This "Stranger Things" Season 5 Vecna Theory Could Spell Trouble For Will

With only one season of "Stranger Things" left to go, we're looking ahead to what kinds of twists and turns might be in store for our Hawkins crew. One of the biggest threads left hanging at the end of the fourth season is Will Byers and his ongoing psychic connection to the monsters of the Upside Down after being held hostage there in season one. Could Will be in for another dangerous, monstrous body-snatch in the final season? Let's take a closer look.

One TikTok theory certainly thinks so. TikToker @bunkyyy lays out the theory in a quick video, suggesting that the connection Will has with the Upside Down will allow Vecna, the ultimate baddie of the series, to essentially transfer his "soul" into Will's body. According to the theory, Vecna's "Dungeons & Dragons"-based name is a hint: in D&D, the "Vecna" creature is an undead, super-powerful being that can evade death and whose "artifacts" grant power to the possessor but also corrupt them over time.

The TikTok also supports the theory with a canonical "bonus" text, "Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down," an official companion book to the TV show. In the book, Will's D&D character profile notes him as being a magic user (like Vecna) and a "True Neutral" alignment — the "neutral" version of Vecna's "Neutral Evil" alignment. Putting all the pieces together, along with what we know about Vecna's badly damaged current body (courtesy of Nancy, Steve, and Robin), it certainly seems plausible.

The theory — or some variation of it — seems to be hinted at already, with Will sensing Vecna's possible return before anyone else does at the end of the season finale. With what we know now about how the Upside Down was built by and for Vecna, it makes a lot of sense that Will has some supernatural connection with the monster.

After all, the first few seasons all featured Will having different types of psychic connection to the Upside Down monsters like the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer has possessed Will already, so it would make sense that its creator, Vecna, would be able to do the same thing. Will even confesses to Mike that, as soon as he arrived in Hawkins again, he began to sense Vecna and knows that, while the monster is injured, he's not dead yet and he's coming back. He's also the first one to sense the aftereffects of Vecna opening a gate, leading his family and friends to the place where Vecna has cracked open a gate to the Upside Down, with smoke pouring out of the ground just like in the vision Vecna shows Nancy.

Even if he's not directly possessed by Vecna, it seems all but certain that Will is going to be dealing with the lingering effects of his connection with the Upside Down as "Stranger Things" heads into its final episodes. We'll be very curious to see how this supernatural link helps (or hurts) our heroes in the final battle.