By 
After watching this trailer I’ll give the warning that there are some spoilers for the upcoming season here.
The Upside Down doesn’t seem to be done with Hawkins, Indiana. The paranormal inverse of our world won’t be shut out so easily. The Mind Flayer, as the gang called the enemy of Season 2, seems to have hitched a ride to maintain a presence in our world and it may have found a new host. I’ll admit that I was skeptical about what role Dacre Montgomery’s Billy would play going forward, but his new role as the avatar of the Mind Flayer is the perfect next step in the story. He was a serviceable antagonist in Season 2 but this power-up promotes him to a chief bad guy and it works.
The new season of Stranger Things has brought the question of how much influence the Mind Flayer has since it has been hiding out ever since it was seemingly locked out in the last season. The Mind Flayer/Billy narrate the trailer with the express intention of destroying everyone and everything, but it seems personal. The entity seems intent on destroyed Hawkins and those who opposed it before and then moving on to the rest of the world after. The trailer does make a point of noting that Eleven is our best weapon and best chance at survival and she definitely is by her power on display in this trailer. The girl is holding off agents of the Mind Flayer left and right, but she is still a kid and Hopper wants to protect her from this fight. He can try, but she’s not sitting this out and she’s not the only one in this fight. The trailer definitely reminds viewers of the horror roots of the show and the 80’s movies it draws inspiration from. Creepy imagery and the nostalgia don’t miss a step here either. New Coke and the neon lights are all well represented to embrace the culture of the time.
Everyone still seems to have a part to play in this battle though. The Steve/Dustin bromance is here as well with the two clearly still looking into strange things that cross their path. Joyce has some involvement with the goings on after Season 2 and just wants to protect her kids. Some of the others get a montage showing that this isn’t their first rodeo. The government, not learning from the first two seasons, seems to still be playing with the dimensions.
The first clue for the government to leave that kind of thing alone should’ve been the monster and the evil looking wall portal in Season 1.
Let’s top this all off with a sequence, that because it’s the 80’s, has to take place at the mall. If Dawn of the Dead taught us anything, it is that monsters love the mall. The Upside Down is launching an all-out assault on us and it will be up to our core groups to fend them off and protect the rest of us from more Dungeons and Dragons monsters than we can handle.
Season 3 of Stranger Things will premiere July 4, 2019