Dafter years of waiting, the release of the first 4 episodes of Stranger Things 5 recorded record numbers. In the first 5 days of programming, the Duffers brothers’ 80s anthem It is the most watched series on Netflix; surpassed previous seasons. The last chapter – albeit only with Volume 1 – has brought together critics and audiences, composed of fan fierce that they went wild with the most imaginative theories and interpretations about the series finale. Which will be divided into two segments, which gives even more insight into possible plots as well as who among the main characters will die. Volume 2 (ep. 5-7) will be released on December 26th, while the last episode will be streamed on January 1st 2026, all at 2 in the morning (Italian time).
Stranger Things 5, final explanation volume 1 Netflix series
The detailed plot of Volume 1 by ST5 – released on November 27th – continues to create countless questions. To question everything is the arrival of new characters and the return of some old acquaintanceswhich were believed to be lost forever.
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), having entered the secret laboratory, has a shocking encounter. Imprisoned like a guinea pig there is his sister Kali Prasad (Linnea Berthelsen) or number Eight. The army captured her and is studying it to eliminate Eleven. The two are related but very different in character. Kali is capable of insinuating herself into the minds of others to create hallucinations. It thus manipulates the perception of reality by replacing it with illusions.
Eleven has the gift of telekinetics. Together they could annihilate Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) but Otto only has in mind to take revenge for the harm he has sufferedEleven wants to defeat that evil. The arrival of super Will (Noah Schnapp) who has acquired Vecna’s mental vibrationsit could make a difference.
The big surprise of the season is the return of Max (Sadie Sink). She was thought to be dead but instead she is in hospital, in a deep coma. The enthusiast updates her on the events Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) who goes every day hoping to find her conscious. The Duffer brothers managed to bring her back to life with a sophisticated stratagem. She is a kind of spiritwanders in a parallel world, trying in every way to return home. His destiny in the balance it crosses with new entry Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher).
Will’s new power, the truth about Henry/Vecna
What does Nancy’s (Natalia Dyer) and Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) little sister have to do with Max? The explanation may lie in Henry Creel’s terrible childhood. So horrible that I developed a deep hatred towards adults. On the contrary, it seems to have one strong empathy for children.
For this reason he took Holly and tried to kidnap his companions classy? He wants to protect them from the grown ups, in which the ferocious Doctor Kay (Linda Hamilton) stands out. The series’ play of ambiguities never ceases to amaze. Vecna is not so good but he wants to create a world made up entirely of minors in the Upside Down, whose immature minds are easily mouldable.
To do this, he must connect with all of them as he already did with Will, at the time of his first disappearance. For this reason, Will seems to be dangerously in tune with Hawkins’ enemy. The young Byers manages to read his mind, to look with his eyes and those of the Demogorgons. Doubt creeps in: will he be a perfect antagonist or an involuntary ally of evil?
Noah Schnapp as Will (Netflix)
Previews of Volume 2: when it comes out, number and duration of episodes
What to expect from Volume 2 and from the conclusion of the story? TO Variety, the Duffer brothers said they carefully studied the endings of the series and films most loved. From Six Feet Under to the sublime black screen of The Sopranos until the melancholy epilogue of If you leave me I will erase you.
Further information may come from Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the play on Broadway. This prequel suggests that Vecna/Henry Creel is not the enemy to be defeated. It could instead be the Mind Flayer, of which Vecna is not the master but the victim of his rebellion.
A twist that could shed light on true intentions of the mysterious Henry Creel. Victim of a terrible childhood, in 1959, he enters a cave in Nevada where he accidentally comes into contact with a top secret experiment. From there, it would all begin. Sucked into the “X Dimension”, an alternative reality, he ends up in the hands of a shadow entity, the Mind Flayer, later becoming Patient 0 in Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) lab.
Volume 2 (consisting of three episodes The shock, The escape from Camazotz, The bridge) will be available on December 26th. The ending – from the title The real world and with a duration of 2 hours and 5 minutes – it will streaming on New Year’s Eve.
Linnea Berthelsen is Otto in “Stranger Things 5” (Netflix)
Fan theories
Will’s fate, will he die?
The brothers have accustomed fans to constant changes in the fate of their characters, starting with Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Left for dead in an explosion in the last episode of season 3, he returns in a daring way in the fourth as a prisoner of the Russians in Kamchatka. Fans studied the clues left by the authors like bread crumbs and theories are wasted. Some predict that among the protagonists, with greater probability, Will will die.
The tender William “Will” Byers, played by Noah Schnapp, in Volume 1 he becomes aware of the powers he has received by contact from Vesna in the first abduction. This very close bond could put him in danger. Using his strength to save Hawkins from the Demogorgonsphe could be indirectly killed by Eleven when and if he defeats the enemy.
There are those who are more optimistic: Will doesn’t die but will only lose an eye. The reason would already be hinted at in season 2, when the camera lingers on him while telling the story of a man who survived a pole that pierced his eyeball.
The ambiguous Miss Kelley and Vecna’s about-face
Behind the Miss Kelley character (Queen Ting Chen), the gentle one Hawkins school counselor High School, he might be hiding an evil being. He had both Max as patients (Sadie Sink), both the students Chrissy (Grace Van Dien) and Fred (Logan Riley Bruner). Their bad endby the hand of Vecna, is known: the consultant and the villain of the series are connected?
Yet, someone pushes themselves to imagine Vecna ready to walk the path of redemption. He may unexpectedly team up with our heroes to defeat the Mind Flayer, who is keeping him mentally prisoner.
Jamie Campbell Bower is Vecna/Henry (Netflix)
The ending of Stranger Things 5: the 3 most popular theories about the ending
The connection between Dungeons & Dragonsthe popular role-playing game of the 1980s and the protagonists of the series is well known. His followers think that in the fifth season there is a new monster in place of the Dermogorgons: the Thessalhydra. A creature belonging to D&D and which Will unconsciously shows in one of his drawings.
This prediction is linked to theory about the ending, the most popular. The whole story Of Stranger Things it’s not real at all but just fruit of a match within Dungeons & Dragons. A second hypothesis it is equally evocative. Everyone the protagonists of the series are none other than patients of a psychiatric hospital, victims of a collective psychosis.
The third and final theory it could be the most reasonable and, at the same time, the most disappointing. Eleven will defeat Vecna, closing all the passages to the Upside Down. To succeed in the undertaking, However, he will have to erase everyone’s memories about what happened. Hawkins will return to a happy and forgetful place.