Is Vecna really the villain? Unpacking Stranger Things season 5’s biggest mysteries

1531238_1531238-fi-Stranger-Things-bike-ride_KLB - Source: Getty
1531238_1531238-fi-Stranger-Things-bike-ride_KLB - Source: Getty

Stranger Things season 5 just hit streaming platforms with Volume 1, and honestly, nobody can stop discussing what they watched. The new episodes threw curveballs, leaving the entire fanbase scrambling to make sense of things. We received far more mysteries than actual answers this time around, which has left everyone both annoyed and completely hooked.

Hawkins is dealing with stuff that makes previous seasons look tame by comparison. The current debate centers on whether Vecna is really running the show or just another piece in somebody else's game.

Social media exploded with theories within hours of the video's release, and people are examining it frame by frame, in search of Easter eggs. Waiting until Volume 2 drops feels like torture after those endings. Some theories sound absolutely wild at first, but then you start connecting dots, and they don't seem so crazy anymore.


Time might be breaking in Stranger Things season 5

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Science classes in this show always end up mattering way more than they seem to at first. Mr. Clarke recently taught about wormholes, and something from that lesson stuck with viewers. His chalkboard drawing of an Einstein-Rosen bridge matched up almost perfectly with the creepy drawings Will had been making of Vecna's new hideout.

Stuff like that doesn't happen by accident in a show this carefully planned out. What if Vecna's actually trying to mess around with time itself instead of just taking over Hawkins? That kind of power would allow him to change almost anything he wants about the past.

Maybe he wants to stop Eleven before she ever becomes a threat, or reverse whatever happened that turned him into the creature he is now. Playing around with time never works out well in these kinds of stories. Stranger Things season 5 appears to be heading straight into that dangerous territory, whether we're ready or not.


Will can't catch a break in Stranger Things season 5

Will Byers got connected to Vecna way before anyone realized what was actually happening to him. That opening flashback reminded everyone that this link goes back to when Will first vanished in season one. Their minds got tangled up together somehow, and that connection stuck around even after he came home. Now Will's displaying powers that look disturbingly similar to Vecna's, which could go either way for the group.

Maybe this gives them an inside advantage they wouldn't have otherwise during the final fight. Or maybe - and this is the scary part - Vecna planned for Will to gain these abilities all along. Seeing Will forced to work against his own friends would absolutely wreck everyone emotionally, but the clues keep piling up in that direction. Stranger Things season 5 has put Will through enough already, yet the writers might have one more gut punch saved for his character arc.


Something bigger is lurking in Stranger Things season 5

Stranger Things season 5 could be running a massive misdirect about who we should actually be worried about. The Mind Flayer barely shows up lately, which gets weirder the more you notice it. That thing was genuinely terrifying when it controlled everything back in earlier seasons. Having it just disappear from the story doesn't track unless something else is going on behind the scenes. What if Vecna, for all his power and schemes, answers to something even worse than himself? The Mind Flayer might be the absolute puppet master here, just waiting in the wings for the right moment.

That would make Vecna more like a truly dangerous employee, rather than the actual boss everyone thinks he is. Discovering the truth would overturn everything we believe we understand about this entire conflict. The show loves doing precisely this kind of twist when you least expect it. Stranger Things season 5 probably saved the biggest shock for somewhere near the end.


Max is facing impossible choices in Stranger Things season 5

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Episode titles usually give away more than people realize if you know where to look. Max survived something that should have killed her, but she's stuck in this weird in-between state now. Her mind ended up trapped inside Vecna's mental prison along with a bunch of kids he grabbed. There's an episode coming called "Escape From Camazotz," and that name comes straight from A Wrinkle in Time.

The show made a point of showing earlier how much Holly loves that particular book. Camazotz in the original story dealt with sacrifice and how love triumphs over evil when all seems hopeless. Max has proven herself brave over and over throughout the series. She might end up making the ultimate sacrifice to get those kids out safely. Stranger Things season 5 doesn't pull punches when it comes to emotional damage, which actually aligns with how they tell their stories.


Looking past the battle in Stranger Things season 5

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Set photos leaked, showing Hopper wearing his old police chief uniform again, which seems quite significant. He hasn't had that job or worn that outfit since season three, before Russia happened. The way those photos look suggests they're from scenes that take place after everything gets resolved one way or another.

Maybe Hawkins actually gets some peace finally after dealing with supernatural nightmares for years. Stranger Things season 5 appears poised to wrap things up while respecting the significant progress these characters have made since the series began.


Volume 2 drops soon with answers to questions fans have been asking since day one, and Hawkins' fate hangs in the balance.

Edited by Tanisha Aggarwal