‘Stranger Things’ Season 5, Volume 2: What will happen?

We are officially at the halfway point stranger things‘The fifth and final season. How are you feeling? Happy to be back in Hawkins? I am afraid to find out the fate of stranger things‘Huge cast? Curious to know what happens next? I am with you!

stranger things Season 5, Volume 1 pulled out all the stops, from supersized episodes to massive set pieces involving armies of Demogorgons against the US military. It’s a lot, to put it mildly. And you know what’s a lot more? Number of questions I have for Section 2!

From Will’s (Noah Schnapp) new powers to Henry Creel/Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) ultimate plan, here are 11 burning questions I’ll be pondering until stranger things Returns on Christmas Day.

1. What is Vecna ​​doing with the Hawkins kids?

Volume 1 of stranger things Season 5 ended with Henry Creel/Vecna ​​kidnapping all of the Hawkins children our heroes were trying to save. This is with them headed to the Upside Down, where he would tie them to pillars in his lair, stick tentacles in their mouths, and feed them the same weird nasty goo he had when he first came to the Upside Down.

But why is he doing all this?

In season 5 episode 4, titled “Wizards”, Vecna ​​says that he chose children to “reshape the world” because they make “the perfect vessel”. Why ship? For your power? This seems to be the most likely option, as Will now has access to Vecna’s powers. But what will Vecna ​​do with Mini-Me’s crew? Send them to our world to create a new expansion of the Upside Down? The last thing this show needs is an army of creepy kids. The army of Demogorgons is more than enough!

2. How did Kali/Eight come upside down?

Another bombshell reveal from “The Magicians” was that Dr. K (Linda Hamilton) is keeping Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) “sister” Kali/Eight (Linnea Barthelson) in the Upside Down.

Seen only in Season 2, Episode 7, “The Lost Sister”, Kali has the ability to create powerful illusions. After escaping from Hawking Labs, he dedicated his life to finding the employees who experimented on and tortured him and his fellow test subjects. What’s been happening to her since the events of “The Lost Sister”?

Apparently, nothing’s great, because she’s stuck in the Upside Down. But what was the reason for his capture, and for how long has he been imprisoned at the military base?

3. What is Dr. K’s plan?

Dr. K doesn’t have much to do this season except threaten his staff and have a showdown with Hopper (David Harbour). None of this explains what he and Cena really are doing However, in the Upside Down. Are they trying to weaponize Kali’s powers for themselves? Are they hunting Vecna ​​too?

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Whatever, why do they do it? need To do it upside down? Establishing and then maintaining a base in a hostile dimension Can not If it’s easy, there must be a deeper reason besides the good factor, right?

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4. Can Max and Holly escape the memories of Henry Creel?

Good news: After being away for a few episodes, Max (Sadie Sink) is back! The bad news: In the real world she’s still in a coma, and otherwise trapped in the prison of Henry Creel’s memories. However, she is not alone. Nancy and Mike’s (Natalia Dyer and Finn Wolfhard) younger sister Holly (Nell Fisher) is with him. Between the two of them, maybe they can find a way?

However, after all of the Hawkins children are kidnapped, Memory Prison may be a little overcrowded. Can Max and Holly save themselves and the rest of Vecna’s victims while they are trapped inside her mind?

5. Why won’t Henry go into the caves in his memories?

Max reveals that when Vecna ​​discovered him and chased him through his memories, there was one place he did not want to go: the caves where she hid. He seemed haunted by the memory, and that reaction could give Max and Holly an indication of a weakness they could use against Vecna.

My red-yarn-on-a-corkboard theory? Vecna’s fear of caves is somehow linked to a photograph of the Creel family, including Henry in his Boy Scout uniform, which Holly found while dancing around the Creel house. From the photo it seems that the family was on a trip. Perhaps something so terrible happened during that holiday that Vecna ​​became hesitant to even come close to the caves.

6. Will Karen and Ted Wheeler survive?

In Season 5, Episode 2, titled “The Vanishing of…”, Karen and Ted (Cara Buono and Joe Crest) become victims of the Demogorgon who stole Holly. This blows him to pieces, but not before Karen manages to injure him with her wine bottle, making her the ultimate Wine Mom. And The ultimate scoundrel.

those with wheels somehow He managed to survive these incredibly brutal injuries and is now in hospital. But will their positions remain stable as we move towards Volume 2? Here’s hoping, because Nancy and Mike really don’t need any more trauma.

7. What does the big, muscular wall mean in the Upside Down?

A new development has emerged in the Upside Down: a giant, perfectly circular wall around Hawking, with Hawking’s lab directly in the center. The wall itself is cool enough, all fleshy tendrils and strange sacs of fluid. However, by the time we get to Volume 2, I’ll need more details on this mystery, not at all. game of Thrones-inspired wall.

8. Is Will going to come out?

stranger things For several seasons now Will has been preparing to come out as gay, and since this season is the show’s last chance to do so, the question remains how are they going to do it?

So far this season, Robin (Maya Hawke) has been acting as a kind of queer mentor to Will, telling him not to be afraid to be who he really is. He remembers these words when he adopts his Vecna-style powers in the final moments of “The Sorcerer”. In piecing together Will’s bizarre identities and thereby destroying the Demogorgons, stranger things Creates a messy metaphor that doesn’t exactly stick the landing. However, it also sets the stage for a new version of Will who accepts all parts of himself, meaning he can finally open up to his friends in Volume 2.

9. What is going to happen with Will’s new powers?

Of course, Will also has to deal with the fact that he’s basically a mini Vesna now. This could be great news for the fight against Vecna, as the Eleven-Kali-Will team-up will provide Team Hawkins with some significant mental firepower.

However, can Vecna ​​manipulate her relationship with Will to get him on her side? Will now appears to be quite powerful, but he only has two minutes to practice using his new abilities. Vecna ​​is doing this for YearCan Will really stand his ground against the very powers that gave him this power?

10. Can we finally get an ending to Nancy, Jonathan and Steve’s love triangle?

Look, I like Nancy. I like Jonathan (Charlie Heaton). And I like Steve (Joe Keery). what i No as it is stranger things They are constantly thrown into a love triangle which has become fixed since Season 2.

This season takes steps to move past this, as Steve tells Jonathan some harsh truths about how strange Steve acts when he interacts with Nancy. Plus, Jonathan is planning to propose, so Jensi seems to be as end game as can be (even if it is). It’s been feeling like this for many seasonsBut at this point, I’m tired of the Jancy/Stancy in all this, even though I do appreciate Jonathan and Steve’s budding romance. More than that please! And much more about Nancy’s detective skills!

11. Who is going to die?

Look, we are all wondering about this after every episode. With such a large cast and a formidable foe like Vecna, it’s almost impossible that everyone will escape this season alive. So, who will do it? stranger things Are fans saying goodbye in Volume 2 and the finale?

My money is mainly on the side characters, like stranger things There’s nothing like introducing a beloved new face, only to have them killed off in a single season. See: Barb (Shannon Purser), Bob (Sean Astin), and Eddie (Joseph Quinn). This time, could the show bring him back only to kill Kali? Are kids like Derek (Jake Connelly) or Holly, who have taken on a new importance this season, in danger? Will Karen and Ted succumb to their injuries after their (frankly, impossible) survival?

or will happen stranger things Grow up and take out some of the main team members? I’m always scared for Steve, but things aren’t looking good for Hopper either. He still has the explosive vest, and is clearly prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for Eleven.

stranger things Season 5, Volume 1 is streaming now. Volume 2 will premiere on December 25 at 8 PM ET, and the series finale will air on December 31 at 8 PM ET.