15 Mind-Flaying Fan Theories About The 'Stranger Things' Kids

From Redditor u/oatmilkineverything:

After his disappearance in Season 1 of Stranger Things, Will Byers obtained what the party refer to as "True Sight," the ability to see the "Ethereal Plane" (Usable by Wizards among other classes in DnD). We see this throughout Season 2 as a main plot device, but there are still remnants in Season 3. Will develops a sixth sense and knows when the Mind Flayer is at large.

Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will since Season 1 have referred to themselves as their DnD classes, labeling themselves in real life as "the Party." They even continue to do this when El and Max are introduced into the group of friends as a "Mage" and a "Zoomer." When Mike tells Max that she has no place in their party, he refers to Lucas as their "Ranger." Lucas uses his "Wrist Rocket" as a reference to his in-game character. Similarly, El is their Mage because of her powers. There's a link between their roles in Dungeons & Dragons and reality.

This leads me to suspect that "Will the Wise" is going to eventually come full circle. El now living with Will may give him the opportunity to explore powers that he may have gathered from being linked to the Upside Down that he never knew about before. The potential of this plot will also be able to spotlight Will in a way that he no longer needs to feel like/or be the victim anymore and perhaps become a savior alongside El.

I personally would love this theory to come to light. I think it would be a very fitting direction for him.

From Redditor u/TomHardyAsBronson

Rewatching the first episode, I got the distinct impression that the "demogorgon" was specifically hunting Will. When all the kids leave Mike's house, the lights outside flicker, indicating that the demogorgon is there. It stalks the kids as they bike home, but for some reason follows Will all the way home, ignoring Lucas and Dustin going off on their own, as well as skipping right over the family dog.

If the demogorgon was looking for food, there were targets that would have been easier to get: Dustin just standing alone and unmoving in the road and the dog. Yet for some reason, it follows him specifically. Then later, in episode 2, El spies a picture of Will and has an emotional response to it. It doesn't really make sense that she would know him from his being kidnapped or from Mike talking about him: her response doesn't make sense in that context. Will didn't enter the Upside Down until she was fleeing through the woods, so she didn't interact with the Upside Down between fleeing and seeing the picture. She seems to have a personal, emotional response to him. (cont'd)

From Redditor u/guybro194:

What if when Billy went in the phone booth and went into the Upside Down and met the other Billy the original one is still in there and is not really dead.

One piece of evidence I noticed was that when Billy crashed his car he had a big gash on his head and after he returns from the Upside Down the wound is gone. This may show that he is still in the Upside Down and the Upside Down copy of himself is the one that did all of those bad things in the regular world.

From Redditor u/quinn283:

I believe that Will is involved more than it appears with the Demogorgon itself and with making portals. In his house, Will is calling for his mother and eventually is able to open up a small, non-traversable portal. Isn’t that strange in and of itself? You may be able to argue the monster was close and therefore Will was simply in front of the portal the monster was opening. I’m not so sure though. I think something happened to will that didn’t happen to Barb in the moments after being taken the first episode. He seems to have autonomy within the Upside-Down but maybe he is already possessed by the monster just in a different way.

From Redditor u/ysveth87

Watching chapter 4, "The Sauna Test," I realized one thing. When Will explains to the boys how he realized that the monster had returned, he used the example of a drawing with a black crayon, marked his hand, and then marked it again on the page.

Taking the example literally, the leaf was marked but the black color did not leave his hand. It's clearly seen in that example that Will himself did, that he is aware of that connection and although he does not say anything, he knows how attached he is to the Mind Flayer.

Which brings me to another thing: When Max says, "But we close the portal, if the brain dies the body dies." Well, let's say that the Mind Flayer's way to be alive in the real world is through the connection he has with Will, which is why he didn't die after season 2.

As long as that connection with Will is open, he will always return. That's why they focused so much on it (the only scene they gave Will practically). It's kind of like Harry Potter being a horcrux, "as long as one is alive, the other cannot die."

From Redditor u/peanutbrittlebabe:

Almost finished with my second viewing of the series. Obviously there are several unanswered questions that hopefully we'll learn more about in a second season, but there's one thing nagging me that I can't find an explanation for. When Eleven was in Mike's bedroom, she points to Will's picture indicating that she knows Will and has seen him before. Where would she know him from? Was that addressed in some way that I missed? I could easily have missed something, binging has that effect. Just didn't seem to be questioned or addressed in any way.

Some people have theorized that Will might have some powers, similar to Elle. Not sure I believe that, but could they have targeted him as a future test subject at the lab? Maybe Elle saw his picture there somewhere? There's also the fact that the monster followed Will for a while before taking him. The others who were taken seemed to just be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the monster followed Will through the woods, through the house, and then into the shed. Not sure what that means either. Maybe Elle somehow saw Will as the monster's target when she made contact?