i kind of think the people still in this tag in march deep down want to believe. listen! it's easy to believe! watch...
all you gotta do is look at a few things from the show and then the rest all falls into place:
the dial is gray in episode 1, but it's red in episode 5.
the voltage dial is red in shock jock. and that dial is the shock part of the plot. it's important. we get lingering shots of the dial and the camera zooms in on it. they made a big deal about this dial in the crawl to foreshadow shock jock. why wouldn't they do it again?
the dial changed color in the same episode it was established that objects changing color are roadsigns for navigating a false reality.
editing mistakes do happen. continuity errors happen. things get fucked up on sets between shots all the time. it's usually not a big deal. but in the past, stranger things has fixed whatever fucks with the show by the next morning after the episode premieres. they did it in s4 when the burning helicopter wasn't included in the shot behind mike and jane. that was fixed by morning. in s5 when the under armor logo could be seen on holly's shirt, that was airbrushed out by morning.
"but you can see mike's cut off sleeve under his jacket. they didn't fix that!" why would they? it was a good take, so yes, they're gonna use it. and it's a harmless movie mistake. do you know how much money and effort it would take to edit that? and then reupload the whole episode... for that?? things have to actually fuck with the show to get edited retrospectively. mike's missing sleeve is not a clothing brand that shouldn't exist for another 10 years. it's a blip of a movie mistake.
and i'd argue that the dial changing color (with its own lingering shot!) would fuck with the continuity of the show. it functions like the merry-go-round in camazotz and certainly implies that its a sign for a false reality. it's worth editing. and an easy fix! they could go back to episode 1 and paint it over. but they haven't.
and the set designers have an incredible attention to detail. go look at how they design the stranger things sets. it's wild. they're not gonna dismantle a part of their set in the middle of filming just to paint it because they decided red's a good color.
ask yourself what's more likely. that a whole team of professional set designers and editors fucked up? this entire time?? or that they just did it on purpose lol
will's behavior in vol. 1 mirrors his possession in season 2.
we were told to rewatch s2 before s5 so that we would notice what mike and joyce didn't. there is an eerie similarity between will's behavior in vol. 1 and the stages of possession he endured in s2.
in s2, we watch will go through all the stages. from the iconic he likes it cold thing, to joyce suggesting "what if you didn't have to use words?" which sends will into a dazed frenzy as he draws the tunnels from his now-memories. then, he uses the pictures of those drawings to lure the hawkins lab soldiers into a trap.
although it's a speedrun, this is what happens to him in s5.
whenever he taps into the "demovision," it's very reminiscent to what happens to him when the shadow monster catches him on the field. then in the turnbow trap, will takes his coat off in november. and in sorcerer, he starts to frantically paint on the barn wall to explain the visions he got from the demogorgon.
now we get the dialogue parallels. s2 will: "i just know he doesn't want me to see there." -> s5 will: "i had this feeling he didn't want me there. i wasn't supposed to see it." s2 will: "i think it's important to him." -> s5 will: "i could feel that it's important to him."
"but will taking off his jacket is not a big deal!" it's acknowledged in the script. will's not wearing a coat in november! is basically written between the lines lol. joyce's joke about catching a cold lets the audience know that it's cold. and it's not a costuming mistake.
"it's just a callback!" a callback to will being possessed? for what?? just a laugh?! right, right...
these events are scattered over vol. 1. they aren't just references to previous plot points. there isn't just one single fun moment for the audience to point at. these moments operate like an echo. like trying to piece together an important memory that's so close to fading.
the mind flayer ribcage was a trap. i know that you're disappointed with the vecna battle only being like a whopping 6 minutes or some shit. you're allowed to question why it would be like that! it's probably because it was a trap!!
will built the tunnels in season 2 while he slept.
this is an odd thing to drop on audiences. it's an expansion of s2 lore that didn't need such specific language. we've always known that will is a spy. why add builder to will's resume?
the tunnels could have easily been included in will's spy skills. as in maybe he laid the groundwork or provided vecna with the blueprint. but no. he built them!
"how do you think the tunnels came to be, william? you built them each and every night you slept." -> that dialogue is interspersed with specific flashbacks of will's eyes moving and the tunnels spreading. that eye movement looked like REM sleep back in s2. however, the show has directly linked that eye movement with the usage of power.
before this, we get a close-up on will's sleeping face while he's passed out on the WSQK couch. a long, lingering zoom on will. sleeping... and his eyes are moving.
jane, kali and henry can all use their powers with their eyes open. however, when they're closed, their eye movement signals that they're using power deep within themselves. eye movement is linked to powers.
you're allowed to ask yourself follow-up questions about the events and what appears to be discarded plot lines. there isn't much that vecna needs will for. why is he keeping will around? why did he let him go in the MAC-Z?
camazotz itself is an incredible feat of vecna's powers. it shows you just how strong he has gotten. what could he possibly need will to build for him now? perhaps a bigger and better false reality.
"he's moving his eyes because he's spying!" when will spies in s2, he stares. he doesn't blink, he doesn't move. he stares.
"he's fighting off vecna!" then why do we get a flashback to s2 directly mirroring will's eye movement in s5? look at vecna's victims in s4. nancy, chrissy and max were all trying to get away from vecna while possessed, but their eyes were fluttering, not moving back and forth behind their lids.
there is something incredibly suspicious about these events.
see?! easy to believe! if you're still in these tags in march, that's probably for a reason. just think about it! you're allowed to think wow something's wrong and go from there. that's how fandom works and that's probably how you should be thinking about the media you consume. it's good for you lol.
no, you don't have to believe in Everything. but one theory you don't agree with doesn't dismiss all the evidence. and i will say, creating a theory is hard work. even trying to summarize the show for this post took me a very long time. it's very rude to discredit someone's theory to prove you're the rational fan...? i guess?
you don't need to post like you're preaching to people out of concern to talk yourself out of it. you don't need to reply to posts just asking questions so you can find a hole in the theory that gets you out of believing. and you don't need position yourself as the smarter fan. i’m sorry to you, but that makes you look more ridiculous than you think we do.
look at what was in the show and go from there. simple. it'll all make sense. if it still doesn't, then you should block the tags and move on.
go revisit that really good theory you were mean about in the past. i bet it makes sense now 😆
turnnoffyourmind
snowghoul
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