#strangerthings5theory

AND I HAVE PROOF

(This theory of mine (#Labyrinthgate) has gone semi viral on tiktok--its at almost a million views, SO JUST TRUST ME WHEN I SAY IVE CRACKED THE CODE, AND READ THIS TO THE END. YOUR MIND WILL BE BLOWN!)

The answer to all of the show's mysteries was set up in the opening of the very first episode:

EVERYTHING about the party's first D&D game was and will be a case of extreme foreshadowing:

Including the fact that Mike was Dungeon Master.

The Upsidedown is something Mike accidentally created on November 6, and it mirrors the very same D&D game he was telling that night.

Believe it or not, his would line up perfectly with the timeline we've been given in the show. In s4 we find out that in 1979, the mindflayer was first formed (before that, it was just dark matter). Mike would have been born by then. ALSO! We are shown that Dimension X didn't yet look like Hawkins. So if MIKE is the reason for these specific changes, It would explain why:

The upsidedown looks like hawkins, not a hellscape

why its frozen on November 6

The Mindflayer's true origin.

Here's a chart to help you understand what i'm trying to say:

I also think it’s possible that Eleven actually accidentally reached to Mike's mind in s1 when she opened the "mothergate". Everything we thought we knew about the upsidedown is wrong— It's all literally Mike. This is just one idea I had which would explain my theory, but another explanation is probably possible.

(JUST CONTINUE TO HEAR ME OUT, BECAUSE I ACTUALLY FOUND A LOT MORE EVIDENCE)

I think that this twist was set up in the first 8 minutes of the show:

In the Opening of episode one, Mike is playing D&D around the same time Eleven opens the Mothergate.

Karen makes him end the D&D game early at 8:15 (this will also important), and Mike is upset.

Mike begs her for 20 more minutes, but she refuses.

Mike then turns to Ted who is fiddling with his TV in the background. It's loosing signal and I think this is going to be much more meaningful then we realize:

There are a couple options here:

--we know that Tvs do the same thing when 11 reaches into someones mind, so maybe in s5 eleven is in the upside down (in the past) reaching into Mike’s mind.

I also think it’s possible that Eleven actually accidentally reached to Mike's mind in s1 when she opened the "mothergate". Which would mean everything we thought we knew about the upsidedown is wrong— It's all literally Mike. That a just one was to explain how this entire theory is possible.

--The TV is loosing signal because in this moment Mike is unknowingly changing the flow of time in the upsidedown because of the breach 11 made. After all, he is LITERALLY begging Ted for MORE TIME in this exact moment.

specifically 20 minutes. (remember this for later)

ANYWAYS as Mike was begging for more time, in background the boys are still scrambling to find the dice to see what Will's roll was.

When Will find's it, this is what Lucas says:

This line from Lucas wasn't throw away dialogue-- it sets a rule.

The roll REALLY DOES only "count" once Mike knows about it.

BECAUSE AFTER MIKE HEARS THIS, IN THE VERY NEXT SCENE THE DEMOGORGAN GETS WILL.

Specifically, after Will says "see you tomorrow" the garage light behind Mike FLICKERS

We are SUPPOSED to assume that this is just a coincidence, but it's not. This is the moment Mike accidentally sent the demogorgan after Will, and maybe even when he changed dimension X to be a mirror of Hawkins FROZEN ON NOVEMBER 6.

TIME IS FROZEN ON NOVEMBER 6 ALL BECAUSE MIKE WANTED TO KEEP PLAYING D&D WITH WILL.

(Which means: all of this is happening because Karen didn't let Mike have 20 more minutes to finish his D&D game. But 20 also the winning roll of their latest D&D game which could mean nothing.)

IN HENRY'S ORIGIN STORY, WE ARE SHOWN THE EXACT SAME THING. We are specifically shown a light flickering behind him to allude to the fact that he has powers.

WE ARE ALSO SHOWN LIGHTS FLICKERING BEHIND MIKE WHEN WILL BECOMES A SORCERER:

This is not a coincidence:

Mike is LITERALLY the HEART!!

exactly 20 minutes into s3 e8, the duffers cut to a TV which says:

"tune in at 8pm for horror in the heartland"

(Okay I know this one might be a stretch, but HEAR ME OUT! If Mike is truly the one making the rules, creating a new reality from the matter/energy in Dimension X , his HEART is where the show's HORRORS are all coming from!)

In other words, The Upside-down and the Mind-Flayer are both physical embodiments of Mike's internalized homophobia, and the pressure he feels to conform by rejecting his nerdy/childish interests in order to become a "normal" adult.

Same with THIS WALL we were shown in season 5 (part 1)

It exists in the upside-down as another physical representation of Mike's internalized homophobia.

His Shame.

I believe that this Poster framed behind Mike foreshadows this. It's for a Pink Floyd movie called "The Wall"

More on this theory HERE ^ (ill add a link later)(yes i also wrote #flickergate)

If all of this is true, how can Vecna be defeated?

In the stage play, it was revealed that the Mindflayer is influencing Vecna, not the other way around...

Well if MIKE is connected to the Mindflayer, Vecna can only be "defeated" once Mike takes control of his power when he realizes the TRUTH, thus ending the mindflayer's influence over Henry.

I believe that THIS TWIST is what's being foreshadowed by the ONE WAY sign pointing directly into Mike's closet (and mirror)

because coming out of the closet is the only way for Mike to fully access his power. The ONE WAY to put an end to the upside down (which is also a MIRROR of himself/hawkins) is for Mike to fully accept himself.

The most important clue leading me to this interpretation is the poster of MC ESCHER'S "Relativity" hanging directly underneath the ONE WAY sign.

I think it was specifically hung up to refrence the same poster hanging in Sarah's room in the 80's movie Labyrinth:

It's how I initially figured out this entire twist 3 years ago. You can read those posts HERE

But ESSENTIALLY:

-back then, I noticed TONS of visual and thematic parallels between Stranger Things and Labyrinth, the most obvious being the jumpscare grandfather clock, which (in my opinion) is CLEARLY an homage to the one from Labyrinth.

And how closely Mike and Sarah's character arcs (potentially) mirror eachother:

ALONG WITH THIS!!!

Back to their shared "Relativity" poster though. It foreshadows the film's climax, when Sarah finally breaks free from her self imposed fantasy.

If this is where Season 5 is going… Then the climactic twist isn't Eleven defeating Vecna. It's: Mike realizing the TRUTH about the upsidedown + admitting he loves Will → he takes control of his powers → time resumes in the upside down → Upside Down collapses → Mind Flayer evaporates → Vecna is free of the mindflayer The story becomes: A queer love so strong it rewrites reality instead of freezing it.

The 7 second lightning (electricity) flashes the exact moment Mike and Will share an indirect kiss (drinking out of the same water bottle)

To add to it, there's also the imagery of characters standing on the electricity tower, which feels intentional.

Even crazier though:

after Volume 1 1 also predicted that the seven-second thunder and lightning (i.e., electricity) would trigger at moments when characters confess the truth.

Volume 2 literally confirmed this: I noticed that the sound occurs during the Kali/El scene and the Nancy/Jonathan conversation, both at the exact moments of confession.

Eleven will lose her powers and her memories, because she will never be experimented on in the first place. HEAR ME OUT DONT SCROLL.

Throughout the show, El’s character arc has been about craving normalcy.

She struggles with feeling like a monster…

And with being forced into the role of a superhero.

In season 4 when she loses her powers, Eleven still can’t fit in.

And that’s because the reason she feels different, isn’t just because of her powers. It’s because she never got to have a normal childhood.

In the end, Eleven will get her childhood back. The show keeps hinting at time — clocks, resets, the past… which is why I’m convinced this is the only way to end Eleven’s story. In the end she will never be experimented on in the first place.

Changing the past will prevent the gates from opening, and allow her to finally live a normal life as Jane. Eleven DOES essentially “die” in the end, mirroring s1–but not in the way we’re expecting. Instead, the current version of Eleven is erased from existence.

But in doing so, Jane gets her happy ending. She gains the normalcy that she has wanted so badly throughout the series.

All the other characters can still remember, except for her. I think in this leaked set photo of Hopper and Mike, they’re talking about their memories of El. They’re talking about what she’s doing now and conclude that she’s happier.

Only Jane exists now, and she is a stranger to them. Hopper misses her like he misses his daughter, but at the same time he’s happy for her.

This is also what I think is being hinted at by the ST press release. If you look behind them, Eleven is the only one whose string lights are off…

I think this weekend, at least 3 movies or episodes will start to come out, with January 20 being a key date when one of them drops.

If you remember, the Stranger Things account dropped a promotional video 20 days out from the s5 release:

In it, Mike rolls a d20.

However, as @lestatforever pointed out, the dice is wrong. Read this post, because I also believe that this inconsistency hints at the fact that Mike actually rolled a natural 1 and LOST.

Which is more evidence for my theory:

I think the real finale will drop 20 days after the fake finale

On January 20.

The runtime of season five so far is 10 hours, which mirrors the length of Mike's first D&D campaign in season one. This campaign, they didn't get to finish because Will was kidnapped; Mike needed 20 more minutes to complete it that night-- they ended up playing again roughly three weeks later, after Will returned.

January 20 falls almost three weeks after the fake finale-which itself was 10 hours long. THIS CANT BE A COINCIDENCE!

Like many of you, I also think the “Ending” was fake and that Mike has been VECNA’D

Which lines up perfectly with my #20gate theory from 2022. Basically I found every time the number 20 was mentioned in the show, because I had a hunch that Mike needing "20 more minutes" would be crucial to the plot of s5:

For example, in s2, Ted says to Mike: “this isn’t strike 1, this isn’t even strike 2–

*coach not couch lol

Back then, I thought maybe this was foreshadowing Mike going back in time, and attempting to defeat Vecna 20 different times

Or that maybe Mike would have to race against the clock, with just 20 minutes standing between him and victory.

This didn't seem like too much of a stretch, because of all the Back to the Future references, and because as we saw in the s4 D&D game, they needed to role a d20 to Win.

Rolling an 11 caused them to lose, which is why I theorized that Eleven wouldn’t be able to truly defeat Vecna in Season 5.

Instead, we are shown that the party was able to defeat Vecna by rolling d20, as the basketball game timer counts down. This stood out to me as important back then, because I thought it would somehow be connected to Mike needing 20 more minutes to finish his campaign in the opening of s1. Which is why I took note of the Basketball Game Timer, and the Jersey numbers of each player.

You can read those posts here: (here & here).

But in summery: I still believe the Season 1 Opening + Season 4 D&D Game/Basketball game function to foreshadow the ending, and that they are connected.

I still think the numbers we are shown are deeply intentional, and that they contains key clues about how the real ending will ultimately play out.

Here's my updated thoughts (post-fake finale) that I uploaded to tik tok yesterday:

I know this because of the flicker of this garage light:

Episode 7: The Confession

Link to Theory HERE ^ (the way I figured this out is genuinely insane)

Episode 8: THE KISS

(In episode 8 they will kiss, and this time it will be mutual)

The Bookend:

If I were writing the show, I'd also have the ending parallel the beginning, creating a meaningful bookend.

For example, in the future we see the gang grown up, once again playing DnD-only this time theyre able to finish the game and win. In season one, Dustin brought pizza upstairs to Nancy but she refused— so maybe this time, Nancy brings pizza and joins them.

Then Mike and Will go outside, saying goodbye to the rest of the party. They once again stick behind together. This is when I think a track titled "adults" will play, paralleling the track titled "kids" (which plays in the season 1 opening).

Mike and Will are (once again) left standing alone together. A light is framed is between them. Only this time, it's glowing steadily, not just flickering.

Unlike in the Opening of the show, This time, they BOTH say The Truth:

"I love you".

(7+7=14, the winning roll!)

Saying The Truth doesn't cause them to lose this time. After Will confessed it was a 7, the demo really did get him. After the garage light flickered, it became true.

But this flicker of "electricity" was also symbolic: It represented "love"

In s1, Mike looks over at that flicker, confused by it. He thinks that the "electricity" is malfunctioning, that there's something WRONG with it. He doesn't yet understand what this feeling is, so he turns off the light, symbolically denying what he just felt.

But in the epilogue, Mike won't turn the light off. This time, the electricity stays on.

MIKE HAS POWERS!!!!

Most people assume that Will has powers, and he does. But it's only because of Mike. Will having powers is a red herring meant to throw us off from guessing the twist. Mike is the DM. HE’S the one who creates the story, so Mike having control over the upside-down makes a lot more sense narratively than Will.

(AND I HAVE WAY MORE PROOF THEN JUST THAT)

We are MEANT to focus on Will. After all, he is definitely connected to the upside-down, and it's implied that he has powers throughout the show.

And he does in s5. Fire powers, just like in Mike’s DnD campaign. But what if MIKE assigned Will the role of Wizard, and GAVE him these powers subconsciously.

It makes a lot more sense then Will just coincidentally having the same powers as his DnD character...

HERE'S WHERE IT GETS GOOD

When Karen makes Mike end the game early in the opening of s1, he begs her for 20 more minutes but she refuses.

(20 is the winning roll in their DnD game in s4.)

Mike then turns to Ted who is fiddling with the TV. I figured out the exact episode of Knight Rider that was shown here, and went 15 minutes into the episode (it would have aired at 8:15) to see if it matches the scene on TV. It doesn't.

It’s subtle, but this moment lines up perfectly with the idea of strange electrical/time interference happening around Mike as he begs Karen for more time.

Then they go outside, Will departs, and Mike looks disappointed.

The garage light FLICKERS.

This is the moment when Mike subconsciously froze time because he wanted to keep playing D&D with Will. Which is why the the upside-down is still frozen on November 6.

Just like Vecna who can turn back the clock, Mike has powers to manipulate time.

Which explains this clip of Mike at the end of s3. It doubles in meaning, referencing both his powers and his internal conflict.

The reason Vecna targets both Will and El is because of their ties to MIKE, because he’s needs them to enact his master plan. But Mike is the one he is ultimately after. He’s the key:

(Hopper is sitting in front of a giant green key icon)

I discovered this twist because it’s forshadowed by the 80’s movie Labyrinth.

It’s how I initially figured this out, and I have a whole series analyzing the numerous parallels which you should check out on my page.

But to summarize, both Sarah and Mike have MC Escher posters hanging up in their bedrooms:

and just like in Labyrinth- these posters foreshadow the climax:

Vecna will be defeated once Mike realizes he has no power over him.

The scene where Mike subconsciously froze time before Will goes missing, eerily parallels the scene where Sarah accidentally wished for Toby to be taken into another world, by the villain.

There’s a bunch of other parallels, such as Sarah's character arc about growing up, but the most blatant is the jump-scare grandfather clock in s4, which I’m almost certain was a homage to the one in Labyrinth.

Okay on to the next part of this theory.

On September 11, 2022 I posted this other theory about the garage light nicknamed "Flickergate" by the fandom. You might think my new theory discredits that one, but it doesnt. I still think that the light flickering in s1 will be the back drop of Mike and Will's confession in the upside-down in s5. (proof? bc i said so). Everything about that theory still adds up, and i really want it to happen therefore it's still canon.

Here’s a refined version of Flickergate, this time involving Mikes powers:  

Throughout Stranger Things, electricity has always symbolized connection—both between worlds and between people. The writers have deliberately set up electricity as a metaphor for love within the show’s text:

When Lucas grabbed Max’s hand on the bus in s2, he tells Dustin they are “just friends” and he only did it because she was “scared”.

Dustin replies:

“but I could feel it. The “electricity”.

When Mike grabbed Will’s hand on the couch in s2, the same thing applies. It wasn't just because they are friends or because Will was scared. There was “electricity.”

There’s even is an easter egg hinting at this, found on the official stranger things playlist:  (the song: “Are Friends Electric?”)

Moving on.

In s1, Mike wrote Will a letter on Nov 6 but never gives it to him. (This was hinted at by the stranger things writers on twitter) and in Season 4, Will paints something for Mike but lies about why.

Both gestures are about love—and both are left unfinished.

So in Season 5, inside the Upside Down, those two unresolved moments might finally come together: Maybe Mike finally gives Will the letter or Will admits the painting was for him.

And maybe at the same time—across time—when Will confesses the truth:

“It was a seven.”

At the same time, in the upsidedown, Will parallels his younger self and confesses the truth to Mike:

That he’s in love with him.

And that's when the electricity surges in upside down in season 5, and the light flickers in season 1. They are either in Mike’s basement or in front of the garage, and the lights are flickering.

This it the exact moment in s1 when Mike froze time on the other side, but it also visually represents the metaphorical “electricity” between them in this current moment.

And that’s when Mike first kisses Will. (But it doesn't go well)

Steve to Dustin: “You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh… Electricity, you know?

Dustin: “and thats when you kiss her?” Steve: “WOAH WOAH SLOW DOWN ROMEO”

(IN SEASON 4, ARGYLE CALLS MIKE ‘ROMEO’ and then later Mike stands in front of a sign that says “Montegue”)

On the other side, in 1983, younger Mike notices that flicker, that “electricity”, as Will leaves. Which is why he goes inside to write Will the letter (which was ALSO just simultaneously revealed to Will in the upside down.)

s1 Mike doesn't yet understand what he just felt, but we the audience do. On his way inside, Mike turns off the garage light, symbolically denying what he feels. But in the future- that garage light is fully glowing.

The ending of the show is a parallel to the opening. A bookend. The gang is in the basement playing DnD, and then Mike and Will go outside, about to part ways. It’s nighttime and they stand under the garage light which is glowing above them. This time, they BOTH say the Truth: “I love you”. 7+7=14–the winning roll. And this time, Mike doesn't turn that garage light off.

More evidence for my theory! I think Mike paralleling Dr. Frankenstein (because the demos are his creations in a way)

PART TWO IS REAL?! (sorry for the wait, i got busy). As I was saying in part one, I think there's a chance that the climax of Mike's arc in Stranger Things will parallel Sarah's from the movie Labyrinth.

In the movie Labyrinth, Sarah had exactly thirteen hours to rescue her baby brother Toby after accidentally wishing for him to be taken away. In the climax of the movie, she finally spots him crawling up (and down) a trippy ass staircase.

As one of Sarah's last challenges within the Labyrinth, she runs throughout this maze trying to catch up to her little brother. The laws of gravity and physics do not apply here. At one moment, little Toby might be crawling across the ceiling, in the next he might be catching a crystal bouncing up a flight of steps.- fandom wiki

In Labyrinth, the setting of the “endless stairs” scene is based on M.C Escher’s ‘Relativity’.

Which is foreshadowed earlier in the movie, by a poster hanging on Sarah’s bedroom wall:

And as you know from my earlier post, I think this MC Escher poster hanging in Mike's room, was a reference to Sarah's from Labyrinth.

Because it could potentially foreshadow a Snowball/GoblinBall parallel going down in season 5. (read theory: here)

I ended part one on a cliffhanger (cue laughter), by hinting that Sarah's "Relativity" poster might ALSO relate to a potential s5 reference.

Perhaps Mike's Cliff Jump is parallel to Sarah's Staircase Jump...

AND GUESS WHAT, THE VIBES WHERE PROPHETIC OR SOME SHIT, BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT THAT A POSTER OF RELATIVITY IS ALSO HANGING IN MIKE'S ROOM?!😱 (hanging under the notorious “one way sign” pointing into his closet)

(thank you to @strangerchicka for telling me this, because when i originally paused to screenshot Mike's room, he was covering it)

What if the scene of Mike jumping off the cliff comes full circle in s5.

because it’s the only way (?)

Which leads me back to Labyrinth:

The Climax:

In labyrinth, the M.C. Escher poster was used to foreshadow the climax. The final confrontation between Sarah and Jareth happens in the Relativity-themed room. When she finally reaches the top of the staircase, she looks down and spots sweet lil baby brother Toby.

Edit:(November 7, 2025): As everyone knows, the episode title: “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler” recently got leaked. Mike’s baby sister and Sarah’s baby brother now parallel eachother!!!

but lil homie is contemplating life, staring into the abyss. He's looking over the edge of what appears to be a pretty steep drop.

He's about to fall.

The baby represents her childhood innocence. When she sees him, she must jump to break the curse put on her.

This is how Mike’s Season 1 jump into the quarry will come full circle in Season 5.

The crystal ball in Labyrinth is used to create illusions. It bares striking resemblance to the OTHER MC Escher poster included in Mike's room.

and you know who else has the power to transport people into illusions? VECNA.

So what if to break the illusion, Mike will have to once again jump into the quarry?

this it what Jareth (Vecna) says whenever Sarah (Mike reaches the ground:

This is the scene where Mike will realize Vecna has no power over him.

and humping successfully breaks her/him out of the spell!

According to multiple credible academic sources (LitCharts and Reddit) Toby the physical embodiment of Sarah's own childhood innocence👼

Which got me thinking: What if the baby is the physical embodiment of Mike’s childhood as well? In other words, what if the baby parallels s1 Mike, and Sarah parallels s5 Mike

SPECIFIC S5 CLIFF SCENE PREDICTIONS:

3: TIME TRAVEL TOMFOOLERY:

This one is kinda edgy, but the writers almost made El mercy ki11 her mom in s2, so how crazy is it REALLY?

OKAY. So what if the ONE WAY to stop the end of the world, is go back in time and change things, but Mike unexpectedly DIES (by his own hand) as a result of this?

What if in s1, Mike still jumps off the cliff despite the bullies never threatening Dustin's teeth in the first place?

Let me explain: if time travel tomfoolery DOES have to go down in s5, as has been heavily foreshadowed, then that means they might never meet El or get involved in any supernatural antics.

Meaning that in s1, Mike would't learn the truth about what actually happened to Will after his “body” was found in the quarry.

The Cliff overlooking The Quarry is the key to all of this.

Why? because if Will's body was found in the quarry, then the police’s leading theory as to the cause of his death would probably be this:

Police would suspect that Will was either:

A: hate-crimed/pushed off of the cliff (bc of his sexuality)

B. committed suicide via jumping (bc of his sexuality)

In this alternate timeline, Mike would still watch Will's body get pulled out of the quarry. Only this time, he would falsely believe that the cause of Will’s death was his sexuality.

This is why Hopper kept pressing Joyce about Will's perceived sexuality in s1. It was a significant factor for them to consider, especially in the 80s, because being gay might have lead to his death:

Ted knew this as well, which is why he subtly implied to Mike that Will's disappearance wasn't shocking:

“You see Michael, you see what happens”-COULD have been in refrence to Nancy storming off.

However Mikes reply-“what happens when what?” before bringing the topic back to WILL, suggests that Mike picks up on Ted’s homophobia. He realizes what might have happened.

But why does everyone in town even think Will is gay in the first place? Clothes you say??Clothes could be the sole reason for these rumors (like Joyce said), but what there was something more?

Like something about how Will acted around Mike?

if that were the case, one can only image how Mike would react if he found out that Will di3d as a result of their friendship...

What if after he finds out that Will "jumped" into the quarry, Mike jumps too

What if in the alternate timeline, Mike's decision to jump remains unchanged, despite Dustin's baby teeth never being threatened.

This reveal would be powerful- it would reframe the s1 cliff scene, implying that if the party never got involved with the supernatural, Mike’s decision to jump would remain unchanged (and would have had a more profound underlying cause.)

Mike didn’t fully realize his sexuality until s3, so he wouldn’t jump because of that.

However, learning that Will, his best friend (who he Loves), died because of the town’s homophobia might.

Especially if he assumes that it was indirectly caused by their friendship.

This is even supported by the way the cliff scene was shot and written. Mike wasn’t shown struggling with the decision. He just calmly looks over the edge, before stepping off of the cliff.

If Mike still jumps in this timeline, there would be one major difference though. This time, El wouldn’t be there to save him:

Which might be why Mike was paralleled to Romeo in s4. Because just like Romeo, what if Mike tragically di3s by his own hand after learning of Will's fake “d3ath". What if, just like Romeo, he is tricked by the body?

And just like Romeo, Mike chooses to copy how Juliette (Will) died?

conveniently, this scenario would also add a whole new layer to this joke made by Ted in s2:

“So if your friend jumps off a cliff, you’re going to jump too?”

Might this line be yet another classic case of reverse story telling antics within Stranger Things???

Reverse Storytelling is literally how they constructed Mike and Will's entire relationship. Which suggests that reframing prior seasons and Mike himself will be a pretty major focus of the final season.

If this joke can only be fully understood in reverse it would play into this storytelling device, especially because as of now, it’s a pretty mid joke. Considering that Mike jumped off of the cliff to save Dustin's baby teeth, the dramatic irony only applies to the fact that Mike also "jumped off a cliff". The implication that he jumped "because his friend did" doesn't even apply to the s1 cliff scene!( I’m the comedy police, and you’re under arrest!😡👮‍♀️) UNLESS this joke was actually in reference to the season 5 cliff scene😨Because in s5, after “his friend Will jumped off a cliff, he’s going to jump too,” -just like Ted said.

More Potential Foreshadowing (Mike/Water)(watergate?!?)

I already thought another cliff scene was a possibility (before all this Labyrinth delusion started), based off of the water imagery surrounding Mike throughout s4:

link to that here

idk guuuuys...something something about all that water symbolism around Mike really makes me of the quarry, since it’s one of the only significant bodies of water in the show. It's also literally the setting where Will briefly "died" in s1, cementing it as a pretty significant water themed setting for both of them, but especially for Mike. Of course, the water symbolism might also foreshadow him drowning in Lover's Lake. (more on that later maybe?)

Along with this, I also think that Mike's death will end up referencing Artax's in the Never-ending Story. If Will is Bastian, and El is Ateyu...then who's Mike?

HE'S THE DAMN HORSE. Arguably the most iconic scenes in the Neverending Story is when that depressed horse Artax drowns. (just tryna think outside the box guys, idfk)

the end! hope you liked it!