Fans think Stranger Things episode title gives away major character spoiler

Stephen Porzio

The internet sleuths are on the case.

Netflix’s mega-hit sci-fi series Stranger Things is wrapping up with its upcoming fifth season and fresh details were dropped today (Wednesday, 6 November) about the episodes.

In a new teaser, Netflix confirmed that the much-anticipated season of the show will be arriving sometime in 2025.

It also released the titles of the eight episodes, alongside a caption reading: “In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins.”

The episode titles are as follows:

The Crawl
The Vanishing of…
The Turnbow Trap
Sorcerer
Shock Jock
Escape from Camazotz
The Bridge
The Rightside Up

The title reveals have sent the rumour mill into overdrive, with many fans of the sci-fi series hypothesising about what they could mean.

One of the names in particular has been singled out for theory speculation.

Part 2 of my Stranger Things 5 episode titles analysis:

CHAPTER 2: THE VANISHING OF ***** *******

The name was blurred out in the title tease, but we can basically confirm this is about Holly Wheeler, considering her new actress and some concerning scenes of her in the BTS… pic.twitter.com/bGt9RmY7g4
— Hawkins Happenings (@hawkinshappens) November 6, 2024

The title ‘The Vanishing of…’ was included with words under it redacted.

Fans believe that the missing words are a character’s name, as the pilot of the show was called ‘The Vanishing of Will Byers’.

Several are certain that the redacted words are ‘Holly Wheeler’.

For those who need a refresher, Holly is the younger sister of Stranger Things lead characters Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer).

It has been reported that Holly has been recast with actress Nell Fisher (Evil Dead Rise) for season five, already suggesting that the character will play a bigger role.

And if show creators Matt and Ross Duffer – known as The Duffer Brothers – want to up the ante for their final batch of episodes, putting Mike and Nancy’s younger sister in peril could be an effective way of accomplishing this.

In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins. Stranger Things 5 coming 2025. pic.twitter.com/JNs5lznAwl
— Netflix (@netflix) November 6, 2024

Last year, the Stranger Things creators revealed details about what fans can expect from season five.

The Duffer Brothers made the comments as part of a profile in Variety about Noah Schnapp, the actor who plays Will Byers, the younger son of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), on the series.

Will is one of the Stranger Things’ main characters, with his disappearance back in season one kicking off the show’s supernatural shenanigans.

In the Variety article, the Duffer Brothers joke about Schnapp’s reputation for accidentally revealing spoilers about the Netflix runaway hit, with Matt Duffer stating:

“We sent him the first three scripts for Season 5. I texted him and said: ‘Just don’t be a Tom Holland here.’ He laughed about it and said: ‘Of course not.’ And then he immediately put something on TikTok about them. But you can never be mad at Noah. He’s a sweet kid. He can’t help himself.”

The Duffers then reveal that they took the risk of sending Schnapp the scripts because they wanted to prepare the 20-year-old for the major role his character will play in the final season.

On this, Ross Duffer explained: “Will really takes center stage again in 5. This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together.

“Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality — it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.”

It was previously revealed that Stranger Things season five will consist of eight episodes and will see Linda Hamilton of The Terminator franchise fame joining the cast.

The start of production on the final batch of episodes was delayed by the writers’ strike.