As soon as we learned that a third season of Netflix’s Stranger Things had been confirmed, we – along with many of the show’s fans – have been anxiously awaiting our first look at Hawkins, Indiana.

Now, at long last, a trailer has landed, and it has shown us that many things have changed since the shocking events of season two. 

First things first, Hawkins finally has a mall, which means the kids have somewhere new to hang out. Secondly, it seems the show is gearing up to get as mid-80s crazy with the fashions as Glow does. Thirdly, Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) has resigned from his role as the town’s resident babysitter to score a paying gig at the new ice cream parlour. Fourthly, there are far less monsters lurking around corners than we remember. 

And, finally, it seems as if this newest instalment of Stranger Things will focus on the (ever so timely) topic of Russian interference, too.

Read more: Stranger Things cast salaries revealed following gender pay gap row

As you may remember from the show’s first season, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was subjected to a series of psychological experiments at the Hawkins Lab, as part of Project MKUltra.

Under the watchful eye of Dr Martin Brenner (Matthew Brodine), the pre-teen used sensory deprivation to travel across time and space to spy on Soviet meetings happening on the other side of the globe – ostensibly as part of America’s Cold War with Russia.

This storyline was seemingly dropped, though, in the second season of the show, with writers focusing on the series’ more supernatural elements (one word: Mindflayer).

However, one carefully-positioned prop in the new trailer has convinced fans that Russia – and the CIA – will take centre stage in the show’s upcoming episodes.

Check it out:

Did you spot it? That’s right: Tom Clancy’s debut novel, The Hunt For Red October, can be seen in the window of Waldenbooks.

Released in 1984, Clancy’s thriller follows the story of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and Jack Ryan, a Marine turned CIA analyst, and this is the first edition cover in the window. And, while this may seem like a coincidence, it’s worth noting that the camera pays special attention to the book.

As one Reddit user notes: “I think there may be more to this shot. The book displayed to the left is Breaking With Moscow. This is the autobiography of Arkady Shevchenko, a high-ranking Soviet who defected to the US in 1978. And what is The Hunt for Red October about? A Soviet submarine that defects to the US.

“I think this may be a hint that there is not only a Soviet element to S3, but that someone becomes a double agent or defects to one side or another.”

It is also worth noting that, shortly after landing on Clancy’s book, the camera then rolls over an advert for Bruce Springsteen’s mega-hit album from the time period, Born In The USA. Which, as many Redditors have pointed out, implies a born-and-bred American character may turn out to be working on behalf of the Russians.

Of course, that’s not the only point of interest in the trailer – there’s also the addition of a new female character to contend with, too.

Read more: Stranger Things fans, Netflix have released a Barb clip

Since the first series aired in 2016, Stranger Things has been praised as one of the best shows on television. And not just because the Eighties-set sci-fi horror is well written, bone-chilling and satisfyingly nostalgic: people are huge fans of its bevy of strong female characters who refuse to conform to the norm. Think Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) and, of course, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

Now, we have Maya Hawke’s Robin to add to the mix.

The actress – who recently played Jo March in the BBC’s adaptation of Little Women (which is, coincidentally, the same role undertaken by Ryder back in the Nineties) – can be seen standing next to Keery’s character in the trailer.

Rather than a bonnet and corset, though, the actress is dressed up in an ever-so-Eighties ice cream parlour uniform, complete with scoop in hand. And, much like Steve Harington, Robin doesn’t look all that enthused to be there. Could she be the Russian spy we have heard so much about?

Well, it seems doubtful at this point: according to Deadline, Robin is described as an alternative girl who is equal parts sharp and playful. Bored with her mundane day job, she just wants a little excitement in her life… and gets more than she bargained for “when she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins”.

Sadly, it looks like we have a long wait ahead of us before we find out what that secret might be: the mall is not coming until “next summer,” suggesting the third season of Stranger Things will debut much later than fans had hoped.

One thing’s for sure, though: this mall may look pretty as a picture in the trailer, but we have a feeling it will be turned (sorry) Upside Down before too long. 

Image: Netflix