Stranger Things Season 5 Teases A Wheeler Family Tragedy (It's Not Mike) (2024)

Stranger Things season 5 is expected to have twists and turns and heartbreaking moments, and leaked photos are now teasing a tragedy for the Wheeler family, but it’s not about Mike (Finn Wolfhard). Stranger Things is ending with its fifth season, but season 4 left many questions and mysteries waiting to be solved, mostly about Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and the extent of his powers. Stranger Things season 4 ended with Max (Sadie Sink) barely surviving her encounter with Vecna and falling into a coma, while Vecna’s plan was set into motion and the Upside Down started taking over Hawkins.

Stranger Things season 5 will see the whole Hawkins crew dealing with the Upside Down’s takeover and finding ways to defeat Vecna once and for all, but the latter has already proven to be too powerful. One of the biggest questions going into Stranger Things season 5 is who will be Vecna’s next target, with many theories pointing to Nancy or Mike after the former’s encounter with Vecna in season 4. However, leaked photos from the set of Stranger Things season 5 point to Vecna’s next victim being another member of the Wheeler family.

Stranger Things Season 5 Hints At Vecna Taking Holly Wheeler

Set Photos See Vecna In Human Form Meeting Holly Wheeler

In the final episode of Stranger Things season 4, Nancy, Steve, and Robin arrived at Creel House in the Upside Down to kill Vecna with homemade bombs, but that wasn’t enough to destroy him. Vecna survived, but his whereabouts and next moves are unknown. Now, new leaked photos from the set of Stranger Things season 5 show a shocking and unexpected encounter between Holly Wheeler, Mike and Nancy’s youngest sister, and Vecna, though in his human form rather than his monstrous appearance.

Vecna showing up to Holly in his human form hints at Holly meeting him in a “dream”, which is Vecna’s preferred way of getting to his victims. A meeting like this makes sense in terms of Stranger Things’ influences, as it is reminiscent of how Freddy Krueger terrorized his victims. Holly, then, might be Vecna’s next target, which fits the rumored title for season 5’s second episode, “The Vanishing of [SPOILER] Wheeler”. Vecna choosing Holly also fits with the visions Nancy had under Vecna’s control in Stranger Things season 4, in which she saw her family dead.

Some of the most popular theories for Stranger Things season 5 suggest Mike will be Vecna’s next target as he has gotten in his way since season 1, and Vecna knows how important he is to Eleven and the rest. However, taking Holly Wheeler would be a lot more shocking, dark, and potentially tragic as she’s way younger (approximately 7-8 years old) and has done nothing to mess with Vecna or the Upside Down, and would destabilize the Wheelers and the rest of Hawkins.

Vecna Taking Holly Mirrors Will's Disappearance From Season 1 (But It’s Darker)

Holly Is About To Repeat Will’s Story From Season 1

Holly Wheeler’s disappearance in Stranger Things season 5 will inevitably bring back to mind Will’s disappearance in season 1. Will’s vanishing is what kicked off the whole series, leading to the discovery of Hawkins Lab’s gate to the Upside Down, Eleven, and more. Stranger Things season 5 has been teased to be going back to the show’s roots, so in that sense, Holly Wheeler’s disappearance is quite fitting. However, as Holly is way younger than the rest and than Will in season 1, her disappearance will be more alarming.

Stranger Things has gone on a couple of dark paths throughout four seasons, making it hard to say if season 5 would dare to kill or severely hurt Holly Wheeler. It’s possible that Vecna will use her to manipulate Mike, his family, and the rest of Hawkins, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a traumatic experience for young Holly.

Stranger Things

Inspired by 80s pop-culture and elements of Stephen King's works, Stranger Things is a supernatural action-drama TV series set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. When a young boy goes missing, his group of friends stumbles upon a young girl with telekinetic powers who recently escaped from a mysterious facility. They soon realize that she may be their only chance at stopping an impending doom that threatens to engulf Hawkins whole.

Cast

Finn Wolfhard , joe keery , Jamie Campbell Bower , Brett Gelman , Caleb McLaughlin , Maya Hawke , David Harbour , Matthew Modine , Priah Ferguson , Gaten Matarazzo , Winona Ryder , Charlie Heaton , Sadie Sink , Millie Bobby Brown , Joseph Quinn , Dacre Montgomery , Natalia Dyer , Noah Schnapp

Release Date

July 15, 2016

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Duffer , Ross Duffer