Stranger Things fans think they’ve figured out a hidden reference to the first ever episode of the show in the upcoming season.
Netflix have begun dropping hints for the final season of the biggest original franchise they have produced, this time in the form of releasing several of the episode titles for season five.
The final season will see the main cast return, with Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Caleb McLaughlin, and Sadie Sink among the main cast members set to return for one last instalment of Stranger Things.
As hinted at the end of season four, this will see the final battle between Vecna and the Upside Down against the kids and adults of Hawkins.
The newest teaser is customary for Stranger Things, with the show created by The Duffer Brothers often hiding little hints in the episode titles which they will release prior to the show’s air date.
Stranger Things teaser for the final season
The teaser, accompanied by the caption: “In the autumn of 1987, one last adventure begins. Stranger Things 5 coming 2025”, reveals that the episodes will be titled as follows:
“The Crawl, The Vanishing of [redacted], The Turnbow Trap, Sorcerer, Shock Jock, Escape from Camazotz, The Bridge, and The Rightside Up.”
Though some references are obvious, such as Sorcerer referring to the show’s links to Dungeons and Dragons, and The Rightside Up being an inversion of The Upside Down, others have slightly sneakier links to the show.
One in particular that has taken the fancy of fans is the redacted name in the second episode title listed.
This is a reference to the first-ever episode of the show, with the inaugural episode being titled The Vanishing of Will Byers.
One theory on Reddit reckons that by redacting the name, this leaves one obvious solution to them: “The missing Wheeler is most likely Holly”.
Holly is the youngest sister of Nancy and Will Byers, with fans theorising that a young actor, Nell Fisher will be playing a recast version of the character.
Fisher has been confirmed to appear in the final season, but has not had their role confirmed yet.
Fan theory about Stranger Things episode title
The theory went on to say: “The vanishing of a member of the Wheeler Family, and their role being important enough to be referenced in an episode title also match the fact that they've been filming a surprising amount of scenes at the Wheelers' house, implying that they are indeed having a bigger role this season.”
One other title, Escape from Camazotz, has elicited a similar number of theories.
Many have pointed to a Camazotz being a bat-creature/god from Mayan mythology which literally means Death Bat.
One theory however, has pointed to a major [spoiler heavy] death from season four, and theorised it could lead to a major return.
SPOILER WARNING AHEAD - Stop reading now if you haven't seen Stranger Things season four
They posted on r/StrangerThings to say: “So we can see episode 6 is titled escape from Camazots and Camazotz is a death bat god creature in Mayan mythology.
“Could this be hinting to Eddie, who was consumed by demobats and may have later transformed into Camazotz?
Eddie Munson was played by Joseph Quinn, and sacrificed himself in season four (Netflix)
“Camazotz is also associated with sacrifice that also makes sense considering how Eddie was killed”.
While Joseph Quinn is unlikely to appear in a major way in season five due to a) Eddie’s death, and b) his filming schedule for the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie, this could be a backdoor way for him to come back.
Stranger Things season five will release on Netflix in 2025.
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