Spoiler City!

5 THEORIES ABOUT SEASON 5

Max Is Trapped Inside Vecna's Mind

There are a lot of theories circulating surrounding the fate of Max. When we leave her in Season 4, she is in a coma and effectively braindead after being killed by Vecna and brought back to life by Eleven. When One killed the kids at the lab, he said that they aren't gone, but actually still with him in his mind. But where is Max's consciousness? Given the fact that Eleven goes into The Darkness looking for Max and can't find her, her being trapped inside Vecna/One/Henry's mind makes the most sense. Dr. Brenner actually backs this up in Chapter 8 of Season 4 by saying “When One kills, he doesn't simply kill. He consumes… Everything they are and everything they ever will be.”

Eddie Will Return?

One of the more popular and widespread theories is that we haven't seen the last of Season 4's fan-favorite character, Eddie Munson. It may sound skeptical at first, but some of these theories are pretty convincing! As we all know, the creatures in the Upside-Down are based on characters in Dungeons and Dragons and are described pretty accurately. Because the Duffer Brothers have said that you cannot die from just the bite of a bat, there is a theory that Eddie will become Kas the Vampire. The right hand man to Vecna in DnD, Kas eventually betrays and defeats his master. Things were not looking good for Eddie when we saw him last, but remember that the telekinetic abilities shared by those studied at Hawkins Lab include resurrection. Kas' signature weapons are a sword and a shield covered with spikes. This is eerily similar to Eddie's trash can shield of nails and the long tree branch with a knife tied to the end he used as a sword. Eddie even has multiple bat tattoos!

The Introduction Of Borys From DnD Lore

Getting into a little bit more of the Dungeons & Dragons mythology, it has been pointed out that some of the game's most popular monsters have yet to be used on the show, namely, the most popular one. In a list of the most powerful villains of DnD, we have already seen (#8) Demogorgons and (#2) Vecna. Borys (#1) is described as a giant dragon-like creature, with red glowing scales like magma, and a storm of fire beneath its wings. This imagery feels very familiar to the Upside Down and its glowing red gates. It also lines up with Nancy's vision from Vecna of seeing a giant creature with a gaping mouth. Also, being a teaser the whole season, Will's painting has to tie into the story somehow, and if you remember correctly, the creature they're all fighting is a dragon!

Will Is Headed Towards A Villain Arc

Will wasn't exactly championed by his friends this season. But will he go full villain? The Duffer Brothers confirmed that Will plays a key role in the upcoming final season and some theories suggest that Season 4 was basically just his origin villain story. There are a lot of clues suggesting that Will is going to get possessed again, and in the world of DnD, Vecna is a Lich, "a humanoid spellcaster that seeks to defy death by magical means, like hiding his soul in an object or another person." Some fans have even gone a step farther suggesting that Will has been possessed the entire series, and the reason the Upside Down is frozen on the day he went missing is because he actually died and is has just been an extension of Vecna!

Time Travel Will Play A Significant Role

This theory focuses on the clock from Season 4 hinting that they'll go back in time and fix everything that went wrong before it happens. The clock is shown everywhere yet little is known about it. There appear to be some clues that Vecna has used the clock to see both the past and the future and his dialog has always implied that he's overconfident and already knows the future. He also said that he “saw his parents as they truly were”, most likely in their past. Perhaps Henry wasn't just messing around with the clock when he “became an explorer”, but actually time traveling. So if Vecna can time travel, there is a very good chance that El can too, which supports the theory that they can go back and fix everything. Who can forget the multiple nods to the movie Back to the Future in Season 3? From the music to the movie playing in the theater, the references are hard to miss. Knowing the Duffer Brothers' history of foreshadowing leaves little doubt that these hints to Back to the Future are intentional. What we don't know is what it exactly means for Season 5.