Stranger Things 2: What does the latest sneak peek mean?

On a surface level, the latest sneak peek of Stranger Things 2 is pretty cut and dried, but what are the deeper meanings we can take from it?

You’ve probably heard about the new Stranger Things 2 clip where Eleven returns to the real world (well, as much as she can considering that she’s a fictional character).

But just in case you’ve been distracted by other things today, like Black Panther‘s new trailer, then it’s time to break this sneak peek down. Obviously, we knew that Eleven was going to make it back to Hawkins. EW even points out that it wasn’t a question of if she’d make it, but when she would.

A surface-level analysis of what happens in the trailer suggests that this might be some sort of flashback, considering that the first season of Stranger Things ends on someone, presumably Eleven, emptying the Hopper-provided cache of waffles. This is supported by Eleven’s hairstyle change in the new trailer, which is another point EW picks up on but doesn’t quite expound upon.

But on a deeper level, how is Eleven growing into her powers? Here, we see her forcing a wall to crumble for her to get back into the real world. In the trailer, we see her actually lifting a latch on a door — a latch she can’t see, because it’s on the inside and she’s on the outside.

Call this a fifth, additional question to the four we had from the trailer: how powerful will Eleven be in Stranger Things 2? How will the story accommodate her new abilities?

Especially in terms of accommodation, we’re thinking about the idea of Stranger Things 2 justifying changes in Eleven’s powers.

Next: Stranger Things 2: 4 massive questions from the final trailer

Whether that’s by saying “she spent time in the Upside Down and it made her better quickly” or by coming up with some other reasoning, that sort of thing could only strengthen the show’s storytelling.