Mike looking shocked in Stranger Things season 5 part 1
By
Adrienne Tyler
Published 3 minutes ago
Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.
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Warning: major spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, part 1.
The first part of the final season of Stranger Things has finally arrived, and, surprisingly, some major theories have already been confirmed. After four successful seasons, Stranger Things is ending with its fifth season, which will be released in three parts: part 1 on November 26, part 2 on December 25, and the series finale on December 31.
Stranger Things season 5 is set a year after the ending of season 4, and sees Hawkins under quarantine with the military setting up a base camp in Hawkins and the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the entire crew keep coming up with plans to find and destroy Vecna.
The first four episodes of Stranger Things season 5 were packed with shocking moments, big reveals, unexpected (and expected) returns, and a wild moment about Will’s connection to Vecna – and as it turns out, some of these were theories that turned out to be correct.
Will & Robin Team-Up
Will and Robin in the tunnels in Stranger Things season 5 part 1
Although the characters being split into teams was one of the most criticized elements of season 4, Stranger Things did it again in season 5, though not before seeing them all work together. However, they gradually split into teams again to cover more ground and save as many people as possible.
While there are some expected teams, like Steve and Dustin, and Hopper and Eleven, there’s a completely new pair that many were looking forward to: Will and Robin. As the two main characters who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, it was theorized and hoped that Will and Robin would team up.
Robin and Will go against Joyce’s plan and orders to figure out Will’s connection to Vecna and, thus, who his next target would be. In the process, Robin and Will bond over their shared struggles, and Robin’s words about identity and being one's true self are key to Will unlocking his powers at the end of Stranger Things season 5 part 1.
With four more episodes to go and a lot to do with Vecna still on the loose and Holly Wheeler (and other kids) taken to the Upside Down, hopefully there will be more of Will and Robin working together and supporting each other.
Vecna Targets Holly Wheeler
Stranger Things season 5 still of Holly Wheeler looking fearful.MovieStillsDB
The biggest reveal in Stranger Things season 4 was Henry Creel, Hawkins Lab’s 001 subject, who, after being unintentionally banished to the Upside Down by Eleven, became the creature now known as Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Vecna targeted teenagers in Hawkins who carried a lot of trauma, among them Max.
Among the biggest questions about Stranger Things season 5 was who would be Vecna’s next target, and set photos led to theories about Holly Wheeler. These photos showed Holly talking to Vecna in his human form, which was initially theorized to be Vecna invading Holly’s dreams.
As dark as targeting Holly Wheeler is, it turned out to be correct, and the reasons behind it are indeed dark. Vecna has a new plan in season 5, and it consists of kidnapping many children from Hawkins as they are easier to manipulate, and thus he considers them the “perfect vessels.”
Holly Wheeler is now in the Upside Down, connected to it through tendrils while her consciousness is inside Vecna’s mind, where he gave her a fake sense of safety by telling her to stay in her childhood home and do whatever she wants. Thanks to another confirmed theory, Holly now knows the truth of where she is.
Max Is Trapped Inside Vecna's Mind
Max and Holly in Stranger Things season 5Image via Netflix
A huge theory that was confirmed in part 1 of Stranger Things season 5 is Max’s fate. At the end of season 4, Max was left in a coma after dying for a couple of minutes as a result of Vecna’s attack, but Eleven was able to revive her. Unfortunately, Eleven couldn’t find Max in her mind, and season 5 revealed why and, in the process, confirmed a theory.
Holly is lured to some rocks as she gets a note supposedly from Henry asking her to meet him at the rocks. There, she finds Max, who explains to Holly what happened to her after Vecna’s attack. Max tells Holly they are now trapped in Henry/Vecna’s mind, and, more specifically, in a memory of his house and Hawkins.
At one point, Max was very close to escaping from Vecna’s mind and returning to her body, but her song stopped playing, the “portal” closed, and Henry caught up with her. However, while running away from him, Max realized Henry wouldn’t get close to the rocks, and so she established a refuge for herself there.
Max being confirmed to be trapped in Vecna’s mind is a relief and offers some hope for her full return to her friends and family. However, it most likely won’t be an entirely happy and healthy return, as her body was badly injured, and it’s understood that Vecna’s attack left her blind.
Kali's Return
Kali in Stranger Things season 5Image via Netflix
Stranger Things has been consistently good for four (and a half) seasons, but it hasn’t been a perfect show. Season 2 houses the show’s most divisive episode, in which Eleven leaves Hawkins and meets a fellow Hawkins Lab test subject, Kali (Linnea Berthelsen). Eleven and Kali quickly bond, and the latter teaches the former to control her powers.
However, Eleven doesn’t feel comfortable with Kali and her point of view, and she returns to Hawkins. Kali didn’t appear again in Stranger Things… until season 5’s fourth episode. Kali is revealed to be kidnapped at the military’s Upside Down base, where she’s being used to block Eleven’s powers.
Exactly how Kali’s powers are being used as Eleven’s “kryptonite” is currently unclear, but Kali looks relieved the moment she sees Eleven in front of her. It was theorized that Stranger Things season 5 would bring Kali back as an ally to Eleven so they can take Vecna down together, and this can still happen if they make it out of the base alive.
Will Byers Has Powers
Will using powers in Stranger Things season 5Image via Netflix
Stranger Things season 5 part 1 ends with a major twist that won’t be too surprising to supporters of the theory. Season 5 was teased to be key to Will’s story and to answer the biggest questions about his kidnapping in season 1. As a refresher, Will was kidnapped by a Demogorgon in season 1 and was kept in the Upside Down for a week, connected to it through a tendril.
In season 2, Will had a connection to the Mind Flayer, which Dr. Owens explained as a hive mind, and Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike managed to break Will free from its control. Unfortunately, Will wasn’t completely free of it, as teased at the end of season 4 and confirmed in season 5 when he started having visions again.
The big reveal is that Will is now seeing through Vecna’s eyes, which has allowed him to deduce his next move. Given his time in the Upside Down and his connection to the hive mind since then, it was theorized that Will could also have powers, but, unlike Eleven, his aren’t the result of Hawkins Lab’s experiments.
Will’s powers come directly from the source (Vecna), which could make him even more powerful than Eleven. As seen at the end of part 1, Will has now tapped into those powers and used them to kill the Demogorgons that were about to attack his friends, and even better, he killed them the same way Vecna killed Chrissy and the rest in season 4.
It’s to be seen what else Will can do with his powers and connection to Vecna, as well as if and how he teams up with Eleven and possibly Kali to finally defeat Vecna/Henry Creel.
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Stranger Things
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
7 Images
Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) grabbing Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) shoulders in Stranger Things season 1©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eleven with cables all over her head in Stranger Things season 4
Vecna looking towards Will in the trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (2025)
Max and Eleven in Stranger ThingsNetflix
Stranger Things season 2, episode 2 "Trick or Treat, Freak".MovieStillsDB
The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 5Courtesy of Netflix Close
Cast
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Millie Bobby Brown
Jane 'Eleven' Hopper
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Finn Wolfhard
Mike Wheeler
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