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One night, in November 1983, Will Byers didn’t come home. That central hook from the 2016 pilot episode of Stranger Things seems so simple compared to what the series became. Over the next nine years and four seasons, Stranger Things grew more and more intricate in its lore, adding telekinetic kids, Cold War intrigue, the hellish Upside Down, and the ultimate evil known as Vecna. It’s almost as if Will’s disappearance was insignificant.
According to Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, the events of that November night are anything but. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Matt revealed, “So much of the [final] season was built around the idea of coming full circle, answering many of the questions that were posed all the way back in season 1.” And that means season five must answer the two questions left over from those first episodes, not just “What is the Upside Down, truly?” teased Matt, but also, “Why was Will taken?”
One of the reasons we may forget about Will’s disappearance is that he did make his way back home, and has spent most of seasons with his friends and family. But fans know that just because Will came home doesn’t mean that he’s the same, a point that the Duffers will explore in season 5.
Ross Duffer points to season 2’s sixth episode, titled “The Spy,” as a key point of connection between the initial disappearance and the season 5 revelations. “[It’s] the most important episode,” said Ross, because it shows that “Will was really working, in a way, for the Mind Flayer.”
Little teases like that are good news for Will’s fans, who have feared that he’s diminished in importance over the years, overshadowed by breakouts like Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) and by the series’ ever-expanding cast. As played by Noah Schnapp, Will’s primary arc has involved him trying to mature past the events of that first November night, to be seen as more than just a victim. But his storylines haven’t generated the same internet buzz as Max’s (Sadie Sink) Kate Bush-scored resurrection or Eleven’s affinity for waffles.
As Stranger Things heads into its final season, there will be little time for those flourishes. Season 5 brings everything to a head, with the U.S. military putting the town of Hawkins, Indiana, under quarantine as they accelerate their attempts to turn the Upside Down into a weapon. Meanwhile, the show’s big bad Vecna returns in a rebuilt form to make his final attack.
With the stakes so high, Will fans might be forgiven for thinking their favorite will be forgotten again. But Matt promises that’s not the case. “Because the story really began with Will and his disappearance, it felt, in order to go full circle, it needed to really end with him in so many ways,” he stated. “In the last couple seasons, we hadn’t really centered much of the show on Will. So there was so much to explore with him from a character perspective and plot perspective.”
Given Vecna’s actions in the trailer, that’s probably bad news for Will. But it’s great news for Will’s screen time.
Stranger Things season 5 premieres November 26, 2025.
The post Stranger Things Season 5 Will Answer the Show’s Original Mystery appeared first on Den of Geek.
