Spoilers Stranger Things Season 5 - SPOILERS

[Ryujin]

It does seem like we’re getting some of that this season. I think we will get a bit more – they need to solve the mystery of why Henry is afraid of the cave so they can use that weakness against him.

I'm pretty sure that we already got that. It's because of what it lead to. That would be pretty damned traumatic for anyone, let alone a kid.

 

[pukunui]

I'm pretty sure that we already got that. It's because of what it lead to. That would be pretty damned traumatic for anyone, let alone a kid.

If you’re familiar with the stage play, you’ll know that’s not it. They teased us with Boy Scout Henry opening the dead man’s case but haven’t yet showed us what happened next.

The ball of exotic matter above the Upside Down version of the lab is another clue.

Spoiler

In the play, it’s revealed that Dr Brenner’s dad was part of the Philadelphia Experiment, with USS Eldridge briefly traveling to Dimension X (aka the Abyss).

Dr Brenner is obsessed with opening a new portal to the Abyss. Prior to the Hawkins Lab experiment, he had an experiment set up in that desert cave. Henry stumbled across it, ended up in the Abyss, and got genetically mutated by the mind flayer.

The mind flayer also got into his brain, slowly turning him more and more evil. Dr Brenner did some tests on him, and it was the mind flayer who convinced him to murder his mother because she was threatening to hand him over to Dr Brenner.

At some point, Dr Brenner confronted him on stage at the school during Joyce’s play – I don’t recall whether it was during a performance or a practice.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

They've also explicitly said something similar with Steve and Dustin, though.

I'm betting we get at least a half-dozen deaths.

I don't think basically any main cast will die, because I don't think it serves any purpose at this point.

They should have probably killed some off seasons back, or at the beginning of this season, both to establish stakes and to winnow down how many main characters we need to keep involved in everything, but at this point character death of anyone well integrated with the other characters would just bog down what is likely to be an already bloated epilogue section of the final episode with a lot of mourning, and probably demand too much of a sendoff during the main action with so many characters who need to get spotlight moments.

I think Murray can die early in the finale without it bogging down proceedings. He's someone who most the characters just sort of tolerate, and who nobody will need to mourn at length. Otherwise I don't see any deaths on the horizon.

I think killing Hopper in the finale would have actually made sense simply because he seems like a person incapable of enjoying a happily ever after and for whom a heroic sacrifice is the best end he's likely to come to. But they just had Eleven give him a talking to about him planning to die, so I don't think it'll happen.

Everyone's going to the waterfall place except the villains

 

[payn]

I think Murray can die early in the finale without it bogging down proceedings. He's someone who most the characters just sort of tolerate, and who nobody will need to mourn at length. Otherwise I don't see any deaths on the horizon.

 

[billd91]

I can see how Vecna could make the mistake locating Max, but it’s still weird to me that he needs to read Will’s mind instead of just asking the kids he was manipulating. I’m also not crazy about the entire Max storyline.

One thing about Vecna - I really wish that the story from the stage play had been included in the series. I think it adds some nice depth to Vecna and makes it blatantly clear that the US military/Linda Hamilton’s character is the real BBEG.

Up until Max interferes with Holly, she's been contained. He doesn't need to do anything more to her. It's only when she tries to help Holly escape and then Will interferes that he even gets on the issue of probing Will to enable him to kill Max. And by then, it's way too late to get any of the 11 year olds to find out where Max is (as if any of them other than Holly would conceivably have a clue or access to find out).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm pretty sure that we already got that. It's because of what it lead to. That would be pretty damned traumatic for anyone, let alone a kid.

I don't think we've actually seen the stuff in the case get on or into Henry, though, so we may have at least one more scene coming.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, I dont see a dirty dozen/rogue one ending being set up here.

Derek: "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel."

 

[Umbran]

I can see how Vecna could make the mistake locating Max, but it’s still weird to me that he needs to read Will’s mind instead of just asking the kids he was manipulating.

Well, before Max and Holly team up, he doesn't really care where her body is - she's beneath his notice, and so not a priority.

After they team up, all the kids are in his head - and none of them other than Holly has any connection to Max to know who Max was, or where her body was.