On Monday I made a half-ass attempt at covering all of the greatness to come out of San Diego Comic Con. At the time my brain was a bit mushy from writing a massive Game of Thrones review for Fan Fest so I thought that slapping together a bunch of trailers for the Week In Geek would be enough to satisfy most. I wasn’t particularly proud of the column but it got published and wasn’t terrible, just deserved more content. These things happen when you write ten or more columns a week.

If you were paying attention to the trailers that were listed on the Week In Geek you would’ve noticed that there was one glaring omission, and that’s because even in my mush mind state I knew that I had to give this trailer the justice it deserved. I seriously look forward to SDCC every year, despite the fact that every year it happens I’m on the east coast and not in Hall H, and every year I have the things I’m looking the most forward to. Usually, those things center around Marvel Studios and the awesome they bring but there are other items to get excited for. This year though, I’d be lying to you if I said Marvel was my number one anticipation. It feels strange saying that.

Strange you say? Yes, strange.

That’s right, I was waiting for the Stranger Things panel to go off like it was my job! I don’t think I really need to get into why I was so excited for this as my love for Stranger Things has been well documented in the many, many pages of I Am Geek and the various t-shirts I wear. Even as I’m writing this column I got distracted and just added the season two poster to my Amazon wishlist so I can hang it in the Fortress of Nerditude. Yes, I’m obsessed.

You know, as I’m writing this I’m realizing that I really didn’t read any of the break down of what was said during the panel. I just waited for the trailer to drop and watched it a few times…. maybe more than a few. In fact, when the trailer was released I was out with the fam and the adorable creature listening to reggae music outside. There was no way that I was going to actually hear it but I watched with subtitles and limited sight, damn sun, just so I could have an idea of what was occurring in it. I needed to know and no amount of good weather or good music was going to keep me from viewing it. I stood there with Jennifer watching the trailer making stupid faces while the adorable creature thought I was cute (I’m so lucky by the way) and explained to other people in our group what I was doing. She totally gets it.

But what did we learn with this new trailer? Well if you’ve got a few moments allow me to break this thing down for you.

• It seems that Will is still shifting between our world and the Upside Down as can be seen best in the arcade scene and the very ending of last season. It looks like that crazy super monster, that we see in the red sky, currently, lives in the Upside Down (phew). But whatever this creature is Will keeps seeing it and later in the vision is even rapidly drawing pictures of it. I have a strong feeling that the emotional state of Will Byers is going to be a huge part of this season and I have a lot of faith in Noah Schnapp to carry the load.
• I need to find a copy of Dragon’s Lair immediately to see what kind of clues it holds.
• It looks like the Hawkins lab hasn’t officially closed down as there are a number of shots of scientists looking at scientist things. Are they still in Hawkins or moved else where to keep an eye on Hawkins and their access to the Upside Down? It also appears that they’re keeping a close eye on Will (can’t blame them). Whatever they find though makes new cast member Sean Astin run for his life.
• It appears that Nancy and Steve could be on the outs. Could it be because Nancy is still exploring the Upside Down with Jonathan (she later shows up armed with a rifle with Hop, Jonathan, Dustin, and others) and Steve wants to forget it even happened? There does appear to be a scene that made me think of a party in the Lost Boys, so maybe Steve is getting a little party happy. But who is wielding the nail bat later in the trailer? The very mention of nail bait has me excited for my SDCC exclusive Steve pop.
• 
• Hop is looking for something (duh). Could it be Eleven or maybe exploring more of the conspiracy? Whatever it is he’s looking for it brings him back to the Upside Down. My new working theory is that immediately following the events of the high school, Hop strikes a deal to re-enter the Upside Down to look for Eleven. I would imagine that this is caused by guilt since he sold her out. Upon returning to the Upside Down he helps her escape and could the reason he’s leaving food parcels in the woods.
• I know this theory is contradicted by seeing Eleven in the Upside Down and her reaching through one of the cracks that seem to fill Hawkins. But it’s just a theory. It’s nice to see that Mike hasn’t forgotten about her. You know, for those of us who are shipping a Mike and Eleven dance at the Snow Ball.
• Halloween is such a perfect time of year for this show.
• I’m also loving the Ghostbuster themes here. I know that the kids will be wearing the suits as Halloween costumes but it also looks like they’re going to try and play with the science of it all. Paging Mr. Clarke (who I also have an exclusive SDCC pop of).
• As far as creatures go it looks like the Demogorgon is out (although there was something burning at one point) and giant sky monsters with long arms are in. What happens to Hawkins if this thing is able to come through one of the cracks. Could we be building to a story where the Upside Down takes over the real world?

As you can see I’ve spent a little time breaking this thing down. I know that it seems like I’ve watched it on a constant loop for hours but the honest truth is I’ve only watched this trailer a few times and these were the things I’ve picked up on. I’ve gotten good at watching trailers, what can I say? I’ll probably watch this a bunch more times and then a month and a half before the season drops I’ll stop entirely. Almost as if trying to forget what I’ve already seen. I don’t know, it’s just a thing I’ve been doing.

Going to turn the floor over to you guys. What are some of the things you caught in the trailer? Did this make you more or less excited for season two? Sound off in the comments below or on the Facebook page or you can find me on Twitter @iamgeek32. I am always willing to talk Stranger Things. Always.