Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 Spoilers ahead 🚨 

We are in the midst of the final Season of Stranger Things and although things have started to heat up in Volume 1, it looks like there's still plenty more sci-fi horror on the way.

The trailer for Volume 2 of Season 5 just dropped and we have thoughts. It's still hard to determine where the series is headed, but we were treated to a new collection of short clips and soundbites which have raised some questions. We're looking at a few moments from the trailer that have caught our attention.

Is that the Heart of Vecna?

We last left Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan in the Upside Down trying to find Vecna's core in order to stop him at the source. Well, based on this shot, it seems like they stumbled onto something alright, a large red glowing mass that almost looks like it's beating!

Something about this floatig mass very much resembles a heart. Earlier this season, Dustin did tell his friends, "I want to see Vecna's heart on a platter." Could that have been foreshadowing? 

The return of Eight

One surprise nobody expected in Volume 1 of Season 5 was the return of Eight. Eight, also known as Kali Prasad, was a fellow Hawkins test lab subject, who made her debut way back in season 2 in what many fans would call the worst episode of the series.

The episode followed Kali recruiting Eleven to join her gang but it felt entirely out of place. It had a different tone than the rest of the series and at the end Eleven decided to return to Hawkins, undoing anything the episode was trying to setup. Now she's back, and unfortunately she's not in a great place.

When we first met Kali, she was carefree, had a wild purple hairdo, and clearly had her own original identity. When we first met her in Season 5, Hopper and Eleven discovered her being held in the government's secret base inside the Upside Down. She was tied up to a machine, head shaven, clearly there against her will. Though unexpected, her inclusion is a great way to show that particular episode had more meaning than we expected at the time. It's clear she will have a larger role in Volume 2, and we're thrilled to (hopefully) see her and Eleven get their revenge.

"Everything we have ever assumed about the Upside Down has been dead wrong."

What do you mean by that Dustin?! We're five seasons in and everything we know about the Upside Down, we know from you and your friends!

Now you're telling us that you may have been wrong this whole time?? This just shows how little we still know about the world that this series revolves around but it's that anticipation has us on the edge of our seats! What is the government doing in the Upside Down? What is Vecna's end goal? They're doing a good job at keeping us hooked until the very end.

More of Will's Powers

Will unlocking his dormant powers at the end of Volume 1 was such a surprise, but oh so rewarding. Will, although he's technically been the catalyst for the events in the entire series, has always taken a backseat. In Season 1 he was out of pocket trapped in the Upside Down, and he hasn't fully been the same since returning.

The poor kid was still being possessed by Vecna even in the real world. He was the kid we all felt bad for, but now in Season 5, Will has been unleashed. Using powers he gained during Vecna's possessions, Will had his hero moment by literally breaking several Demogorgons with his mind. From the trailer it looks like we're getting more of superpowered Will (based on his whiteout eyes) which we and Will all deserve.

"It is time for a new world."

Very ominous words from Vecna and the line "new world" is very intriguing. Earlier this season Vecna has said he plans to "reshape" the world, one could assume similar to the way things are in the Upside Down.

In this shot we see a wave of blue light spread across a town. Hopper is seen looking up, which implies this may be taking place in the Upside Down since that is where we last left him. Perhaps it is Vecna's terraforming plan put into motion. Whatever it is, the scale is huge, and we are eagerly waiting to see what this means!

Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2 debuts on December 25th, 2025.

Photo Credit: @strangerthingstv on Instagram.