There's always been a deep connection between the upside down and Will Buyers, aka Will the Wise. And in Stranger Things season 5, Will uses this connection not just to control Demogorgans, but also to create monsters that can fight Vecna's army. With Vecna becoming increasingly more powerful and unstoppable, this is the great equalizer that season 5 needs. Apart from giving the good guys a fighting chance, this also pays off all the mysteries surrounding Will and the Upside Down. A great dungeon master at heart, Will taps into his connection to the upside down to manifest a great dragon, which aids in fighting off Vecna's invading forces. This would both flip and reinforce the other theory about Will manifesting every Stranger Things monster and the upside down itself. It's the big positive spin that would allow season 5 to end on a high note.
And if you think Will creating D&D-inspired monsters is weird, this next theory is even stranger. Eleven brought back Max when she was killed by Vecna. But when we last see Max, she's still in a coma. However, even this doesn't stop the fiery Max from joining the fray. While Max didn't initially have psychic control, this changes after she gets resurrected by Eleven. So, the next time Vecna corners Eleven from inside her own mind, Max comes to Eleven's rescue. Although Max is quickly banished from the scene by Vecna, it also becomes clear that she develops a limited form of Eleven and Vecna's powers, enough to actually slow the villain down. A rebel at heart, Max undermines Vecna whenever the would-be tyrant thinks he's in total control. Relishing the opportunity to get her revenge, Max gives Vecna a taste of his own psychic poison, a seemingly small nuisance that chips away at the villain's morale.
When Vecna sends Demogorgons to attack Max's physical body, the heroes band together to protect Max at the hospital. And Max getting psychic powers isn't the only consequence of Vecna's own actions. While the upside down gate enables Vecna's invasion of Hawkins, this direct connection to the other dimension also unlocks the psychic potential of certain residents. Jake Conny's Derek Turnbo, a new season 5 character, will be the first to show signs of supernatural abilities. Soon after the beginning of Vecna's invasion, Derek finds out that he can somehow sense and track the creatures coming from the upside down. This is what allows him to evade the creatures and survive in what has essentially become a war zone. When the members of the party eventually find Derek Turnbo, they put his abilities to good use by setting up a trap for Hawkins's enemies, which explains the title of Stranger Things season 5, episode 3, 'The Turnbo Trap.'
Yet, while the residents of Hawkins find new ways to fight, Vecna will have new tricks of his own to reveal. We know that Vecna can enter his victim's memories and even possess certain people. Taking things up a notch, season 5 sees Vecna disguising himself as dead cast members to influence his victims as they dream. After waking up sweating and panting from a vivid nightmare, Dustin struggles to explain to his friends how Eddie Mason appeared in his dream, only for Eddie to berate him about his death. Likewise, Eleven dreams about Dr. Brenner, only for Papa to tell Eleven that it's hopeless to fight the upside down. Meanwhile, Jim Hopper gets recurring nightmares about escaping the Russian prison alone, the dead guards and inmates begging him for help as he runs from a Demogorgon. And apart from giving the last season opportunities for cameos by dead characters, this allows Vecna to employ a new and sinister method of psychological warfare.
Moreover, the longer the gate stays open, the wider Vecna's reach becomes. Notably, Will's plans for his DnD campaign in season 3 foreshadowed the final beat of season 4. Hawkins facing an invasion from an evil force in the swamps. Similarly, Eddie's campaign for the Hellfire Club in season 4 foreshadows season 5. So, this isn't just a physical invasion of Hawkins, like the Demogorgons, bats, and other interdimensional creatures. Some of Hawkins' residents will fall under Vecna's direct influence. This will force the party to question who they can really trust, as any person, especially the main cast, could be vulnerable to Vecna's mind control. In addition, the effects of this control will be varied depending either on the person's vulnerability or their usefulness to Vecna. While most of those affected are just susceptible to suggestion, Vecna directly possesses certain individuals to lead his Hawkins cult, similar to Billy in season 3, and this leads into another big season 5 theory.
Apart from Eleven herself, music has always been the single most effective weapon against Vecna. This is what the season 5 radio station set is all about. As Vecna's influence grows in Hawkins, the party is desperate to find a solution. It is Dustin who eventually comes up with the idea of using the local radio station. By broadcasting popular songs from the era, the party frees most local residents from Vecna's mind control, a big step in the fight to reclaim Hawkins. That said, according to this next theory, the town will have even bigger things to worry about than Vecna. This is only the beginning of the end.
After the show debuted the Mind Flayer and Vecna, DnD-playing viewers theorized that the next big bad villain will be based on Tiamat, the multi-headed draconic god and evil queen of all dragons. However, we think season 5 will dig even deeper into Dungeons and Dragons lore, debuting a new villain based on Tiamat's creator, Asgarath, also known as the World Shaper, the great primordial god of peace and balance. Asgarath contains all aspects of good and evil, order and chaos within himself. In this Stranger Things theory, Asgarath will manifest as an Eldrich being from the hellscape, awakened by Vecna's interdimensional crimes. Not unlike the original DnD version of the Elder God, Asgarath prefers to appear to mortals within their minds, manifesting himself physically only in the rarest of moments. Yet, visions of his presence will be crystal clear, an ancient winged leviathan awakened by Eleven in Vecna's psychic bouts. The epic consequences of Dr. Brenner and MK Ultra messing with unknown cosmic forces.
Rather than being a traditional evil villain, Asgarath is more complicated. Seeking to restore balance, Asgarath wants to destroy Vecna and close the gate to the upside down. But in time, it becomes clear that Asgarath also wants to destroy Eleven and Hawkins itself, essentially to erase all traces of Brenner's unnatural work. So, forget Vecna or Tiamat. In season 5, the god of balance arrives to restore the natural order and erase Hawkins off the map. In light of this apocalyptic near future, Vecna finally puts his abilities to good use. In the end, Eleven and Vecna must stand together to defeat this greater threat.
Eleven figures out that the only way to stop Asgarath from manifesting into the world is by closing the gate. But she can't do it without Vecna, the only other being in Hawkins with enough power to hold off an Eldrich god. While season 5 will showcase Eleven and Vecna's powers, their fights will be different from those in the previous season. Inside Vecna's mind, Eleven presses the villain to close the gate for his own sake. However, an angry Vecna kills Eleven instead. This turns out to be an illusion by Eleven, who asserts her will by reappearing in Vecna’s subconscious. The two fight and debate within each other's minds, crossing into their various shared memories until Eleven finally reaches Henry Creel. There, inside Henry's memory of Hawkins lab, Eleven urges Henry to redeem himself of his murderous actions by lending his powers to save Hawkins. With the two being evenly matched, Henry Vecna has no choice but to consider his blood sister's words.
With the looming threat of Asgarath putting things in perspective, Vecna finally forgoes vengeance to help Eleven close the gate. Brenner's children working together to fix his mistakes. In the climax of season 5's big psychic fight, Vecna flips the script. Most longtime viewers already expect Eleven, Will, or any one of the original main cast to die in the finale. So, the show needs to subvert expectations without losing its core themes of love, family, and selfless sacrifice.
This is why it will be Vecna, the lost son of Hawkins, who steps up to save the town in season 5. During the final fight with Asgarath, Vecna, Henry realizes that only he can close the gate. But in order to do so, he must use up his entire life force. By sacrificing himself to close the gate, Vecna rewrites his role in the history of Hawkins and Brenner's work, and his actions will be debated throughout the years. Most believe that Vecna was just forced to close the gate and that his sacrifice was just a way to escape justice. Meanwhile, others argue that he essentially redeemed himself in the end. In any case, Vecna's legacy is that of a complicated figure, victimized into becoming the villain, but also the hero that saves Hawkins from Brenner's crimes against nature.
So, which of these fan theories do you think could actually happen in season 5? Tell us your thoughts and theories in the comments, and thanks for watching Screen Rant.