The latest Stranger Things has dropped so of course we had to analyse every second of it. Here are our Stranger Things season four volume two theories, all in one place. Buckle up, you’re in for a wild ride.
To everyone who told me English extension was a useless subject to do in my HSC, all I have to say is this: never have my movie-analysis skills come more in handy than right now.
If you haven’t already watched the latest Stranger Things season four volume two trailer, peep it below.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dive into all the theories we reckon are possible from this footage alone.
Eddie Munson is going to be have an epic guitar moment in Stranger Things 4 volume 2 like the Kate Bush scene
Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) started off as quite the character in Stranger Things season four. He was funny, bold and didn’t give AF about other people’s opinions.
I was left disappointed when he spent most of the show in hiding and talking about how cowardly he feels. It didn’t seem in line with how he was initially presented — but now I have a theory as to why.
In the new trailer, Eddie grabs an electric guitar in the Upside Down before we glimpse him atop the roof of his caravan, playing his fkn heart out as red lightning strikes.
Joseph Quinn told The Guardian there would be a “guitar scene” with “scale and ambition” which he described as “astonishing”.
We know Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) hold on his victims can be disrupted by activating the neurological paths in their brains that respond to music, right? I reckon we’re going to have a huge, emotional scene of Eddie playing heavy metal music on his guitar in the Upside Down while all kinds of chaos goes on around him.
I’m thinking a mammoth sequence on par with Max’s (Sadie Sink) escape from Vecna to Kate Bush‘s iconic “Running Up That Hill”. A rising musical sequence like the “Never Ending Story” in season three to whip us into a frenzy. You didn’t think we’d only get one heart-swelling musical scene in this season, did you?
This finale is said to be at a scale we’ve never seen before and Eddie is yet to have the grand moment we know his character was set up for, so my theory is this will be it.
Lucas loses his chance to save Max from Vecna
Okay, let’s backtrack for a second. We know Max was supposed to be one of Vecna’s victims but she escaped because her friends played her favourite song and grounded her into reality. This doesn’t mean she’s safe for good.
In the trailer we see Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Erica (Priah Ferguson) and Max heading into the Creel mansion, which we know is where Vecna lives in the Upside Down.
We also see snippets of Lucas getting in a punch on with evil jock Jason Carver (Mason Dye) in the same mansion.
He’s bathed in blue light which is important because in another glimpse, we see Max breathing heavily while reaching to flick on her walkman while in the same blue light. We can reasonably guess the two are together when this happens.
And then we see Lucas looking up while screaming, still bathed in blue light. And Max in the clutches of Vecna.
I reckon Jason interrupted whatever Max and Lucas’ plan was, distracting Lucas while Max was taken. And then maybe, as much as it pains me to say it, Max dies. Or at least becomes trapped.
We know the stakes are higher this season and there’s a possibility main characters will die. I want to believe Max survives, I really do. But she joined the group last, so narratively it makes sense for her to be the first to die.
Not to mention it would bring her survivor’s guilt subplot about Billy (Dacre Montgomery) to an end. She would be reunited with him in death, and the rest of the group would be traumatised yet also have a cause to fight for.
Plus, Vecna tells Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) that her friends “have lost”. What greater battle to lose than the one to save Max?
Our beloved Enzo dies at the end of Stranger Things 4
Have you noticed that in every Stranger Things season, a newly introduced side character who is close to the main cast dies? And their death signifies a shift in a central character’s arc?
In season one it was Barbara (Shannon Purser), Nancy’s (Natalie Dyer) best friend. Her death pushed Nancy into investigating the strange occurrences in Hawkins.
In season two it was Joyce’s (Winona Ryder) new love interest Bob (Sean Austin), who sacrificed himself to save her and the kids. His death brought up the stakes of the show and also opened up a potential romance between Joyce and Hopper (David Harbour).
In season three it was Billy, which sent Max into a depressive spiral, making her the perfect victim for Vecna.
This season, our two new recurring characters are Eddie Munson and Enzo (Tom Wlaschiha).
Since Joseph Quinn told The Guardian he’s keen to come back next season, we can probably rule out his death. He’s also a few years older than the rest of the gang, meaning he isn’t a kid and therefore not a target of Vecna.
Enzo, however, will probably die.
Enzo isn’t pictured with Joyce, Hopper and Murray (Brett Gelman), so we can assume he either splits off from the group to stay with the Russians or dies. However, the voice-over in the above screenshot says: “It might not work out for us this time.”
His death would give Hopper a reason to survive since last we saw him, he was feeling a little nihilistic. Plus, I can already hear the pre-death monologue about being good fathers.
Enzo says he doesn’t want to a die as a traitor earlier in the season — foreshadowing?
If Max doesn’t die, our Stranger Things 4 theories reckon Nancy or Joyce might
In the trailer we see Will (Noah Schnapp) clinging to big brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and sobbing.
Sure, it could be an emotional coming out scene, but those tears seem pretty earth-shattering. I think someone dies, especially because someone has to if this season is to live up to the horrible descriptives it’s been given by creators.
Who would Will be crying over? I doubt Mike dies considering he isn’t in any immediate danger right now. That leaves Joyce, or maybe Nancy since she was dating Jonathan and practically family.
In the Stranger Things season four volume two teaser released earlier this month, we see Steve (Joe Keery) trying to free Joyce from Vecna’s clutches in the Upside Down.
Again, Vecna says “Your friends have lost” and “Hawkins has fallen”. Perhaps this includes Joyce’s death? It explains the shot of Will and Jonathan sobbing, since they’re her sons and they have no one else.
As terrible as this is to admit, Steve may not make it out of this alive.
Okay, I know I’ve got a lot of Stranger Things season four volume two theories about people dying. I don’t think *all* of these characters will die, but if any do it’ll be one of these guys.
Steve’s death is something I’ve felt coming for some time now. Think about it: He was introduced as a jock/bully and over the last four seasons has had the most impressive redemption arc I’ve ever seen, rivalled only by Zuko from Avatar The Last Airbender.
He’s ticked every box on the narrative arc checklist and now he’s wandering around with chunks of flesh missing because of the demobats.
I think he’s going to sacrifice himself to save the gang in some last-stand scenario. The only part of his arc left is to either “get the girl” or die. While his romance with Nancy has practically been shoved down our throats this season, the show didn’t spend all that time building her relationship with Jonathan for nothing.
Steve is always throwing himself head-first into the fight. Self-sacrificing is part of his hero narrative.
What if Steve, in a last ditch effort to save the day, sacrifices himself like he always bloody does? And what if, just before this, he kisses Nancy? And then he dies, uncomplicating Nancy’s romance with Jonathan and leaving their story to a tidy close.
It’s sadistic, and it makes me nauseous just thinking about it, but… Steve dying would be the only death that really hurts viewers. It’s the one we can never accept. He’s the most beloved character and he’s currently injured with a mostly-complete arc. Do the maths.
Vecna is released into Hawkins before he is defeated
We wrote in our Stranger Things season four Easter eggs round up that Vecna was inspired by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) from Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). There are already theories the two stories will parallel each other.
In Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy Krueger murders teens in their dreams. It’s revealed he was a child murderer who killed 20 children but escaped justice on a technicality. He was burned alive by vengeful parents of his victims as a form of vigilante justice.
The main characters try to defeat Freddy Krueger by dragging him into the real world, where he becomes mortal. They believe his power over them is dependant on their fear of him.
Obviously there are a lot of parallels here, what with Vecna once being Henry Creel, also a mass child murderer who was then yeeted into another dimension. If the parallels continue, the Hawkins gang will have to lure him out of the Upside Down to defeat him.
Vecna says he has been “freed” in the trailer, so I reckon this is one of the more sound Stranger Things season four volume two theories.
Whether the gang actually does defeat him is something else — since in the first Nightmare on Elm Street movie, Freddy Krueger wins.
Will is going to play a huge role in the Stranger Things 4 volume 2 finale
So, we know Will has a weird connection with the Upside Down. Judging from his revelation Vecna won’t stop until he’s “taken everyone”, I think we can assume his connection remains.
He’s also painting something he’s keeping to himself and he’s feeling isolated from his friends.
I’ve been so confused about Will’s storyline this season because it feels like he’s been cast aside. Pretty much nothing he’s done or said has had plot relevance, even though he was the main character in earlier seasons.
I have to believe the writers haven’t abandoned him, so my theory for Stranger Things season four volume two is his role will be communicating Vecna’s thoughts/movements/motives/weaknesses to the Hawkins crew. I think he’ll give them important knowledge that’ll be the difference between life and death, finally making him and his Upside Down connection relevant.
Stranger Things 4 ends with the Mind Flayer escaping the Upside Down
See the smoke straining against this wall of glass in the Stranger Things volume two trailer? My theory is that’s the Mind Flayer.
It’s obvious Joyce, Hopper and Murray are in a lab of some kind. Whether they’re in Hawkins or Russia doesn’t matter because both have a portal to the Upside Down.
Season five is the final season of Stranger Things, and Vecna is the Mind Flayer’s general. It’ll be the final boss battle. If Vecna potentially wins at the end of this season (which is my theory), well, this is a hell of a cliff-hanger to leave on.
This is one of my fave theories because it strikes terror into my heart. Leave my babies alone and let them live long wholesome lives!!!
Stranger Things season four volume two will be available to stream on Netflix on July 1st.
