Will is secretly more involved in Upside Down than we think? This The Mind Flayer is the real villain.and not Vecna? It's all an adventure one big Dungeons and Dragons campaign?
If this seemed like nonsense to you, then you are clearly out of the loop. Stranger Things on social media, where fans are sharing excitement and theories about how the beloved sci-fi series will end ahead of today's release of the first volume of episodes for the fifth and final season.
The show, which debuted in 2016, centers around a group of Dungeons and Dragons-loving kids in 1980s Indiana and follows their struggle against supernatural forces and secret government experiments that threaten their town.
Fan theories have become such a big part of fandom that the show's creators have addressed them directly. In recent The Hollywood Reporter interviewRoss and Matt Duffer, twin brothers and the show's creators, said they enjoy reading fans' predictions, even if “the vast majority of them are wrong.”
In the fourth season, Eleven (the main character with psychic abilities) appeared.s, played by Millie Bobby Brown) regaining their strength after the first loss, the death of beloved characters (one of whom was brought back to life but remains in a coma) and great music from Kate Bush.
It also left the characters with a large gap between their world and the Upside Down – a dark alternate dimension full of monstrous creatures – which the gang will have to mend in the final season.
WATCH | Trailer for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1:
Doug Stephen, a Vancouver fan and owner of Down Low Burgers, is hosting Stranger Things fromToday is a party at the American Bar. He says the long wait since the previous season aired in 2022 has helped build anticipation and fueled fan theories about the show's outcome.
“It feels like I’m just being bombarded on all social media,” Stephen said. “I've swallowed so many different theories and… thoughts. Yes, I like it all.”
He went back and binged the previous seasons before the fifth came out – which seems to be what a lot of fans are doing. all four seasons are currently among the top 10 most-watched shows on the Netflix charts..
Angela Rodriguez, fan from Spain, moderator Stranger Things fan club on Facebook and maintains fan accounts on X, says she hasn't seen such excitement around the latest season of a TV show in a long time. She compares it to the show's final (and notoriously disappointing) season. Game of Thrones.
“I [post] something and it gets like a hundred likes and replies and it’s crazy,” Rodriguez said. “I think it's because there are a lot of issues that [haven't] the answer was given.”
Steven's biggest theory is that the main established villain, Vecna, isn't actually the big bad, and that the Mind Flayer (a huge, spider-like creature that can control people) will actually have to be defeated eventually.
He also thinks that the briefly introduced character from tSeason 2, which also had psychic powers, would see him return and team up with Vecna (aka Henry, played by Jamie Campbell Bower) and Eleven to save the city – something he pieced together in part using clues from the Dungeons and Dragons game the characters play in season four.
But “the biggest thing I think everyone was talking about was the bike lights on the posters,” Stephen said.
In the Season 4 trailer, Eddie (Joseph Quinn) is the only character with a light on the front of his bike; he later dies. The Season 5 poster features Will (Noah Schnapp) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo).“Their lights are on, which leads to speculation that they will die in the new season,” Stephen explains.
Steven isn't sure these two beloved characters will die. No matter what, he says Stranger Things it was easy to theorize about because it is one of the few science fiction or saga series that is not based on other source material – unlike Marvel films or popular anime shows.
With these stories, “even if they take on a big visual format, you still know what's going to happen next,” Stephen said. “Right now [with Stranger Things] no one knows. Everyone forgets about the season, there is no frame of reference other than the previous four seasons and the Broadway show.”
This allows fans to go crazy with their predictions because anything is possible, Stephen explains.
Katie Scott, another fan from Toronto, adds that season four's cliffhanger was perfect theoretical fodder. Plusshe says that the final season of any show is bound to be the subject of intense speculation because there is a lot loose ends that need to be tied together to create a satisfying ending.
Scott's favorite character is Steve Harringto.n (Joe Keery), but she he has a feeling that he might sacrifice himself to save the rest of the group, “which would be very typical, but it would be sad.”
She also still hopes that Eddie, who will die in season four, might return, although the Duffer Brothers have stated that he will not come back to life.
“The delusional part of me says, no, there’s still a chance,” Scott said. “People have already said that about other characters, so I'll believe it when I get to the end of the season and he doesn't come back.”
Either way, she loves that the show's creators discuss fan theories because it keeps them connected to fans. Plus, it gives fans more to think about when the creators say that one particular theory is wrong or that others were close to it.
“It inspires people to keep coming up with new ideas. [theories]- Scott said.
Scott doesn't too worried if none of her predictions come true while the show has a good ending.
“That's my best hope,” Scott said. “Please let this be a fulfilling ending. Please let it be a satisfying ending.”
