Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for Season 5, Volume 2 of Stranger Things, now available on Netflix.
We’ll have all the answers within a week. But for now, I have a lot of questions.
During the Christmas Day release of Stranger Things 5 Volume 2, many important plot points were fleshed out, giving us a lot of information heading into the series finale on December 31st. We learned things we didn’t know before. For example, Eleven’s powers come from Henry’s blood transfused by Dr. Brenner, and the Upside Down is not its own dimension, but a wormhole that connects our world with Vecna’s world, led by Dustin. Named Abyss.
As we process the latest episodes of Shock Jock, Escape from Camazotz, The Bridge, and Stranger Things, we’ve rounded up the biggest questions ahead of the finale.
Big Question: What is the ultimate significance of November 6th?
It’s the night Will Byers goes missing in the 2016 series premiere, and it’s also the night that Vecna wants to use the kidnapped children to carry out her plan to unite the Abyss and Earth, but why this day? What was the point of Vecna taking Will in the first place?
Provided by Netflix
And why is Vecna trying to unite the Abyss with Earth?
Is he just a nihilist who wants to burn everything down at this point? Or is something else going on?
What we want to know: How did Hopper, Elle, and Carly get out of the Upside Down?
The Upside Down is in chaos, falling apart at the seams, with Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Dustin still trapped there, while Hopper, Elle, and Carly manage to escape off-screen. By the start of episode 7, Hopper and the girls are back in Hawkins, but we don’t know how Nancy manages to escape in the chaos after she blows a hole in the Exotic Matter Barrier. What did they do to get back together?
Work in progress: What prevented the Demogorgon from getting into the elevator to take Max and Lucas?
The demo came towards them and as it jumped, something blocked it from passing. And since there was only so much Karen Wheeler could do in a day to save her children, what else was going on there?
Big question: What stopped the white goo from spreading on the Upside Down?
Nancy and Jonathan are saved from death in the Upside Down when the world stops dissolving into white slime around them and solidifies enough that they can walk on it. This happened just in time to save their relationship, but it doesn’t, but it’s not clear what stopped everything and stabilized it, as the Upside Down still appears to be in danger after Nancy shoots through the barrier.
What we want to know: Also, what happened to the ring?
No, it’s not that important, but it was the one that got thrown on the floor and showed that everything finally stuck. So…someone picked it up?
Big Question: Who is the man young Henry finds with his dropped briefcase in a mine shaft in the Nevada desert?
Fans who have seen the Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow will know what’s going on here, but it’s still mostly a mystery. We know that Henry had a traumatic experience in the desert as a child and was never the same after that. “First Shadow” reveals that Henry enters an alternate dimension known as Dimension X and returns 12 hours later with altered blood, personality, and telekinesis. Who is the stranger Henry meets, what was he holding onto, and what exactly happened to turn Henry into this dark person?
Big Question: What is the relationship between Dimension X, the Abyss, and the Upside Down?
We now know that the Upside Down is a wormhole that connects Earth to another world, the Abyss, where Vecna resides. Vecna was banished to the Abyss at Hawkins Laboratory by El when she was Henry/One. Despite sharing her mistreatment from Brenner, Elle refuses to join Henry’s plans for world domination, punching a hole in reality and plunging him into the Abyss. Brenner, other scientists, and the military then stabilized the Upside Down and installed a barrier of exotic matter that separated the wormhole that ran between the Abyss and Earth from the Void. Are Abyss and Dimension X the same thing?
Provided by Netflix
The big question: Will Eleven sacrifice herself?
At the end of episode 7, Kali tells Elle that for everyone’s benefit, she should commit suicide after defeating Vecna. Carly says this is a sacrifice, and they need to end the cycle that began when Brenner gave Henry’s blood to a pregnant woman to create Elle, Carly, and the other telekinetic children at Hawkins Lab, so that the military can’t use their blood to create new children like them. But will Elle really go through with it?
Big question: Will any major characters die in the final episode?
In episode 5, Elle became very angry at Hopper for revealing that he had tried to fight Vecna alone and that he was wearing a suicide vest as a safety measure. But now she’s keeping secrets of her own about Carly’s plans from Hopper and everyone else. Even if Matt Duffer told Variety that the show is “not Game of Thrones,” even if Eleven manages to make it out alive, someone has to die, right? (And that would be Hopper in an incredibly noble way?)
ALSO: Is Will going to confess his feelings to Mike?
Will came out in episode 7 and was surrounded by support and love from his friends and family. And he seems to accept himself for who he is, following Robin’s advice to not rely on reciprocated feelings from others to feel validated. But does that mean Will won’t have more direct conversations with Mike about his crush by the end of the series? How would Mike react if he did? (Also, not that Mike understood this disrespect, but maybe it was kind of mean to him to call Mike his Tammy?)
The big question: How much can Max understand inside Henry’s head?
After Max died and was brought back to life in the season 4 finale, her physical body was in Hawkins’ hospital, but her mind was in Vecna’s mental space in the Abyss with Henry. As Max reveals to Holly, she has been exploring the terrain for the past 18 months while hiding from him. She knows he is afraid of caves and that he has a weakness. As he prepares for his final battle with Vecna, Max tells Eleven to call for her so she can use her knowledge against him.
And finally: Will Nancy and Steve end up together?
Let’s end with a little complaint. Now that Nancy and Jonathan have broken up, will this pave the way for Steve to fulfill his dream of eating lots of little nuggets with his ex? After “Jancy” ended, we all witnessed the chemistry, only for her to say that there wasn’t really anything with Steve. At the very least, it opens a door that has been tightly closed since season 2.
Emily Longeretta and Kate Orser contributed to this list.
• The Duffer Brothers explain all the spoilers for Volume 2
• The Duffer Brothers explain all the spoilers for Volume 1
• Noah Schnapp talks about that scene in Volume 2
• Noah Schnapp about the transformation scene in Volume 1 (spoilers)
• Sadie Sink talks about Max’s important role in Volume 1
• Nell Fisher talks about playing Holly Wheeler in Season 5
• “Stranger Things” performers on the show’s final day.
• Variety’s “Stranger Things” Oct. 15 cover story on the Duffers.
• Cara Buono talks about Karen’s kick-ass hero moment (finally)
• “Stranger Things” spin-off Duffer Brothers
• Linda Hamilton says she’s Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘biggest fan’
• Shawn Levy talks about Season 5’s ‘Sticking the Landing’
• David Harbor talks about how ‘Stranger Things’ changed him
