#stranger things s4 speculation

[everbyers]

We could be getting something on Will's birthday

This is just a theory, and I don't have any proper evidence for it, just pure speculation!!

Even though all the dates stuff are announced are random (expect st day), I think that a possibility of getting something like the teaser/trailer or even announcement dates is very possible on Will's birthday. Hear me out:

It's gonna set birthdaygate in stone even further.

Since It's an important announcement, the GA will have the date memorised and will be like "wait, this date is familiar"

It would make sense between the gap of the release and the dates announcement. The days between the dates announcements and releases are around 100-200 days. So, I calculated it.

If I'm right, the earliest release is June 30th and the latest is October 8th.

I personally believe that we are getting the teaser very soon and that we didn't get it because of the elections on st day. Possibly around December/Christmas?

[bugsbenefit]

hellfire in s5, and how it's Really not looking good for the members

the hellfire club is, in my opinion, one of the most obvious set ups for s5 and i never see enough people acknowledge how blatant the show actually is with it. because it's a directly addressed ongoing issue that slowly worsens over time and directly threatens three main characters (Dustin, Lucas, and Mike), at Least

there's a clear structured progression of the threat getting worse, with a major part of the s4 Hawkins plot being only Jason and his team chasing Eddie down, and by the last episodes of the show the rest of the town sides with them and joins the objective. however, we never get any consequence of the town agreeing with Jason, aside form the kids parents getting reaction shots looking insanely worried. the only thing even resembling partisan participation is a dogwalker (the same man that agreed with Jason first and then caused every other member in the town hall to also agree) informing Jason and co about there being someone in the Creel house. a single character ratting someone out is not pay off for a scene that rallies the entire town with anger and fear. especially because he was the First one to agree with Jason, arguably the next reaction, in parallel to the town house scene, will have everyone else also involve themselves

and everything Jason actually said in the town hall looks INFINITELY worse by the end of the season because he not only died the same day (how odd that must look), the town was also hit by a severe earthquake. (and hell-gates open in town but we don't know how people will react to that yet, or if it will even be immediately obvious to them)

like. it's a Terrible look. and with Eddie being dead now, the main target that represented the hellfire club in s4 and got the primary share of blame is now officially un-prosecutable

s4 also goes out of it's way to associate Lucas, Dustin and Mike explicitly with the hunt on Hellfire, ages before the whole town gets involved

Lucas is put on edge by the basketball's team hostility towards his friends constantly and has to actively lie his way out of the line of fire multiple times. the basketball team is also looking for Dustin to question him about Eddie's whereabouts, even going to his house where a confrontation only doesn't happen because he's not home. and they even manage to go out of their way to drag Mike into it despite him being out of town, when Jason starts a conversation with Nancy specifically to threaten her and then asks about Mike right after

which leads to the other thing; not only are all the kids already on Jason's radar, he's also getting more and more direct with the fact that he doesn't just want to have a nice chat with them (culminating in actually physically attacking Lucas by the last episode)

and if them setting all of the kid members of hellfire up for a bad time wasn't obvious enough, it's also fascinating to see the posters of hellfire we get over the season also show a clear shift in focus

when we see the hellfire club year book photo for the first time the focus is on Eddie. he's who Jason sees as the main culprit and when we get a close up of the burning poster we see Eddie

but when we see the hellfire club photo again 4 episodes later the focus isn't on Eddie anymore. not in dialogue and not visually

the shot is from the Wheeler's pov (Karen's specifically), and the only part of the picture that's in focus is the far right corner, with Mike and Lucas. (makes sense that's her son that's currently being implicated in satanic murders). Eddie never gets unblurred, he's not who the audience is supposed to look at in this shot. verbally Jason is also explicitly blaming the whole club now. it's not just Eddie who's "crazy" and killed Chrissy, it's the whole club who's responsible (it's also very notable that he's handing out yearbook photos of the whole club, not just Eddie. a really distinct prop choice. everyone in town now not only thinks hellfire is directly responsible for multiple ritualistic murders, they also know Exactly who's in the club)

and looking back at the season in hindsight, there's actually more than enough instances that would make the members of Hellfire look kind of guilty, or shady at best, even if someone were to do some research. there's multiple instances of hellfire members lying to the basketball team about hellfire member's whereabouts which definitely doesn't make them look more innocent in the team's eyes. not only do Eddie's band members try to brush them off, Nancy pretends to not even know about Hellfire when Jason asks about Mike, and Lucas goes out of his way to keep Dustin and Eddie's locations from them by deliberately lying and sending them to wrong locations

and that's on top of the entire montage of Dustin and Mike trying to find a substitute player for a single game on the same day a student with no previous affiliation to Eddie Munson dies at his trailer? that looks Horrible in hindsight. especially with them asking pretty much every other student, from almost every club, while both prominently wearing hellfire shirts. if anyone actually remembers them and thinks about the events post Chrissy's death they could definitely make some assumptions

it's just bad looks all around. and that's not even mentioning how they have the potential to look even worse in s5. if it got out Lucas was with Max when she somehow died and broke all her bones? would look horrible. or Dustin now associating with Eddie's dad? and we don't even know how he'll fulfill Eddie's wish to "look after the little sheep"

and even Mike, who didn't even have the chance to attract suspicion post e1 due to being out of town has a whole thing going on with his image paralleling Eddie, with being the other DM and having his s4 style be directly in reference to Eddie's looks

while there's building hostility towards the hellfire members, and the focus (both visually and vocally) switches more to the members Other than Eddie, by the end of the season there just hasn't been a chance for the townsfolk to respond to Jason's speech yet. they all agreed with him, but everything immediately went to shit the same night. however, even the last few minutes of the show, that always have the most direct foreshadowing for the next season, include a shot focusing on the rise of religion and the fearmongering that started with Jason's speech

which serves as a great reminder that the entire town hall just agreed with Hellfire being a satanist cult they need to stop

s4 ends with the hellfire set up being one of the most explicitly obvious plot threads that are about to be a problem for multiple main characters in s5. like the few other obvious established about-to-be struggles: the gates opening, Vecna still being alive, Max being "gone"; we've gotten a full set up there but no payoff yet

and then there's obviously the question of what the people would even DO in s5? they all agreed that Hellfire needed to be stopped, so... what now?

on one hand there's the interesting concept of the town refusing to help the protagonists but they could also be acting as a hostile force against them

say anyone tried to warn the town about the upside down or it's creatures, the chances of people listening to them talk about actual "demons" and reacting in any positive way is probably near 0. even if you saw a Demogorgon nibble on your neighbour an hour ealier, would you really listen to someone you think intentionally opened the Hellgate that let the creatures through in the first place?

but then there's of course the active antagonistic angle they could also take. Jason was calling for Hellfire to be actively opposed and stopped, not passively. and the show Does go out of it's way to show the overcrowded weapons store in multiple shots post Jason-speech

we're supposed to know these people are armed going forward. whether they're buying them to go hunting, or wanting to go shoot Eddie Munson, the weapons are there now... also ignore the 7 separate hellfire wanted posters in the opening shot of the store alone 💀(it's actually 9, i didn't circle the two that are cut off in the bottom corner. that whole board is just plastered with that one photo)

(the implication of what the guns are for couldn't be more obvious if they tried. again, also the scene where Jason tries to intimidate Nancy and directly asks about where Mike is. also the scene where Erica and co try to hide from the basketball team members in the store. the scene features, guns, hellfire posters everywhere, and characters specifically asking about the whereabouts of a member while other people are actively hiding)

and the weapons could play out in a positive way in s5 too, say the lady from next door gets hands on involved and takes shots at the Demobats in her front yard

but the reactionary, scared, and angry town that blames a specific small group of people for everything that's happening could also lead to MCs having to actively worry about getting shot by someone they've seen at the supermarket for 10+ years on top of the supernatural threat

TLDR: re Hellfire, none of these members will have a good time in s5

Edit (because i forgot to include these images and am silly)

Hellfire even makes it on the local news by the end of the season

and in line with the focus shifting from Eddie to the other hellfire members, the news anchor then goes to say that Eddie Munson is presumed dead after the earthquake but that that isn't enough for the town. the news even mentions the conspiracy theory that the hellfire murders CAUSED the earthquake. so anyone who hasn't heard Jason's speech, now they're getting it from a "reputable" source too. call that high quality journalism, let's throw the local highschoolers under the bus

we're supposed to remember the fear of the "satanic cult killing children" that Jason spread to the town. it's still there. and it's not just in the local town hall anymore, its being broadcast on live television. so just in case you didn't catch wind of who caused a "gate to hell" to open in your suburban neighbourhood the first time, the news anchor thankfully tells you who everybody Says is responsible, it's the 14-18 year old satanist serial killers duh

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

If they don't bring back this jacket in season 5, I'm rioting. . .plus, with the camo shirt. . . It's a good look for him. 😍

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[lovbyler]

mike is going to be such a protective big brother this season, i can't wait to see him bond with holly and bonus if there are scenes of them with nancy too!!! i need more wheeler brothers content 🙏🏼🕯️

[emily-mooon]

Are we not going to talk about how Holly’s probable s5 disappearance was foreshadowed in s1?

[will80sbyers]

Oh shit wait it kinda looks like someone without a leg... ? Istg if someone loses a leg and this was foreshadowing for that they need more help than I do 😂

[junoisthecoolest]

so bylers canon ig

[milevenstancyendgame]

Guys, I'm gonna flip:

Could this mean that Steve is in the ambulance?😳

Also, is Nancy's hospital disguise (possibly even two disguises, see last post) related to this?

[cloudycleric]

something about the fact that hawkins is literally turned into a hell hole war zone in s5 awakens something in my soul. like we are actually getting apocolaypse (i cannot spell that word & im too lazy for auto correct rn) byler. like think about it. our boys are gonna get down & dirty. theres gonna be guns. theres gonna be survivalist shit. we are so blessed godbless im gonna cry IM SAOSIIDGJODSJHGL HSTRANGE RHTINGS 5 OAHODGJJ OHH MY GOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDD

[byler-alarmist]

We now have Vickie as a playable character in Puzzle Tales!

She looks so cute!

Unfortunately, her abilities don't seem to give us much more information about her or hints for S5 plot points. Mostly, it's just references to her being in band, which we already know.

The one thing that really interests me is the ability "Lullaby."

Usually, characters change dice of their own color into ability dice, but Vickie specifically changes blue dice into Healing dice, which seems like a choice.

Based on my analysis of other characters, the changing of a different color dice is often an implied connection to some other character of that color.

There aren't that many blue Ultra characters to choose from, and specifically the only S4 and up blue characters that she would interact with (so far) are Steve and Will. Could she possibly have some interaction with either of them in S5? Perhaps helping them sleep or to distract their thoughts from Vecna?

It could be referring to Robin in her Awesome character, but that feels like a reach since Scoops Robin is a throwback to S3 and Vickie hadn't met her yet. And since this is her main activated ability, why not make it change to yellow healing dice if it was supposed to be about her connection to Robin (a yellow Ultra character)?

It's possible the Lullaby name has no connection to S5 plot points and they just needed a music-related healing ability for Vickie. But the changing of blue dice is still very sus.

The non-green strangeness happens again with "Drum Roll," where instead of swapping green dice triggering an action, it's yellow dice. This one feels easier to explain, since Robin is a yellow Ultra character, so that could be some sort of homage to their "making a match."

These last two don't seem especially hint-y to me.

As it stands right now, I don't feel like we learned anything new about Vickie based on the event description or the abilities, but we'll see. It would have been cute to have something Fast Times related or something based on one of her few quotes or interactions with Robin, but they kept it pretty generic.

[stevesbipanic]

Ok so I just have a thought right. We know that Stranger Things loves using the kids playing DnD to tell the story of future events. We see it from the very first episode where the demogorgan gets Will in the game and then later takes him. Now it's already theorised that the battle against Vecna played at the beginning of ST4 will be similar to the final battle Vecna come back and maybe even Erica will get to deal the final blow like she does in the game.

But I'd like to add one more piece to the theory. In DnD the DM plays the bad guys and Eddie is the DM. In ST4 he is playing Vecna against the Party and Hellfire. We already know that the Upside Down can possess people in the Rightside Up what if instead of bringing Eddie back as Kas or Eddie being just dead. He's literally used as a vessel for a badly injured Vecna. And so just as Eddie was Vecna in the campaign, Eddie becomes Vecna once more.

[chirpsythismorning]

Vecna’s plan requiring Mike to leave for California means nothing. The number 1 following Mike cryptically at the airport means nothing. Them barely giving us Mike’s perspective the last two seasons (despite him being the original protagonist) means nothing and it isn’t setting up his POV to be revealed in s5 bc the entire audience is completely comfortable with where Mike stands as a character in regards to his deeper feelings/motives. No confusion there so no need to address that. Mike saying How will I survive a whole week without you guys at the start of s4 wasn't foreshadowing his fate at the end of said week. Mike standing in front of exit signs 3+ times in s4 is probably just a coincidence. Mike being associated with gaping mouths in multiple moments spanning the entire series, even going back to his very first line on the show, means nothing at all. Nancy’s vision about her family (Mike) dying was mentioned at the end of s4, but it didn’t happen so probably won’t ever happen, even though there’s still another season left set directly after the events of s4. Will calling Mike the heart and how without heart they’d all fall apart, was not in any shape form foreshadowing something happening to Mike and them all falling apart, bc Mike is definitely just a prop and everything in relation to his story only holds meaning on the surface or for other characters arcs and couldn’t possibly be hinting at something deeper that’s being saved as one of the many surprises for the last season.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

I love the fact that Joseph Quinn really had Eddie flirt with both Chrissy and Eddie. The man really wanted to manifest a bisexual Eddie Munson. That's probably about as canon as we're going to get with his sexuality. I doubt they're going to say in season 5, but maybe if Dustin has a conversation with Wayne or if Steve does. . .and Steve has a realization about himself. I just know if Steve has a realization that he's bisexual himself that it's going to because someone talked about Eddie's own interest in men and women or hell, maybe it's going to be because Vickie talked about her own sexuality. I could see her having a sit-down conversation with Wayne and Steve about it. With Wayne telling her about Eddie when he caught Vickie looking at Robin. Maybe Steve sort of panics in the background while they're talking. I want Eddie's sexuality to be like a domino effect. It starts with Wayne and Vickie, Steve realizes he's bisexual. He talks about it with Robin, Lucas overhears, and he realizes he's bisexual. Then Lucas talks about it with Will by Max's bedside. Jonathan overhears, and he realizes he's bisexual. Max, hearing everything in her coma, also realizes she's bisexual. Will goes home and tells them about Eddie (not about the others). Joyce and Hopper realize they're not as straight as they thought. . . Meanwhile, Eddie comes back from the dead. . .

"Uncle Wayne! How many people did you tell?!"

"It was an accident, son. I think it was for the best, though, there were a lot of confused people in this damned town. . ."

[butterflysonnets]

still pissed argyle supposedly isn't coming back for s5 when he was the only one other than dustin and suzie getting shit done and solving problems last season. literally the only reason cali gang made it. argyle has many rights and not being confirmed for s5 is infringing on them. put him back where he belongs with his queerplatonic buddy jonathan or so help me

[boredbyler]

guys remind me how did will see the letters joyce painted on the wall and how did he reach them