I don’t know about you but I haven’t been the same since July 1st 2022. ‘What happened on July 1st?’ I hear you ask. The Duffer Brothers happened, that’s what.
Yes, July 1st was the day I logged off work, bought myself popcorn, a bottle of wine, and some Pods (Mars flavoured, of course) and sat my ass down in front of the TV for hours to consume the most recent volume of Stranger Things. I’ve been a Stranger Things fan since that July night in 2016. It feels like a lifetime ago now, but to have watched these kids grow up and fight demons and demogorgons on repeat for years, well, you tend to form a connection (read: parasocial relationship). While some of my friends bravely managed to tease out the final volume of season four over a week or so, I binged the whole thing in the course of an evening in order to avoid any spoilers. Namely, spoilers from those super-quick TikTok fandoms. Those kids are bloody brutal. Anyway, it’s been over a month now and I think I’ve recovered from the finale enough to look ahead to season five. What will happen? Will Max be blinded forever? Will Jonathan join Nancy at college? Will these poor children ever be able to attend school??? Sadly, we may have to wait a while before we find out for sure but in the meantime, streetwear brand Vans is releasing a Stranger Things sneaker collection on online and in-storelet’s go down the fan theory rabbit hole.
August 26, both . Clothes and accessories will be right behind the shoe collection like a Russian guard after Hopper, so keep your eyes peeled, gang.
While we wait for the nostalgic drop,
In the final ep of season four we see Will get those eery chills up and down his spine once more. It’d been a while since he was so explicitly affected by the Upside Down but with Vecna destroying the town of Hawkins and escaping from the clutches of Eleven, will Will (ha) be able to sense evil again? Will he be overtaken by Vecna and try to kill his friends? And did anyone else notice his voice go a bit deep and evil-sounding when speaking to Mike at the Hopper house? Just me? Hopefully all will be revealed in season five.
While we’re on the topic, where the hell did the Upside Down even come from? We know that Eleven sent Vecna flying through time and space into this hell-like realm but what was said realm doing there in the first place? What’s with all of that floating stuff? According to , this parallel dimension previously consisted of “sprawling mountains and floating rocks”, but somehow, the Upside Down transformed into a copy of the human world as it existed on November 6, 1983. Spooky. It seems to be in 1983 as well, proving that it’s not a perfectly flipped Hawkins dimension.
You may not be as deep into -Tok as I am but the fandom were almost frothing at the mouth over the poster theory. Basically, every major character (you know, Mike, Will, El, etc) had a poster for the release of season four. But so too did Karen Wheeler AKA and Mike Wheeler’s mum.
There’s that Karen Wheeler is Vecna (AKA Henry Creel’s) sister, Alice Creel. Or, maybe she got a poster because she needs to be called out for forgetting her children are literally never home and out fighting for their damn lives every day. Season five may let us know.
Look, Steve needed to grow up in earlier seasons but now? He wants “six little nuggets” and to drive them all around in an RV. AN RV, Nancy!! Meanwhile, Jonathan is off getting high and not communicating that he doesn’t want to go to the same fancy college as his girlfriend. But he also doesn’t want to get in the way of Nancy’s dream, thus making him a good guy. The back and forth between the three of them has been relentless but what will happen in season five? Nancy needs to choose, ASAP Rocky.
You know the one. El absolutely bodied her after her merciless bullying. While we’re here, can any Gen X-ers tell me if the bullying back in the day was that vicious? Because the whole time I was screaming at the TV wondering why an adult wasn’t at least stepping in. Will rollerskating girl (apparently her name is ) get more comeuppance than a concussion? Or was she simply a plot accelerator in season four?
It’s no secret that the internet is thirsty for ‘s husband, AKA . His character, Jim Hopper, has gone from a grumpy small town cop, into a true hero that can survive a prisoner of war camp. What a development. Joyce Byers also bloody rescued him from Russia in a small plane so that’s bad ass as hell. I hope they get a second to chill out together, maybe go on a date or something before having to save Hawkins for the fifth year in a row.
We’re getting welllll into spoiler territory now. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED! One big question we have for season five is will our favourite little science experiment survive this round? She’s come bloody close to death in pretty much every season and I truly thought she was done for when the CIA were shooting at her and Papa in the desert. She managed to escape from the slimy clutches of Vecna by the finale so who will win the good versus evil battle this time?
MAJOR SPOILER WARNING.
At the end of volume two, season four, we tragically watched Max Mayfield get cracked like a glowstick by Vecna. I thought she was truly done for. Literally screaming, crying, throwing up at 1 am. But then, old mate El comes in and gives Max some healing powers so now she’s not clinically dead. But… it appears the lights are on with no one home.
There are some out there that Max could gain superpowers through her injuries. Perhaps she’ll be able to sense evil or jump through time and space in her mind like Eleven. IMO, I don’t think that Max’s character is finished. After all, she now knows Vecna better than almost anyone. Could she help to defeat him and save Hawkins?
I know it was the 80s but the poor child. Come on Duffer Brothers, they had buzzcuts back in the day.
Oh… my English teacher just called and said that the bowl cut represents Will’s innocence and the fact that he lost part of his childhood to the Upside Down. He’s behind his peers and constantly feeling left out. Will is seemingly also in season four. Perhaps a new haircut can symbolise a new chapter for the sweet boy. Bless him.
Alright. That’s enough theorising for one season. While we may have to wait over a year before season five is released, stick the new into your fandom-loving veins and onto your feet from August 26.
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