Ever since Stranger Things debuted in 2016, it has been one of the most streamed television shows out there, and with Season 4’s 2022 release date creeping ever closer, Netflix has started dropping hints as to what the latest season might bring to the franchise. For instance, one of the best parts of the show, thus far, has been the general mysterious nature of everything. The Upside Down has been the villainous focus of every season, but there is precious little actually known about the place. The latest teaser for Season 4, however, could be hinting that some of its history might soon be addressed.
So far, Stranger Things has only featured Upside-Down-related happenings from the 1980s. Eleven made a breach in the barrier separating the Upside Down and our dimension, and three seasons of conflict have ensued. However, the 003/004 trailer takes place primarily in the 1950, and from the look of things, someone was messing with the Upside Down long before Eleven came along.
The latest teaser opens with Ella Fitzgerald’s “Dream a Little Dream of Me” playing in the background as the Creel family moves into a nice home, in the late 1950s. The house is beautiful, and everyone is happy. But that doesn’t last for long, because they soon start experiencing the same phenomena that have come to be associated with the Upside Down. First, the daughter finds a dead animal on the front lawn, which which is reminiscent of Nancy and Jonathan finding a dying deer just before encountering the Demogorgon in Season 1. Then the lights start flickering, and the radio cuts out as the family eats dinner.
When the lights are at their craziest, the trailer suddenly cuts to a shot of Mr. Kreel (Robert Englund) facing away from the camera. His children are dead, and thanks to previously released microfiche clippings from a 1959 newspaper, fans know that he has spent the last thirty years in the Pennhurst Mental Hospital. The headline from the clippings state: “[Redacted] Claims Vengeful Demon Killed Family.” The obvious implication is that something from the Upside Down killed the Creel family while Mr. Creel survived and took the fall as a brutal murderer.
Hopefully this means Stranger Things will finally dive into the history behind the Upside Down. So far, fans know that Project MKUtra began in 1953, so perhaps the government-led project made contact with the Upside Down before Eleven was even born, which would mean that she wasn’t responsible for originally letting the Mind Flayer into our dimension. Additionally, the lab often used subjects from mental asylums on its projects, so Mr. Creel could have learned the true nature of what he experienced in his home later on. That could be an important factor in the coming Season 4.
There is one more fact worth mentioning. Dr. Brenner might have been involved with MKUtra from the beginning, but he wasn’t brought into the Hawkins Lab until 1969 to perform an overhaul. With these mysterious happenings starting in 1959, if not before, it should mean that Brenner wasn’t initially responsible for breaching the gap into the Upside Down either. So, maybe he wasn’t as bad of a villain as Season 1 portrayed him to be. Either way, it looks like more information about the Upside Down is forthcoming in Season 4 of Stranger Things.
Stranger Things Season 4 does not have an official release date, but the Netflix original is expected to debut in 2022.
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