Joyce and Hopper getting together during the time between seasons 2 and 3 seems pretty likely. As much as anything can be predicted ahead of time. Having the two of them, Jonathan, Will, and Eleven under the same roof would make for a really interesting and unique family dynamic.

Matthew Modine did a cameo as Brenner but next season he's apparently going to be back as part of the regular cast. So it's a safe bet he either comes to Hawkins, or Eleven (perhaps after Kali shows up with some alarming information) goes off looking for him. I hadn't thought of the Mind Flayer using Billy. My thought was that it would worm its way into El's mind and try to turn her against her friends, win her over. It can't take control of her by force as it learned the hard way. She would have to give herself over willingly. But exploiting Billy's anger and resentment against the world to get him to do its bidding, they could go that route too. He'd become more than just a bully and a pest. They would be in real danger from him. Another potential problem is the cloud that was driven out of Will and escaped into the night. It must have gone somewhere. I see two possibilities: that the Mind Flayer retains some control over it, being part of its body and all, and can use it to attack its enemies over here, or the cloud grows and develops into an independent hive (a baby Mind Flayer). Like cutting the leg off a starfish - it grows into a whole new starfish.

Billy may have simply been turning on the charm to get the information he wanted. Having something happen between him and Karen Wheeler would be a gutsy move on the Duffers' part though. I'm sure they would keep it from getting too explicit - the show is intended to be engaging for adult fans while also remaining within the bounds American parents consider appropriate for children - but it would really shake up Mike and Nancy's family. It's no big shock that Karen finds the relationship (or lack thereof) with her husband unsatisfying. Either their parents end up divorced or Ted Wheeler wakes up from his perpetual coma and does something to save his marriage. As of right now, he is officially the most boring man alive. If they're not going to give the guy a decent storyline they should at least give him a memorable death and let him go out with a bang.

We know very little about Hopper's background. His Vietnam experience, the circumstances of his leaving Hawkins, how his previous marriage fell apart, and so forth. It would be nice to have some of that filled in as he struggles to raise a new adopted daughter and (possibly) be a boyfriend or husband again and a father to two stepsons. It seems like he's spent years avoiding close attachments to anyone and now suddenly he'll be inundated with them.

I was surprised this year by how talented Noah Schnapp really is. Almost seems like he was wasted in season 1. It will be interesting to see Will as a character who's not under constant duress. And I hope we get to see more of Mike and Eleven; last season, after teasing an early reunion, they were split up again and didn't come back together almost until the end. Eleven's first day of school should be fun to watch. Remember Troy, the bully whose arm she broke? At some point they're going to run into each other in the hall. They almost have to do that scene. He may not recognize her right away with hair, but once she asks him "How's the arm?" ...

@Theother said:

1.Joyce and Hopper will get together, and combine their families.

2.Jane/Eleven will have to deal with some sort of a threat to her brand new family, which could be Brenner, the Mind Flayer, or even Kali. A combination of two or three of them will be really likely as well.

3.The Mind Flayer will have a strong influence on Billy's mind, and will use him as a little minion.

** 4.I wonder how Nancy and Mike would react to Billy doing his thing with their mother?**

5.I honestly hope to see Jonathan and Will form a sibling relationship with Eleven/Jane.

6.Have Hopper's Vietnam background explored.

7.That the relationship between Mike and Nancy will be explored more.

I would be pretty surprised if the writers actually went there with Billy and Nancy's mom, but I would be up for it.

@chrisjdel said:

Joyce and Hopper getting together during the time between seasons 2 and 3 seems pretty likely. As much as anything can be predicted ahead of time. Having the two of them, Jonathan, Will, and Eleven under the same roof would make for a really interesting and unique family dynamic.

Matthew Modine did a cameo as Brenner but next season he's apparently going to be back as part of the regular cast. So it's a safe bet he either comes to Hawkins, or Eleven (perhaps after Kali shows up with some alarming information) goes off looking for him. "I hadn't thought of the Mind Flayer using Billy. My thought was that it would worm its way into El's mind and try to turn her against her friends, win her over. It can't take control of her by force as it learned the hard way. She would have to give herself over willingly. But exploiting Billy's anger and resentment against the world to get him to do its bidding, they could go that route too. He'd become more than just a bully and a pest. They would be in real danger from him." Another potential problem is the cloud that was driven out of Will and escaped into the night. It must have gone somewhere. I see two possibilities: that the Mind Flayer retains some control over it, being part of its body and all, and can use it to attack its enemies over here, or the cloud grows and develops into an independent hive (a baby Mind Flayer). Like cutting the leg off a starfish - it grows into a whole new starfish.

Billy may have simply been turning on the charm to get the information he wanted. Having something happen between him and Karen Wheeler would be a gutsy move on the Duffers' part though. I'm sure they would keep it from getting too explicit - the show is intended to be engaging for adult fans while also remaining within the bounds American parents consider appropriate for children - but it would really shake up Mike and Nancy's family. It's no big shock that Karen finds the relationship (or lack thereof) with her husband unsatisfying. Either their parents end up divorced or Ted Wheeler wakes up from his perpetual coma and does something to save his marriage. As of right now, he is officially the most boring man alive. If they're not going to give the guy a decent storyline they should at least give him a memorable death and let him go out with a bang.

We know very little about Hopper's background. His Vietnam experience, the circumstances of his leaving Hawkins, how his previous marriage fell apart, and so forth. It would be nice to have some of that filled in as he struggles to raise a new adopted daughter and (possibly) be a boyfriend or husband again and a father to two stepsons. It seems like he's spent years avoiding close attachments to anyone and now suddenly he'll be inundated with them.

I was surprised this year by how talented Noah Schnapp really is. Almost seems like he was wasted in season 1. It will be interesting to see Will as a character who's not under constant duress. And I hope we get to see more of Mike and Eleven; last season, after teasing an early reunion, they were split up again and didn't come back together almost until the end. Eleven's first day of school should be fun to watch. Remember Troy, the bully whose arm she broke? At some point they're going to run into each other in the hall. They almost have to do that scene. He may not recognize her right away with hair, but once she asks him "How's the arm?" ...

With the part about Billy, the Duffer Brothers actually stated that they were planning to involve him in the supernatural story in Season 2, but never had the time to do so. It appears that they plan on doing that next season. Billy was based off of Jack (the literal axe-craxy dad) from the Shinning, whom we all know were manipulated into murderous madness by the ghosts in the hotel. Maybe the Mindflayer will do something similar to Billy, as the ghosts from the hotel did to Jack in the Shinning.

One interesting possible subplot in my opinion, is to have Eleven and Jonathan (and maybe even Will) abducted by Brenner. Because Brenner is now aware of impossible and hazardous on contain Eleven alone, he decides to hold a few of her loved ones hostage to control her. For example, if El defies Brenner, Brenner would order Jonathan (or some other loved one like Hopper, Mike, Joyce, etc) tortured until she complies.

It would also be interesting to watch Joyce and Hopper deal with the terrifying possibility of losing their children for another time.