The Stranger Things Season 5 finale may have closed the door on Hawkins, but it opened a floodgate of fan theories instead. Since the show dropped on New Year’s Eve, social media has been buzzing. Fans analysed every scene, looking for hidden meaning, secret episodes and loose threads.
Amid the chaos, pop culture podcast host Zack Peter stepped in. On his January 6 episode, he addressed what he called the three wildest fan theories. He gave his blunt take on the most talked-about theories and said, “Some ideas were clever. One, in particular, went too far.”
Zack Peter Breaks Down The Wildest Stranger Things Theories
The theory that drew the most attention was the so-called Conformity Gate. Fans claimed the Season 5 finale wasn’t the real ending and that a secret ninth episode would appear on January 7. According to this idea, much of the season occurred under Vecna’s influence, explaining tonal shifts and loose plot threads.
Peter dismissed it and called the theory “probably the wildest one” and said it was “too deep in the weeds and too meta,” adding that viewers were not meant to be “under Vecna’s spell.” His take aligns with the Duffer Brothers’ statement confirming the finale is complete, with no secret episodes coming.
Another popular theory suggested Will Byers might be the biological son of Vecna, formerly Henry Creel. Peter admitted he “actually really liked” this one, pointing to the lack of detail about Will’s father and Vecna’s repeated fixation on him. While he didn’t fully endorse it, he added he was “not entirely ruling this one out.”
Other long-running theories, including the idea that the entire show was a Dungeons & Dragons game, were dismissed. For Peter, the ending is real, and the rest is now up to fan imagination.
What Happened In The Season 5 Finale
The finale (titled The Rightside Up) featured a climactic battle across multiple realms. Eleven, Kali (Eight), and Max entered Vecna’s mind to stop him from merging the Upside Down with Earth.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Hawkins crew entered “The Abyss” to destroy the Mind Flayer, a giant spider-like monster. Using a coordinated attack, the team weakens the creatures while Will distracts Vecna with his psychic link. Eleven impales Vecna, and Joyce Byers delivers the final blow with an axe. To close the gates permanently, Hopper and Murray detonate a bomb triggered by Prince’s Purple Rain. Eleven stays behind in the Upside Down to ensure its destruction.
The story jumps 18 months forward, showing a normalised Hawkins. Hopper proposes to Joyce, the older teens move on to college or careers, and the original group graduates high school, with Dustin serving as valedictorian.
The finale ends in the Wheelers’ basement with a Dungeons & Dragons game. Though the world believes Eleven died, Mike hints she may have escaped using Kali’s illusion. The last shot passes the torch to Holly Wheeler and her friends, playing their own game as David Bowie’s Heroes plays over the credits.
