(Credit: netflix)

Netflix viewers took a deep dive into the legend of Stranger Things in the first volume of the final season, seeking closure to their long-unanswered questions. But the sci-fi series, unsurprisingly, left them with more question marks than they had started out with.

Season five proved that it will not be easy for the Hawkins gang. However, by the looks of it, it also won’t go easy on us.

While Stranger Things won’t pull down the curtains without the answers we need, for now, it’s important to ask the questions.

So, here’s a rundown of every question Stranger Things raises in the first volume of its fifth season before the second volume comes out with more.

The questions Stranger Things needs to answer

What is Vecna’s plan with the kids? How did he kidnap Holly? Where are they now?

‘The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler’ finally saw the Upside Down break loose openly in Hawkins when a Demogorgon invaded the Wheeler house to kidnap Holly. Although Karen gave it a good fight, she couldn’t prevent the remorseless creature from dragging her into the shadow dimension. While all of this is what we saw happen, Stranger Things doesn’t go into the details of what exactly goes down in the period between her kidnapping by the Demogorgon and her stay in the Creel mansion with Henry.

It leaves viewers in the dark about her state of consciousness, especially complicating things further when Will has a vision of Holly connected to a spire with a tube suctioned to her mouth. He also sees that Holly is not the only kid in that state. But whether they are inside the fleshy wall in the Upside Down or in the Hawkins Lab in the Rightside Up is only to be answered over time.

In a conversation with Deadline, Matt Duffer teased, “A lot of things are echoing what happened in season one. So, that’s another reason with Holly, some things are playing on repeat on purpose. In some ways, this season was always built as a true follow-up to season one.”

What is a flesh wall? Why is the Hawkins Lab at the centre of the circle surrounding the Upside Down?

Flesh walls are something viewers are probably witnessing for the very first time. But they contain the familiar slimy vines as well as numerous sac-like, gross substances, which were also present in the first five minutes of Vecna’s meeting with Will in the Upside Down. However, the questions keep rising about what it really is as Eleven brings to notice Lt Robert Akers peeing on it. Additionally, Dr Kay is also seen dissecting a sac.

Whether she knows the secrets the wall holds or not, the Netflix series truly has a lot on its plate to address in the follow-up volumes, including why it surrounds the Rightside Up in a circle with the Hawkins Lab at the centre.

How is it possible for Vecna to manipulate music?

When Henry gifts Holly a Sidestep radio and a cassette tape of ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ by Tiffany, many must have been caught off guard by his ability to manipulate music. While this is not the first time he has done it, this one is different in a way that catches the eye. In the fourth season finale, Eleven tried to enter Max’s mind through Vecna’s invasive approach, watching Max’s Vecna-proof memory of Snow Ball from the second season with ‘Every Breath You Take’ playing.

At one point in the memory, however, the song transitions to Ella Fitzgerald’s ‘Dream A Little Dream of Me.’ The chances are that Vecna has something to do with it. If not, at least some creature from the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer or the Hive Mind. However, does it mean that music is no longer a means of escape from Vecna’s grasp? Well, that’s hard to say because Max did nearly flee the memories when Lucas played ‘Running Up That Hill.’

Why is Vecna afraid to step into the caves of his memories where Max resides?

When Eleven decided to revive Max in the fourth season, she succumbed to a coma, leaving even the Hawkins General Hospital doctors unsure whether she’d ever wake up. However, ‘The Turnbow Trap’ reveals at the very end that she’s indeed alive and also stuck in the memory where Holly is trapped. Max has made a home out of a rocky cave that resembles the Nevadan caves from The First Shadow.

For some reason, Vecna doesn’t venture inside those caves despite his clear frustration with Max wandering through his memories. Stranger Things doesn’t reveal the reason behind Henry keeping his distance from the caves, nor does it unveil whether Max can manipulate his memories, given that she can hop through them.

Jamie Campbell Bower told Deadline that Max is the “catalyst” for a major event in the latter part of the story. Plus, if you may recall, Eleven had originally sent Henry to Dimension X, where he gained his abilities. So, is it possible that she unknowingly sent Max there as well?

What about Will’s newfound powers? How is it different from those of Vecna and Eleven?

The final moments of ‘Sorcerer,’ the first volume finale, had moments we were simply not prepared for. Will harnessed his mysterious connection with Vecna and the Hive Mind to save the day, fighting off multiple Demogorgons at once. The scene showed him controlling the creatures and snapping their bodies in an eerily similar way to how Vecna kills his victims, which certainly raises the question of how different or similar his powers are from Vecna’s.

In an interview with Deadline, Millie Bobby Brown clarified that Eleven and Will have “completely separate abilities.” Noah Schnapp also told Deadline that Will’s abilities will manifest differently in the latter part of the series, especially in the second volume.

Who is superior, Vecna or the Mind Flayer?

The Mind Flayer hasn’t been mentioned many times after the third season of the hit Netflix series. However, in the fourth season, Henry was seen giving the Mind Flayer a spider-like shape from its dust particles in Dimension X. While it seemed like Vecna had overpowered the creature, it still leaves many wondering whether the Mind Flayer is actually controlling him.

What does Dr Kay want from Eleven? How did she develop the satellites or “kryptonite” that render Eleven and Kali powerless?

The Duffer brothers clarified that Dr Kay serves as Dr Brenner’s replacement. But she mindlessly blames Eleven for all that’s going on in Hawkins, including the kidnapping of the kids. It feels like Dr Kay possibly sees Eleven as a weapon, which she wants under her control. However, the question is: what will she do with them?

After the reunion between Kali and Eleven, viewers have also raised questions about the satellite technology, which they refer to as “kryptonite”. Additionally, the Netflix show has yet to reveal what Kali’s return means after all this time. So, it’s safe to assume that volume two would be a complete game-changer.

What does the Upside Down’s freezing on November 6th, 1983, signify?

November 6th, 1983, is a day Stranger Things fans cannot easily forget. It was the day when Will went missing and out in the world, the day also came to be known as Stranger Things Day. In the fifth season’s first volume, Holly is kidnapped on November 3rd, 1987, and Lucas points out how it cannot be a coincidence.

An additional crumb that heightens the apprehension is that the opening night of Joyce’s Oklahoma production, in which Henry Creel performed, was November 6th, 1959. The Duffer brothers told Deadline that the questions regarding the Upside Down will lead to answers about the time freeze aspect.