Ten Questions We Need Answered in Stranger Things Vol. 2

Turn your world upside down.

StrangerThings 5 is about to pick back up in just a few weeks here. After the climactic ending of volume one, us fans have a ton of questions that will be answered in volume two. I have gathered my ten biggest questions that must be answered in the second volume, alongside my theories as to what the answers to these questions will be. Check them out below.

10. Who is Nancy going to end up with?

The Steve-Nancy-Jonathan love triangle is one of the show's biggest subplots

This is a pretty easy one: I don't think Nancy is ending up with either of them. To me, there is a high likelihood that either Jonathan or Steve dies, and if one of them dies, there is a zero percent chance that Nancy is ending up with the other. She's also got an incredibly strong will and independence to her that makes me think she's destined for a life outside of Hawkins. Steve and Jonathan have their strengths, but neither of them seem like the type that would go out with Nancy to chase her dreams.

And, as we've seen in season five, Jonathan plans on proposing to Nancy despite their relationship being in a pretty bad spot. The end of season four showed both of them having their doubts, while season five has consistently shown Nancy disagreeing with or getting annoyed with Jonathan. There will undoubtedly be some more emotional scenes between the three of them

9. Will Kali help fight Vecna?

008's surprising return will be huge in volume two

This seems like a pretty easy question to answer, but this kind of relates to Kali as a whole. What has she been up to this whole time? How did the military get their hands on her? How did they know that she was one of Brenner's kids from Hawkins Lab? It is possible that she is working with Vecna, but I doubt it. Obviously, I expect the two of them to know each other, because Vecna even mentioned her by name in one of the season four flashbacks.

I don't really know how they will include her in this season. She very much preached anger and hatred to Eleven in season two, so if that's still her mindset, I could very much see her allying with Vecna. I do think whatever they do will be interesting. I am excited to see the rest of our characters interact with her. The Lost Sister isn't a good episode, but Kali isn't really the problem. I think she has the potential to be a really good character. I also think she is definitely the most likely heroic character left to die. But we shall see.

8. Why is Dr. Kay searching for Eleven?

Linda Hamilton's mysterious antagonist might have ulterior motives

It's easy to kind of forget about this question, because there's so much going on in season five. We don't know anything about Dr. Kay. We don't even know her first name. Linda Hamilton's character was presented as an antagonist about Colonel Sullivan, and I am really curious as to why that is. Like, who is she? She doesn't even have an official military position. She's not General Kay. She's Dr. Kay.

We knew that Sullivan was looking for Eleven because he thought she was committing all of the Vecna murders. I highly, highly doubt that that's the reason that Dr. Kay is searching for her. Even in her interaction with Eleven, she seemed like she was more fascinated with her than actively antagonistic to her. So I think she plans to possibly kill Eleven and study her in some way shape or form. Or...even crazier...what if she's somehow in cahoots with Vecna? I know that seems so outlandish and impossible, but the two seem so distant that it would be really unpredictable if she was secretly somehow taking orders from Vecna.

7. What is Vecna's true final plan?

We don't really know why he is taking all of these kids

This, to me, is really the biggest mystery of season five. Vecna has said that he is using these kids as vessels to reshape the world, but what on earth does that mean? How is he using them to reshape the world? What is his endgame? Some people believe that he isn't even taking these kids for something bad, which I wholeheartedly disagree with. I'm not exactly sure what is going on with them, but I think it's something involving time travel.

Now, I'm generally against using time travel in the final entry in a popular franchise, because Endgame did it so it would just feel a little cliché now, but if they can do it in a satisfying way, I'm okay with it. Vecna kidnapped twelve kids. When Will had that vision of them, it looked like they were positioned in a circle. And we now know that the Upside Down itself is a big circle outlined by the wall. To me, that is giving serious clock imagery. Twelve kids. A big circle. Hawkins Lab in the center. I don't exactly know how or why time travel will be used, but I feel like it has something to do with these kids and Vecna's ultimate plan.

6. How are Dimension X and the Upside Down related?

The alternate dimension that the Upside Down may reside in is different

For how big of a mystery this is, it hasn't been explored in the show that much. For the casual viewer that has only seen Stranger Things once and doesn't read stuff on the internet about it, they might think that Dimension X and the Upside Down are the same place. When I initially watched season four, I thought that Vecna had just been sent to a different part of the Upside Down. I did not realize that they are meant to be two different places.

It seems like the Upside Down is almost definitely in Dimension X, but is surrounded by the mysterious wall that we saw in volume one. The Upside Down itself was likely created by one of three people: Vecna, on the day that he kidnapped Will Byers, Eleven, on the day she opened the first gate, or Will himself, on the day he was taken by the Demogorgon. The answer to the true nature of the Upside Down will likely explain how it relates to Dimension X, and I am very curious what that final reveal will be.

5. How will Max and Holly escape Camazotz?

This will be answered in Escape from Camazotz

We know that episode six of Stranger Things 5 has been titled Escape from Camazotz. This episode will definitely feature Max and Holly heavily, and I do really expect it to be a complete thrill ride. The Duffers have said that the performances in this episode make them cry every single time, which makes me think that someone may not make it out of Camazotz.

So here's what I think will happen: first of all, I believe that every other kid that was taken by a Demogorgon will appear in Camazotz. I think we will see Derek and Debbie and all of the others that were dragged into the Upside Down in Sorcerer. I think there's a relatively high chance that Max does not escape and instead sacrifices herself to let the kids escape. Maybe she will wake up for a second or be able to see Lucas for a second so she can have a final goodbye, but I just don't think everyone is making it out of Camazotz.

4. What is up with that cave?

The First Shadow lore connects to Vecna's fear in regards to the cave

I have not seen The First Shadow. I read the plot synopsis a few months back, but I don't really remember that well. From what I've gathered, this cave seems to be the place where Henry was first transferred to the Upside Down (or Dimension X). Somehow, this cave connects him to the hive mind and the Mind Flayer, and he is clearly terrified of it. I think there will be more reveals about Vecna's true connection to the Upside Down and maybe he will end up not being as evil as we all assume him to be. I don't know if I would like that, but I trust the Duffers.

3. Is Vecna or the Mind Flayer in control?

The ultimate villain of the show is still somewhat unclear

Season four seemed to answer this question by showing that Vecna warped the Mind Flayer into the shadow monster, but when The First Shadow debuted, it seemed like this may not be the end of the lore. The true master of the hive mind is still unclear. To me, it would be way more satisfying for Vecna to be the final villain, because he is an actual character. The Mind Flayer is awesome looking and a very scary monster, but it's not really a character. I think it would just serve the show better if Vecna was the one in control.

But my theory makes this question not so simple. I believe that Henry was a troubled child who leaned into his worst instincts when he first encountered the Upside Down. I think the Mind Flayer gave him powers in an attempt to control him and use him for whatever master plan it had, but Vecna used those powers to control it back. I think that Vecna is probably still terrified of the Mind Flayer because it does pose a threat to him, but I feel like he took control from the swirling mass of particles and become the true master of the Upside Down.

2. Why was Will the first one kidnapped?

The show's inciting incident seems to be important to its endgame

Whatever Vecna is doing with these kids obviously relates to Will's initial kidnapping, but it is strange to me that Will was kidnapped four years earlier than the rest of the kids. Also, Vecna did not (to my knowledge) kidnap anyone else when he took Will. Something about Will is important. Something about him means something.

When Max is crawling through Vecna's memories, she sees a flyer being handed out by a young Joyce. The flyer is advertising the school's production of Oklahoma!, and Henry is starring in it alongside Joyce, Karen, Hopper, Ted, Eddie's dad, and Patty Newby, Bob's sister. This connection is important. Whatever reason Vecna had for kidnapping Will first is, in my opinion, likely to be connected to his relationship with Joyce or the rest of these parents that he had when he was in school.

1. What is the Upside Down and why is it frozen on November 6?

The ultimate question of Stranger Things will be a huge revelation in volume two

The Duffers have promised us an answer to this question, and I feel like they are hinting at it being something massive. We know a few things about the Upside Down after seasons four and five: it is frozen on November 6th (the day Will was kidnapped). It is a circle with a huge wall around it and Hawkins Lab in the center. And Vecna is doing something mysterious with twelve kids. So what does this all mean? Well, I have no idea, but if I had to guess, I'd say the Upside Down is one huge clock.

We know Vecna loves time. We also know that he murdered his family on November 6, 1959. So, clearly, that day is significant. In season five, it is currently November 4th (I believe). We are hurtling towards the finale taking place on November 6, 1987. I think that this will be the day that Vecna's full plan comes to fruition. Whatever sort of clock mechanism the Upside Down is will kick into gear and something massive will happen. Maybe it will be a method of time travel. Maybe it will be something else. Who knows? We'll see in about two weeks.