Warning: This is about the manga, which is well ahead of the anime. If you’re only following the anime, there will be spoilers, and I’ll dare to say pretty important spoilers, too.
About a dozen chapters ago, MHA took a very serious tonal swing. It’s not just that the story itself has become heavier and darker, because the whole My Villains Academia and Villains War arcs were pretty dark in themselves. It’s that our favorite bright-eyed idealistic hero-in-training has not only stepped up to becoming a real hero, but the responsibilities he’s taken on himself are also drastically changing him.
I’ve liked the change. On the one hand, even with the much rougher exterior, Deku is still very much Deku, and that been shown in a lot of small ways. On the other hand, more than just his appearance is changing. He’s maturing in his view of things, but maybe also making mistakes based on his new outlook.
Oh, and it looks like Stain is back.
So, I’m anticipating what’s to come in the story. With Deku being away from the class during this time when he’s changed so much, it could be fascinating to see what happens when he finally meets his former classmates again. And I think that when the villains do strike again, some part of that strike will be against the class. Just a guess on my part, but that would raise the stakes while also hitting at Deku through his friends.