This Thanksgiving, the long awaited final season of Stranger Things will come out on Netflix. Instead of cramming in the kitchen making Thanksgiving dinner, families are crowding around the television with popcorn to tune in. Many fans are very excited for the final season, and eager to see the story’s end. It’s the perfect early Christmas gift from the Duffer brothers, the creators of the show.
Here at Stafford, there are many longtime fans of Stranger Things who basically grew up watching the show. People currently in high school were only in elementary school when the show was initially released in 2016. “I’ve been a Stranger Things fan since I was in fourth grade, so about five or six years,” sophomore Sidney Amaya Hernandez shared.
It’s been a long time coming, but finally the end of an iconic era is here for not only the actors and actresses of the show, but the young generation of fans as well.
Fans have discovered Stranger Things in all sorts of ways, such as watching the show when it first came out or simply joining along the way because of all the hype it has gained. Amaya Hernandez said “I got into Stranger Things by recommendation from other people, like my friends and stuff.”
For sophomore Mia Cordy, it was the complete opposite. “I got into it because all my friends were talking about how much they loved season four and I felt left out because I wasn’t allowed to watch it so I asked my parents and they eventually let me watch it.”
With hype comes many fans, and with many fans comes many different opinions or what most would call them, hot-takes.
It’s been four years since the last season, meaning four years worth of theories, conspiracies, and opinions. As Cordy jokes, “Oh, I have so many theories, but I’ll spare your time,” fans are buzzing with excitement to see their questions and theories finally answered.
Amaya Hernandez says “I think that Eddie should’ve never died, he should’ve continued his time on the show.”
Many fans would agree with this, as Eddie was an iconic character that so many fans loved dearly and were hurt to see die. Junior Alaiya Wilson, on the other hand, has a more controversial hot-topic. “I think Nancy and Steve should get together. Yes, Steve treated her badly the first two seasons, but Steve has grown as a person!”
Alongside Wilson, Cordy is quite passionate about her dislike for Johnathan. “My hot take is that I don’t like Jonathan, and never have.”
There’s lots of discourse in the Stranger Things fandom on whether Nancy should stay with Johnathan, or get back with Steve. A classic “will they, won’t they” cliche.
Along with hot-takes comes theories that might all have some truth to them. Cordy’s theory was quite interesting.
“I feel like Karen Wheeler is going to be somehow related back to Vecna. Whether it be related, friends, etc. Karen has been getting more and more screen time and her daughter Holly looks a lot like Alice Creel,” she conspired.
Theories come with something nearly every fan dreads: a character death.
“I think Lucas will die protecting Max since she’s hurt and he wants her to be okay again,” Wilson said bittersweetly.
Amaya Hernandez’s opinion of who will die is a common one in the fandom and also a theorized one. “I think Will is gonna die, since he was one of Vecna’s helpers lowkey and Vecna will kill him.”
It’s now down to a week until the first part of the new season comes out and many fans along with these students will finally get to see what’ll really happen. Theories will be debunked, tears will be shed, it’s no doubt that season five will be a groundbreaking finale that’ll be talked about for years to come.
