#mike knows = vecna knows (literally from the very first episode)

[madwheelerz]

My friend brought up Jekyll and Hyde when I was explaining manifestation theory to her last time, and it made me wonder if the end result is gonna be some sort of having to merge/coexist/exist as one being type of thing.

[ven0moir]

Call me delusional but ...

i think this moment

is when mike realized nt only that he had feelings for will, but that Will wasn't "Like Him". because this face:

i see relief here. El came to his 'rescue' omg my heart ... thanks to el, mike won't be alone. ( and if we go off of the assumption he struggles with internalized homophobia, i'd even dare to add that he sees el as a 'cure' for his feelings for Will ) and literally the episode prior, what did we learn about Mike?

he was alone and scared until he met will, and felt ...

What is mike REALLY saying here?

"You were Like Me. I knew it since the moment I saw you."

I think Henry is supposed to represent a twisted version of this sentiment. But I do believe that Mike felt a sort of 'kinship at first sight' for will, and that was the basis for his feelings developing into romantic ones. and these feelings were probably amplified due to the events of s1 and subsequently s2.

they just piled up, mixed with the trauma.

understanding mike is most challenging to me because of how much his character Changes if you consider his sexuality. Straight Mike and Queer Mike are two completely different people to me.

but i do think the snowball being referenced so much in s4 wasn't a coincidence. it was presented as the memory max chose to save herself from vecna but it wasn't enough. aside from that, it serves to remind the audience of the scene in s2. which ...

i have a personal theory we'll find out that not only was will looking at mike, as we know from that script, but that mike was also sneaking glances at will ( which is established in the actual show, looking at the screenshots at the start of this post )

they just kept missing each other.

just look at the song lyrics playing during the moment will gets invited to dance:

now, song meanings are up for interpretation, but i found this very interesting one:

i think this might be congruent with the show's usage of it because of this shot:

Is Mike deciding to let go of his romantic feelings for Will to preserve their friendship? That's what I gather from this scene.

Now, Vecna is watching his every move given this song being used, which we know is about a stalker, a word introduced to us this season due to Max. as in, the duffers are aware of the song's truest intention/meaning. and i think it was specifically placed in this way to hint at us that ...

Vecna is watching them. Lying in wait ... he knows about Mike and Will. He's probably just waiting for the right time to use that information. To what end? Time will tell

[deertaz]

Stranger Things Theories

This is a little checklist I'm making before Season 5. I like to come back and see what I was right about and what I was wrong about.

Things I'm fairly sure of (80-100%):

Will is the main character of the season; he is crucial to the plot.

Eleven gets a lot of time on her own this season.

When she's not on her own, she's mainly with Hopper.

Eleven gets time with Lucas because they are both trying to get Max to wake up. (Yay, a team-up we have literally barely ever seen)

Eleven really figures herself out. She comes out of this season knowing what she wants. She might leave Hawkins at the end to discover herself more.

Mike gets a character revamp and is made likeable again.

Will and Joyce have a heartfelt conversation, and Will comes out to her (she is very very supportive)

We get a flashback to young Will, Mike and Johnathan (confirmed)

Johnathan is worried about Will. Like, really worried.

Johnathan's entire arc this season is him being a supportive brother, and him trying to figure out his shit with Nancy

The rainbow shirt kid is a comedic relief character, like a baby Dustin.

Mike is saving people. He's gonna be such a hero this season.

Lovers Lake gate (maybe not in a romantic way, but Will and Mike will end up in Lovers Lake for some reason or another)

Max doesn't wake up until Part 2 (or three if they push it)

Lucas is the one who fully pulls Max back into the world. It is very romantic and emotional.

Eleven helps, but Lucas is the main reason.

Max is fully blind.

Vecna is speaking directly to Will

Vecna can relate to Will and attempts to get Will on his side

Will is special; there is a reason why Vecna abducted him first, and a reason he survived so much longer than anyone else.

Mike figures out that the painting was never commissioned by Eleven (obviously)

Will wasn't intended to just be Vecna's victim. He was captured for a different reason than Barbara.

Holly is getting kidnapped (near certain on this one)

Will bad guy arc, but not really, there's something inside of him that he's fighting.

Going back to Castle Byers.

Robin and Vickie time! Maybe a kiss (perchance)

When Will is saying 'Run!' at the end of the trailer. I think he's telling a person/the group to run away from him.

I don't think Eddie will come back, and if he does guest star, he won't really be alive. Undead? Controlled? Maybe.

Dustin is getting bullied for his association with Eddie. Getting the good old S2 Will Byers treatment.

Dustin trying to clear Eddie's name, it doesn't bode well.

Things I think are perhaps going to happen (55-75%):

Mike and Eleven break up. This happens pretty early in the Season, episode 1 or 2.

EITHER BECAUSE:

Eleven has a talk with Lucas or another character who is in love, and they say something like, 'love doesn't have to be declared all the time, you should just feel it. ' Or by talking about how they love another character, it becomes clear to Eleven that she doesn't have that with Mike. They don't love each other in that way. (This implies that Byler could happen.)

OR

She says she needs to focus on becoming stronger. They break up because of miscommunication, not because they don't love each other. (This implies that they will get back together in the end)

Mike and Eleven really come into their own when they aren't together any more.

Will sacrifices himself, doesn't die.

Dustin is kind of closed off this coming season. He isn't his usual happy-go-lucky self. He gets better towards the end.

Will's birthday being completely forgotten about in season 4 is acknowledged. El and Mike feel shitty about it.

The rainbow shirt kid or the little girl with glasses is going to mirror little Mike when he lost Will in Season One.

Will isn't just an unintentional spy for Vecna, or the Mind Flayer; he can double as a vessel.

Johnathan gets quite a lot of screen time.

I think that the young Will, young Mike and Johnathan scene could be a memory from one of them, brought forward by Vecna. We know that only Mike has a speaking role in this, so it could be a Will memory. Maybe it's his happiest memory, and he uses it the same way Max used the school dance, to hide from Vecna (or defeat him?)

Will comes out to Mike. He's more anxious telling Mike than he is Joyce. It could go well, or it could be awkward (inevitably ends up resolved/going well).

Robin and Will have a conversation, hinting at their queerness to each other, but neither outright says it. They both understand.

Holly in Wonderland (Mike's sister)

Holly reminds Vecna of his sister Alice.

Mike and Will end up in the upside-down together.

If Vecna's blood in Eleven is the reason she has powers, it makes sense that she would lose her powers if Vecna dies.

Possibilities (50-50)

Mike and Eleven get back together in the finale (if they break up), stronger than before.

OR

Mike is gay or bisexual and realises, over time, that he is in love with Will.

Johnathan catches on to it before most of the other cast.

If Murray interacts with them in Season 5. He could catch on to it first. If he does, it would be treated as comedic.

If Will is possessed or has something in him that he needs to fight, then Mike is going to be the one to pull him out of it.

'Pull him out' as in the same way Mike cheered on Eleven in Season 4.

Steve or Johnathan dies. If one lives, the other dies.

Eleven leaves Hawkins in the epilogue. She's still in contact with her friends, ofc.

Murray dies

One of Mike's family members will die (not Nancy). Maybe his mum or dad?

Will comes out to Mike in a Vecna vision, and is rejected. Maybe a little like this scene in it: https://youtu.be/fMnOgpUbVwQ

Things I for some reason think will happen but can't explain why (less than 30%-5% sure):

Will has similar powers to Eleven because of his connection to Vecna, Dimension X or the Upside Down.

We found out (in the Stranger Things play) that Vecna gained his powers as a child. Henry Creel was transported to an alternate dimension (Dimension X, not the Upside Down) for half a day. This then caused him to attain powers. It also caused his demeanour to change. But he was constantly fighting it. Fighting the influence of the Mind Flayer. But he loses. I think something like this happened to Will when he was too young to remember it.

Even before his kidnapping. Will was known to be a 'sensitive child who had a lot of nightmares'. Maybe that's connected to it?

There are a lot of similarities between Will and young Henry Creel. This may be done for a different reason, but it could also hint at the fact that they have been influenced by Dimension X.

Imagine if there's a flashback to a young Will in Dimension X, or a drawing from what he saw. Something he doesn't remember? But something that marked him.

There's a moment in the first episode of season one, while Will is cycling (pre-kidnapping). Where the light on his bike goes out. He then looks at it, and bam! It switches back on. This is literally the moment, just before he sees a demogorgon.

This could be just Vecna or something Upside-Downy fucking his lights up. But if Will does have powers, this would be crazy foreshadowing.

I'm not joking. He doesn't look worried at all in that scene. The camera zooms in on him slightly. He looks down, and the light turns back on.

He could also have Vecna's blood in him. That's entirely possible.

Some sort of time travel.

Welp. Now to wait a few months to see if anything I said here was right.

Characters I think have a chance of dying.

I personally think two important characters (from previous seasons) will die in ST5. This is accompanied by a few deaths from minor characters from previous seasons (made important in ST5) or major characters only introduced in ST5.

Murray

Yeah, that's definitely on the cards. He's an expendable side-character, despite how much I like him. I don't think his death will carry enough weight to set a 'grieving' tone. So if Murray dies, don't assume that means the rest of the cast is safe.

Steve:

Well, he was meant to die from the beginning. He's been really pulled up to a fan favourite over the years. But at the end of the day, we don't need Steve to save the day (though if he dies, I'm sure people will see it that way). I am still very under the belief that the Steve, Johnathan, Nancy Love triangle will be resolved by killing off one of the guys. We don't know who Steve's family are, he isn't related to any other main character, and he's pretty much known for his bravery. His death would really affect the kids, but not as much the adults. Seems like a decent pairing with a Murray death. While Hopper + Joyce grieve Murray, the rest of the cast grieve Steve.

Johnathan:

He's kind of got no arc at the moment, and that's why I think his death may complete it. Again, this gives Nancy a chance to choose Steve. Johnathan would probably die protecting Will. He's a loving older brother who has lost closeness with him. He misses the relationship they had, and well, if he died, it would be a final sacrifice, cementing the idea that he loves his little brother. Yet, for some reason, I think he will be kept alive, mainly because Will and Joyce don't deserve any more loss.

Karen Wheeler:

While I do not think Karen Wheeler is the one who 'disappears.' I do think that she may die. This, to protect her daughter or son. Nancy and Mike are main cast, and this would really really fucking affect them. Karen seems to have a closer relationship with her kids than Ted does, and if she gets a lot of spotlight in this season, expect that she'll not make it to the epilogue.

Ted Wheeler:

I don't think his death would be as impactful unless they seriously started getting into his character this final season. If we get a shit ton of Ted scenes, then there's a chance that he'll not make it to the end. Since Ted Wheeler is a conservative man, it would make sense for him to die if Byler becomes canon. I do not think he would accept a gay son. Tolerating one, maybe. But accept? Doubt it. His death would be him saving Mike from something, and apologising for reacting badly. Also, Ted being exposed to the horrors early in the season would be really funny. Imagine this stiff upper lip man finding out that superpowered girls and strange transdimensional monsters exist? I'd dig that. Also, I just have a feeling that Mike is going to lose somebody close to him this season, lose as in they pass on.

Dustin:

I don't think they'll kill off a main kid, but if they kill off one of them, Dustin would be pretty upsetting. I still really don't think a main kid will die. But Dustin makes the most sense. Killing off Will would be cruel, killing off Mike would be cruel to El and Will, killing off Max would make S4 seem pointless, killing off Eleven is too predictable, and killing off Lucas would come off really badly. So if any kid dies this season, it's gonna be Dustin.

Songs I think might be in ST5:

Something by the Smiths. Just feel like it would fit Johnathan.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO REPRISE!

Main Characters This Season

Will (duh)

Eleven

Mike

Johnathan (I just have a feeling)

Joyce (since we're returning to s1, it would make sense to see more Joyce)

Nancy

I think the Byers family and the Wheeler family are gonna be really important this season.

[carigm]

A BREAKDOWN OF THE POTENTIAL S5 EPISODE TITLES!!

Okay, so today entertainment journalist Jeff Sneider shared some alleged insider info about S5 of ST, mainly directors and titles of the first 6 episodes.

Here’s a screenshot

It’s important to keep in mind that this guy isn’t always the most reliable, and considering he also said he believes S5 could come out before the end of this year, let’s not take any of this too seriously. (Many cast members have mentioned they’re filming until December of this year so that’s literally impossible). The information about the possible directors I believe is correct, because it’s been circulating around from other sources too.

The episode titles I’m less convinced about because it’s also possible the Duffers could’ve put out fake episode titles in case they leaked. I remember for S2 all the episodes titles they announced were changed later on lol. But for the sake of fun, here’s an analysis of all of them:

1. The crawl (only confirmed title) is a very broad, open title. It personally makes me think of the UD and vines, or maybe even the idea of Vecna crawling back to life. Could also be an allusion to the military.

2. The Vanishing of ___ Wheeler is arguably the most insane one. The journalist said he wasn’t revealing the actual name of the person because it’s a spoiler ofc. My gut tells me it’s gonna be Holly, mainly because of the recast and her supposedly being involved in the hospital plot, which we have guessed takes place in episode 2. Could explain why she’s suddenly “more important” this season, especially if she’s used as a plot device of sorts. Could also tie into what Ted’s actor said in a podcast back in February about the first episodes being a rollercoaster of emotions, and that comment he made about Ted having a soft spot for Holly. It would be a perfect tie in for Karen to find out about the UD as well. The implications of naming the episode the same as the first episode, which is so intrinsically tied to Will, is very interesting. It’s also a new connection/tie between the Byers/Wheelers that I assume will bring the families closer together. I don’t think it’s about Mike because I doubt he’ll go missing in ep.2, or be dragged to the UD just like Will was. It would be an interesting concept but I doubt it. I also don’t think Nancy’s gonna go missing. Karen could be interesting but I doubt it as well. Ted would be an incredibly funny choice. Imagine he just goes missing while at the house 😭 Nonetheless, I think Holly is the clear choice here, and I do very much worry for her if she goes missing. Mainly because while Will survived this, I’m not sure they’ll do the same for Holly :(

It also ties into Vecna’s threat to Nancy against her and her family.

Here’s an interesting leak from the same anon that leaked the hospital stuff (which seems to be correct)

I think this could be the very same scene Holly goes missing.

3. Turbow Trap 😭 This one is utter nonsense. I have no idea what a Turbow is, so I assume it’s gonna be a code or nickname for something. Absolutely clueless here.

4. Sorcerer is incredibly interesting, and imo a clear allusion to Will. His D&D character being a cleric, basically a wizard. Could also be a reference to Vecna imo. Or both 😉

5. Shock Jock is clearly tied to the radio station plotline. Imo the title could be a reference to Steve, Jonathan, or even Murray (he fits that eccentric, somewhat annoying personality quite well) In case you guys don’t know a shock jock is like a very eccentric radio host.

6. Escape from Camazotz is another crazy title. He’s a figure from Mayan mythology who’s a bat spirit. That immediately makes me think of Eddie, but also Steve ofc. However, camazotz has a larger meaning that goes beyond “bat spirit”, it’s also a representation of death and night. So the title seems to be alluding to someone escaping from death or a perilous situation.

Even more interesting perhaps is that kamazotz is a name of a planet in A Wrinkle Time. It’s the planet where IT resides, the mind controlling antagonist of the narrative. So I guess in this comparison Kamazotz is the UD, and IT is Henry.

[eilissxx]

hello everyone, today I will tell you how I would develop Mileven's relationship if I were a scenarist and they were the main couple of the series 🥰🥰

(yes, including that Will is in love with Mike)

Ok, let's imagine that Mike is a really VERY good friend who decided to go looking for Will at night in the dark forest after will goes missing, where he finds El. Let's make Lucas and Dustin the antagonists of their love story - they will not trust El and literally force her to look for Will, while Mike will see that El is very exhausted and tired of using her powers. I would insert many other scenes with Mileven, for example where Mike would read to her or teach her how to play nintendo or dnd. They would talk a lot more and El would tell him about Papa and the lab. When the guys find Will's "corpse", Lucas and Dustin will be the ones yelling at El, and Mike will protect her and go home with her, where there will be a scene of them hugging each other calmingly. All the other actions in the series will remain almost the same, except that Mileven won't kiss.

in the second season, Mike would assure everyone that El is alive, although absolutely everyone else thinks that this is not so. He would continue to call her on the radio and starts looking for a lot of information and stories about the lab and Brenner, accidentally comes across information about Terry (like Hopper in the first season) and learns, for example, some rumor that a girl who can move objects was seen near Terry's house. Mike goes there, but arrives too late and goes to Pennsylvania, since Terry's sister said that El would be there. Mileven meet completely by chance after El escapes from 008, and they have a very emotional reunion. They go home together, where they meet the others. Afterwards, they go to the snow ball, but, again, do not kiss.

in the third season, Mike will be the one helping El learn new things in the world - he will run away from Hopper with her, drag her to shops and cinema. They will go through the school curriculum, and others will make fun of them like "you are so in love" (a cliche, but where would we be without it?), Mike will make El friends with Max. In this case, I wrote the scene of the Bylers' argument somewhere in the first episode - Will will simply be jealous, and then he will hear a Russian code with Dustin and go with Steve's team, Robin, etc. to the Russian base. Mileven would have a conversation in which Mike would explain to El what falling in love is, he would already understand that he loves El, but does not want to pressure her, because he knows what she has been through. Again, we insert a bunch of scenes with Mileven and some small quarrel (for example, Mike will forbid El to use her powers, since he will be very worried about her), and in the end they have a super cute reconciliation and hugs, before Byers-Hopper family leaves for California. Mike and Will are talking too and Will starts to let him go.

In the fourth Mike gets Vecha'd. Not right away. First Mike comes to California for vacation, they spend their day with Will and El well for everyone, and when El is humiliated by Angela, Mileven has a conversation, the main reason for which is that El did not tell Mike that she was bullied at school (she did not tell about it because she did not want to be uncool for him, and Mike was upset that El did not fully trust him). Then El is taken to the lab and the others go after her, but!!! we change Argyle to a nice kind good handsome guy Will's age, who came with a pizza delivery, let's call him Stan (because the WillArgyle couple sounds scary). Between the whole trip, we are shown a conversation between Mike and Will, where Will admits that he had feelings for him, and Mike does not reciprocate, but everything remains the same between them. There will also be a bunch of scenes of Will and Stan with heartfelt conversations and support. All this time, Mike will not notice the signs of Vecna's presence and will simply think that he is imagining things. The four of them get to Nina's project much earlier, Mike meets Brenner and Owens and argues with them because of El. Mileven make peace and talk a lot together, Mike supports her. Later, they learn that Max is in danger and El goes against all odds to fight Vecna, but everyone notices that "something is going wrong" - suddenly Vecna ​​takes Mike at gunpoint, El does not have time to save him and Mike ends up in a coma.

I can't really say anything about Mileven in season 5, it just hasn't come out yet, but I'm sure Mike would have been an incredibly important character and would have had a deep connection with El that would have helped them win. The whole slowburn thing would have ended with them kissing in season 5, and Will would have accepted himself, completely let go of Mike in season 4 and started dating Stan (yeah, no van scene).

In conclusion, i can only say that this is an insanely easy trope to write, which even the most inexperienced writers in the world can come up with. However, the scriptwriters went the other way, and don't even tell me that they simply didn't think of the option i suggested. The story of Mileven can be harmoniously watched ONLY in the format of a slow development of a relationship, which in this case has a deep emotional connection and understanding, which we never saw.

anyway, Byler is endgame.

[delicatetigerobject]

Just finished episode 5 of Stranger Things 4 for the first time!!

And HOLY SHIT. It was GREAT!!

Now I started it a few days ago (the episode) and only finished the second half today and I loved it so much! Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't watched this yet btw! :)

Ok so here's my thoughts on the episode as someone watching it for the first time!! :DDDD

(warning that some of this stuff might end up just being from ep 4 as well, since I am very bad at remembering when things happened lmao)

The fact that Victor Creel (pretty sure that's the one, I sometimes get name mixed up of the guys involved with Vecna directly in the past in st4 lol) tried to kill himself to join his family is so sad especially with how devastated he sounded when he said that they stopped the bleeding, like I know he isn't one of the mains but that scene was so sad :(... the guy who played him did such a good job tho!!

Also loved when his family got vecna'd. The spiders coming from the drain thing with his wife (I think?) is actually one of my most frequent intrusive thoughts, I can't imagine how terrible it would feel to see spiders crawling out of the drain in the tub like that, and then coming back just to see that it was never there? spooky shit indeed.

and that makes me think about the jars with... dead spiders that steve found in the vent. I wonder if that scene actually holds any significance at all?? idk yet lol. We'll see!

The lumax scene at the piano in the Creel house was so sweet, I think it was really nice and I'm curious now if it might parallel any byler scenes from st4... I'll have to keep an eye out as I watch the rest of the season I guess lol.

The lights flickering and leading them to the attic, and the way the camera view shifted to be showing Vecna in the upside down? That was AWESOME.

And don't get me STARTED on the death of Jason's friend, I was NOT expecting it to happen when they were chasing Eddie! God, that must've been so terrible for Jason and Eddie. I mean, for Jason, can you even IMAGINE seeing your girlfriend's body looking like that, being about to catch the guy you think murdered her, and then your best friend dies to vecna'd but you have no clue how it's happening? and then HIS BODY FALLS IN THE WATER WHILE JASON IS IN IT, like, that would be SO DISGUSTING to me lmao. And Eddie, well, he'd just seen Chrissy die in the same exact way less than a month ago, like, talk about salt in the wound! (The wound being Trauma™)

And Argyle saying that about the neverending story was really funny lol

BUT THEN EL? the stuff SHE was going through? ughhhhhhfhfhfhhghghfhffff that was so sad and scary. amazing acting, it felt so real, but the scene with the first guy (002 I believe) and the lightbulbs kinda hurt my head lol (I was watching the episode with my earbuds on my phone, so that's probably a bit understandable). But then her choosing to STAY there and get her powers back, I just wanna give that poor girl a hug so bad, she's been through so much. And the thing is, she thought she was going to a place that could help her! and then it was just grabbing her trauma and shoving it back in her face, the poor girl :(

The scene where the government dudes with the guns were trying to shoot them was insane tho, I mean like, that was so cool! I love how close Mike and Will were sticking together. Mike, Will, I know what you are ಠಿ_ಠ

and then Dustin being Dustin, ofc. telling little holly about a dream murderer, real great idea, man. and then not telling Steve anything, that wasn't very cool of him. but then again, he's only 14, I mean, I'd do that too if I was stressed out and my friend who GRADUATED FROM HIGHSCHOOL ALREADY kept asking me questions that I thought were dumb. Like, oh, what clues are we looking for? literally any. the flashlights? well, I'd rather be a bit rude than admit that I forgot to tell you only. plus, what with Eddie being in danger AND Max, I doubt he got too much sleep... poor little guy :(

And Mike, Will, are you really planning on visiting Dustin's girlfriend WITHOUT HIM? oh, he's not gonna be super happy about that, you guys. haha, I can already see it, he's probably gonna be so pissed that they left him out of a visit to his gf, and then Mike will be like, "Dude, we needed to, El could be dying right now, what'd you WANT us to do, figure it out on our own?"

Wasn't too fond of the little stancy moment tbh, it kinda gave me a bit of jancy doubt and of course the byler doubt followed. because they are NOT gonna be giving us canon steve x Jonathan x Nancy in st4, its going to be either jancy or stancy. And with how many jancy and byler parallels there are, and I'm pretty sure some stancy and m*leven parallels, them setting up some sort of romantic thing tension or whatever you want to call that spiderweb scene just makes me a bit worried that they're setting them up for a stancy endgame and of course if they choose to save THAT failing straight relationship, then they'll surely do that with m*leven as well, right?

Overall amazing episode, I loved it very much, and the fight with Murray and Yuri on the plane was SO FUN!! Yuri is such a funny character too lol. his sense of humor is honestly so good imo.

but yeah I really really loved the episode, as usual with this show, and I thought that you guys might like to hear my thoughts on it as a first-time viewer, especially since most of you I've noticed have watched it through multiple times before, since this is a fresh take on it RIGHT after finishing the episode for the first time! ngl the scene with El at the end had me crying, like omg no, don't stay there!

robin is such an icon tho. so is Nancy. so is will. so is argyle. so is Jonathan. so is Mike. so is Steve tbh. I love all of them so much I really hope none of them die but argyle might :(

I think I'll probably be doing this with the rest of the st4 episodes, but I'm not promising anything lol.

anyway even tho this post isn't really byler themed, manifesting a byler rain kiss that somehow is also flickergate rn because that is what I want to happen so bad. and give Mike and will guns! give my boys guns!! 🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯🕯

[castlebyersafterdark]

Facebook is a bleak place, possibly even bleaker than Reddit cause at least on Reddit people seem to at least have some understanding of characters/the show. Here’s a real thread. (Shout out to the Byler in the thread, even if their proposal is stupid):

“ I think (will) definitely left, I think they have to go back to the beginning to kill vecna when he isn't as strong, that's my theory”

“ My theory is...it was all a game. At the beginning of the first episode they're all downstairs playing DND, this whole story line, new characters, the upside down-everything, was just part of the game they've been playing. It'll end in Mikes basement when the boys are all still young.”

“Mate none of it was real. It's all a game of dungeons and dragons and none of it was real just a made up story inside 4 kids heads. The end…”

“This. I have a feeling the very last scene is going to be them waking up, after they all feel asleep playing D&D all night”

“What if it was all a dream. Hopper never got El, she never existed. The boys still grew up the same, and all of the stuff never happened.”

“Then Will can finally have Mike 👍”

“ Im just hoping Will has a nice haircut this season🙏”

“ It'll be funny if it's like Jumanji and they just got sucked into their D&D game 😂”

“ Courtney i was JUST saying this”

“ Will is the mind flayer!!!!!”

“ I feel like they never found the real will to begin with and the one that’s living right now is a spy”

“ I'm kind of hoping it was never will that returned and part of whatever is going to go down in 5.”

“ Vecna is a very powerful lich. He can transmutate, he can distort reality, he can shape shift, he can make many different upside down type worlds, he can teleport. So, remember eleven sister eight? How she made it look like the bridge caved in but it didn't?

Imagine that, only wayyyyy more powerful and can do more than what she did. So, therefore, Will never left. He is manipulating peoples minds into what he wants you to see. Look it up in wiki fandom regarding Vecna 1st edition.”

“still hoping they can go back in time somehow and change everything and or save some people. They kept showing Vecnas clock and the ticking of it and such so I always thought it was going to mean something about time. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I just want Eddie back lol”

“ I'm having a watch party for season 5 shyt better be good. Lol😆”

(guy with a trump fist in the air pfp) “ Who is will? Been so long I forgot. Got to re-watch the whole thing”

“ the boring one lol🥱😂”

“ me too, I loved it and can't waite but have forgot the storyline now.🙈”

“ I have waited that long i don't even care anymore”

I was like "what charles leclerc doing?" Then saw the caption and realized it wasn't charles🤣”

“that zi0nist twink got hot”

“ I hope they don't do it all as a dream that Will has!!”

“ literally would be too cliche”

“ it would honestly save the show from what it has become…”

It's so disheartening that the only theory for those actually saying something sliiiiiightly beyond the inane repetative cliches is STILL A CLICHE like the furthest people can go is "it was all a dream/games" theory. THIS IS SO BORING. We know this isn't going to be the case but why is it with every piece of media where this is an applicable school of potential thought THIS is what people cling to believe. WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE IT??? Does anyone have any insight?

It feels like it's such a safe way of viewing media. They can will away anything bad or complicated that happens, and they don't have to think about what any of it meant. It's suuuuuch lazy writing. Undermines everything. I don't think it says anything?? "This character invented everything we saw on screen to actually cope with-" stop. It works in an episodic sitcom style show, not the entire point of a five seasons long horror/scifi/fantasy/adventure show. Lumping in all the genres here.

Then you get all the boring cliches as well here, very accurate round-up (I may not be on FB but I've seen variations of these on article comment sections and posts on official instagrams). Will's haircut mention. "I miss Eddie." Will being the bad guy all along. I know who Will is but I'm so straight and bigoted I'm going to pretend that I don't remember one of the main fucking characters whose name is repeatedly said over and over and over the first season and has been there the whole series. They took too long to film it and I don't care and yet I'm still wasting my time posting on FB.

AHHHHHHGGGGGHGHGHGHGHGFHXMDG O;Aw*l9R8 9=[I;FJNZFBDrP FOVHDBZJZFJVE H0RP[0E'AVPUJHVBV VNGHXEP980P9U TPHIL S;FNVOFIPDOUSEU0p*OSG ZBNLL\S[VOBV;COMPXOFDUSJVZ

I'm fine....

[castleclerics]

mike going blind in s5 theory

i've had this this very weird gut feeling since s4 came out that mike is going to go blind to some extent in s5......

mike and blindness is mentioned a couple of times (but not too many for ga to notice) and idk why but i can really see mike becoming physically disabled in some way by the end of the show. maybe that's because i'm projecting but idk i can't let go of the idea for some reason it just feels right to me???

not only does lucas tell him that he's blind but he needs to "wake up" and if you take it in a literal sense it sounds so vecna’s curse-y

it's interesting that he's also literally blinding himself in s4 but in s3 lucas blinds him

(gif credit to emblazons)

literally why is it always lucas. even the “did mike see it? then it doesn’t count.”

and in s2 after will gets possessed lucas asks the party “do you think it’s true sight?” and later in the same episode mike brings up will having true sight in the av room.

also in s1 lucas has his wristrocket and says “the demogorgon’s not real. but if there’s something out there i’ll shoot it in the eye and blind it.”

maybe it’s lucas’ bridge to max and mike, them both having dealt with blindness to some extent ? and mike is super paralleled to max and max couldn't see anything after getting vecnaed. and he's obviously screwed next season with henry so i could see them healing max and making you relieved she's ok then throw you for a loop and pass the concept of her being blind onto mike.

eddie also says vecna is "missing" his left arm and eye but our vecna isn't missing an eye, it's just blindness. and it’s also the wrong eye.

and it just reminds me of “oh no lucas my arm lucas look my armmmm” and mike is grabbing the opposite arm that vecna is missing/is his claw hand... mike wheeler blind in left eye s5 real i'm calling it

(and i know these mentions of blindness are probably all a metaphor for mike's deal with his sexuality and being blinded by internalized homophobia but they usually never stop with just one meaning, these writers love their double and triple meanings/foreshadowings and making them literal lmao)

this part is just me rambling but thinking about how this could relate the queer aspect of mike wheeler; will being gay but also having his supernatural problems add so many layers to his character. so mike being queer and blind possibly because of the supernatural forces would be so interesting and add a similar level of depth to his character like will being tied to other planes of existence and henry do. and since the supernatural things in this show are literally a metaphor for forced conformity, mike and will's issues outside of their sexualities are both caused by this metaphor for forced conforming that they will accept and understand how to live with once they accept their queerness.

the forced conforming is seen in every character on this show and by the end of s5 i believe they'll be released from those societal expectations, and for mike that means sexuality-wise like will. his possible blindness could be the visual and physical representation of the damage of that conforming.

also just one last fun thing: there's a really small band called mike wheeler band that have these songs (the first one reminding me of "only love makes you that crazy") but look at the other one :O

[bugsbenefit]

i know people talked about this before but it just struck me how odd this shot here is with the Lynx in the background. the possibility that the blue and yellow could be related to Mike and Will is already very much Out There but this is sooo

because the framing here is odd as hell

we start with the Lynx logo (in full dark red) coming into view as the bus drives off (which is prominently only coloured in blue and yellow). literally the silver cat showing up as blue and yellow leave (for the west. okay no, we have no way of knowing in what direction the bus is driving here, but... i wouldn't be surprised if it WAS west) and this is already... interesting regarding the events of s4

but then the shot pans over and we actually get a good read on the Lynx as it nudges itself right in the big free space between Lucas and Mike. we're supposed to catch it here, especially since Robin realizes Lynx is related to the Russian in code the next episode. this is a big "Look here everyone. it's always been right there!". on a rewatch this is going to catch people's eye and make the presence the operation has in the mall feel more real

but then the camera keeps panning and starts moving back to focus on Mike (he did just get dumped which he looks... uhm... annoyed, a little upset and majorly confused by? really not going to analyze how Mike reacts to that breakup bc that is it's own can of worms). but this also cuts Lucas and Will out of the shot and hides the Lynx directly behind Mike. and i mean directly, it's super clean

and just... the way they positioned this is such intentional camera work. they didn't just move closer to Mike, they moved the camera in an arch to change the angle and shift what's actually behind Mike. they could have easily shot it while keeping the Lynx between Mike and Lucas with a much more standardly used zoom or dolly shot. especially since we were already meant to notice the company logo there’s no reason to hide it again

a lot of characters have some pretty cool foreshadowing moments but this is such a weird shot i'm inclined to throw it in the pot of "definitely means something". it took more effort to film this with the Silver Cat positioning itself right behind Mike than it would have if they kept it to the side of him. this was a conscious decision. and usually we get payoff for moments like this. s3 especially plays a lot around with angles and camera swings like this

as an example: the scene of Will feeling the UD on his neck as they walk up the hill where he appears to be completely alone for a few seconds since they hide all other present people behind Will to show how alone he actually is with his struggles. but this is also present in all other seasons, ST just really likes foreshadowing and reflecting people's mental state with phrases and set design placed behind them. like the poster of the nude-ish model behind Nancy as she strips and a poster of Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Nevermore" as Nancy notices Barb isn't at school. words behind Max's introduction about how she's the first girl Dustin has a crush on. the small text reading "Henry" next to Will's neck in s4 before we learn that it actually Was Henry all along. a classic one with the Freddy Krueger claw in the movie store behind Max right before she gets vecna'd etc. etc. TLDR: ST is Big on how it positions it's characters in regards to the backgrounds, Especially if there's Words there (also not even mentioning how movie posters are placed behind characters as foreshadowing as well)

so. the Lynx right behind (and it's really Directly behind) Mike is just... odd? it's so out of place. Mike has NOTHING to do with the Russian Code in s3. had that logo been hidden behind Dustin, Robin, Steve or even Erica it would have been neat foreshadowing. but Mike? he's one of the characters that's the furthest removed from the Russian plot in s3. hiding it behind Will would have also been neat since the Silver Cat most likely stands in for Vecna anyways so literally placing that behind Will's head would be really cool foreshadowing. and hell, even hiding it behind Lucas could have made sense as foreshadowing for s4, with him feeling put on the spot by Vecna and time running out with Max's life on the line

in short. the looming threat of the Lynx behind Any Other party member than Mike would have made sense storywise. which is why i'm so confused by this choice here

words and phrases in the background of ST have pretty significant meaning, especially when they're "interacting" with the main cast visually in some way normally. but the Lynx here is even more significant because we're canonically Supposed to be paying attention to it. and whatever this is trying to say in regards to Mike, we most definitely haven't seen it yet. Mike is probably the party member that's the furthest removed from Vecna, at least physically and not on an intellectual plans crossing level. he literally swerved all direct confrontations until now somehow. the closest he got was when possessed Billy tried to bash his head in and when he was camping out next to a hella possessed Will. but otherwise? Will literally Feels Vecna's presence and has a connection with him. Lucas, Max, and Dustin have an entire plotline in s4 About dealing with and running from Vecna. but Mike got out of all of that. no kidnapping, no psychic connection, and actually ditching town an hour before the murder spree and townwide witch hunt kicks off with Chrissy's body being found. just the regular encounters with Vecna (in various physical manifestations) the whole party is present for and also all while Vecna doesn’t reveal himself yet

Mike got dealt some really bad cards on the show. seeing Will's body, watching El die, being IN the lab massacre, getting attacked by Billy more than once, hunted by The Meat Monster, having a random agent die in the back of a van with him, almost watching El die again, etc. but the one thing Mike is actually lucky with is not having to directly face Vecna

until now at least. s5 is most definitely going to put Mike and Will especially center stage. specifically Because they avoided the Vecna plot in s4

so whatever the Lynx placement in s3 is actually supposed to mean here, we didn't get to see it yet since Mike managed to swerve actually being in a position where Vecna showed up pretty well as of now. however, when we Do finally have to go there in s5... well, i'm curious if the framework here is also going to be an aspect of this shot that's going to make more sense on a rewatch and in hindsight post s5

[luciusgerard]

Okay, so, here's everything I've heard about the Eddie Munson/Kas theory:

First of all, if you don't know who Kas is, basically he's a character from Dungeons & Dragons who's half-human, half-vampire, and there's a theory that Eddie will essentially become Kas in season five of Stranger Things.

Quick warning: Spoilers for season four of Stranger Things. Also this is a long post, so hold onto your butts, brochachos.

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'Kay, so we all know that Eddie dies at the end of season four. Yes, I cried too, don't worry. But, thankfully, there's a theory that he could come back, and I personally think it makes a LOT of sense. Here's everything I've heard about it. If you have anything to add, or you actually know things about D&D unlike yours truly and would like to correct my information, please let me know.

First of all, let's look at how Eddie actually kicks the bucket. He's eaten by bats. Kas is also eaten by bats, later becoming a vampire. Eddie also has a tattoo on his arm that depicts a swarm of bats, and while I doubt Eddie would become a vampire in the literal sense (this isn't Riverdale), bats are obviously directly related to vampires. What are vampires? They're undead creatures.

One of the weapons Kas is known for using is his shield, which has spikes in it. As we all know, Eddie also uses a makeshift "shield" with spikes, AKA a garbage can lid with nails hammered through it. Still serves the same purpose.

Let's look at how exactly they'd explain how Eddie is miraculously alive. In D&D, Kas is basically Vecna's right-hand man, but he later turns on Vecna and defeats him. Our Stranger Things version of Vecna has the same powers as El, and we saw El bring Max (or her body, at the very least) back to life. If El can do this, so can Vecna, meaning he could revive Eddie. As far as we, the audience, know due to the two-day jump soon after his death, Eddie's body is still in the Upside Down, and thanks to Will we know that Vecna is still alive, though in pain. The question now is, what motive would Vecna have for reviving Eddie? Well, not only do we know Vecna is able to bring people back to life, but he is also able to control people's minds, as we saw with Billy and Heather in season three, which brings me to my next point.

If Vecna were to revive Eddie and take control of his mind, perhaps to get close to the kids in Hawkins as a spy of sorts or for another reason entirely, this would essentially make Eddie Vecna's puppet. How is this relevant, I hear you asking. Well, see, random person on the internet, if you were not already aware (which you probably were, but anyway), the song Eddie plays on top of the trailer to distract the demobats is Metallica's "Master of Puppets." Not only this, but one of Eddie's many glorious tattoos is literally a puppet. The writers could make him a servant of Vecna, a human puppet, completely under Vecna's control, until he's snapped back to reality with the power of friendship or something and defeats Vecna once and for all.

Or not for all, but I'll get to that in a minute.

We all remember this wonderful scene:

Look a little closer: the cassette in his hand is Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden has a mascot. What is that mascot? Some kind of weird undead creature thing. What is the name of this strange being? Eddie. I'm not kidding, its name is literally Eddie. Google it if you don't believe me.

Now, as for what I said about Eddie defeating Vecna once and for all not actually being once and for all. Let's all take a moment and think back to the very first episode of season four, shall we? Specifically, the Hellfire Club meeting, in which Erica plays in her brother's place. You all know the scene I'm talking about, now let's think about it.

First of all, from what I remember, this is the only scene in the whole show where Kas is mentioned by name, when it is revealed that Vecna is actually not dead like they thought he was and Mike shouts, "Vecna was killed by Kas!"

"So it was thought, my friends, so it was thought," Eddie replies, shaking his head. "But Vecna lives."

Okay. So Vecna was killed by Kas. Vecna is now back, apparently not dead. I assure you this is not just D&D lore unrelated to the point of this post, because trust me, dear reader, there is more to this scene worth mentioning.

The club has chosen to fight. Now, almost everyone has been defeated, except for Dustin and Erica. The two living players now face a choice: Do they surrender, or do they fight? They choose to fight, with Dustin putting things ever so eloquently: "Screw it. Let's kill this son of a bitch."

Now, in order to defeat Vecna, a 20 must be rolled. Dustin rolls first. Not only does he not roll a 20, but the number that he rolls is 11. Where have we heard that before, hmm?

Now Erica rolls. She rolls a 20 and delivers a critical hit, killing Vecna, while her benchwarming brother over in the gym simultaneously scores a winning buzzer-beater in his basketball tournament. It's a victory for the nerds and the jocks, who would'a thunk it?

Now, here's the idea:

They thought Vecna was dead, having been killed by Nancy, Steve, and Robin and falling from the Upside Down version of Creel House. But here he is, clearly living. Eleven is the last hope for defeating him. She's so close to taking Vecna down once and for all, putting him and everyone else out of their misery. But Vecna is too strong, and overpowers her, and she fails.

Here's Eddie, unwillingly loyal to the beast who indirectly caused his death. He's an undead puppet, his brain under Vecna's control. But something snaps. Like Vecna himself says: "He thought about something that made him sad, but also angry." We already know full well that Eddie has many memories like that, as most people do. That's where Vecna and El find their power, and whether Eddie has powers or not, that could be a source of his strength as well, to bring Vecna down and put an end to everyone's suffering.

Also, there is one more small detail which could point to Eddie not actually being dead. There is a song that the Stranger Things fandom knows as the "fake death" song, as it is used both when Will is presumed dead in season one and when Hopper nearly dies in season three. This song is "Heroes" by David Bowie. However, the song that plays when Eddie dies (I can't remember the title and I can't find it online) is also the song used at the end of season one when El "dies." Coincidence? I think not.

By the way, before you reuse the argument that the Duffers said that Eddie is "one-hundred percent dead" in an interview, might I remind you that there was once a time when both Martin Brenner and Jim Hopper were "one-hundred percent dead" as well? As they are clearly not, my point still stands. Also, it wouldn't make sense for the Duffer Brothers to say, "Well, actually, Eddie's alive," because what sense is there in spoiling what would be a major plot twist in season five before you've even started writing it? They've also said Eddie's death will play an important role in the fifth season, and I doubt they'd be saying that if all the characters did was sit around and think about all the times they had together. Which, for most of the characters, was no time. Plus, Eddie can't be dead—this man hasn't had a chance to meet Will, Argyle, or Suzie yet, and you know he'd love them.

But, hey, we won't know until season five, so until then, all we can really do is wait impatiently and hope for the best.

Anyway, if you actually read this far, you might as well follow me. If you want to, that is, but no pressure. Also, remember to sign this petition to hopefully convince the Duffers to bring Eddie back if you also think our boy was wrongly killed and deserves an epic return.

[demadogs]

Isn’t too late to make Byler in season 5? There are only 8 episodes left and there’s no time for love stories but to fight Vecna. I hate this but i have to be realistic. Also it’s too late to make bi/gay the audience would be confused af.

i see your point completely. thats why i think if they do go through with byler it’ll be pretty halfassed because they should have started s5 with mlvn already broken up. ive seen some people say maybe el breaks up with him for good in like the first or second episode but at that point why didnt they just do it this season? why have the “i love you” scene at all if it genuinely isnt true?

defeating vecna for good, and breaking up mlvn, AND getting byler together is a lot all for the last season. and obviously i love byler so i’ll take whatever i can get but i do think its beyond dumb to not reveal mikes queer until the very last season after having him with el the entire show. it makes everything with el feel so pointless. honestly because of that i think it might make more sense for him to be bi now instead of gay but all the evidence has been way more gay coded than bi.

the thing is the duffers are still plotting all the evidence of it being requited in the form of subtext and we are beyond past the point of subtext!! we need to actually be directly told or shown mikes feelings!! it was fun in s3 and even in volume 1, but now they really gotta directly let us know where theyre going with this because theres not a lot of time left.

this was the season that should have revealed mikes sexuality. they put all their focus on will, a character thats already been pretty clearly queercoded from the beginning. mike was the one they really needed to show more of and i thought they were doing a good job of it in volume one!! with the fight over not being able to say he loves her and then what will said to him about it being scary opening up to people. i thought they were getting there but that monologue just fucking threw the whole thing away? like yeah maybe it didnt look genuine and theyll break up later but it would have been so much better for el to just break up with him this season and then leave byler ambiguous.

that being said, i do still think it’ll happen just because literally nothing makes sense if mike doesnt like him back:

why didnt he let el touch him when they were making out in s3? why did he tell will “its not my fault you dont like girls”?why did they frame him in a closet in s3 when el kissed him? why didnt he hug him at the airport? why did he emphasize “we’re friends!!” so much at the rink? why could he never tell el he love her and have such an important emotional scene of el calling him out on it if he actually does love her? why was mike nice and sweet to will as soon as el was no longer with them? why was he so “psyched out” (finns words) by will telling him its scary to open up to people because what if they dont like the truth? why did mike look so happy when he first opened the painting but when will said it was commissioned from el he drops the smile? why did will have to push him to continue his monologue which is what led him to saying he loved her? WHY DID HE STARE AT HIS LIPS SO OFTEN!!!??

the monologue ruined the pacing of byler completely and now youre right, it does seem like its too late, but i still think its gonna happen because nothing i just listed off was an accident.

[white-knight]

Vecna’s Curse and Will Byers: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I stg I really hope I’m not right about this but I’m putting it out there because maybe I’m just reading too much into it...

We know that people appear to only be able to escape Vecna’s curse with the help of music. For Victor Creel it was “Dream a Little Dream of Me” by Ella Fitzgerald, and for Max it was “Running Up that Hill” by Kate Bush.

A song we’ve been hearing since literally the second episode of season one is “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash. We know that Noah Schnapp had to be rigged up on the harness that they use to do the levitation scenes with Vecna’s curse, and there have been images of him carrying a Walkman in his pocket. This song may have played into how Will managed to hide from the Demogorgon for so long while in the upside down in season 1.

I’m also certain that Will is gay (it’s been hinted at since the first season as well, with the names people called him in Hawkins) and that he’s going to come out to Mike (who is very certainly the object of his affections). This scene is going to be a tear-jerker and is very likely going to somehow involve Will’s painting or Vecna’s curse, or both.

The fear that I have concerns the way Vecna speaks to his victims. It’s very reminiscent of suicidal ideation. As someone who’s struggled with suicidal thoughts from a very young age, watching Max run out of the upside down to her friends hit me SO HARD. Vecna appears to grab hold of negative emotion, namely guilt (Fred’s guilt over the car crash, Max’s guilt over her relief that Billy is dead and unable to hurt her anymore, Nancy’s guilt over Barb’s death) and I’m certain that Will is going to be a huge target. Boy is traumatised, your honour.

Max’s general arc this season is reminiscent of depression, and her thoughts of El and Lucas and the party suggest that the song helped her feel needed and wanted and loved in her life, and gave her the strength to attack Vecna and escape. Will is clearly traumatised by the things that have befallen him as well, and appears to be struggling with issues of his own. 

I’m so terrified that Mike is going to rebuff Will’s admission of his feelings, and Will is going to spiral downwards. I’m seeing most of Finn Wolfhard’s acting choices and such as a conscious effort to make Mike seem like he’s struggling with his own sexuality but I’m scared that the Duffer brothers won’t go through with that storyline and Will will continue to just be miserable. He deserves more than that.

While Mike and Will having a beautiful moment where Mike admits his feelings too and there’s gay rainbows everywhere would be so wonderful, I’m seeing my theory also make sense narratively. It’s been said that Will’s saddest moment is in vol. 2. I’m really afraid that Vecna is going to snatch Will after Mike rejects him, and the song won’t be enough.

“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” is exactly the sort of thing that would be going through Will’s mind in that situation. And by admitting he’s gay and in love with Mike, he just alienated not only his crush but his best friend. Those memories of him with the party and El could be tainted from his point of view because he just ruined those relationships. And maybe he would decide to let Vecna have him, not because he’s a bad person, but because he’s tired of feeling so hopeless. Chrissy and Patrick managed to encounter Vecna several times before they were taken by him, but Fred walked right into him and only feebly put up a fight. There’s something to that struggle, a choice to fight or believe that Vecna is right, you are a bad person. (He’s absolutely projecting onto people and it gives me the chills he’s the worst.)

It would take Mike admitting that he’s also not straight, that he’s been grappling with these same kinds of feelings for a while now. That compassion and empathy that Mike has shown again and again for Will when no one is looking is what will ultimately have to bring him back, not just Jonathan’s song. I do think that Will is gay, and I think Mike is AT LEAST questioning where he stands and recognizing that his relationship with El is just kind of... weird.

I really hope that Will is able to beat Vecna’s curse when he gets cursed (because it’s almost certain he will) and he gets to have a happy ending of sorts. Maybe not all wish-fulfillment, but he finally gets to have a good day damn.

tldr; Duffer brothers please don’t kill Will Byers he deserves better (also if you touch Eddie I stg)

[riansdiary]

MY FIRST REVIEW/THOUGHTS BLOG!

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

If you haven't watched Volume 2 of Stranger Things Season 4, watch it first then come back! Make sure to have snacks and a drink! Also something or someone you can hug because it's intense af.

The first one is gonna be a review/reaction/thoughts about Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2! 🎉

Here are some emojis that can summarize how I was or how I felt during the binge! This is just something random and fun that I thought of!

😃😊😎😡😤😍😱😒😟😔😢😭😨🙈🙏🙅😁❤

There was a lot of these: 😤😡😱😵😨😭😭😭😇

MY THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS!

I just binged-watched the two episodes yesterday and let me tell you that those four hours were the most gruelling emotionally tormenting episodes of ST for me. I'm not even kidding. This was the first time a show did this to me. I was preparing to watch on my phone and I was on my bed, hugging a stuffed toy that I have because I knew it would be so intense! I saw a photo of Noah that shows how he was after he finished watching the whole thing and it was shared by Millie who played Eleven on Youtube. Girl, I was even worse than Noah after I watched.

I know that like me everyone who loves Stranger Things is very attached to the characters especially our favorite ones. We've been watching this series or show for years! Before it was released, I was so scared because Noah has been spoiling that someone or some people might die. I was so scared that my favorite characters might die just like how everyone else felt. I do have my favorite characters but I also noticed how much I love the others and how I'm so attached to them. Anyway, I got so emotional and I was literally sobbing and crying so much while watching those two episodes. I kinda knew that Eddie might die because I tried to predict or use my intuition to know who will die and I thought of Eddie so I was kinda prepared even though I was still a whole mess when he died.

Let's start with what happened in the Papa episode.

I was so happy that Nancy was freed because she is one of my favorite characters. There was one scene where Nancy was tied on the chair where they put the number tattoo on 001 and the other kids. Vecna was coming closer to her. I kinda thought of something funny out of nowhere. Everyone who is simping or crushing on Jamie a.k.a 001 including myself at that scene would be like, "Wait! First, turn into your 001 form then we can talk!". I don't know, I was just being goofy as usual and I was so excited to watch it! The prosthetic work that was done on Vecna/Jamie was incredible and scary at the same time! I couldn't even look at him that much when I watched the first episodes of Season 4 because I was scared.

One of my favorite scenes was when Will was crying silently in the van and Jonathan saw his brother cry. I think I kinda knew and felt that Will was gay starting when Mike and Eleven fell in love but it was even more evident in Season 4. We love representation for the Lgbtq+ and I was relieved when I saw that Jonathan saw that. I think he's a good big brother especially when he was there for Will when they were filling the fridge with salt. I also loved when Will showed the painting/drawing to Mike and that he's the heart. Without heart, we'd all fall apart. Damn true because if it wasn't for Mike and Will telling him that, they would have failed. Another favorite scene of mine is when Robin was going like "Vecna/Henry/001." They were talking about how they should call Vecna. That was so cute and slightly funny. I was so happy when Jopper met again! We love Joyce and Hopper! Finally!

When Eddie said "Never change, Henderson" I was trying to prepare myself again because from that scene, that's when I had the biggest feeling that confirmed even more that Eddie was gonna die. Really, Duffer Brothers? Just when I was liking Eddie and his smile! Well, we knew this pattern before anyway. Like Barb, Bob and all the new characters we liked. I was so angry when Dr. Brenner was trying to stop El from leaving and when he injected her but my heart sorta softened for him when he carried and saved Eleven from Sullivan and his people. Such stupid people who almost killed the only person who can save everyone and the world. I didn't love what Dr. Brenner has done but him trying to save Eleven from being killed and ending up dying to protect her made me sad.

I loved the moment when Mike and El met again plus Will and Jonathan and her meeting Argyle.

Now for The Piggyback episode!

We have been waiting for a Jopper kiss! We got it finally! I loved their sweet conversation about their date! Also, I freaking hated Jason and his jocks especially Jason on this episode. Gosh! If it wasn't for him, Lucas could've saved Max earlier when El was fighting Vecna again after she heard Mike urging her to fight and finally telling El how he feels about her and telling her so many times that he loves her so much. Lucas would've been able to play Running Up That Hill for Max because the player would not be broken if Jason hadn't disturbed their plan. I was shaking and I was so scared because Max is baiting herself and she's in danger. She's my favorite character other than Nancy and Steve at the same time I have so much attachment and love for the other characters even if they're not my favorite. That was so hard for me to watch. I am so similar in some ways to Max and I connect so much with her. Her personality is quite similar to me. I knew she would say "assholery" and I said it in my mind while watching before she even said it on the episode when she was talking to Ms. Kelly and was being asked about her stepdad. By the way, I've been watching Tik Tok theories and Ms. Kelly is quite suspicious. She has a clock necklace! Hello? Ain't that suspicious enough? Some people say she could be Henry's sister or she's working with him. Interesting.

That epic metal concert performance of Eddie was so amazing. The scene where Eddie and Dustin were in the trailer in the upside down reminded me so much of when the kids were with Mama Steve 😆 in the bus. Okay, that wholesome cute scene of Steve and Nancy! Truly, thanks to Nancy, Steve changed for the better and had this amazing character development and it made us start to love him. I also loved the part where Mike and Eleven were being so cute and catching up then El and Argyle tried to feed him pizza with pineapple on it! That was so funny and for the record, I can eat pineapple on pizza but I eat them first before eating the whole thing because for some reason pineapple on pizza is somewhat sweeter and more delicious than normal pineapple. I've already commented on this one before but the Byers Brothers scene at Surfer Boy Pizza was so touching for me.

I think we all knew when Lucas started saying nonsense shit to Max was when we realized that Vecna took the bait. This was when El was in the sensory deprivation tank a.k.a the fridge tub with salt that they made. So again when Jason and his jock sidekick caught Erica and he started beating Lucas, I was so done with him. I was really annoyed and mad at him. Max needed Lucas just in case and then Jason broke her tape player and headphones. Ugh! Let's not talk about it anymore. When Dustin made it back then Eddie decided to buy more time I was like "Eddie I swear if you- No! Why would you destroy your way back to your world? Oh My God!!! Steve said don't be a hero! Hey!" I was talking in my mind while I was watching the whole time because that's just me and my personality! I was also trying so hard to cope from what was happening. This scene my gosh! A heartbreaker. That was not even the worst for me yet and I was starting to tense up already!

Another line that I liked was before Eddie played the guitar and he said "This is for you, Chrissy!". They would have been so cute together and this was his way of getting revenge because this also caused him to lose his normal life. He was also labeled as a murderer because of Vecna. The scene when Max and El finally saw each other again was so good but then sassy Vecna here interrupted the beautiful reunion. Oh gosh! Also, has anyone seen the photo of Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna drinking Starbucks? Loved that photo! Sassy Vecna! That moment when El turned Vecna around to face her, I got chills! That scared me when he realized it was El. Let me tell you what I felt during the most emotional, the most terrifying, the most nerve-racking part of this episode. I was physically shaking and I was hugging my penguin stuffed toy close. (everybody has stuffed toys even some adults ofc I'm not a child okay just bcs I have one. I just needed it so badly bcs I needed something to hug.) I honestly felt so scared at that part when everyone was in danger. Very scared for everyone like I wasn't actually okay at this part. I have grown with these characters from watching them since Season 1.

I cried so much at this part. This is the part where I broke down. Actually broke down in tears. As I said, I was actually sobbing so so much while hugging my stuffed toy. This wasn't even the worse part yet for me but this was one of the most tormenting scenes ever. When El was tied down by the vines on the Creel house door and Max was about to be Vecna-ed. I mean about to be killed by Vecna. Ah. This was so hard for me to watch and I mean it. This was the absolute fudging worse for me. This is slightly hard for me to remember again the first time watching it because it was so hard for me. I love Max soooo much! When I remember my first reaction to that scene and remembering how I was feeling, I don't know how to explain how I felt except that it was the most emotionally tormenting scene for me. You know that scene when I thought Max was actually going to die? Her lifting, arm breaking, leg breaking and eyes bleeding... I'm still triggered by it so much it haunts me and I might cry again thinking of that scene. I was at a loss at this part. Duffer Brothers and the ST team did a great job on the scene and the music as well though! I'm actually deep breathing right now because I need to while writing this part. Whoo! I thought that I or we were gonna lose her. This is the hardest part for me to write right now and to explicate/explain/think back from. I'm actually recalling how I felt during that scene and how I was. I wasn't okay at all. I was fully crying and sobbing and I was a whole mess but yeah. How I felt during that part still haunts me like I said. That was so terrifying and so deeply heartbreaking for me.

Thanks to Mike, El was able to break free and give Vecna what he deserves. I was so so relieved that Max was still alive on Lucas but she died or we thought she was gone for a few seconds. The scene where El said "No. You're not going." and she revived Max, I felt relieved and so I finally calmed down after being on the edge of my seat or in this case bed. That scene Joyce, Hopper and Murray working together was so good to watch. Thankfully, Joyce saved Hopper. That whole team dealing with the monsters scene was scary af!

When Eddie was fighting the bats, I still wanted him to survive even though I know he might die. I've loved Eddie Munson so much. His personality and his humor! His cute smile! What's not to love? I kinda liked his little scenes with Steve. I thought he actually survived when Dustin has him but yeah he didn't and that's so sad especially since he is a hero and deserved even more. I did know that they might kill him off because it was gonna be hard to prove him innocent. He possibly wouldn't have a future because of the kills blamed on him. People thought he was the person responsible for the Vecna kills and so I thought that's why he might get killed off by the Duffers. Also that pattern of us liking a new character and they die. Barb, Bob and others as I already mentioned. I knew it but I'm still sad and salty. Not really I'm just joking abt the salty part but yeah I would have loved it if he survived too! Joseph Quinn was amazing there!

When El was fighting Vecna and Nancy, Steve and Robin we're throwing Molotovs I guess, that was such an amazing scene! It was so epic when Nancy was shooting Vecna but then it got scary real quick when Vecna came out of the trance and turned to them. Nancy was so cool on that part! Yes girl! However, Vecna was able to escape and I think this was when the four gates were connecting and being one instead. This is not good. I still hate the part with the news and them saying Eddie is evil or whatever. Also, Hellfire being known as a cult really? How will Dustin take care of Hellfire now? They might need a new name for their D&D club. Then it comes the part when Mike, Will, Argyle, Jonathan and El showed up to the Wheeler house. Loved this part so much and it kinda healed me when the reunions happened and when they were all hugging. So are we getting Jancy or Stancy? Both great anyway but I have a soft spot for Nancy and Jonathan. Karen hugging her son aww! That was so sweet! Nancy and Jonathan hugging and talking after a long time!

I loved the part where they visited Max. Sad that she hasn't woken up yet. This is probably when they would read her letters. On season five I mean! I hope El can find Max in her mind then I'd be completely relieved. Loved that Lucas and Erica were there for her in the hospital and his eye oh no. Also, Dustin is still limping from his injury. I do loved the scene when he talked with Eddie's uncle and remember, Eddie is a hero! Robin and Vickie! Now that was so freaking cute!!! I have such a huge crush on Steve Harrington! I love his character so much and his growth in the show and his amazing hair! When El left the door open three inches when they were cleaning up Hopper and Jane's old place, I really liked that. She always did leave the door three inches open.

That one theory I saw on Tik Tok that said Will was controlled by Vecna all this time because Vecna controls the Mind Flayer, that is so right! Will can still feel Vecna and that he's still alive. I think that this might be the key next season. Will can feel Vecna and this might be a way to know his moves or this might help them in some way to defeat Vecna. Did any of you watch the Tik Tok theory that showed Billy acting and talking like 001 in season 3? At first I was like meh but after watching it again it gave me chills! The comparison of their speech, demeanor and pose was so similar. Billy even said, "did not quite" or "not quite" which was used a lot before by 001 as Peter. The pose! 001 always had his hands together in front of him. If you know the pose that 001 does a lot then you'll know what I'm talking about. I'll give the link to anyone who wants to see the theory video.

Will said that they need to kill Vecna to end it and that they will. The scene of the reunion of El and Hopper was so much needed for me. That kinda healed my heart a bit after the chaos. Aww and she said she kept the door open three inches! I loved that we've always seen her leave the door open three inches just like she said. That El and Hopper scene was so emotional and was so good! Loved that whole scene with my whole heart and also the part when Joyce saw El and hugged her. Then Hopper hugging Mike aww! I repeated watching the hugging, meeting and reunion parts again because I needed it. Badly needed it because it was kinda healing after all the things that happened that was very intense for me. It was crazy. So this was when Will felt something on his neck again and it snowed. Then they saw the mind flayer. Not in Upside Down but actual Hawkins. Oh My God! Horrifying. I think everyone would work together and try to close all four gates.

This is what I'm thinking would happen. Maybe the team would split into four and they would all work together to close the gates. El is gonna have another showdown with Vecna. Would Kali show up on this one? Idk. Of course, it would be epic still! I'm hoping none of them would die! Please! 🙏 I also know that they will read the letters that Max wrote for them while they take care of her in the hospital and wait for her to wake up. I'm really hoping El would be able to make Max wake up and find her in Max's mind. I think Will really might be the key to kill Vecna.

Everyone did such a good job in these two episodes! Great job to the casts and crew! The Duffer Brothers! Amazing work! I'm sorry if this is so freaking long!!! I just wanted to express how I felt! So did anyone know which scene they had to use a harness for Noah? Noah had this picture of him in a harness. Which scene was that for? I hope that isn't for season five bruh. Don't tell me he would get Vecna-ed on season five? Oh please nooo! Hopefully not! Anyway, this is the end of my very long novel I mean blog for Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 and thank you so much for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed it! Bye!

Love, Rian 💋

[backhurtyy]

penny for your thoughts on stranger things season 4 (specifically volume 2)?

alright i wrote out an entire essay last night and tumblr deleted it, so i’m going to try this again and hope it actually works 😭

spoilers and rambling under the cut!

so for the most part i really enjoyed volume two. i loved the cinematography, particularly the part when nancy was shooting vecna and hop was fighting the demogorgon while the remix of running up that hill played. i also loved how it showed the three groups managing to come together, even as spread out as they all were. like! theres my bad ass crew of characters that i love so much, finding ways to win even from three different places!!! and of course we FINALLY got the jopper kiss…. i have been thinking about ‘use your imagination’ ‘who needs imagination?’ for two days straight. no one is doing it like them. just so many little interactions and moments that i loved— el and hopper reunion, lucas and max talking on their pads, lucas holding maxs body 😭, dustin and eddie’s relationship, eddie’s guitar solo, all the robin and steve bestie moments, the way the threads of the story all came together, the little jokes and beats of humor, el piggybacking and saving max… there was a lot i liked.

however. the things that i didn’t like were kind of big sticking points to me, and made it so that i didn’t enjoy it as much as i’d hoped to.

first of all, the episodes were simply too long. like for a complicated storyline, with so many moving parts, the episodes were just…. really dense. during episode nine i kept going ‘is it done yet? is it done yet? is it done yet?’ because i got overstimulated and tired. and i suppose i could have just paused it, but i find stopping in the middle of an episode very difficult. id have rather them be shorter episodes that i could pause at the end of and come back to when i was ready. and that’s kind of sad because like. i KNOW i missed things, but it’s such a big task to go back and rewatch it all that idk if i will anytime soon.

second of all…. eddie. stranger things has such a problem with introducing side characters just to kill then off, and eddie is just another in a long line (robin, murray, and erica being the main exceptions). which is interesting to me, because everyone was talking about how there was going to be this huge emotional character death this season, and like… i sobbed like a baby when he died, because i loved him, but it was almost expected. it would have been much more shocking and devastating if it was nancy or steve (who i thought was going to die). the fact that they did kill of eddie was also just so painful because 1) he was so loveable and i would have loved to see him grow and become part of the group, looking after the kids with nancy and steve and robin and jonathan, and also getting to have that sense of family when he’d only ever had his dad before. 2) the dialogue with dustin…. god that was heart wrenching. that was the one part of his death that i liked. i was sobbing i was shaking i was a fucking mess over it. 3) i can’t help but see eddie as a gay man— his entire story with being a freak, an outsider, unwelcome, and unknown by anyone but hated by everyone was very reminiscent of the gay experience to me. and so the fact that he died…. it was like okay yeah of course the queer coded side character died. of course he did.

and finally… will. i don’t even know where to start. they did him so dirty. this main character, around whom the entire over arching plot of the show has revolved, was treated like a side character. will, who has a connection to the upside down unlike anyone else, barely had any screen time that wasn’t him just setting up mike and el. literally without him there wouldn’t BE stranger things, and yet they just. tossed him aside. the only times he was around was when his own pain and suffering and feelings were used to deepen mike and el’s relationship— which had already had three prior seasons to develop!!! it just felt awful to have this character— who is clearly gay, clearly in love with his best friend, clearly already feeling like an outsider— tossed aside and disregarded. like not a single person except jonathan seemed to notice or care about him the entire season, and it’s like…. it’s just frustrating. like i wish they weren’t using his pain and love and feelings to elevate the heterosexual ship. idk.

so overall, it was good, but those are really big things that i didn’t like and so i don’t feel like i enjoyed it as much as i wanted to.

[mozzzz05]

I just saw a Buzzfeed post on Instagram for an article about Noah Schnapp talking about Will’s sexuality (the thing he spoke about like 5 days ago, but y’know, it’s Buzzfeed and they’re a bit behind) I know I shouldn’t have because Buzzfeeds comment section is always toxic no matter what it is, but I went in the comments

And boy the shit you find. Sometimes I think I’m stuck in my own happy little bubble of queer algorithm and I peak out of it for a second and it’s a fucking shitshow.

Comments like “who cares?” And “let the kid live, why are you imposing sexuality on him?” And “his sexuality shouldn’t be being questioned at this age, he’s too young” and “if it’s not relevant to the plot then it just shouldn’t be mentioned” are so fucking ignorant it hurts.

It’s important that Wills sexuality gets shown because we need representation, no we can’t be satisfied with just Robin (as I found someone saying) why does it upset you to have another queer character? (Frankly, saying you don’t see why we need more queer characters and that we need to stop making everything gay is simply thinly veiled homophobia, and realistically is it really that veiled?) You aren’t loosing anything, meanwhile we would be gaining so much by Will being gay. To see someone (especially more than one) being queer in such a big show like Stranger Things would be brilliant (such a small thing to ask for I know) I don’t give a flying fuck if it’s the 80s, all the more reason to show queer people making it through thriving at life, having an accepting close family and friends. It would mean so much to me now as I know it would so many other lgbt+, but it would especially mean so much to 12 year old me, questioning her sexuality because I never ever saw more than one gay character in media at that age especially.

You don’t understand what it can mean to see someone like you in media unless you see yourself literally represented in everything (and coming from someone who’s white I’ve known what it’s been like to not even question constantly seeing yourself represented. I also know that it’s not that hard to actually notice these things when you’ve spent at least 5 minutes educating yourself and listening to the people that it actually affects)

No ones imposing sexuality on Will, there have been clear indications of his sexuality from the very first episode but especially this season, it’s really not my fault if you too dense to see them. It doesn’t take understanding media theories, the reasons behind shots used or semiotics to grasp that Will definitely isn’t straight, that he definitely likes Mike (whether Mike likes him back or not) : his painting is definitely for Mike and Eleven said she thought it’s was for a girl he had a crush on, the girl tapping his foot in class, his hero being Alan fucking Turing etc

He’s not too fucking young, I started questioning my sexuality when I was 12 (at this age I also had um, sexual thoughts and feelings and whatever for Benedict Cumberbatch😳(whilst having lived a reasonably sheltered life and definitely never having seen anything I shouldn’t have on the internet)) and although it may have taken me a good 4 or so years to that part of accept myself (and it’s still difficult sometimes now), it’s not a reach for a 15 year old Will to have some grasp of his being queer. It’s quite frankly insulting to use this excuse for your homophobia when Mike x Eleven had been pushed since they were 12. When Dustin and Lucas both wanted to be with Max when they were 13. No one questions that because it is in fact normal for kids that age to be feeling that way, to be having those sorts of mini relationships. Beyond this, I have friends that have been in long term relationships since they were 15. Nancy and Steve were together at like 15/16ish. The excuses are simply pathetic.

“It’s not relevant to the plot” ??? How do we even know that yet anyway? What if Vecna gets in Wills head? (which is definitely a high possibility my poor traumatised boy) Even if it’s not relevant, why would El x Mike be? Or Max x Lucas or Nancy x Jonathon or even Steve? Or Hopper x Joyce? Realistically these relationships don’t add masses to the plot and aren’t actually vital most of the time, that being said they do add massively to the characters and the dynamics between each of them, I’m not saying they shouldn’t be in there (they definitely should be) I’m simply saying why is it any different for Will? Why is this shit treated so differently for queer characters? The double standards are shocking.

Maybe it’s my fault for looking at those comments idk, but it doesn’t take much to open your mind for like 2 seconds.

This is without mentioning headcanoning Eddie as some kind of queer with people saying “his sexuality isn’t even confirmed so idk why you think he could be gay, there has been no indication of what gender he likes” yet people saying he had a crush on Chrissy isn’t a reach? Is that not assuming he’s straight? No?

[wiinevelvet]

A really long thought about Vecna's curse

Hi there,

Since we don’t have a lot of news concerning season 4, I try to entertain myself by making theories or character’s studies, and as always, I like to share it here.

Just a little disclaimer concerning this post: I don’t play d&d and don’t really know how the game works nor did I read any of the leaks concerning season 4, so view this as pure entertainment. (also if someone has already said something similar to this, I’m sorry I didn’t know.)

-

Not so long ago, I rethought about the Vecna’s curse episode and the fact that Vecna was once considered as one of the most powerful wizard in the d&d lore.

And probably like a lot of people, I immediately thought about Will and how he could have something to do with Vecna’s curse. Therefore, I ended up making some research and writing about it.

In order to fully comprehend all the things that I’m going to say, I’ll set up a brief reminder of who Vecna is and what’s important to know about him in d&d.

As you may know, Vecna was described as a powerful human wizard who became lich in the World of Greyhawk. However, his right hand man Kas betrayed him, which lead Vecna to end up destroyed where only his left hand and eye remained.

Both hand and eye becoming two powerful artifacts that can so be used by players in the game.

Both artifacts are very important and central to this theory, yet we’ll talk about them later.

First thing first, it’s interesting to clearly know what a lich is in fantasy.

“The Lich is, in literature and fantasy games, an imaginary creature, a dead wizard who maintains himself in a state of living dead thanks to his magical powers.”

“A living deadis, in popular culture, a being who’s dead but continues to come to life, whether under the influence of his own will or not. There are two main categories of living dead, the reanimated corpses and the spirits of dead people who manifest.”

[sources come from Wikipedia → it’s originally in French, and I’ve translated it.]

Now you’re probably wondering why did I put the definition of living-dead in this.

I’ll answer that I decided to put it in my post to underline the “reanimated corpses” part, which I think can bound Will to Vecna and bring a tiny parallel between the two.

In season one, Will is believed dead by the majority of the people of Hawkins (except for Joyce and Mike, and afterward the whole Party). He even had a funeral, which really points out to the fact that: Will is dead.

Although, at the end of the season he was rescued and therefore “came back to life” for all the people know. (those who weren’t concerned by the recent events)

We can then considered Will like a lich, since his d&d character is a wizard. This fact is important to support what I’m saying.(Consequently, the nickname ZombieBoy makes even more sens if we have all of that in mind).

Still, I’m not saying that Will can be seen as Vecna.

I believe that Will is under Vecna’s curse. And that he was always meant to have a strong link with the Upside Down.

Now, if we focus primarily on the two artifacts that once belonged to Vecna, we can potentially expect Will to clearly have powers in Season 4.

Among the two artifacts which hold some of the remain of Vecna’s powers: there’s the Hand which increases to 19 the strength of the player who uses it and immunizes him against magic projectiles. Then there’s the Eye, which provides the power of “true sight” [all of the names are literally translated from their French counterpart, because I’m French and a bit lazy sorry]

Concerning Will, the Eye will be the artifact that I’ll mainly talk about.

The Eye of Vecna is a sort of blackish or reddish stone which, in order to be used, must be placed in an empty eye socket of a humanoid creature. Its powers can thereby be controlled if the player knows how to use them, but they’ll still "slyly influence the holder". We speak of “domination”.

I’ve mentioned the color of the stone because as we know, the Mind Flayer is very often illustrated with reddish and blackish colors. Also, being in the form of a shadow it can easily be sheltered by a body (it can be paralleled to a soul), as an eye can be sheltered by an eye socket.

In the “constant powers” (the powers which doesn’t need to be invoked to be used by the player) of the Eye there’s “true sight” and “foreboding” → and this is practically the same powers granted to Will when he’s being possessed by the Mind Flayer.

Now, we could almost imagined that the Mind Flayer represents the Eye of Vecna. Thus when he possesses Will, then Will becomes his "holder" and is therefore in the grip of Vecna’s Curse (using those artifacts curses the player). The Eye, here known as the Mind Flayer, grants Will the powers of “true sight” and “foreboding” → explaining the “now-memories” he shares with the monster. - However, he ends up dominated by it and becomes a spy leading him to be seen as a "threat" (→ the use of the Eye and Hand being considered threatening only for players who dare to use it) -

What's interesting then, is that once the Eye is in possession of a "holder", certain powers can manifest on their own when needed. And knowing that Will was still able to sense the Mind Flayer in Season 3, then it's as if he continues to be in the grip of Vecna's curse. This could mean that Will would have powers that manifest on their own in season 4, if he feels threatened (and considering what we saw on the teaser 004, we can expect that Will will be threatened at some point lmao).

/!\ I’m about to do a HUGE SPECULATION, mainly for entertaining purposes. Which bases itself on what I said prior. Yet, don’t take it too seriously please. /!\

Since I brought the possibility of Will being under Vecna’s curse and so having being possessed by what could be understood as the Eye of Vecna, I’d like to focus furthermore on the Hand.

“Each of its powers can now be used, which is much easier than for the Eye of Vecna. Indeed, the powers invoked of the Hand are important by movements and positions of certain fingers, and will be so even if these movements are carried out without the intention of using them. Each thoughtless movement, even natural, of the Hand can then become an instrument of death.” [sources come from a french forum about mmorpg] This artifact, in contrary to the Eye, is more offensive. It provides its "holder" with strength and power which can aim for fight. Generally, the "holder" cannot discard the artifact once used, yet it can be teared out of them. I'm saying all of that, because, what if Eleven could be in possession of the Hand while Will would be of the Eye? Obviously, El can use her powers without lifting up her hand every time. Still, they decided to show her using it this way. (Also what I’d like to remind is that El lost her powers when one of the Mind Flayer “part” left her leg. Therefore, it’s as if her powers had been teared out of her). Now, you have to know that both artifact can be used together. In the game when combined, the Hand and Eye grant: "Magic Detection/ Understanding of Languages/ Non-Detection/ Protection Against Good”. Obviously, I’m not saying that Will & El would be able to be in possession of these kinds of powers. Nonetheless, what if Will & El would be the keys to defeat once and for all everything that is linked to the Upside Down? Like what if, in order to stop all this, El had to definitely lost her powers and Will to completely get rid of his connection with the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer? (since to end Vecna’s curse, you have to make the holder of both artifacts get rid of it). I don’t really have an answer, nor do I honestly think that’s what would happen. I just wanted to bring up theses possibilities, because I thought it was interesting. I’m not even sure if this is accurate with whatsoever the leaks are about. I talk so f*cking much sorry lmao, this is literally an essay at this point. (i hope all of my sentences make sense) Hope you liked it anyway! Take care of yourselves and happy new year btw. clara 🦔