women are magic

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Ok, I decided to rewatch Back to The Future after receiving some feedback on this post regarding how confusing the Stranger Things timeline appears to be (it is), and after I made this post about some vague Back to The Future references setting up a storyline for Season 5. Well, who says the references must be vague? I decided to grab my pen and paper and take some notes.

And now we're here: with a massive speculative theory post about Stranger Things 5 (I'm not known for brevity). I hope you've got a beverage and your reading glasses.

Let’s start off with some high-level parallels:

Season 1 Will Byers is dressed similarly to Marty McFly.

Shared associations with time (clocks) and electricity (lightening).

Doc’s dog Einstein looks a lot like the Byer’s dog Chester: they both appear to be a breed of American sheepdog.

Marty’s watch looks a lot like Will’s watch in Seasons 3 and 4: it’s a digital watch, and they both wear it on the left wrist.

A radioactive material (plutonium) was stolen from a government lab resulting in an FBI investigation: perhaps El represents the “missing” element, or our characters will return to Hawkins lab in Season 5 to retrieve something critical?

Season 5 is expected to give us flashbacks to both Henry Creel’s youth and our adult characters (Joyce, Hopper, etc.) as teenagers in the late 1950s–60s. In-universe that is roughly 30 years ago, paralleling the 30-year gap in Back to the Future (from 1955 to 1985).

Nothing too crazy here, but now I want to delve into some more detail.

Clocks and Time 🕰️

Back to the Future takes place in October 1985. In-universe, this is around the time the Byers and El left Hawkins for Lenora—approximately three months after July 4th.

This connection could be relevant: October 1985 marks the ending of Season 3, and it’s when we pick things up in Season 4 that time becomes a prominent theme in Stranger Things. Even the concept of time travel is unnecessarily brought up in El’s letter in the opening sequence. This feels like foreshadowing:

“We are all time travellers if you think about it.”

It’s also when time itself gets a little funky: everyone seems to forget Will’s birthday on March 22. Logically, Season 4 is supposed to pick up approximately six months after Season 3—El says so herself (185 days)—yet both Will and Mike describe this time period as a year.

"…time is funny like that. Emotions can make it speed up or slow down."

Their emotions (about each other) are making time move slowly.

In the opening scene of Back to The Future, we are surrounded by clocks. These all simultaneously chime at 8:25 AM.

Clock imagery as well as the sound of clock chimes are obviously associated with Henry/ Vecna.

His victims are plagued by auditory and visual hallucinations of clocks: their time is running out.

He also exploits their negative emotions (fear, shame, anxiety) in order to weaken them. This in turn strengthens him. When Max thinks of a memory which makes her happy (positive emotion), she is able to narrowly avoid death.

So, Season 4 immediately establishes an association between:

emotions and time (speed it up or slow it down)

emotions and power (life or death).

There’s also a particularly intriguing moment where Henry uses his powers on a grandfather clock. It’s worth asking: is he simply using telekinesis to move the hands, or is this scene hinting that Henry has the ability to manipulate time itself?

Speed it up, slow it down?

I’m inclined to believe the latter, because if it were just telekinesis, using the clock as a focal point feels unnecessarily elaborate.

During Henry’s monologue to El, we learn that there are two main things he seems to despise about "normal" life:

The reproduction and multiplication of humans (ahem... sex and love, perhaps? More on that later...)

The “oppressive” order of time (seconds, minutes, hours, days etc.)

It’s also worth noting that in the scene where Henry manipulates the grandfather clock, the hands are moving counter-clockwise—he’s turning back time for some reason.

So, when Henry turns back time, is he creating new timelines where events play out differently?

If so, it's certainly a parallel to Back to the Future, where Marty McFly’s actions in the past have direct consequences on the future/ present.

Newspaper Clippings and Alternate Timelines 📰

In the opening sequence of Back to the Future we see Doc's newspaper clippings, something which is also associated with Will. We even have the newspaper article regarding the Creel murders associated with Henry in Season 4.

This newspaper motif recurs in Back to the Future Part II, where the headlines shift depending on the characters’ actions. Each choice effectively alters the current timeline, or creates an entirely new one: an alternate reality.

For example, we are given a "bad" timeline and a "good" timeline:

Will also appears to be caught between two separate timelines.

We see two different newspaper clippings about his disappearance, each telling a very different story:

In one version, it’s claimed that he was experimented on at Hawkins Lab.

In the other, he was reportedly lost in the woods and found near Hopper’s cabin a week later. (This is the version accepted in canon when Lucas and Max are talking about Will in Season 2).

No, this is defintely not a continuity error.

This is an intentional easter egg that hints at the existence of multiple timelines.

What if Henry has actively manipulated time—and memory—so that no one, not even Will himself, is aware that he has powers?

Consider this:

Maybe there was a version of Will who was taken to Hawkins lab, experimented on, and developed powers.

Henry, through his control over alternate realities, switched Will’s body with another version of himself from a different timeline?

In this scenario, Will Byers might have actually died in one timeline: only for Henry to replace him with a living version of himself from an alternate timeline—because he had plans for him.

It's also possible that the Will Byers we know already has these powers, but they’ve been dormant, hidden by Henry’s manipulation of time and memory.

And these powers... could they possibly be... electric? ⚡⚡⚡

Thunderstorms and Electricity 🌩️

In Back to the Future, we learn that the town’s clock tower was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm in 1955, and the clock has been frozen in time ever since. This lightning strike turns out to be essential—it generates enough electricity to power the DeLorean (the time travel machine).

The clock being stuck reminds me of how the Upside Down is stuck in November 6, 1983—the day Will disappeared and it was likely manifested. It's not that time is frozen exactly, but rather, nothing and no one has occupied it in any meaningful way for it to change.

However, this section is about the theme of thunderstorms and electricity, so let's focus on that.

Stranger Things has already set a precedent for using the theme of electricity in both the literal sense and the metaphorical sense (i.e., sexual energy and tension).

In the literal sense, electricity is used to explain generating enough power to open gates to alternate dimensions.

For example, the Russians using electricity to open the gate in Starcourt mall, causing a power outage.

In the metaphorical sense, electricity is used to represent romantic and sexual tension between characters.

In Back to the Future, Lorraine reminisces about her first date and first kiss with George McFly, saying:

“I’ll never forget it. It was the night of that terrible thunderstorm.”

That’s the same thunderstorm, of course, that struck the clock tower 30 years prior: an act of electricity (lightning) interacting with time (the clock), ultimately freezing it in a moment (or resetting time itself).

But this electrcity isn't just related to time travel in Back to The Future: it's also clearly associated with Lorraine and George's first kiss and the moment they fell in love.

Once again, we have an association between electricity and love/ passion.

Thunderstorms in Stranger Things are also rare but notable (and associated with Mike & Will):

Season 1: The night of Will’s search party, in which Mike and the others set out to find Will but instead find El. Hopper becomes suspicious of Hawkins lab when he notices the footage they gave did not feature the thunderstorm that occurred that night.

Season 3: Prominently featured when Mike and Will have their very queer-coded argument in the garage about needing to grow up and date girls.   

Season 5: ...Byler’s first kiss? I'm extremelty intrigued to find out the context of this BTS photo of Noah looking quite wet. I think we either have an emotional rain scene or a dip into lover's lake. (I'm going to guess the former though since I think it will be too cold for a swim!)

We already know that Episode 4 is titled "Sorcerer" and Episode 5 is titled "Shock Jock".

I speculate that in one of these episodes, it will be revealed that Will has powers. Specifically, powers that allow him to generate electricity (lightning bolt! iykyk). ⚡

This could mean he’s able to open and close gates... or even manipulate time.

The Power of Love ❤️

And here's the part where it gets sappy </3

In Back to the Future, love is framed as an important catalyst for change. Marty’s own fate—and that of his siblings—depends on ensuring that his parents fall in love. It’s their first kiss in particular that restores the timeline and secures Marty’s survival. Thematically, Back to the Future ultimately suggests that love is what saves people. This idea is reinforced by the lyrics of "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, featured on the film’s soundtrack:

This theme is also present in Stranger Things, though framed a bit differently. Like many works of fiction—especially within the fantasy and sci-fi genres—it boils down to a very familiar trope: Good vs Evil.

Love vs Hate.

It sounds kind of cheesy, or “on the nose” as Will said to Mike himself, but maybe the outcome of Stranger Things really is going to boil down to the power of love.

They’ve already set the groundwork for it, too:

We know that Henry urged a young El to harness anger and hate to use her powers, revealing his true nature. It's how he channels his power, after all.

Henry (thematically) represents hatred itself.

"Something that made him sad. But also angry. Do you have a memory like that?"

And the clear, thematic counter to that?

Love, obviously.

When El opened the first gate pre-season one—I think this is referred to as mother-gate?—she did so thinking of her mother (fitting).

It’s a bittersweet memory: filled with love for her mother, but also grief and anger tied to her abduction and Dr Brenner's abuse. It's a memory that holds both love and hate.

Good (mother) and evil (papa).

Notably, this doesn't work out super well for El. She survives and banishes Henry, that is true: but in the bigger picture, he becomes more powerful after being sent (presumably) to Dimension X.

We're led to believe that had El not been so young, had she not suffered as greatly as she did, maybe she would have had access to enough love to defeat Henry for good. 

But she didn’t. And so begins the story of Stranger Things.

Will Byers disappeared on November 6, 1983. El "appears" in the woods a day later. When Will is rescued, El vanishes into the Upside Down herself.

The symmetry is undeniable. Like parallel lines—they’re fated.

This brings me to a moment in Season 4:

In retrospect, "Let's hope not" is very funny (and ironic) coming from Mike of all people.

El had her chance(s), but she was failed by the people around her. She couldn’t access pure love the first time because the only love she experienced had been ripped away from her. When she tried again in season 4, the outcome was equally disappointing (Mike's confession didn't work—it didn't generate enough love or electricity).

El can’t end this. She won’t be the one to kill Vecna (or at least, make the final blow). She’s not supposed to: her fate was always to open the gate, and Will's fate is to close it.

El started it (OPENGATE), and Will Byers will end it. (CLOSEGATE).

Parallel lines. 

How do I know this? Well, the writers already clearly foreshadowed it:

On the surface they could be talking about the group, and I’m sure to some extent that will be true; everyone will play a role in weakening Vecna. But tonally, this scene is intimate and personal.

This is foreshadowing that Will and Mike will kill Vecna together.

That's right folks: the love between Mike and Will is the thematic counterforce that will defeat Vecna.

This love—whether it manifests through a kiss or a love confession—will ignite extreme emotion. And this emotion will generate enough sexual electricity to awaken Will’s powers. These powers will allow him to manipulate or restore the timelines, defeat Vecna, and finally close the gates in Hawkins for good. And just because Will is the one with powers doesn’t mean Mike isn’t equally responsible for this victory: it’s Mike’s love that will power Will.

Heck, Will already stated in the van scene that Mike is The Heart (his heart) and that he gives El him the courage to fight on.

This has been foreshadowed for a long time.

Together, they will become heroes—and save Hawkins.

"Heroes" by Peter Gabriel has been played twice in Stranger Things, and was associated with Byler both times:

When Mike believed Will to be dead and was grieving him.

When the Byers and El left Hawkins. (We get a visual parallel of Mike hugging Karen like he did when he thought Will had died).

So far, this song has been tied to feelings of loss: specifically, Mike's sense of losing Will, or Will being just out of reach.

First the TL;DR. They'll probably do it with:

Revealing the Painting Lie

Will comes out to Mike

Will gets bullied for being gay, and Mike must make a choice

Mike and Will face danger together, alone, for the 1st time

And I'll spell out exactly how and why!

(CAVEAT: I can't claim to know 100% what will happen of course! This in the spirit of fun analysis and speculation.)

We in the Byler fandom have our theories: Flickergate, Lettergate, Churchgate, etc. While totally fun and while it would be amazing if they became reality, they don't answer the question of how the Duffers would manage audience expectations to make them accept and cheer for Byler.

Because we all know the reality: on a surface level, season 4 ended with a grand "love confession" from Mike to El. It appeared to have culminated a four-year arc that started from the show's beginning. For the vast majority of viewers, a Byler relationship will be a HUGE SURPRISE.

This isn't just heteronormativity; it's also the fact that in every slow-burn romantic relationship in fiction, the story needs to openly tease "Will they or won't they?" for a while first. The audience needs to start thinking that these 2 characters (1) MIGHT be together, and (2) eventually that they SHOULD be together and cheer for them!

For Jonathan and Nancy, there were a lot of moments suggesting they MIGHT be together in Season 1. Then in Season 2, we had THIS episode (where Steve left Nancy wasted at the party) that made the audience think Nancy absolutely SHOULD be with Jonathan instead of Steve:

The show then dragged things out MORE before their first kiss.

Anti-Bylers raise a fair point that there "isn't enough time" to replace a relationship that seemed to have been "fulfilled" at the end of s4, with an entirely different one. Of course, the ground has been laid for four seasons, but HOW EXACTLY can the Duffers make the audience accept and cheer for Byler, after seeming to have "built up Mike and El for 4 seasons"?

Showing Byler is POSSIBLE:

First, the most obvious (and elegant) way for the Duffers to accomplish this is by revealing the Painting Lie.

The main things that make the General Audience/GA dismiss the idea that Mike likes Will back are that he (1) confessed "I love you" to El and (2) said things like "it's not my fault you don't like girls" and "we're FRIENDS" that suggest he can't be gay or bi.

The show has to address these two things, and there are ways that are pretty obvious.

The fact that El had no role in the painting COMPLETELY undercuts the "I love you" confession in the GA's mind. Milevens completely underestimate how this will affect Mike and El's relationship and how the audience will view it. El didn't commission the painting. When Will gave the painting, he wasn't describing El, but himself. Mike confessed his love to this false picture of El, one that was actually WILL.

When El finds out, she'll realize that Mike said he loved her based on a LIE. She'll realize that she accurately clocked Mike for not loving her when they argued in s4. It's likely that she'll want to break up or take a break in their relationship. (El taking the initiative will assuage concern that Will would "betray" his own sister by being with Mike.) Mike might desperately try to repair things. Even if he does, this will show the GA that Mike's struggle for an entire season to say he loved El -- already very concerning for a romantic couple -- was a complete fiasco, and after two whole seasons of them breaking up and trying to fix their relationship, this third breakup in the LAST season means they'll PROBABLY NOT end up together.

Mike (and the GA) will be confronted with the fact that Mike felt romantic love for the first time because Will described HIMSELF. It will be apparent that Will would be a more suitable romantic interest... if he were a girl. =) It's just too bad that "Mike is probably straight"!

Now how to deal with that misconception?

We come to our OTHER Chekhov's gun that needs to fire: Will comes out to Mike. Will is still closeted at the end of s4, and his right to be out and find happiness is clearly central to his future arc. This HAS to be resolved. And he HAS to come out to his mom and his BEST FRIEND SINCE KINDERGARTEN.

When he comes out to Mike, he of course won't spurn Will. Will probably explains he didn't come out earlier because he was afraid Mike would be homophobic because of what he'd said that summer, "It's not my fault you don't like girls":

If Will does, then Mike will have to explain why he said it. Mike probably apologizes and makes clear he accepts Will. The show (maybe Mike himself) might remind us that he defended Will from homophobia in s1. But this makes the GA wonder "Then why did he say it then?" And Mike might be exceedingly defensive when explaining himself. Will coming out to Mike is a golden opportunity to show the GA that NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, and Mike might be dealing with internalized homophobia.

That's one way to signal that Mike might be gay or bi. And there's another!

We've been told that Season 5 returns to Season 1 themes. The Core Four are probably bullied for the Hellfire Club, and Will might be bullied for being gay. Ross Duffer says that s5 will center on Will's "emotional arc" and his "coming into his own as a young man," so his confronting homophobia in an 80s small town is quite likely. Since Mike and Will are joined at the hip in s5, the same accusation could easily extend to Mike. All this means that Mike will be confronted with the CHOICE of whether he'll stand up to anti-gay bullying. (Perhaps this is why there's a BTS pic of Mike with a bruise on his face?) It might be strongly implied to the GA that Mike is standing up, not only for Will, but for himself. Shrewd viewers would see the parallel to Mike defending Will from homophobia in s1, making them rethink that scene as well. (Defending Will INTENSELY would simultaneously suggest he's closeted AND clearly parallel Jonathan fighting Steve in s1, which showed Nancy that "only love makes you that crazy sweetheart, and that damn stupid.")

How Season 5 can make the GA CHEER for Byler:

Showing Byler is possible is the main obstacle; next is the much easier, and FUN (and agonizing) part!

First, the show has put Will through so much trauma and made clear how selfless he is, that the audience already wants him to have a happy ending. He almost certainly will suffer again in s5. We probably are reminded that as a gay person in the 80s he believes he's "not gonna fall in love." Meanwhile, the show has made clear that his love for Mike is PAINFULLY deep and won't simply go away: "[I] need you Mike, and [I] always will."

Once the GA sees the POSSIBILITY of a Mike/Will romance as per above, their mental floodgates will open. As Jancy shows, It doesn't take much to get the audience to root for a relationship, after the seeds are planted. And Byler has FOUR SEASONS of seeds for the GA to look back on with fresh eyes!

How to recall those 4 seasons of material? We already know that Will is in danger and we'll see a return of "leader Mike" in s5. This likely will include callbacks (and maybe even flashbacks) to Mike and Will's relationship in s1 and s2. There's the newly-filmed flashback from when they were young kids. This all will bring their long-time closeness to the fore in viewers' minds. But with the artifice of Mike's relationship with El knocked away, they will see it as potentially romantic and realize that this show seems to have been secretly building them up as a romantic couple all along.

Add to all that: we likely will have Will and Mike facing danger together, alone, for the first time:

It was Jonathan and Nancy facing danger together in s1 that made the vast majority of viewers ship Jancy. Mike and Will facing danger will put their LOVE (remember: the audience already accepts them as best friends who love each other!) and their willingness to RISK THEIR LIVES for each other to the fore. Callbacks, flashbacks, and dialogue will remind the GA of their sacrifices for each other: Mike putting Will before everything in s1 and s2, and Will sacrificing his feelings to help Mike be with El. They might hug each other after a near-death experience and have a mutual Gay Panic, which will be a callback (and contrast) to their non-hug at the airport. Millions will say "They should just kiss already."

There are SO MANY WAYS to get the audience cheering for Byler.

Will probably lives in Mike's house because the Byers don't have their own house in Hawkins anymore. Mike, if he doesn't know already at the season's start, will KNOW the painting came from Will and wonder if it was romantic. The tension between them in s5 will make s4 look like nothing in comparison.

When Will comes out to him, Mike might ask, "Is... there anyone you like?"

He'll ask NERVOUSLY, like he once did before:

Will probably won't answer honestly; he might make up another boy! ("I met him in California. We like a lot of the same things. He even likes D&D...") To which Mike says, "COOL." (BTW, this could echo the airport scene and make viewers reassess and understand that as another miscommunication!) This leads to a new cycle of these two boys thinking their love is unrequited LOL.

Only this time the General Audience will be fully aware of it. The miscommunication trope widely used in fictional TV romances will not only tell the GA that Byler should happen, but WILL happen. Will and Mike become THE "Will they or won't they?" couple that everyone is talking about. Mike's sexuality and his feelings for Will probably aren't officially revealed until mid or late season in order to let the excitement build. If Season 5 is released in more than one volume, there will be a flurry of videos and articles revisiting past seasons, finding evidence of Mike's feelings for Will that we Bylers have curated for years. Barring a few vocal homophobes, the show will make the GA (even people who don't watch analysis videos online) fully onboard with a Byler conclusion before it happens; the SHOW ITSELF will set-up and tease it and make the GA desperately want these boys to "just kiss already."

Season 5 will be messy. And glorious. And the most Byler season of all.

Anastassia and Jennifer for Material Magazine

tfc moodboards: 1/? — neil josten