There's Only 1 Non-Pathetic Way to Solve Stranger Things S5's Biggest Problem

Summary:

• Stranger Things season 5 is rumored to be released sometime in 2025.
• Fans of the show are worried that all the grown-up characters will be a big problem.
• The writers may use a time jump trick to save the show from becoming a disaster.

There are many highly anticipated releases that have been delayed due to the writers strike, and one of them is Stranger Things. Fans have been waiting for season 5, which will be the last, since the end of chapter 4 in 2022.

While the most optimistic viewers believe that it will be released sometime in the middle of 2024, the rest of us don't get our hopes up and are ready to wait until 2025. But apparently there's something even more troubling about the show's future than the release date.

Since the first season was released in 2016, the teenagers who play the main roles in the series have apparently undergone some changes in appearance. The members of the Hawkins crew were basically kids when filming started back then. And now, 8 years later, they are all adults and look nothing like they did before.

So the rumors took over Reddit, with people wondering how the writers were going to solve the problem of all the grown-up kids. Many people suggested the time jump trick, claiming that it was the only way it could work.

Of course, the hardcore fans who remembered every little detail of the last season were not on board with that, since season 4 ended with a Vecna-induced earthquake basically opening the gates of hell for Hawkins. It’s almost like a time jump would basically take away very essential years and suggest the main characters were "just chilling" all this time.

Fortunately, the fandom’s best theorists found a way to convince the skeptics, and here's how they did it.

How a Time Jump Can Work In Stranger Things Season 5

Naturally, the opened gates will create a disastrous atmosphere in the city, and many people would be forced to move out, driven by fear. However, the Hawkins gang wouldn’t be among them; they will have to buff themselves up in order to face their biggest enemy.

“The gang knows they have to go after the big-bad but he's nowhere to be found, so they just beat up the little things exploring into their world while they look for signs that he's back. They're also probably working on a way to defeat him once and for all. So fast forward three years or whatever, and they're even more battle-hardened. They have specific strategies for taking out different beasts,” Redditor LnStrngr said.

This basically means that during all those years that will be fast-forwarded and almost not shown in season 5, the gang would be gathering their knowledge to stay ahead of Vecna's moves. There's even an option to start the first episode with them working hard on a plan, having the latest technological tools and everything they lacked before.

This way, the time jump would be a crucial thing that won’t butcher the show, seamlessly weaving the flash-forward into the story without seeming like a stretch. But there’s a “but.”

Stranger Things May Not Need a Time Jump At All

However, while half of the fans are so eager to "save" the show, there is a huge part of the fandom that doesn’t really get the need for any explanation at all.

According to them, the cast looks exactly the same as in the latest season, and there's no need to use a time jump trick or even recast anyone (as some people still suggest). After all, this wouldn’t be the first case of twenty-somethings portraying teenagers in Hollywood, so at least the creators can refrain from sacrificing the story for the sake of trying to make up for the time lost due to the strikes.

Seasons 1 through 4 of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.