Stranger Things 3 Is a Teenage Wasteland
The Stranger Things 3 trailer dropped, and the first thing we noticed is that the ragtag Hawkins kids are now officially teenagers—and this next season’s monster might turn out to be . . . growing up.
Just kidding! It looks like there are scary monsters galore in the next installment of the beloved Netflix ’80s supernatural hit, which takes place in the summer instead of Halloween. So things are a little more Wet Hot (or Dazed and Confused) than E.T., especially because the kids have indeed grown up, and they’re hanging out at the pool, the amusement park, and—of course—the mall food court. (There’s also the booming consumerism that setting implies.) The background-song choice of The Who’s infamous “Baba O’Riley” sets up the drama for all the teenage angst we could ever want from the show’s next season.
The Stranger Things 3 trailer opens with a pretty adorable (and Poltergeist-inspired) scene in which the gang surprises Dustin after his return from camp, then things quickly get a little darker (though not in fashion, at least, since Day-Glo still thankfully abounds). Will their friendships survive getting older? What about Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and new girl Max—will they still want to hang out with their D&D pals now that they’re not playing card games in Mike’s basement? Steve Harrington (still cute) is working in fast food, Jim Hopper seems to be running for mayor, last year’s villain Billy is a lifeguard, and Joyce Byers (the inimitable Winona) seems to be the only one still traumatized by the monsters of seasons one and two. That is, until a new monster arrives, gross and toothy, and everyone remembers that Hawkins is both classic small-town America and a raging portal to hell. Is there a better way to celebrate the Fourth of July, when Stranger Things 3 comes out?
