Stranger Things season 5 – my favourite theory’s come true

Cassie Mammone

5.12.2025

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

The start to the finale of Stranger Things is absolutely mind-blowing. Above all, it’s finally proved that a long-standing fan theory was spot on.

Happy Stranger Things kick-off! Have you already watched the first episode of season five? Hopefully, because this article is full of spoilers for the first four episodes of season five.

On 27 November at 2 a.m., the time had finally come. Night owls worldwide had the chance to watch the first half of the final season of Stranger Things at the same time. Our heroines of Hawkins prepare for the final battle against the villain Vecna. At the same time, they have to keep their activities under wraps because the army’s occupying the fictitious small town.

The first four episodes focus on the preparations for the showdown. Episode one ends with a hard-hitting cliffhanger: Vecna, whose whereabouts were unknown to everyone, attacks the military base in Hawkins. At the end of the hold-up, he swoops in on his first victim, Will, and tells him the world wasn’t made for minds like theirs.

He continues by telling Will that being a nerd and homosexual on top of that makes him a misfit. Being either of those would’ve meant beatings or worse in the 1980s. But unlike Vecna, Will doesn’t give in to the hatred fuelled by being treated unfairly for being different. Instead, he accepts himself for who he is.

[Spoiler] finally has superpowers

The last 15 minutes of the first episode of season five are some of the best the series has had to offer so far. They’re charged with an urgency for the group to free children from the clutches of the army. If not, they’ll fall into Vecna’s hands. What’s more, Vecna bursts onto the scene with a good dose of action and violence. With his new-found strength, he destroys soldiers around him as if they were toys. The ending delivers an emotional climax: Will finally seems to have accepted himself for who he is.

By accepting himself, Will unleashes superpowers that have been lying dormant ever since he was kidnapped by the Demogorgon in the very first episode.

The words of his new-found friend Robin help him along the way. As a lesbian in the 1980s, she knows exactly what he’s going through. When she picks up on his feelings for his best friend, she takes Will aside. Instead of grilling him, she talks about her own experience of falling in love with a heterosexual classmate and

the love that wasn’t reciprocated. She also tells him about the life lesson that taught her: to be yourself – and Rockin’ Robin is really cool.

Before the epic revelation at the end of the episode, parts of Robin’s speech are heard again in the background:

«I was looking for answers in somebody else, but I had all the answers. I just needed to stop being so goddamn scared. Scared of who I really was. Once I did that, oh, I felt so free. It’s like I could fly, you know?»

The speech is underpinned by Will’s memories of his loved ones: his first meeting with Mike, the drawings he shows his mother and the adventurous construction of his Castle Byers retreat. They’re the same memories that came up episode 8 of season two. When Joyce, Jonathan and Mike try to free Will from the Mind Flayer’s influence.

It’s wonderful to combine a beautiful message such as «Be yourself» with epic superpowers. A typical move for Stranger Things and why I love the series so much.

Stranger Things is all about people who are different, strange, weird – the outcasts. And what nerdy middle school student Mike, lonely high school student Jonathan and former big city cop Hopper, who’s never really been able to get over the death of his daughter, have in common. These misfits band together again and again and pull off the craziest stunts. In fact, they celebrate being freaks, as the Hellfire Club proves.

How does this tie into the ending?

In the run-up to season five, I noted down some questions I’d like to see answered in the series. One of them is to find out what Will’s obvious connection to Vecna is. By the end of the fourth episode, it starts to become clear that Will isn’t only still a part of Vecna’s hive mind but can even access his powers via this connection. Alongside Eleven and perhaps even Kali, this makes him one of the most powerful allies in the fight against Vecna.

However, this also raises two concerns. Firstly, Vecna utters the following words in the trailer: «William, you are going to help me. One last time.»

He’s not yet said this in the first episode. This means Vecna’ll try to exploit Will for his own purposes again, just like in season two. The question is whether Vecna can control him or whether Will can resist.

Secondly, Will’s been connected to the hive mind since season two and felt the pain of the bad guys until the Mind Flayer particles were expelled from his body. There was no more of that for two seasons straight. In season 5, Will reacts to the attacks against Vecna and the Demogorgons without being visibly infected.

This means Will’s superpowers come at a price. And it could be high. If the connection continues, Will could die together with Vecna. I hope Will merely loses his powers if this is the case.

Will’s connection to Vecna is evident and the extent of it is likely to be felt in the final four episodes of the series. I can hardly wait for it to finally continue on 26 December and 1 January, respectively.

One last question remains: In the Upside Down, time stood still the day Will was abducted by the Demogorgon/Vecna on 6 November 1983. It remains unclear why this happened.

Did Will maybe already have superpower potential before he was kidnapped by Vecna? Did Vecna create the Upside Down based on Will’s vision of his home? Or are completely different forces at work?

These are all questions I can’t wait to find answers to soon.

Header image: Netflix

Cassie Mammone

Freelance Editor

cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.com

I wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.

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