Happy Stranger Things week to all who celebrate! After a two-year wait, the final season of the show is finally set to air (or at least, the first few episodes), putting an end to months of rampant speculation.
The last we heard from the gang, Vecna had ripped open a portal to the Upside Down in the middle of the town of Hawkins and almost killed Max (Sadie Sink) for good. Now, we’re about to find out how (or, indeed, if) the gang will manage to stop him.
But that hasn’t stopped fans from putting on their thinking caps and speculating exactly how that’s going to happen. Their theories range from the plausible to the frankly insane — and as the show gears up to launch, we’ve included some of our favourites below, courtesy of Reddit.
The show is actually a DnD campaign
This has been a persistent theory since the very earliest days of the show. What if all the horrific things going on in Hawkins are actually part of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign being played by the four boys with whom we start the show: Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike?
After all, many of the show’s villains (the Demogorgon, for instance) are named after classic villains, and DnD motifs come up several times over the course of the season.
Instead of the team actually being in danger, what are the odds that they ‘wake up’ and the end of the show reveals that the entire show has all been one massive gaming session?
It makes sense, in a weird way. But it’s not very likely. The theory has been debunked by the Duffer Brothers themselves at this point — and to be honest, it would be a deeply unsatisfying way to wrap up the story for good.
Kali will return to help fight Vecna
Does anybody else remember the odd few episodes where Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) went rogue and joined a group of emo kids running around Chicago? It was one of the show’s odder storylines, and drew a decidedly lukewarm response from the fans, which might explain what happened afterwards.
El met her ‘sister’ Kali, or Number 6, who has the power to create illusions... but when she returned to Hawkins, seemingly completely forgot about her. Kali was ignored in the season four storylines, and didn’t even seem to show up during the murder scene in the Rainbow Room. It was as though the Duffer Brothers were keen for us to forget about that particular plot thread.
But was it a mistake, or intentional? After all, Kali’s powers could come in very useful in the fight against Vecna, and it would be a neat way to tie up that particular underused story arc. Time will tell.
… or Erica will
There have been quite a few threads floating around regarding the Dungeons and Dragons game the gang play, with Erica (Priah Ferguson) standing in for her big brother Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin).
In that game, the team roll their dice to defeat the final boss, but Dustin rolls an 11, meaning he fails the attack. Erica, meanwhile, rolls a 20 on the dice, which means a critical success.
What does all this mean? Some have speculated that Erica is being set up to be the ultimate hero of the show, and the one to finally defeat Vecna. Which we could definitely believe. But that 11 gives us pause for thought too, especially given that Dustin failed his attack with it. Is that hinting that El isn’t enough to challenge the big bad?
El and Will are secretly twins
Bless Reddit for letting people post about things like this. One of the most bonkers theories to exist on the Stranger Things subreddit is the idea that El and Will (Noah Schnapp) are actually twins, who were separated at birth.
But wait, you cry: don’t they have different parents? And wouldn’t Joyce remember having two kids rather than one?
Well, listen to this: “Terry Ives hooked up with Henry during her experience with Dr Brenner, who was aware and knew to follow her pregnancy once it was discovered,” they say.
“Mama didn’t know it but she was actually carrying twins — Jane and Will — but in her drugged up state during the C-section she only saw Jane crying. Brenner did a test on the newborns and decided only Jane had Powers so put Will up for adoption. He was adopted by Joyce to cover for her own miscarriage in her troubled marriage.”
They go onto argue that Will also has powers, “like the ability to hide”, which is why he was of such interest to Vecna.
And they go further. “Will is going to discover his powers when Jonathan is killed in front of him in a self-sacrificial move. Will and Eleven will join hands and combo power strike to strip Vecna of his vines and remove his powers, leaving him weak and vulnerable. He ends up blind and in the same cell next to his father. Eleven starts training Will in telekinesis, leading to the spin-off.” Fun!
Vecna isn’t the real big bad
What do you mean, the big bad of the show isn’t actually the big bad? Well, TikTok user demi.kuijpers pointed out that Vecna isn’t the most powerful monster in Dungeons and Dragons. That’s actually a dragon, and he’s called Borys.
Does that mean that the show is going to pull the rug out from under our feet by introducing a second big bad?
It’s not out of the question — Stranger Things has introduced a progressively more powerful monster each season — but heading into the endgame, that does feel a little unlikely.
Ted is a secret boss
Who’s Ted? Why, only Mike and Nancy’s dad. The exceptionally bland, big-glasses wearing father has been a source of considerable fan interest ahead of the final season, with many speculating that he’s actually a secret badass.
“Ted is like CSI or something and he’s VERY involved in the events at Hawkins and knows more then he’s letting on!!” one Reddit user posted. Another agreed, writing: “Ted is a secret badass and the parent that Nancy gets her sharpshooting skills from”. Um. Sure.
Stranger Things Season 5 starts on Netflix from November 27
