Given the crazy ending that Netflix’s  Stranger Things season 4 had, it’s safe to say that every fan has been eagerly waiting to know how the show will end in the final season. Needless to say, far too many questions remain unanswered: Will Eddie return? Will Max be saved from Vecna? And, has Will got any connection to the Upside Down? Clearly, there’s simply too much to unravel.  

And while the Duffer Brothers have remained tight-lipped about the plot, they did release the name of the first episode of the final season. The premiere episode of Stranger Things 5 has been titled – Chapter One: The Crawl. Season 5 is most likely to arrive in 2024 or later, while the filming for the same is expected to begin in 2023. 

Fans have a lot of time to kill, and what better than to cook up theories of their own? For anyone who’s forgotten how Season 4 ended, let us tell you that it ended with an intense face-off between Eleven and Vecna. Max dies briefly after opening the fourth gate, while Eddie dies fighting the demo-bats. The rest of the characters are also shown fighting in the Upside Down or Russia and reuniting at the end only to find out that the opening of the gate has finally started revealing its outcomes.  

Check Out Epic Fan Theories Based On Season 4’s Ending 

Eddie Will Make A Return 

The saddest death in season 4 was that of Eddie and going by his massive popularity amongst fans, there is a possibility of him coming back. Stranger Things draws heavily from the Dungeons and Dragons Universe in which Vecna’s right-hand man is a half-human, half-vampire. Eddie might return as Kas the Bloody-Handed, and Dustin Hoffman (Gaten Matarazzo) will help Eddie snap out of Vecna’s curse and eventually kill just like in the DND universe.  

Is Max Coming Back?

After the spine-chilling scene where she opens the gate to the Upside Down, Max is shown in the hospital recovering from the aftermath of the incident. She was declared “braindead”, which is an ideal situation for Vecna, who can use her as a vessel or a hiding place for him as he already must have created a hive in her mind.  

What Is Will’s Connection With The Upside Down? 

Will Byers was the one who entered the Upside Down in the first season and four seasons later, at the end of the final episode of Season 4, we see him getting goosebumps – indicating he can sense the inhibits of the Upside Down world. Fans think that he will play an equal part with Eleven to fight the baddies. Since he knows much about the Mind Flayer, he could be seen fighting him while Eleven finishes Vecna. Duffer Brothers also stated that Will (Noah Schnapp) would be the primary focus for season 5 so it will be fun to see how this unfolds. 

The Final Villain 

Well, Vecna won’t be the only villain that fans will see in Season 5. Fans believe that the picture that Will gave to Mike in Episode 8 of Season 4, indicated that the dragon in the painting is the final villain called Borys. It could be a stronger Vecna as well. Not to forget that Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) also mentioned that Vecna showed her a “giant monster with a gaping mouth”.  

Is Vecna Eleven’s Father?

Many fans feel that Eleven and Vecna have a connection and it is not just being a part of Papa’s experiment. Fans say that Vecna is her biological father since no other kid except Eleven was as powerful as Vecna aka 001/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). Theories suggest that genetics played a role in making both 001 and 011 exceptionally strong. 

(Featured Image Credits: Twitter @strangerthings)