This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4.The long-awaited finale of Stranger Things has finally aired, crashing Netflix and group-streaming services with the intensity of excited fans rushing to watch the big showdown. In the finale, the four groups each take their own route and plan to save their friends and stop Vecna before he gains too much power. With an intense face-off between Eleven and Vecna, Max dying briefly but long enough to open the fourth gate, and the rest of the characters either fighting in the Upside Down or in Russia, Stranger Things 4 absolutely delivered in creating an epic end to the season.

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At the very end, Hawkins has turned into a battleground with all four gates to the Upside Down being opened and a weak Vecna nearly escaping. After the havoc of Season 4, it appears Season 5 may be shaping up for an intense ending unlike anything fans have seen before.

Eddie's Possible Return?

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Image Via Netflix

According to theories flying around on Twitter, the “Kas Theory” may be an avenue the Duffer brothers could use to resurrect Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) from the dead after being attacked by demo-bats in the Upside Down. Since Stranger Things draws heavily from the Dungeons and Dragons Universe, fans online have crafted a theory that works too well for Eddie’s situation. In the DND universe, Vecna’s right-hand man is a half-human, half-vampire created by Vecna named “Kas the Bloody-Handed.”

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Fans think that Vecna will use his powers to “puppet” Eddie (“Master of Puppets” was also the song Eddie played in the finale, and he coincidentally has a tattoo of a demonic puppet on his arm) to carry out his evil plans. However, in the DND Universe, Kas betrays his owner and kills Vecna. Fans think that Dustin Hoffman’s (Gaten Matarazzo) role as Eddie’s best friend could make him influential in snapping Eddie out of Vecna’s curse and turning him against his master in the fifth and final season.

Max's True Fate

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Image via Netflix

In the finale of season 4 of Stranger Things, fans witness the momentary death of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), causing the gigantic portal to the Upside Down to form. Luckily, she survived, but fans have no idea the extent of the damage considering she is completely unconscious in the hospital and not present in her mind when Eleven attempts to help her. Obviously, since Vecna was unable to kill her and the creatures of the Upside Down act like a hive mind and tend to leave their mark on past victims (similar to Will), Max may have a connection to the Upside Down.

Since she is “braindead,” she could act as a vessel for Vecna’s possessions or even be a hiding place for Vecna. However, many fans also believe that Sink’s character will make a full recovery and be instrumental in the defeat of Vecna, but how that will happen is truly inconceivable with the limited information available.

Will's Possible Connection to the Upside Down

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Image via Netflix 

Most recently, @StrangerNews11 on Twitter confirmed that the Duffer Brothers stated that Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) would be the primary focus for season 5. At the end of Season 4, Will still has the power he had since Season 2 to sense when the Upside Down and the beings that inhabit it are active, especially in the regular world. Will could be another force along with Eleven with the abilities to fight against Vecna.

Some even theorize that he could be Vecna’s next victim and fall prey to a terrible fate. Although that could be true, Will has already had a possession storyline, and it’s doubtful that the Duffer Brothers will repeat something that bears too much similarity. Since Will has a close connection with The Mind Flayer, Will may have the power to take on that villain while Eleven handles Vecna.

Will's Painting

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In Episode 8 of Season 4, Will finally gives the painting he painted at the beginning of the season to Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard). The painting, remaining a mystery for the entirety of the season, is revealed to be a scene from their campaign in DND. The four best friends are included, with Mike in the lead as they fight a vicious multi-headed Dragon or Hydra. The point of the scene was for Will to explain to Mike that he is “the heart of the party” (and also make a very inconspicuous allegory to Will’s hinted gay identity).

However, since DND is always connected to the show, fans on Twitter theorize that the dragon in the painting is the final villain (possibly a stronger Vecna), and in the DND Universe is called Borys (who also happens to be the most powerful DND villain). Considering that Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) mentioned that Vecna showed her a “giant monster with a gaping mouth” that was thought to appear in the finale and then did not, fans are thinking that Borys might be the penultimate creature for Hawkins to fight.

Eleven's Real Father

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Image via Netflix

A popular fan theory circulating the internet since Volume 1 of Season 4 was released is that Vecna, who is 001/Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower), is Eleven’s biological father. Theorists stated that since 001 was the first of Papa’s test subjects and was the most powerful. Eleven was the only other test subject (out of many years younger than 001) that could match the power of 001.

This fact led fans to believe that genetics played a role and that 001 and 011 must have the same genetics giving them stronger powers. How 001 and Eleven’s mother created 011 is where the theory tends to stray off in multiple directions, but the point still stands nonetheless. Maybe fans will see a Star Wars moment between Eleven and Vecna in Season 5!

The Mind Flayer is Still in Russia

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In Russia, Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman), and new character Dmitri “Enzo” Antonov (Tom Wlaschiha) attempt to rid the Russian Prison from the particles of the Mind Flayer they witnessed swirling around. As the Upside Down creatures let loose in the facility to kill the Russian guards (and are eventually defeated by Hopper, Joyce, and Murray), they interrogate a dying Russian high-level guard. He states, in Russian, that the claw mark on his face came from the “shadows.” In other words, the Mind Flayer.

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While demogorgans were incinerated by Murray and the trusty flamethrower, the Mind Flayer particles may still be missing. Murray also was not shown returning to the United States with Joyce and Hopper, so his whereabouts are unknown. Considering that the Mind Flayer and Vecna are deeply connected, there is a slight chance that maybe there is still work to do in Russia to stop Vecna — and who better to do so than Murray?

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