strangertheory

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OMG THEY OFFICIALLY WRAPPED OH MY GOD

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I’m not fine.

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sometimes i have byler doubt then i remember that this interview exists

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If i'm being honest, byler ain't the dynamic i am more interested to see because i don't have any doubts that they will be endgame anymore, so Mike and Lucas duo is what i'm really looking for. Since season 1 they don't have that bond of brothers that fight but love each other. In season 3 both of them were together for the most part of the season, but it was always in humorous scenes, nothing that really developed their relationship.

So now i am very excited to see what they're cooking for their friendship, now that they're older they can talk about some more mature topics and help each other to understand what is their place in the world, and how the two of them can help each other growing up, and be included in a comfortable and healthy space for both.

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‘twist villain’ is always good of course but i’m such a sucker for ‘twist hero’. specifically as in they write a character to be as suspicious and unnerving as possible without really actually doing anything wrong yet but you just KNOW something is wrong but then surprise. they’re fine actually. all the alleged wrongdoings were either lies harmless or taken out of context. it’s even better if the suspicious aspects of their personality don’t go away after the reveal that they’re a good guy. they just act and look and talk like that for fun. they’re just a little silly

[strangertheory]

Construction/destruction

I absolutely love the "Buried Memories" scene with El and Papa.

"Papa" tells El that she has repressed trauma, and demons from her past are "invading from [her] subconscious".

Thing is, I'm absolutely confident that El is a part of Will and has Will's memories. Why? MANY reasons but for one, we cut from El tapping into her traumatic past memories to...

A construction worker.

Who is associated with construction?

Lonnie.

I've brought this up many times before but I cannot emphasize how significant this clue is. Larry is basically the same name as Lonnie, they are both nicknames of Laurence. Will only "vaguely" remembers the construction guy aka his own father due to the extremely traumatic memories.

(While possessed by the MF (father) Billy says "we've been building it". Also, the "source" in ST3 happens to be a steel factory...)

Lonnie "builds" in a destructive way. He hammers wood right in the entry point for Will to return to the right side up. He "builds" to destroy.

Will also builds! But the way he does it is to provide protection. He drew then created.

The protection he built is later destroyed when "he" (Demogorgon/MF/Deep Father/Lonnie) returns...

The construction worker we see after El taps into the repressed memories says "I'm taking five" and he is told "You just took five."

Obviously on the surface he is just simply saying that he's taking a break. But, as we know with ST, there's a deeper meaning here.

I think this relates to...

"It was a seven. The Demogorgon, it got me."

(See that "7" on the top left when that line is said...)

I've said this before but I do strongly believe this is a coded message he's telling Mike about his past. "Friends don't lie" is such an important aspect to their friendship. Will is terrified of the truth of what happened to him, but he doesn't want to lie by omission to Mike. He trusts Mike enough to tell him the truth... but the message is "sensitive", he tells it in a coded way. That's why Mike is confused.

Will was twelve years old when he said this and when he vanished.

12 - 7 = 5.

That's why I think he said "it was a seven". Something awful happened to him when he was only 5 years old (in 1976). This is likely why we are apparently getting a flashback scene when he was that age...

The Demogorgon/construction worker/Lonnie kidnapped/took Will away when he was five years old. He apparently already took a five too which is interesting...

This makes me think:

Lonnie kidnapped Will at five years old. Will managed to escape and protect/defend himself... he ward off the "evil spirits". Then he was kidnapped a second time.

[strangertheory]

I'm in a mild hyperfixation state)✨

[strangertheory]

ST5 release date speculation

There hasn't been too much of an update on the actual release date so far, so I'm here to try to narrow it down as much as I can at least. When can we expect it, realistically?

Easy answer: Late 2025

Obviously, this needs to consider a few different factors. Runtime, CGI heaviness, scale, and the like. All of these could vary from my expectations, so this is just a broad and safe bet, but unless there's another external barrier(like the strikes), I'm pretty confident in that. Multiple people working on the show, and Netflix itself, have also agreed with a 2025 release date. Plus if they're breaking it up into volumes 1&2 again, which I'm pretty sure they are, post-production for the first four episodes will absolutely be done in time.

For comparison: post-production for the entirety of season 4 took 9 1/2 months. The same would likely apply for season 5, assuming season 5 will have the same amount of runtime, VFX, SFX, and people working on post-production. I know the Duffers claimed to be aiming for less total runtime than season 4, but that was before even writing season 5, and I honestly don't believe they succeeded. Also seeing as Maya Hawke compared the season length to 8 movies, I feel more comfortable saying it's close to season 4 in runtime. This guess is only slightly influenced by my prayers that they're giving ample time to wrap everything up.

Though, it definitely will not take any less than 6 months, unless they were already working on editing concurrently with filming. 6 months as my reference because that was probably the post-production time of season 3, which is a little over half of my estimated runtime of season 5, and probably had less VFX to work on. The second part is only a theory, though, from my expectation that the UD will merge with Hawkins.

Assuming filming wraps on December 20th, and they take a holiday break until January 2nd, that leaves post-production finishing around mid-October. This would give them ~3 weeks of wiggle room until Stranger Things day. I don't think they care about having any more extra time, seeing as they even continued s4 post-production after the release of volume 1, and through a few days-weeks after release of volume 2, just to get it out earlier. Season 3 has also already been released on a relevant date(the 4th of July), so if production wraps on a close enough date for the reference, they might just release it then.

So my official guess is November 6th, 2025.

If they're already cramming in post-production, as rumors have said, and only releasing 1/2 the season first, then possibly as early as July 2025, though not likely in my opinion. Especially considering they haven't even dropped a real teaser yet. I don't expect them to be rushing it, either, if they actually want to stick the landing after a decade of show production. I feel like September 2025 is a more realistic bet for an early date, and wrapping in October would round up to November 6th again.

But considering the teaser, I think it'll drop pretty soon after they wrap filming. Don't quote me on that though, it's just a theory ;)

[strangertheory]

Messaging people for the first time is so hard. What am I supposed to say? Like, "You seem really odd and your blog intrigues me. Do you want to have philosophical conversations or perhaps talk about fictional characters?" What! Whatever. I will just follow you back and stare at your blog with my big beautiful brown eyes.

[strangertheory]

Me in 2025 when I hear the words "what painting?" out of El's mouth:

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oh you’re a fan of my blog? name five of my worst opinions

[strangertheory]

st5 spoilers

no one is allowed to speak to me for 5-10 business days or however the fuck you say it

[strangertheory]

[strangertheory]

i find it so interesting how people act like "critically examining a piece of media" is the opposite of "enjoying that piece of media." rip to you but i actually find it really enjoyable and compelling to dissect and think through the art i engage with

[strangertheory]

Are you in the United States? What are your opinions about what is going on rn because I am really scared

I'm not happy with the election results. I think that unfortunately both main political parties in the US are failing people in very different ways. They're both a mess. I've got a lot of specific opinions regarding the political mess and the social mess going on right now, but I can't get into it all and I don't think it would be of any use to dive into here. The mess can wait. I'd rather try to give you some form of comfort and advice.

Seek out community. Stay close to those you trust. Don't be afraid to ask for and/or offer help to those that you trust and love. Governments change, but people don't have to. Community is so very important now and always, in good times and bad. Learn about mutual aid and nonprofits in your area that are making a difference. Stay in touch with your friends.

Learn how to protect your personal data. When interacting with people online, protect your own privacy and don't share anything that could be traced back to the real you. You might not consider the information that you share online to be something that you'd need to be discreet with in the US up until now, but freedom of speech and expression has always unfortunately been more of an ideal than a perfect reality in the US, and that could get a lot worse.

Take care of yourself. Taking care of yourself in tough times is inherently of value because you are of value. The world needs people like you. If all you can do is take care of yourself right now, that's okay and that's so very important.

You're not alone. Yes, things can be scary sometimes. You're not the only one scared. It's okay to be scared. It means you care a lot. But don't let yourself get lost in that fear, and frozen by it. Allow yourself to enjoy what you can in every day. Don't feel guilty for enjoying something in your day even when there's something awful in the news. There will always be something awful in the news, it's just unfortunate when it's closer to home. These are tough times, not end times. Compartmentalizing is how everyone gets through life. By still finding things to enjoy in our lives in spite of the awful things going on, we take our power back. Trump can't stop you from enjoying that favorite food. He can't stop you from hanging out with your friends and finding comfort in communities of like-minded people. Seek out joy while seeking to do what you can for yourself and others. Stay informed, but don't feel any guilt turning off the news sometimes. Take care of yourself.

I want to say a million things but then I'd never finish writing this reply, and I very much wanted to make sure I replied to you, so I'll end with a quote from one of my heros.

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."" — Fred Rodgers

[strangertheory]

i think the duffers expected more people to catch onto byler before season 5.

like, the fact that in all of their interviews pre-volume 2 they were saying that will’s sexuality was going to be explicitly addressed, yet there were still some people in denial that he was gay at all, let alone in love with mike after the van scene (and then noah had to confirm it after)?

and even in robins coming out scene in season 3. although yes, that one was a hell of a lot more obvious to the general audience, she never outright states that she’s lesbian. you just infer that from what she’s saying.

so i think the duffers wrote the van scene—because people understood the coming out scene in season 3—intending that everyone was going to understand this ‘coming out’ scene too (by inferring what will is saying, the exact thing everyone did in season 3 with robin).

but alas, heteronormativity is a pain in the ass.

so i genuinely believe that the duffers believed that more ga/mainstream veiwers were going to realise that “oh hey, something not-so-straight is happening here” during the entirety of the byler (especially mikes gay ass behaviour) scenes in season 4

which kind of sucks because this means that byler (to the general audience) is now being treated as a plot twist, all because of heteronormativity.

[strangertheory]

I fear people might be losing their minds due to the lack of news about the show, it's time to drop a Stranger Things trailer @netflix