Be warned, reading this will contain some spoilers for Stranger Things Season 2, so if you have not watched it yet, save this for later.
Stranger Things Season 2 hit Netflix queues for subscribers on October 27 and likely occupied that weekend for many viewers. The new season introduced some new characters, some friendly and some not so friendly, so with the ominous ending of the current season and its primary villain looking on, here are some ideas for Stranger Things Season 3 villains.
The Mind Flayer
This one is the most obvious, since it is the newest, biggest and most recent villain. The Mind Flayer is the one looking on at the finale from The Upside-down letting viewers know that nothing is over yet. This enemy makes a few appearances but never really crosses over into the town of Hawkins physically like the Demogorgon do (or “demo-dogs”) but only occupies the body of young Will. Could the giant stomp its way into Hawkins?
Eight
“Eleven” or “El” was part of many experiments The Department of Energy was conducting; eleven of them if the numbers tattooed on their arms indicate which ones they are. In the new season, we meet “Eight” known as Kali, a Chicago leader of a punk gang that seems to use crime to get revenge on the ones that experimented on her. Filled with revenge and anger, Kali manages to help train El on how to use her abilities but also seems to want to use her more powerful “sister” to continue her hit list on former scientists that were involved in the experiments that gave them their powers.
Poppa
In one excursion, El and Kali go after a former scientist that reveals “Poppa” or Dr. Martin Brenner the lead scientist at the Department of Energy who was in charge of the program that gave El and Kali their abilities is said to survive the events of the first season and becomes part of Kali’s list. If he indeed is still alive, fans can expect to see him in season 3 or in the future.
More brothers and sisters
The tattooed numbers on El and Kali’s arms could mean there are potentially nine others like them with abilities that could be friend or foe. If El was the latest and last, and Kali (Eight) was before her and a bit older, there could be others like them and depending on how successful the experiments were with training and controlling the subjects the potential for characters being introduced as enemies, and maybe having a change of heart (or vice-versa) could be something fans could see in season three or a future season.
The nostalgic formula that the Duffer brothers used to create this binge-worthy gem on Netflix has endless possibilities, especially when noting the influences of the works of John Carpenter and Stephen King from the 80s as fuel for their creative fire. Whomever the kids of Hawkins have to deal with in the third season of Stranger Things will be can rest assured fans are already waiting to find out who it is, and watch the series in one sitting.