As a Valentine to Stranger Things fans who have been anxiously awaiting season 4 of the hit Netflix series, the streaming service dropped "From Russia With Love", a teaser trailer for what could be the final season. While it's less than a minute long, it managed to reveal a lot about what fans can come to expect from the series.
From the barren wastelands of Siberia, to the shrouded shadows of the Upside Down, the locations will matter in the next season. They're the main focus of the trailer, with Russia and an Upside Down version of Hawkins receiving the most attention. There's quite a bit of land between Hawkins and Eurasia however, so fans will no doubt be theorizing how exactly the characters will all be reunited, especially since Season 3 left them so scattered. The major reveal of a beloved character's return may be getting the most attention, but the eagle-eyed Stranger Things fan can discern much more from the trailer.
HOPPER IS ALIVE
When last we met our chief, he had valiantly sacrificed his life in the Season 3 finale. His bravery closed the inter-dimensional portal that the Russians had been trying to open below Starcourt Mall and he was presumed dead, but a scene at a Russian jail made mention of an "American", and fans anxiously assumed it was Hopper.
In the Season 4 trailer, viewers see a long shot of a Russian prison, complete with prisoners working on a chain gang and towers full of rifle-toting Russian guards. As the scene closes in on the prisoners, one removes his winter cap, revealing the Jim Hopper with a surprisingly shaved head and a grim expression.
BILLY WASN'T "THE AMERICAN"
For some time after Season 3, fans wondered what "American" the Russian guards were referring to when they spared an unknown prisoner's life in favor of feeding a Russian criminal to the white demogorgon. The "American" in question could have been Jim Hopper, or it could have been Billy.
Billy sacrificed his life to save his sister and her friends from he Mind Flayer's flesh monster, and Hopper sacrificed his life to save Joyce and the rest of Hawkins when he closed the portal to the Upside Down. Both characters seemed to obviously die, but seeing Hopper in the trailer implies that he was the American in the cell, not Billy.
SIBERIA BECOMES A MAJOR LOCATION
When viewers were first acquainted with Kamchatka, the Russian prison installation in Siberia, it was as both a detainment facility and a feeding ground for the white demogorgon. In the Season 3 finale, one Russian prisoner was given to the demogorgon, while the "American" (presumed to be Jim Hopper) was spared.
The time gap between the portal closing in a blast of energy and several Russian scientists escaping implies they could have taken Hopper with them when they fled. The authorities would arrive and find no body, and Joyce and Co. would assume Hopper died in the explosion. It's possible Hopper traveled through the Upside Down, but then how would he wind up in Kamchatka? And more importantly, how will he escape?
IT TAKES INSPIRATION FROM CLASSIC FILMS
It's been revealed on the Stranger Things Writers Twitter that there are some classic films that the new season will draw inspiration from, and they begin to make sense once viewers see the trailer for it. There are several prison break films such as Papillon, The Great Escape, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Other classics include John Carpenter's '80s sci-fi masterpiece The Thing, about researchers in the arctic that get stalked by an alien organism with the ability to mimic its prey. Given these clues, it's possible that the demogorgon or creatures like it will appear in Russia and wreak havoc on Hopper and the entire Kamchatka installation (if he doesn't escape first).
THE TRAIN MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH A PORTAL
The only reason to build a railroad through the Siberian wilderness would be to transport large freight. This no doubt has something to do with the Russians trying to locate another Upside Down portal and build an installation around what they perceive as a new gate. They failed the first time they attempted it in the beginning of Season 3, and were forced to create Starcourt Mall just to conceal their plans to try another gate.
Upside Down portals are located in strategic locations all across the Earth's surface, and gates are created at places where there's a weak point between the Upside Down and the world of humans. The Russians are no doubt trying to deliver materials to yet another gate, where they hope to open yet another portal.
THE UPSIDE DOWN MAY BE A MAJOR LOCATION
The Mind Flayer has been trying to get into the human plane of existence for some time now, painstakingly building a tangled web of organic material beneath the town of Hawkins to be able to enter it. It has been thwarted thus far, but in season 3 it nearly made it through in a major way by using an inter-dimensional avatar puppet creature to do its dirty work.
Eleven and the gang may end up taking the fight to the Mind Flayer, as the trailer mysteriously reveals "We aren't in Hawkins anymore", and highlights what looks to be an Upside Down version of the town, which we've only seen glimpses of before. Episodes that take place in the Upside Down could offer all sorts of new surprises.
THE RUSSIANS MAY TRY TO CONTROL THE DEMOGORGON
In an homage to movies like Aliens, where the bad guys always try to play gods and control the evil entity despite the fact that it will almost certainly mean their doom, the Russians appear to be trying to use the demogorgon for their own nefarious ends. The white demogorgon in Kamchatka is clear they're trying to use it to do their bidding on command.
If they're successful in their experiments, and manage to actually open a portal to the Upside Down, they'll no doubt think they're triumphed with access to a cornucopia of evil monsters. Maybe they'll be successful in their attempts to control some of its creatures, but it's unlikely given the fact that they haven't encountered the Mind Flayer.
THERE'S A NEW GUEST STAR
As the trailer opens on the Russian prison, with guards patrolling the towers and the snowy grounds, viewers will notice that a shot lingers on one particular guard's face. Fans may recognize him as the Faceless Man of Braavos from Game of Thrones, aka Thomas Wlaschiha, who has a tendency to play mysterious tough guys.
He's the only other face given as much screen time as Jim Hopper, so fans can safely assume he'll be a major player at least in the sequences of the season in Siberia. He'll probably be a major thorn in Hopper's side, but it's also possible he becomes an unlikely ally if Hopper reveals to him the serious consequences of tampering with the Upside Down.
NOTHING ABOUT ELEVEN'S POWERS
In the Season 3 finale, Eleven no longer was in control of her powers. Deeply weakened by her encounter with the Mind Flayer's avatar, she was finally reduced to being "one of the gang", with nothing particularly noteworthy about her. Chances are she'll get them back after a period of struggle, ready to use them in the impending fight against whatever threat the Russians are cooking up.
In season 2, an entire episode was added to account for the arc between Eleven and the Espers, the other motley crew of adolescents used for the same sort of telepathic experimentation. They weren't as powerful as Eleven, but they understood her struggles, and perhaps she'll seek them out again in the new season, if for no other reason than to not have their plotline have been wasted.
NOTHING ABOUT JOYCE & HER FAMILY
The end of Season 3 was heartbreaking for a number of reasons; Hopper had sacrificed himself to save everyone, Eleven had lost her adoptive father, and Joyce was moving her family out of Hawkins and all of its tragic memories. The gang had to say good bye to one another, and it felt like everyone was moving on in different directions.
The trailer didn't reveal where Joyce and her family ended up. The final scene to include them in Season 3 featured them driving out of Hawkins and perhaps, the state of Indiana. Viewers have no idea where they ended up, or whether or not they'll be contacted by their friends back in Hawkins when someone inevitably finds out Hopper is alive.