Stranger Things Final Season Review

As Stranger Things 5 is creeping up, many, especially me, are excited to find out what happens in the final season. As trailers and even the first five  minutes have come out, people have many speculating theories, particularly about Will. So, let’s take a look at some of these theories.

Fan Theories

Like in any fandom, there will always be theories. Some good, some controversial, and some just crazy. But, there have been many interesting theories so far for this final upcoming season of Stranger Things, such as the characters’ fates, who the final sacrifice for Vecna may be, let alone if there will be one, and which characters may return. So let’s, of course, see what all the buzz is about. 

Firstly, many are theorizing that Will will become the final sacrifice as you get a short glimpse of the last clip in the most recent trailer, leaving you second-guessing if he is going to die. Everyone is also saying that even Eleven could have to sacrifice herself to stop Vecna by erasing everyone’s minds. The craziest one yet, though, and one of the wildest ones, is that the whole series is just a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. 

Another is that Will might have created the Upside Down, which is one of my favorites–it's not really true, although he did influence the creation of it. A more accurate theory, I believe, is that Max is trapped inside Vecna’s mind and is able to swap places with him. I think this will make things much more complicated for the gang and will mess with their battles with Vecna, creating tension over who to save while trying to fight Vecna, or can help them by using that against Vecna. 

Some other popular theories fans have been stuck with and have been lingering in the air for a while, were even debunked and proved wrong by the Duffer brothers, creators of the show, including that Eddie isn't a vampire after all, Mike isn’t playing a game of D&D after Will “died” to cope with his grief, on top of the fact that the whole show isn’t just a D&D campaign, and Will actually didn't see Vecna in Season 1, which I found unfortunate because I too, really believed it.

Personally, here are some of my theories: 

• Steve or Jonathan will die: When I saw the trailer at first, I saw that Nancy was crying and she was washing blood off her hands, so I made the assumption that someone–one of her close friends– had to have died for her to be that emotional.

• Will or Eleven being the final sacrifice: Either Will or Eleven might sacrifice themselves because Eleven could use her powers to stop Vecna or be too drained from her overuse powers that Vecna got her and is able to defeat her so she can’t save herself. Will, since he is connected to Vecna, can also be taken advantage of by Vecna and become weak. Vecna may control him so he can’t live on and become his final vessel, although he has powers now and may save them all, he can still sacrifice himself by his own will.

• Max either dies risking her life to save Holly, or she is able to survive the whole thing: In the last season, Max got put into a coma by Vecna. She was almost on the verge of death until her friends saved her, but just barely. She might pass down this heroic act to Holly and save Holly instead of herself. Either that, or they both get out safely and someone else in the series dies, like the previous theories.

Review: After watching the first 4 episodes, I was in utter shock and amazement. 

If you haven’t watched it yet, here’s a little recap: it starts off with the crew—Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin— initiating their plan to lead Hopper, a man who made it his mission to stop Vecna, on their next crawl, which is where they go to the Upside Down in search of Vecna, the antagonist of the series. But while that happens, things seem a little off with Holly as she talks to her imaginary friend, who we find out is really Henry (Vecna), who claims there are monsters after her.

Meanwhile, main characters Will, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin struggle their way through high school as Dustin gets bullied and the others worry about Eleven, a girl with superpowers being hunted down by the government, and Max, a girl put in a coma and severely injured by Vecna in the previous season. 

Just when you aren’t expecting it, though, the Demogorgons come after the Wheeler house and attack Holly’s mother and father. At that moment, you’re left thinking that they’re probably going to die, especially me. I wasn’t expecting it and thought somebody else, like Steve or Jonathan (someone from the crew), would die, since nobody had died yet, so I thought they might be at risk. On the same night, Holly disappears into the Upside Down and doesn’t know that he is the real monster at first, and is stuck inside his “mind prison.” 

It is also revealed that Max, although still unconscious in the hospital, is in Vecna’s mind, hiding from him. Lucas visits Max a lot in the hospital and plays her favorite songs, and although it seems like she’s about to resurface out of her coma, she does not. Max tells Holly everything about Vecna, how he is the true monster, and that she will be safe with her in a place where he cannot get to them. She explains that when Lucas visited her that one time, she was almost able to get out of Vecna’s mind, but failed to because the music that was guiding her stopped. After that, she found a refuge, and her new mission was to protect Holly and save themselves.

Now, as the crew lost the signal for Hopper in the Upside Down during his crawl, they have to track three people at once—Holly, El, and Hopper, in which Hopper doesn’t know that Holly is in there with them. So, they have to change their game plan a bit to both get to where they need to be, get back on track, and plus save Holly in time. They ended up having to save another kid, Derek, as Vecna plans to keep capturing more kids. El also goes to the military’s lab and finds out that they are keeping Eight (Kali), her sister, who was introduced in Season 2. I was in bewilderment after this because the whole time I thought the military was keeping Vecna and didn’t imagine a bit that Eight would make another appearance. The fourth episode ends on a huge cliffhanger with Will discovering he has powers, and you’re left in surprise, wondering what happens now with Eleven, Will, and Eight. I can’t wait to see what they came up with for Eight, as her storyline was the least favorite. Personally, a new prediction of mine, seeing what’s happened so far in the show, is that the three kids with powers—El, Will, and Eight—will come together and combine their powers or all connect through Vecna’s mind now, as Will especially has Vecna’s abilities. 

One theory I have after watching is that Hopper will sacrifice himself, saving everyone else. When he is on the crawl, I’m thinking he might save everyone by sacrificing himself fighting Vecna or the Demogorgons, or by fighting the military. Because he almost died from exposure to an explosion and risked his life in Season 3 fighting the Russian hitman. Especially after watching the recent 4 episodes, “The Sorcerer” specifically, Hopper revealed that he had a bomb attached to him for a fail-safe, in case anything goes wrong. So, he might sacrifice himself by using this later on. 

Overall, I was overjoyed with that ending so far and found it. It’s been three years since the last season release, so I was unsure of how it would be, since the actors would obviously look older, and I wasn’t sure if I would still like it since it’s been so long. I am glad I was proved wrong; the plot twists got me on the edge of my seat, and I was binge-watching, wanting to know what happens to all the characters next. I’m super excited to see what is coming next on Dec. 25 and New Year’s Eve when the next three episodes and the season finale come out, respectively.