Eagle-eyed viewers of the hit Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things are convinced they have uncovered a major secret ahead of the release of the second part of the show's fourth season.
Fans have scoured every episode released so far in the series' latest instalment, they have paused, zoomed, and debated - and now think they have found a link between this season's big villain Vecna and a seemingly-trustworthy member of the cast.
Season Four, which racked up more than half a billion views in its first fortnight on the platform, has seen the Stranger Things gang fall further into governmental and supernatural conspiracy, all while nightmarish monsters continue to emerge from the Upside Down.
The season introduces Vecna as its major antagonist, a villain with the power to reach into the minds of others and control them. The Hawkins teens soon discover that they are behind the recent deaths of some Hawkins residents, who Vecna tormented to death.
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Now, important to the fans' theory is that Vecna appears to only target people with trauma in their past, something revealed when the gang saved their friend Max at her brother's graveside.
In typical Stranger Things style, the teens stop Vecna tormenting Max by playing her favourite song to remind her of her friends and happiness, rather than her killed brother. This insight into how the villain's power works set the Hawkins teens to discover that all of the victims had met with the school counsellor, Ms Kelly.
In the show, this serves as a way for the teens to discover the traumatic pasts of the other victims and find a clue to help them stop Vecna. While for the kids this was the only clue, viewers think they might have missed something - the connection between Ms Kelly and Vecna.
Fans believe that the counsellor is in cahoots with the mind-controlling villain, supplying information on which teens would make ideal victims to torment and murder.
This was just speculation until a Tiktok user, @Ladybug5489, spotted an auditory clue that most viewers had missed. During Max's meeting with her, Kelly is wearing a necklace with a clock pendant that can be heard clicking throughout the scene.
This matters as, so far, all of Vecna's victims have seen and heard a grandfather clock as they died - suggesting the season's second half to be just as twist and drama ridden as the first.
The second part of Stranger Things Season Four will be released on Netflix, July 1.
