I Rounded Up The 10 Best "Stranger Things" Fan Theories About Season 5
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Stranger Things Season 4 just wrapped up, and with the final season on the horizon, fans are speculating wildly about how this incredible series is going to wrap up.
Netflix / Via giphy.com
So I rounded up 10 of the best fan theories out there for us to think about for the next two or so years while we wait to get all the answers in Season 5.
Let's take a look, shall we?
Oh, also —
MTV / Via giphy.com
*** MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD****
1.Max is trapped inside Vecna's mind.
There are a lot of theories circulating surrounding the fate of our beloved Max. When we leave her in Season 4, she is in a coma and effectively braindead after being killed by Vecna and brought back to life by Eleven. But where is Max's consciousness?
This TikTok user has a theory:
Ok, yeah this seems highly likely! Given the fact that Eleven goes into The Darkness™ looking for Max and can't find her, Max being trapped inside Vecna/One/Henry's mind makes as much sense as anything else!
The same user also points out that Dr. Brenner backs this up in Chapter 8 of Season 4:
Someone on Reddit took this theory and ran with it.
"I think it gave Max some leverage to roam around inside Vecna's memories and it's possible she will encounter other victims and free them and they form a group and come up with a plan to destroy Vecna from within..."
I'm absolutely obsessed with the idea of Max forming her own little party inside of Vecna's mind! It would give us a chance to see some of the series' gone-to-soon characters another chance to shine.
Like Chrissy
And Fred
Patrick
And hell, IDK, maybe even Barb and Eddie? Plz?
I mean I don't exactly know how, but just admit that you'd love to see them all come together in his mind and fuck shit up! Admit it!!
2.Karen Wheeler is connected to the Creels and will play a big role in Season 5.
There have been a lot of theories flying around about Karen Wheeler (Nancy and Mike's mom) and her role in the show, and as this Redditor points out, it has a lot to do with Karen having her own character poster.
There has been a lot of speculation online surrounding Season 4's character posters, as each one showcases the characters in the location they relate to.
They show Eleven at the lab:
Joyce in Russia:
Will in California:
And Nancy at the Creel House:
But what's interesting is that Karen has her own character poster, also with the Creel House as her backdrop:
It's odd for her to have a character poster when she seemingly doesn't have a very large role in the story. But she does seem to get a lot of featured moments, as this Reddit user pointed out.
Some people have theorized she's Vecna/One/Henry's sister (which literally HOW? lol), but it seems quite possible that she's connected in some way, and could have a larger role to play in the finale season which I am HERE for!
3.The Mind Flayer is the actual Big Bad.
There has been a lot of debate within the Stranger Things community about whether Vecna is the one controlling everything in the Upside Down, or if it's the Mindflayer. While I have my own opinions on the matter, this YouTuber has a very compelling theory:
The theory suggests the Mind Flayer has been in control the whole time, using Vecna as a puppet.
That somehow a gate was opened and infected young Henry's mind, and began controlling him.
"Henry believes he shaped [the Upside Down] and took control of it. But he didn't. The Mind Flayer was the puppet master the entire time." Ok, could very well be!!
It also posits that we haven't seen the last of Kali, aka Eight, which PLZ LET IT BE SO!
With Kali joining the fight against Vecna, they eventually realize they've been fighting the wrong monster all along. "...Henry realizes he doesn't have the control, similar to Vader, he turns face and dies trying to help Kali and El." Hell, I'd watch that!
Harder for me to get on board with El sacrificing herself in order to save everyone, but it would be very dramatic!
4.Eddie will return.
One of the more popular and widespread theories is that we haven't seen the last of Season 4's fan-favorite character, Eddie Munson. I was preeeeetty skeptical at first, I gotta be honest, but some of these theories are pretty convincing!
Using the lore of Dungeons & Dragons, this Reddit user theorizes that Eddie might come back as a VAMPIRE!! (Personally I love vampires so this is very much my shit.)
This man would be the most badass vampire ever, which is saying something because there are already some pretty badass vamps out there.
Now things were not looking good for Eddie when we saw him last, BUT you have to remember that the telekinetic abilities shared by those studied at Hawkins National Lab seemingly include resurrection.
In Dungeons & Dragons, Kas (the vampire of which we speak) is Vecna's right hand, but ultimately betrays and kills his master, meaning if Eddie took on this role, he would deliver the final blow, which would be pretty epic!
(I don't know that it necessarily makes sense narratively, BUT WE'RE JUST DREAMING HERE!)
The user also points out the similarity of Kas and Eddie's weapons (a sword and spiked shield) as possible foreshadowing.
Someone on Twitter even suggested that as a vampire, Eddie should be in command of the Demobats using his guitar!
additionally he kindof already DOES command the bats, if u consider his guitar as calling them to him in a way
Ok, ok, I'm sold!! I want it!
5.The introduction of Borys from DnD lore.
Getting into a little bit more of the Dungeons & Dragons mythology (it's ok, we're all nerds here), another Reddit post pointed out that some of the game's most popular monsters have yet to be used on the show, namely, the most popular one.
Vecna is number 2, but Borys is number 1?? *eyes emoji eyes emoji eyes emoji*
Borys is described as a giant dragon-like creature, with red glowing scales like magma, and a storm of fire beneath its wings. Ummmmm, that imagery feels very familiar to the Upside Down and its glowing red gates.
It also lines up with Nancy's vision from Vecna.
Nancy described seeing a GIANT creature with a gaping mouth. I meannnnnnn, this could be it! They're not going to tease a giant monster and then not show it to us, so why shouldn't it be Borys?
Someone on Twitter thinks that Vecna himself will become Borys.
Along with this tweet, they posted a picture of Will's painting from this season which HAS to tie into the story somehow, and if you remember correctly, the creature they're all fighting is...a dragon.
I'm convinced, I'm convinced! I see the light! It's gotta be Borys!
6.Will gets possessed by Vecna again for old times' sake.
This TikToker suggested that all the clues we need to assume that Will is going to get possessed again are all right in front of our faces.
@bunkyyy Reply to @julia6191 Will’s gonna have quiiite the coming out story. 😅 #bunkyyy#strangerthings#strangerthings4#st4#netflix#willbyers#noahschnapp#vecna#henrycreel#001#one#peterballard#upsidedown#tv#film#movie#theory#lgbt#lgbtq#dungeonsanddragons#dnd
♬ Stranger Things - Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein
They explain that in the world of DnD, Vecna is a Lich, "a humanoid spellcaster that seeks to defy death by magical means, like hiding his soul in an object or another person." Ok, seems legit.
They also tell us that according to Vecna's DnD stats, he is "neutral evil."
Now why is this important? Well, because in a Stranger Things companion piece Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down, we get a little bit more information about our main characters' alignments, specifically Will's.
Will is "true neutral," showing that ol' Vecs and Will are not that far off from each other, and they are both magic users, so a transfer of souls seems to make sense.
The Duffer brothers confirmed that Will plays a key role in the upcoming season, and a lot of people think Will is headed towards a villain arc.
i like the theory that s4 is basically just will's origin villain story #StrangerThings
One person on Twitter takes it a step further and suggests that maybe Will has been DEAD and possessed this whole time.
// stranger things spoilersi have a theory that the reason the upside down is frozen on the day will went missing is that will actually died the day he went missing and is now just an extension of vecna and always has been
7.None of the events of the show actually happened.
After finally finishing season 4 I still stand by my theory that stranger things has just been them playing D&D this entire time. Season 5 is gonna end with them all around a table.
This would be a wiiiiiild move on the Duffer brothers' part. And while personally, that would not be a satisfying ending to *me*, I can totally see this happening. And it would mean that some of our faves never actually died and we'd get to see Eddie and Barb graduate, which honestly may be worth it.
:' )
8.We've already seen the giant monster from Nancy's vision.
Getting back to Nance's vision, this Redditor thinks we've potentially already seen the giant beast with a gaping mouth.
"I see a giant cross of red lava carved through Hawkins. Almost like the closed mouth of a DEMOGORGON."
Let's compare, shall we?
I mean the Duffers did say the opening scene of season 5 was going to be pretty epic, and a monster opening its mouth and swallowing the town whole would be pretty wild to watch! I say, "Why not?!"
9.Time travel will play a significant role in the story.
Proving that literally everybody has their theories about what's going to happen in the show, this Twitter user's MOM had some interesting ideas!
my mom has a theory that the clock in this season of stranger things was foreshadowing that in season 5 they'll go back in time and fix everything that went wrong before it happens and that they'll also be able to save a bunch of characters that died
It's all about the clock!
Henry wasn't just messing around with the clock when he said "he became an explorer." He was literally time traveling!
And when he showed Nance the future, it was the *actual* future. I mean, we saw the gates open just like he said!
What would this mean for Mike, Karen, and Holly though? She saw them all dead! It would certainly be a dramatic way to end the series!
But if Vecna can time travel, then we can assume El can too, which would let us go back and fix everything.
As a big fan of time travel storylines, I say, "Lets go go go go go go!"
10.Will created the "copy" of Hawkins in the Upside Down.
Will having some sort of dormant powers is something that fans have been theorizing about since the beginning of the show (his DnD character is a magic-user after all). I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this theory was right on the money.
Without even knowing how, Will might have created this Upside Down Hawkins to comfort himself while he was trapped, running from the Demogorgon.
Vecna/One/Henry sees what Will does and is like, "Ohhhhh, shiiiiit this kid has got something!"
And then proceeds to torment Will for the entirety of the series, trying to harness his power for his own use.
We know the ol' Vecs is open to ruling the world with a partner.
And with El unwilling to cooperate, why not go after Will instead?
Will has been through so much! He deserves some magic powers, ok??
