The first volume of Stranger Things Season 5 is out, but the story is far from over. The epic ending of Stranger Things Season 5‘s first volume was certainly dramatic, featuring the biggest action set-piece in the show’s history; Vecna launched a strike on the US military’s MAC-Z (or the “Big Mac,” as Robin has dubbed it). One long-running fan theory was finally confirmed, with Will developing powers of his own, successfully destroying a group of Demogorgons before they could kill the Hawkins kids. Meanwhile, Eleven was reunited with her “Lost Sister,” Kali.
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The next episodes of Stranger Things release on December 25, with the series finale premiering on December 31. Naturally, every detail is currently being combed over right now, and viewers are excitedly theorizing over what could come next. Naturally, in honor of Jane Hopper herself, we’ve chosen to focus on 11 of the most exciting theories to date.
11. We’re Finally About to See a Thessalhydra
An iconic reptilian monsters from Dungeons & Dragons, the Thessalhydra has been name-dropped since the show’s premiere all the way back in 2016. Every Stranger Things monster riffs on D&D, with the Hawkins kids naturally giving them names to make them a little more familiar (it’s rather amusing that “Vecna” has stuck, even when everyone knows his real name). But, until now, the Thessalhydra has been completely absent. According to this theory, all the various Thessalhydra references so far have been setup for the creature’s terrifying Season 5 debut.
10. The Jocks Are Being Manipulated by Vecna
Let’s face it, Hawkins’ jocks are out of control. Jason Carver was bad enough last season, but he at least had good reason for his actions; he was grief-stricken over the death of his girlfriend, Chrissy Cunningham. But Season 5’s jocks are just looking for a chance to beat down on Dustin, and the violence in episode 1 was just a little too brutal to feel realistic. Is it possible there’s more to this than normal high-school bullying?
There’s clearly a bond between the Upside Down and Hawkins, a loose relationship of kind; the Mind Flayer watched over the snow ball as it took place at the end of Season 2, for example. It’s entirely possible that the malevolence of the Upside Down is now influencing everybody in Hawkins, including the jocks. They are all, after all, quarantined after exposure to particles from the Upside Down – particles that may well be loosely connected to the Mind Flayer. If that’s the case, Vecna himself could be driving the violence.
9. The Wall Marks the Limits of the Upside Down
Stranger Things Season 5 revealed that the Upside Down is bordered by a mysterious wall, one centered upon Hawkins Lab. But it’s important to remember this may not actually be a new event, because nobody has ever spent any significant amount of time exploring the Upside Down before – meaning this wall could have been there all along. If that is indeed the case, then it may mark the limits of the “Upside Down,” the strange, twisted reality created when Eleven blasted Vecna into another dimension. Beyond, there could well simply be the natural state of this realm (dubbed Dimension X by the Duffers).
8. Vecna Has Deeper Connections to Joyce Than You Think
Stranger Things has finally revealed Max’s fate, with everybody’s favorite Zoomer currently trapped in Vecna’s mindscape. Curiously, while there she briefly finds herself stranded in a memory from Hawkins High School, a nod to the Stranger Things broadway show. But there’s something distinctly odd about this memory; it’s unclear why a random school corridor is important enough for Vecna to remember it. Even stranger, the memory is connected to a school play that took place on November 6, 1959 – an important date, given Vecna kidnapped Will Byers on November 6, 1983.
Some viewers are theorizing this isn’t a coincidence; that Vecna remembered this school corridor simply because Joyce Byers was in it, and that he was infatuated with Joyce during his time at school. If that’s the case, he could well have targeted Will simply because of his continued focus on the Byers family. That would make the end of Season 5’s first volume – which included a brief locking of eyes between Joyce and Vecna – a lot more significant.
We’re About To See the Cult of Vecna
Vecna was first name-dropped in Stranger Things Season 4’s premiere, in Eddie Munson’s D&D campaign. Some are theorizing that whole game was foreshadowing, and that the campaign’s name – “The Cult of Vecna” – indicates that the villain is going to gather pawns to work through. That could even be the reason he’s now kidnapped 12 children, given he refers to them as potential “vessels” when speaking to Will.
6. Vecna Is Kidnapping Kids With Psychic Potential
But why has Vecna targeted these 12 children in particular? One theory is that these particular Hawkins children have the potential to develop psychic powers if they are exposed to the Upside-Down (just as Will has now done). Vecna has long sought to control empowered individuals – he tried to bind Eleven into the Mind-Flayer in Season 3 – so it would fit. These powers could already be developing, due to exposure to particles from the Upside Down.
5. Holly Wheeler Is an X-Men Parallel, & She’s About To Get Powers
Tying in with this, Will’s sister Holly is clearly a key part of Season 5 (not just because she’s being positioned as a Will analogue). In another scene that feels like foreshadowing, Will offers her the protection of “Holly the Heroic,” describing her D&D self as someone who can open portals between the dimensions. This is indeed a power some Clerics possess in D&D, but there’s another layer to it; because the powerset is also used by the X-Men character Magik.
There are striking parallels between Magik and Holly. In X-Men comics, Illyana Rasputin was the six-year-old younger sister of one of the X-Men, kidnapped by a demonic being named Belasco who sought to use a shard of her very soul as a power source before launching a full-on invasion of Earth from the Hell Dimension he ruled. Given all these parallels, it seems very likely indeed that Holly will develop powers as Season 5 progresses.
4. Vecna Spared Will Because He Still Has Plans for Him
Vecna apparently made a major mistake at the end of Season 5, when he chose not to kill Will when he had the chance. But is it possible he has further plans for Will? Stranger Things‘ X-Men parallels have never been subtle, and the kidnapping of children is evocative of the 1989 “Inferno” event, where 12 children were kidnapped to open portals between Earth and the Hell Dimension of Limbo. This is unlikely to be a coincidence, and it’s possible Will is the thirteenth target to keep the parallel working.
3. Will’s Powers Mean We Have a Critical Score in D&D
To get a critical hit to win in Dungeons & Dragons, you need to roll a 20. The unexpected return of Eight means we have a combined score of 19 (Eleven plus Eight, Jane plus Kali). But Will appears to have the same kind of powers as Vecna, which would mean he scores as another One – a perfect score to get a critical hit and beat Vecna.
2. The Mind Flayer Is the Real Villain All Along
Trapped in Vecna’s mind, Max has been able to hide from him by burying herself into a memory he fears – one tied to The First Shadow Broadway play, which revealed this was where Vecna first met the Mind Flayer. Viewers had been unsure what to make of The First Shadow, given its account is substantially different to that of Season 4; according to the show, a young Henry Creel encountered the Mind Flayer long before he became Vecna. Most had assumed this idea was ditched, but the cave suggests Vecna was simply an unreliable narrator in Season 4.
If this is the case, then it’s entirely possible Vecna is not the true villain at all. He may well have managed to take control of the Mind Flayer for a time, but he was critically wounded at the end of Season 4, and his weakness may have allowed the Mind Flayer to overwhelm him. To return to the D&D logic from the earlier theory, perhaps Vecna himself will be the “One” in question.
1. Vecna Is Creating a Wormhole To Travel Through Time
Stranger Things Season 5 is steeped in time travel nods, and Mr. Clarke – so often used to present the show’s pseudo-science – even takes the time to explain how time travel works. He’s shown giving Erica a lesson about wormholes, otherwise known as Einstein-Rosen Bridges, and draws a very familiar hourglass shape on the board before saying he believes they’d collapsed under their own gravitational field. Significantly, this is the same kind of design as the one Will later sketches out, a mysterious “device” Vecna intends to imprison the kidnapped children within.
Stranger Things Season 5’s penultimate episode is literally called “The Bridge,” which would fit very well with this theory. If this is the case, then either Vecna or the Mind Flayer is seeking to travel back in time, for undetermined reasons. We’ll have to wait until the second volume drops, on Christmas Day, to find out.
Stranger Thingsย Season 5, Volume 1 is streaming now on Netflix.
Volume 1 ofย Stranger Things 5ย is currently streaming on Netflix. Volume 2 arrives on December 25th, with the final episode following on December 31st.
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Image courtesy of Monolith Productions, Nightdive Studios, Warner Bros. Games, and Atari
