Ever since Stranger Things came back to Netflix, everyone has been going insane. From remixing Eddie’s “Chrissy, Wake Up” speech to thirsting over Jamie Campbell Bower (wait, just me?), there’s been enough love for season 4 to go around. But as people begin to think more about the show, they uncover more than they thought they would in this series. There are so many more theories about the show ever since Vol 2. Dropped. Of course, all the best theories live on TikTok now, so we’re here to give you the strangest theories to come out of Stranger Things season 4.
Vecna Has Been Around Since Season One
There are so many people, including yours truly, who have been going back to season 1 of Stranger Things to pick up all the easter eggs. The first one comes from when Will disappears in episode one. @ronakkallianpur and others have pointed out that Will sees a shadowy figure when he’s taken.
When Will is biking on his own, he sees a creature on the road and you hear a clock chime. We assumed that creature was the Demogorgon up until now, but some are thinking that it’s been Vecna this whole time. Somehow Vecna hasn’t just appeared in season 1. In several moments throughout the last three seasons, a clock chimes. The chimes aren’t the same as the ones we hear in season 4, but they are there, potentially meaning that Vecna’s been watching this entire time.
Another part of this theory may be a stretch. Several users like @st.obsession_ point out that Billy acts similarly to 001 when they first meet in season 3. He asks Eleven what her name is and when she says “El” his voice goes down an octave as if he sounds like someone else. Then as Billy is speaking to her, he’s standing with his hands over each other down by his hips, like how 001 did when he first met Eleven. Could it just be a coincidence?
Believability: 9/10 – Based on the clocks alone, it makes sense that that thread would stay in the show all the way to the reveal of the Big Bad, but the Billy thing takes it too far for me.
001 is Eleven’s Father
In the flashback scenes from Vol. 1, 001 tells Eleven that they are alike in many ways. There’s a theory about their relationship that makes more sense than it should. Bear with us, this one requires some math.
In a TikTok predating Vol 2., @justthenobodys mentions that it’s really “strange” that we never learn about Eleven’s real father. We know that Eleven’s mother, Terry, participated in the MK Ultra experiments in 1969 and gave birth to her daughter in 1971. This means that she was pregnant in 1970. When we first meet 001 in 1959, he is 12 years old, which would make him 24 years old when Eleven is born in 1971. Dr. Brenner knows that kids 002 to 010 are not as strong as 001. So the theory is that Dr. Brenner waited for 001 to come of age to impregnate Terry in order to make the strongest child. Knowing how Eleven was conceived, Brenner has formed a special attachment to her.
To take things further, 001 tells Eleven that Dr. Brenner lies and that he can’t be trusted. So 001 attempts to tell her all about her mother – because he knows her mother best. When 001 tells her all this, Brenner has other orderlies attack him as a warning so Eleven doesn’t know the full truth. This still stands when we realize that 001 knows how to unlock Eleven’s full powers because 001 knows that her powers are exactly like his. As he said, Eleven reminds him a lot of himself. The cherry on top is supposed to be that Eleven and young Henry Creel have the same hair color.
Believability: 6/10 – Was Brenner supposed to dye 001’s hair to throw everyone off?
Eddie Will Kill Vecna
This series all started with a game of Dungeons & Dragons and we know the show is inspired by D&D too. Many of the major creatures like the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, and even Vecna are real characters in the board game. If the Duffer Brothers are making this out to be one big game of Dungeons & Dragons, what else can we see?
According to @relayts on Tiktok, Eddie’s death was a little too on the nose. For those of us who could see past their tears, we saw Eddie get attacked by a swarm of bats in the Upside Down and dies in Dustin’s arms. In Dungeons & Dragons, a character named Kas suffers a similar fate. Like Eddie, he is bit by bats and then becomes a vampire. Kas becomes Vecna’s right-hand man until he turns against Vecna and kills him. So Eddie could possibly do the same.
Is this just another excuse for us to see more of Eddie Munson? Possibly. But, it’s not like we see his body being brought back from the Upside Down. So it’s one of those “it didn’t happen until it’s shown” types of situations.
Believability: 8/10 – Where are Steve’s vampire fangs then?
Karen Wheeler is Henry Creel/001/Vecna’s Sister
Stranger Things season 4 gave us a lot of killer promo content. Eagle-eyed fans can’t help but point out the details this season, especially with the character posters. Karen Wheeler has a poster but didn’t play a big role in this season. Does this mean that she could have a bigger role in season 5?
User @leahcatty and others have pointed out that Karen could be roughly the same age as 001. We never see Henry Creel’s sister actually die because Victor ends up in a memory created by Henry, but when Victor gets out, his daughter is dead. This is further backed up by the fact that Vecna only shows Nancy his story and what will happen to Hawkins. Why show her and no one else? Why spare Nancy? Perhaps it’s because she’s his niece.
This could simply just be Netflix’s way of avoiding showing a child’s death scene on television. Or, it could be something more like the Eddie theory, where we need to see it to believe it.
Believability: 2/10 – We see Henry’s sister on the ground with bloody eyes, that’s enough confirmation for me. But seriously, why give Karen a poster if she wasn’t that important this season?
Will Has to Die To Kill Vecna in Season Five
Will Byers has been to the Upside Down and back but not like the others have been. We still don’t really know what happened to him when he was taken in the first season. Since then he’s proved that he still has a connection to the Upside Down. When the Upside Down tears Hawkins open, Will feels it first.
He tells Mike that he still feels a part of Vecna. Will knows how Vecna thinks and that he will not stop until he gets what he wants. Vecna’s alive out there, we know it since he disappeared Michael Myers-style. But Will’s fear means more to others than we think. User @.dizay thinks that in order to kill Vecna, Will has to die and he’s known it this whole time.
Believability: 7/10 – Will’s definitely connected to Vecna. Does he have to die though?
The Kids Will Need to Time Travel to Defeat Vecna
This theory may be the most impossible yet and if the Duffers find a way to pull this off, I’ll be impressed. In Vol 1., Nancy discovers that the Upside Down has been stuck in 1983, the exact day that Will was taken from our world. But, Eleven opened the first portal to the Upside Down in 1979, which means the dates don’t match. This theory from @domgamiero means that Vecna has stalled the Upside Down in 1983, so he can maintain his immortality. He’s a big fan of clocks, so time has to be the answer right?
Well, Ms. Kelly, Hawkins High’s school counselor wears a clock necklace with a key. Vecna’s grandfather clock also has a keyhole. Could it be possible that the kids have to time travel to 1979 to get the key to unwind time and undo everything that Vecna has done in the Upside Down?
Believability: 1/10 – I think the kids would do all they could to find a TARDIS, but it ain’t happening. Stranger Things likes to solve problems with practical items like Molotov cocktails and shotguns, not time machines.
