After years of waiting, Stranger Things is finally back with Volume 1 of its last season. These first four episodes, released November 26, waste no time before diving into higher stakes, new characters, and crazy plot twists. If you somehow haven’t finished your season 5 marathon over Thanksgiving break, this is your spoiler warning, and your sign to get caught up like the rest of the 59.6 million viewers (variety.com) before Volume 2 drops later this month. 

Did The Upside Down Take Over After Season 4’s Ending?

So far, no. The season starts off with the reveal that the Upside Down was stopped from taking over Hawkins by the help of the “MAC–Z” (Military Access Control Zone). After all four of Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) gates opened at the end of season 4, we finally get to see how the military covered the gates all across Hawkins using steel plates (Stranger Things: MAC-Z). A portion does however stay open and is heavily guarded and hidden at the library, which military personnel continue to use for travel to and from the Upside Down for what we all hope is good. Unfortunately, the Mac-Z doesn’t stay a help for long once Demogorgons and Vecna break in, destroying the base and brutally killing military members. Fortunately, the end-of-volume reveal changes everything for Hawkins and its trapped residents.

Episode 4 Ending Reveal

The moment that fans all over are talking about comes from Episode 4, “Sorcerer”, where Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) reveals a power that fans never would’ve guessed was possible. Since the very beginning of the show, Will has always been the least centered of the main characters, as his strong feelings of disconnection from his friends, as well as the long lasting trauma from the Upside Down take over. Through seasons 1-4, you get to watch his confidence build up slowly, which we now know was the start of the strongest character arc heading into the finale.

How did Will get powers? Has he always had them? These are the questions we all have while urgently waiting for the next release. During the final minutes of episode 4, Will channeled in on Vecna’s powers, allowing him to save his friends and family from the countless murderous demogorgons. Will is not like Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) since he doesn’t get these powers from within. He got them because he has been connected to Vecna and the Upside Down since the start. We watch as a movie of happy memories from his childhood, of his mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) and older brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and of younger him building the castle in the woods (first shown in season one), help him finally find himself (slashfilm.com). It is assumed that after this queue of memories, Will has finally found a way to take power over Vecna, who has only seen him as weak and incapable, after finding a way to understand and accept himself. We won’t know what these new discovered abilities will bring until the rest of this season is released. 

Fan Theories That Get You Thinking

Obviously, no new Stranger Things season release comes without a jumble of fan theories. The fact that this is the finale revealing all of the answers viewers have been waiting almost 10 years for is causing the circulation of predictions online to be all over all of our feeds. Some of these popular thought provoking ideas include:

• The Mind Flayer is the True Villain: Vecna (also known as Henry, or 001) is also possibly being controlled by the Mind Flayer and may be trying to take him down too. (screenrant.com)
• Will Byers Has to Die in Order to Save Everyone: Many are certain that since the show started with Will, it means it has to end with him. Especially after the powers are shown, fans think Will could try and use these powers to fight Vecna, alongside Eleven. Which also could mean a possible death of Eleven as well. On the other hand, others believe that he will have to sacrifice himself in order to put an end to the Upside Down (esquire.com).
• All Just a Game of DND: Now, this is one of the longest circulating yet controversial theories out there. Season one starts off with Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLoughlin), and Dustin (Gaten Matarozzo), playing an intense game of Dungeons and Dragons. Since the villains in the show were named by the boys after characters from this game, many fans believe that this is all just the same game from the start, and will end with the young boys ending the harmless board game (thewrap.com). This is one theory that I personally hope is not revealed to be true

With only Volume 1 available so far, the season ends on multiple cliffhangers that cause more questions than answers. The tension, new character dynamics, and the focus on Will, give fans plenty of hope to hold onto while waiting for the next release. All we know for sure is that this final season isn’t just about closing old doors, it’s about opening new ones we didn’t even know existed.