will had just been revived it’s likely he still wouldn’t be well enough to run out of the building, so Hopper would have to carry him and if the shit is really hitting the fan, I don’t see them running dead will out of the basement just to revive him upstairs, once they start running they should clear the building. The medical gown Will is wearing also implies he has already been revived and been given a gown after his old was ripped open.

These Aren’t Nightmares, It’s Happening.

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Great to see Hopper immediately buying into the unlikely possibility, after everything he’s seen, it’s better to be safe the sorry, things can only get stranger, haha.

Will Rearranging Photographs, Making an Underground Map of Hawkins

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It seems like Hawkins Lab may actually become a safe haven in season 2, maybe people are shown inside of it who seem like they shouldn’t be allowed inside. This is clearly a Hawkins Lab conference table, I think someone has taken photos of all of Will’s drawings in the Byers living room and he has laid them out to create a kind of town map of Hawkins. I think something like this would work best if no one knew why will made the drawings and he was stuck in a trance like state, so the lab guys came to photograph the Byers house. Then unbenonced to any one Will dumps out all the photos and essentially recreates his drawing again, but in smaller scale, and this is the moment that Hopper realizes he was trying to make a map of Hawkins. I tried zooming in on the photos by the Netflix logo, but I really can’t tell what is in those polaroids, probably more photos of the Byers House.

The Treasure Hunt Is On!

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We’ve seen Hopper using a shovel at either Dusk or Dawn, so clearly Joyce and Mr. Froto’s loyal companion are digging at a different time and likely a different place, they wouldn’t bother digging a hole Hopper had already dug. This is clearly the people of Hawkins attempting to gain access to the underground burrow-like tunnels which Will has seemingly mapped out for them in his drawings. But I don’t think Joyce would put herself in this position (especially at this time of night) unless the entranced Will had snuck out of the safe haven of the Hawkin’s labs facility to reach the end of this treasure map, possibly with the kidnapped Pollywog in tow.

It’s like it’s Reaching Into Hawkins

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Well this explains the burrowing like tunnels, and we now have many different instances where characters are digging with shovels, big need to widen the holes to get inside?

Hopper Finds Some Fleshy Vines/Tendrils while Exploring the Burrow

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Hopper has clearly found something on the wall of this underground burrow. They look like more tenrils, but these are almost fleshy, which matches what I found in season one, attempts to blur the lines between plant and animal. I’m really thinking the Shadow Monster is not the main threat of season 2, there’s something tangible going on here. Something brought about those baby slugs and it likely wasn’t a ghost-like shadow monster.

Kids Keep Getting Spooked while Exploring the Burrow

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There are many shots of the kids reacting to things in while exploring the burrow, in many of these reactions they really seem to be reacting to a sound, something simple and startling, but nothing terribly closeby that would cause them to run immediately. Although the point does come when they run from something.

Hopper Getting a Spray Down

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Well this almost seems like a punishment given how Hopper is reacting, but it’s clearly for Hopper’s well being, he must have had a breach in his suit when he first reenters the portal room to find out that the gate has grown (only to return with the flame thrower later in season two and try to close it)

Samples of the Shadow’s Mist are Waking Up? Proximity Alert?!

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Unless these Hawkins Lab chumps are manipulating the shadow mist samples in some way, it seems to be reacting to something on its own. Judging by the general look of surprise on their faces and the fact that these beakers seem like they don’t have lids, I doubt the mist was swirling like it is in this shot a few moments earlier. They sat down to look at it under a microscope, everything must have been calm, unless they just electrocuted the sample and it woke up, also causing the surrounding samples to try and fight back (which would be very Ghostbusters 2ish). I’d like to think the mist they collected was just sitting neatly in liquid form or small dust-like piles when all of the sudden it began to swirl signally that the Shadow Monster is passing close by and the mist is just naturally trying to return to the mist collective, very much like Clayface’s clay in Batman.

“It’s Not Like It Was Before, It’s Grown.”

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This has to be Hopper talking about the gate inside of Hawkins Lab, we only ever see the center of the gate, I would assume the tentacles around the gate have grown longer and now cover more of the wall inside that room. But this trailer line also occurs right before something big jumps onto the junkyard bus the kids always hide out in, there’s a possibility the Demogorgon has returned in an even bigger form, if that’s true it can’t be downright huge or the bus roof would collapse, let’s just say the first instance of the Demogorgon was 7ft tall, would this version be 10ft -12ft tall? Longer arms too, bigger mouth, season two gotta make everything bigger and better. If you missed the official episode title teaser video for Season Two, I just posted an analysis of it and there is clear evidence that the Demogorgon will make an appearance in the final two episodes of Season 2 (see below).

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All the gunfire we see in the trailer is likely quite useless against the Hydra’s death mist form, so they must be shooting at something tangible, what do you think it could be? It’s gotta be a Demogorgon, either the same one or possibly a new one of the same breed, or maybe we can finally see more random creatures from the upside down escaping into the right side up.

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Just look at the side of the bus in this shot while Dustin calls for help, while Lucas tries to brace the wall, something big wants inside that bus. Something big wants in that bus, and it’s most likely not the Shadow Monster, which could easily sandman its way into that bus and devour them alive, no, this must be something tangible that is forced to smash a door big enough for it to fit through.

The Conspiracy Theorist

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Netflix recently released a video seemingly cobbled together by some crackpot theorist trying to piece together clues from Hawkins and other events in 1984, this conspiracy theorist appears to actually be a character on the show, whom Nancy and Jonathan are going to pay a visit, I have a feeling this guy is gonna be really interesting! Here’s hoping the character’s name is Calvin! Hahaha!

Nancy and Jonathan are Clearly Sharing a Motel Room, mhmm….

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Maybe they had to drive far to meet the Conspiracy Theorist, likely into Indianapolis and it’s too late to drive back.

Closing Thoughts: Will the Upside Down Merge with the Right Side Up?

Because we know that this shadow world (the upside down) is right beside us all the time and we can’t even see it, I think the upside down glimpses that Will is seeing are the veil between the two worlds being lifted, wouldn’t it be cool if at a certain point in season two, everyone in Hawkins finds themselves standing in the upside down? It’s not that they were teleported, it’s that the two dimensions are now one and the same, and unless something is done the upside down will continue to expand until the entire right side up planet is the upside down planet. The hydra is a telepathic being, maybe it needs the minds of everyone in Hawkins to break through the veil, just like Will has, which could aid the spread of the dimensional expansion, hopefully that makes sense, kinda spit balling a little bit there. The biggest roadblock to something like this is that the people of Hawkins kind of have to stay in the dark about what is happening. The Duffer Brothers have even said that the show really won’t be able to go for more than 4 or 5 seasons because it will reach a point in which it’s no longer believable, and the example they gave is “eventually people are just going to move away from Hawkins”  I’m paraphrasing, but that’s it. If the average old couple in Hawkins can’t sit in their living room and eat tv dinners without finding themselves sitting in the upside down with slugs crawling all over them, then the show won’t work. The average person has to stay in the dark, which tells me that most of the action is going to have to occur inside Hawkins Lab, in the woods, or in the upside down.

One of my favorite things about sequels, in this case a second season, is that everything is already established, so I think we can expect a much faster paced season. Yes we have new characters to introduce so that could slow down the story a little bit, but in general I just like how sequels are able to jump right in and I hope I can feel that faster pace when season two comes out.

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I also thought it was really funny how they included a shot of Nancy in a wet shirt while looking scared, seems like a reference to every 1980s horror movie ever, fits perfectly with the Stranger Things vibe. #ScreamQueens

So what do you think of the Final Trailer for Stranger Things Season 2? What do you make of the Shadow Monster? Do you think that’s all it is or could it just be a representation of the real thing?

Calvin
I'm interested in anything out of the ordinary. Usually anything science-fiction-related and the darker the better, but I also really like positive character growth and emotional arcs in storytelling. I'm also fascinated by the unknown, I like trying to piece the whole picture together, which is why I enjoy making Theories. I will post more on PlanetCalvin.com than on YouTube, because it's faster, so keep coming back for more!