Stranger Things season 4 not only set the stage for an amazing finale but it also featured a vicious story that pulled no punches. The previous batch of episodes focused on Vecna's attempt to open four portals from our world to the Upside Down, thereby weakening the barriers between the two dimensions. When these gateways were finally open, enormous fissures started to form in the ground of Hawkins, leading directly to the nightmarish realm underneath. Vecna wanted to use this opportunity to launch an attack on humanity, but Nancy, Steve, and Robin seemingly killed the relentless villain before that could happen. Even then, Hawkins was scarred (quite literally).
Since the finale of Stranger Things season 4, we've all had the same questions in mind: Would Max be able to recover after being killed by Vecna and later brought back to life by Eleven? To what extent is Will connected to the Upside Down? Is Vecna really dead? Well, at long last, we'll get some much-needed answers.
The first batch of episodes of Stranger Things season 5 is finally here, marking the beginning of the end of a show nearly 10 years in the making. But while excitement is at an all-time high, it's impossible to deny that something dark is coming, and it all starts here. So, now is the perfect time to explain the ending of the first episode of Stranger Things Season 5 and break down what it could all mean.
How Hopper got lost in the Upside Down
Our tale begins on November 3, 1987. We see the city of Hawkins has mostly recovered from the events that transpired in Season 4. The large fissures in the ground are now covered with big metal plates that children like to use as slides. Furthermore, citizens live their normal day-to-day lives, going to work as if nothing ever happened (case in point: Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington now work on the WSQK Watts radio). There's just one tiny little problem: The whole town is in strict quarantine.
Citizens have to undergo mandatory medical checkups to ensure the particles emitted from the Upside Down aren't provoking strange symptoms in anyone who breathes them. Furthermore, there's a large military access control point located in the heart of the city that's completely restricted to any unauthorized personnel. While most people aren't quite sure what's going on there, our protagonists have a better idea.
See, the military hasn't only established a control point in the city of Hawkins, but one in the Upside Down as well. There's a gateway between the two facilities, which the military uses to send supply convoys from our world to the nightmarish realm. However, military soldiers aren't the only ones going through the portal, as an uninvited guest also takes the opportunity to snatch a free ride.
The whole Stranger Things gang is on a quest to explore the entirety of the Upside Down sector by sector to either find and kill Vecna or ensure that the monster has really been dead this whole time. To achieve this, they perform secret missions called "crawls" where everyone has a different role to play. Mike and Lucas go to the top of a church from which they can see the entire military base, and then they guide Hopper into one of the convoys. Furthermore, Jonathan and Steve keep track of Hopper's location in the Upside Down by giving him a tag and following its signal from inside a van in the real world. Finally, Robin is able to communicate with Hopper through the WSQK radio.
The gang has done over 30 crawls so far, and while all the missions have gone right, they still haven't found any clues about Vecna. However, this took a left turn this time around. After Hopper infiltrated a convoy and traversed the gate to the Upside Down, a Demogorgon suddenly attacked. All the military personnel died, and Hopper barely managed to make it out of there alive. However, he's now trapped in the nightmarish dimension, and it will be up to the rest of the gang to go and save him.
A mysterious new visitor enters the picture, but who is it?
After being a minor character so far in Stranger Things, Holly Wheeler now takes a step forward in Season 5. When Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas are discussing the upcoming "crawl" operation, Will suddenly starts to feel... off. We all know his connection to the Upside Down can make him see terrifying visions and display erratic behavior. However, this time it was completely different.
Will simply felt a little dizzy and heard the voices of children around him, even when none were present. Moments later, we see Holly Wheeler being pushed in a playground spinner, getting dizzy, and stopping only to hear the voices of children around her, heavily implying she is somehow connected to Will. However, the craziness didn't stop there.
See, Mike's sister has been talking to a man that no one but her is able to see. Audiences see the silhouette of this mysterious figure, but they are never able to get a good look at its face throughout the entire episode. Things only get worse when a teacher catches a glimpse of Holly seemingly talking to no one at school and calls her parents to warn them of the situation.
Karen Wheeler arrives at school and starts discussing her daughter's situation with the teacher. Meanwhile, Holly was waiting for the intervention to be over outside the classroom until Mike showed up and started talking to her. Mike says that he knows about this "mystery friend" her sister has been seeing, while Holly claims that said friend is simply trying to protect her from the monsters in Hawkins that eat kids like her.
So who is this mystery man? Well, the first episode of Stranger Things Season 5 didn't give us an answer, but that can't stop us from speculating based on the events of this episode alone (no worries, there won't be any spoilers here, though if you want to avoid speculation, we recommend skipping to the next section of the article).
The most popular theory suggests this is an older and human version of Henry Creel / Vecna. But why would the terrifying villain be trying to help a kid like Holly? Well, it's important to remember that Stranger Things: The First Shadow revealed that Henry Creel used to be a normal and sane kid until he accidentally traveled to the Upside Down and was corrupted by the Mind Flayer, turning him into the villain we all know and love to hate.
There could be a chance that Henry Creel could eventually be released from the influence of the Mind Flayer and help fight it by traveling back in time and aiding Holly in an unspecified mission. Of course, this is just pure speculation on our part, and we'll have to wait to have an official answer.
Nancy's terrifying visions may be about to come to life
During the events of Stranger Things Season 4, Nancy Wheeler had a horrifying vision in which multiple rifts were opened throughout Hawkins, and an army of monsters rose from them. As if that wasn't enough, she also saw her mom, her little sister, and her brother all dead. Unfortunately, not only did the rifts appear all over Hawkins, but it seems other aspects of this nightmare will come true as well.
See, when the "crawl" started to go wrong, Will—who was at the WSQK Watts radio—began to experience an unusual event. Remember how a Demogorgon attacked the military convoy in which Hopper infiltrated? Well, Will was suddenly able to see through the eyes of that same Demogorgon (because, apparently, those creatures have some sort of eyes, which is unnerving to think about). Will could see the creature's every movement, though he wasn't able to control them. Simultaneously, the lights at the WSQK Watts radio started to go on and off until all the radio equipment was fried.
When the Demogorgon killed the military personnel and stopped attacking the convoy, it started to head towards Mike's home in the Upside Down. Will was able to get a glimpse of the monster's next target before coming back to his senses. After Will awoke, he turned to Nancy Wheeler and said something horrifying: "It is coming for them".
Just before the episode ends, audiences see Holly in her bed in our world before a rift opens in the ceiling and the Demogorgon comes out of it. Now, there's a very real chance that Nancy's family bites the dust, making her visions come to life. But will that be the case? Well, there's only one way to find out.
The first four episodes of Stranger Things season 5 are available to stream on Netflix.