How will Stranger Things end? Biggest Season 5 Theories (2023)

FAQs

What Will happen at the end of Stranger Things season 5? ›

At the end of the finale, he was also reunited with his superpowered would-be daughter, Eleven, as the whole adventuring party prepares to face off against Vecna in the final battle for Hawkins, Indiana. Harbour went on to say that he believes fans are going to love the ultimate conclusion of Stranger Things.

The Eddie/Kas Theory Explained

Here, Kas is turned into the vampire lord Kas the Destroyer, before eventually escaping and attempting to defeat Vecna once again. There are many clues taken from Stranger Things season 4 that could justify Eddie's resurrection as a Kas-like figure.

While he could be bluffing, Joseph Quinn says it's “very unlikely” we'll see the return of Eddie Munson in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) went through the wringer in Stranger Things season 4. After a bruising battle with Vecna, we left her in a coma, fighting for her life. Max's fate is currently up in the air. We know that she'll return in season 5, but whether she'll be in fighting shape is unknown.

Vecna revealed in season four, he was the one who created the Mind Flayer after Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) banished him to the Upside Down. All this time, the Mind Flayer was Vecna, who was using the entity to carry out his orders and speaking through the creature.

Now, some theories suggest that Hawkins was either nuked by the U.S. government to stop the Mind Flayer and other creatures, thus creating the post-apocalyptic world known as the Upside Down, or it's the result of a nuclear holocaust.

At his empire's height, Vecna was betrayed and destroyed by his most trusted lieutenant, a vampire called Kas the Bloody-Handed, using a magical sword that Vecna himself had crafted for him, now known as the Sword of Kas.

At the height of his empire Vecna was betrayed by Kas. Kas managed to destroy the Archlich before his own death, with the Sword of Kas, a lethal blade of the Undying King's own make, leaving only Vecna's left hand and left eye behind. Vecna eventually returned and by 581, had risen to godhood.

He simply died of his wounds while Vecna was far, far away. Of course, some fans have jumped on the "Eleven's new power" train and claimed that Vecna could resurrect Eddie. While that might be theoretically possible, it really wouldn't make much sense. Vecna had no connection to Eddie whatsoever.

The A Million Little Things premiere answers that question (yes), but his and wife Katherine (Grace Park) and son Theo's (Tristan Byon) lives will never be the same, as executive producer DJ Nash has said since the finale. Eddie is paralyzed, with less than a 10 percent chance of walking again.

Is Eddie gone forever? ›

In an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the writers/creators/directors confirmed that Eddie Munson is gone, and he's not coming back.

On the not-so-great side: As the Season 3 premiere revealed Thursday, Eddie is paralyzed as the result of his hit-and-run, and now must rely on a wheelchair to get around. (Read a full recap.)

Cut season 2 content will be in Stranger Things season 5

It also depicts Eleven exploring her past and reuniting with her old friend from Hawkins Lab, Kali.

Stranger Things season 5 will primarily take place in Hawkins, leaving Argyle's role in the final installment a mystery.

We find out in episode 7 that just like how everything in the Upside Down is connected, Vecna is also deeply connected to Hawkins and Eleven. Nancy (who is still in the Upside Down with Steve) ends up under Vecna's control, and she starts seeing visions about Barb's death.

Ultimately, it is revealed in Stranger Things season 4's finale that the reason why Vecna was killing Hawkins teenagers was to create a massive gate that merges the Right Side Up with the Upside Down - and he specifically needed four bodies to do so.

Of course, the real reason Max became Vecna's victim was because creators the Duffer brothers and producer/director Shawn Levy wanted to showcase Sink's talent and really allow her to get some meaty material to work with this season.

In episode 7, Vecna is revealed to be Henry Creel (played as a youngster by Raphael Luce), the son of Victor Creel (Robert Englund) and his wife Virginia (Tyner Rushing) shown in the 1950s flashbacks.

There's been debate as to whether or not this scene implies that Eleven created the Upside Down or merely opened the first gate to it. But according to Millie Bobby Brown, the Upside Down existed before El ever meddled with it.

When the party defeated Vecna and banished him, the Hand once again remained. Arkhan pretended to prepare to destroy the Hand, cut off his own left hand, somehow attuned to the artifact in an instant, and used it to Teleport away.

Why does Vecna use clocks? ›

Clocks represent a passing of time, which can represent the fact that Vecna's victims' time has nearly run out — it is no coincidence that many of the clocks are set to midnight. Throughout the series, we learn that Vecna is a human who found himself trapped in the Upside Down for years thanks to our girl, Eleven.

In the real world, the victim's body floats into the air, as Vecna snaps their bones and devours their innards, leaving them mutilated and looking like a shrivelled husk. He does this as all his attacks mimic his first telepathic kill, his own mother, back when he was a human child.

Trauma fuels him

Vecna draws power from sad and angry memories and that is the main reason he targets traumatized teens. Those teens are a well of power just there to be absorbed. This is not just a theory, Vecna himself told Eleven about the power that angry and sad memories hold.

Seeing Stranger Things' Vecna Made Millie Bobby Brown Cry

“They brought her up into a position where she's bound,” Bower recalled to Variety. “I walked up to her [as Vecna] and she burst into tears.

Based on the flashback in “The Hellfire Club”, he killed an estimated 21 people: 13 lab subjects, two orderlies, two guards, Ten, Alec, Dr. Ellis, and Six. A flashback during “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab” later reveals that Vecna killed even more people in Hawkins Lab than we thought.

Vecna is actually Peter Ballard, played by actor Jamie Campell Bower.

Vecna feeds off his victims' trauma and haunts them with their own darkest thoughts.

If Vecna can overwhelm their victim with fear, and keep them from resisting, their fate is almost certainly sealed. In the real world, he makes the victim levitate while in their trance, before snapping their bones and neck, and crushing their eyes.

But the idea that Eddie walks and runs the way he did before the accident doesn't ring true to the authenticity we try to bring to our stories. What we love about that story is the gift Rome gives Eddie in return for the day Eddie gave his friend.

Eddie Munson is without a doubt 2022's most beloved metalhead. The Stranger Things character, portrayed by actor Joseph Quinn, is a Dio backpatch-wearing, B.C. Rich Warlock-shredding high-school hesher who plays a ripping cover of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" in the finale of the Netflix show's fourth season.

Who shot eddies leg? ›

He merely wanted to salvage something and was convinced that there was an innocent soul inside the burning hut. The Captain shot Eddie in the leg to keep him from running further into the hut and burning to death. When Eddie finds this out he is furious with the Captain.

Eddie Is Learning to 'Let Go'

Professionally speaking, Eddie is in a “good place” when we pick back up with him in Season 6, Reidel says. “He's back at the 118, and he's happier and healthier than before.

The scene was gut-wrenching enough and fans cannot forget it, whether they want to or not. The kicker of it all? Eddie's final words to Dustin: "I love you, man." If those words weren't already bringing on the waterworks, Dustin tearfully replies "I love you, too." And then Eddie is gone.

Yes. Sorry. Eddie is definitely dead, the Duffers confirmed, squashing all hopes of a Martin Brenner-esque resurrection.

'Stranger Things' 4 Volume 2: Eddie Did Have a Crush on Chrissy, Says Joseph Quinn. An aspect of Eddie's storyline in Stranger Things 4 that fans hoped would be explored in another universe was his relationship with Chrissy.

The best part? Joseph Quinn actually played some guitar in the now-famous scene in which Eddie shreds to Metallica's 1986 single, "Master of Puppets" (which has spiked to No. 1 on the charts since Stranger Things Vol. 2 dropped, BTW).

After all, they'd both agreed to no children. Then Rome changed his mind, and slowly Regina realized that she would like a baby but adopt one. It was always going to be a risk, but she was so close to having a baby of her own.

“Stranger Things 4” put Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield through hell. The fan-favorite character ended the season in a coma with her bones broken and eyes blinded at the hands of Vecna.

So, did Max die? Technically, she did—if only for a moment. According to Lucas, the doctors said Max's heart stopped for over a minute, but then she came back to life.

Physically, yes. Lucas tells his friends that Max is in a coma, and we see her wearing casts on her arms and legs. The Duffer brothers have also confirmed that at the end of Season 4, Max is alive yet "brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken."

Who is 006 in Stranger Things? ›

Six, portrayed by De'Jon Watts, is a recurring character in the fourth season of Stranger Things. He is one of several test subjects experimented upon at Hawkins Lab and was among those who were killed by One on September 8, 1979.

Given Kali's powers, it seems pretty self-explanatory as to how she was able to escape the lab. She either made herself invisible or was able to escape after manipulating the minds and visions of the guards.

Kali's vendetta against the scientists that experimented on her was an integral part of Season 2, and she even got an entire episode devoted to her story. However, after the season finale, we never saw or heard from her again.

In the final episode, Crazy Eyes spends time putting heavy objects on top of herself. She's hoping to feel what Poussey felt in those final moments when she was suffocated. Crazy Eyes ends up pulling a whole bookshelf onto herself in the library, and finally she gets sent to the medical ward.

While Maddie needed to leave to accommodate Hewitt's pregnancy, Chimney's departure was completely grounded in what makes sense for the story. After everything they've been through together on the show, it would be out of character for him to accept that Maddie had left.

By 1986, due to having no friends of his own, Argyle developed a friendship with Jonathan Byers after the latter and his family moved to Lenora Hills last year. Argyle would try to help Jonathan with his relationship problems with his girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler and his plans for college.

As ash falls from the sky, plants and flowers die and rot and red lightning crackles through the smoke coming from Hawkins, Eleven realises that Vecna's plan worked after all. Max did die for long enough to open the gateway, and now the Upside Down – and all its monsters – is coming to the real world.

Fans are now theorising that the powers of both 011 and 008, who have the combined power of 001, is what is needed to finally match and defeat Vecna. To put it simply, 011 + 008 + [with the combined power of] 001 = 020, a.k.a. Erica's critical hit.

The Duffer Brothers have said that season 5 will feature Will quite a bit, who as we know was the “taken” friend in season 1, lost in the Upside Down, and now retains his ability to connect to Vecna on some sort of psychic, cross-dimensional level.

Stranger Things season 5 will be the story of the Upside Down. The Duffer brothers have confirmed that season 4 volume 2 will deliver lots of answers about the mysteries of Stranger Things, but one big unanswered question will be the origins of the Upside Down. That answer is coming, but not until season 5.

What did Vecna find in the upside down? ›

After gaining the upper hand and ensnaring both her and Max in his lair, Vecna recalls becoming an "explorer" in the Upside Down, a world "unspoiled by mankind." He recalls discovering the Mind Flayer, an entity he could use to "realize my potential, to transcend my human form, [and] to become the predator I was always ...

Luckily, Mike can talk to her through the layers of trances. He finally (finally) tells El he loves her, and she draws deep into her power and pushes Vecna off of Max, holding him off until Steve and Co. can attack his physical body and destroy the mind palace.

But he does have a surprising weakness: music. Max was drawn away from his grasp thanks to her favorite song, Kate Bush's “Running Up That Hill,” and plays it on repeat as a sort of mental shield. Vecna also appears to have a connection with his victims in their deaths.

The theory claims that Vecna is Eleven's father. It first showed up on a podcast called Just The Nobodys, which was posted to TikTok. At first glance, the theory is pretty out-there, but there's actually enough evidence to give it credence.

When Vecna appears at the gravesite, it's first as Billy, mutilated, bloody, and eager to deepen the emotional wound that is Max's survivor's guilt. Vecna as Billy tells Max: "[L]ate at night, you have sometimes wished to follow me. Follow me into death.

Just at the last moment, Eleven breaks free and manages to defeat Vecna, while Steve, Nancy and Robin simultaneously manage to badly wound his physical form. A now-blinded Max wakes up but seemingly dies in Lucas's arms.

He was spared from any possessions or abductions in Stranger Things seasons 3 and 4, but the show has confirmed that Will is still connected to the Upside Down's master, Vecna.

In previous seasons, Will touching his neck always implied that something bad was going to happen. Because he was possessed by the Mind Flayer in Season 2, he could feel the various evil creatures -- almost like his "spidey sense" for something Upside Down-related.

According to the Stranger Things novel Suspicious Minds, Eleven's real father has been identified as Andrew Rich, Terry Ives's old boyfriend. Terry Ives, portrayed by Aimee Mullins, has been confirmed as Eleven's biological mother.

The Stranger Things actress was born with partial hearing loss, which progressed into full deafness as she grew up, which impacted her career. Millie revealed she doesn't always hear the director's 'action' cue when shooting a scene unless the director is especially loud.