A pivotal moment in Stranger Things season 4 has already set up the monsters for season 5. Tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons has been used throughout Stranger Things to set up the show’s primary antagonists. While the villains aren’t actually their Dungeons & Dragons counterparts, the characters use their knowledge of the game to draw up the similarities and strategize their defeats. For example, the Mind Flayer earned its name due to its telepathic similarities to mind flayers/illithids from Dungeons & Dragons. Likewise, Vecna is named after an undead wizard who seeks to take over the entire multiverse.
Through this pattern, a scene with Nancy reveals what monsters viewers can expect to see in season 5. In season 4, episode 8, “Papa,” Nancy becomes trapped in Vecna’s mind lair while attempting to escape the Upside Down. While there, Nancy discovered Vecna’s true identity as Henry Creel/One and his plans to open gates across Hawkins and release monsters from the Upside Down. Vecna then allows Nancy to live, specifically so that she can relay the information to Eleven so that she blames herself for what she is about to do. As Nancy tells the group about the vision Vecna showed her, she describes a terrifying monster set to attack Hawkins, which is eerily similar to an existing Dungeons & Dragons antagonist.
Related: We Already Know What Stranger Things 5’s Monster Looks Like
Vecna Was Able To Cast Visions Of The Future In Stranger Things Season 4
While the vision that Vecna shows Nancy initially appeared as though they were the ramblings of a narcissistic psychopath, the show implies that Vecna can see into the future to some extent. For example, in the final episode of Stranger Things season 4, “The Piggyback,” a majority of what Vecna has shown Nancy comes true, even though the group believed they had beaten him. The vision showed the final gate opening in the Creel House, which was shown to happen after Eleven failed to rescue Max from Vecna successfully. Additionally, the California group can attest to downtown Hawkins being on fire, and all of them witnessed as the dark cloud began spreading over Hawkins.
In fact, the only thing in the vision that hasn’t come true yet is the dead soldiers, but that doesn’t matter that a conflict between the army and the Upside Down monsters won’t happen in the final season of Stranger Things. Therefore, Nancy’s description of these events is fundamental to the show’s plot moving forward. Not only does it indicate that Vecna can predict the future, but it will also better prepare the characters for the monsters they are about to face.
Nancy Saw Visions Of Vecna’s Army Of Monsters
Arguably the most important thing that Nancy saw was Vecna’s future army. As mentioned, Stranger Things has always relied on the thematic similarities between its monsters and Dungeons & Dragons characters. When relaying the vision to the group, Nancy describes seeing a “giant creature with a gaping mouth” bringing an army of monsters with it to Hawkins. Additionally, she also implies that this army of monsters will be responsible for the deaths of her mother, Mike, and Holly. Whatever this monster is, it’s going to be a lot worse than anything the gang has faced yet. While Nancy has come face to face with the Demogorgon, flesh monsters, and Vecna, nothing has rattled her so clearly as the monster in this vision has.
What Could The Monsters Of Stranger Things Season 5 Be?
While Nancy’s description of the monster is incredibly brief and vague, it leaves plenty of room to speculate what Dungeons & Dragons monster this antagonist will be linked to. While the large creature with the gaping mouth has quite a few connections to other Dungeons & Dragons characters, it’s slightly harder to narrow down what the monsters accompanying it will be. Nevertheless, here are a few ideas of what monsters viewers could expect to see in Stranger Things season 5.
Related: Vecna’s Nancy Twist Creates A Stranger Things Screenwriting Problem
First and foremost, the most popular contender for the giant monster Nancy speaks about is the Thessalhydra. This theory has been one of the most popular on the internet since the conclusion of Stranger Things season 4 and would make a likely choice given the creature’s reference in season 1 of the show. Not only is the Thessalhydra huge in Dungeons & Dragons, but it also has a gaping mouth accompanied by eight heads. This has also been teased through Will’s painting for Mike in season 4 of Stranger Things, which features the group fighting a large creature with multiple heads. The design of the Thessalhydra also looks like it’s something straight out of Stranger Things, while the other antagonists haven’t had any physical similarities to their Dungeons & Dragons counterparts.
However, it’s also possible that the creature with a gaping mouth from Nancy’s vision could also be the Tarrasque. In Dungeons & Dragons, the Tarrasque is one of the most feared creatures and is usually a typical final encounter in a campaign. The Tarrasque is a formidable creature to kill; therefore, it would make sense if it were used as Vecna’s big weapon when destroying Hawkins. Additionally, its physicality is somewhat similar to Nancy’s description, being one of the largest creatures in Dungeons & Dragons and having a relatively large mouth. Finally, given the Tarrasque’s reputation as a civilization destroyer, it would be the most lethal antagonist the Hawkins gang will face.
Regarding the army of monsters that will follow this large beast, there are a few options that make sense. During the Hellfire Clubs campaign finale, Eddie Munson says that Vecna’s Cultists turn to the players and remove their hoods, revealing themselves as familiar faces. Given that Vecna is shown to keep his victim’s bodies in his mind lair, they may reappear in season 5 as his Cultists and as part of the army that Nancy saw in the vision. Of course, Vecna’s army could also include more monsters we have already seen, such as Demogorgons, Demobats, and Demodogs. Additionally, it could also include some new monsters such as Tiraphegs, which are mutated humans, or even Carion Crawlers, which feed upon the dead.
While there are many possibilities for what Vecna’s army could look like, show creators the Duffer brothers have remained relatively tight-lipped on what monsters viewers should expect to see in the final season. Regardless, whatever Hawkins faces in season 5 has to be even bigger than Vecna if the show is to have a satisfying conclusion. Based on Nancy’s vision, audiences should expect to be terrified for their favorite characters, as it becomes more likely that Stranger Things will have a tragic end.
Next: Every Stranger Things Season 5 Reveal From The Duffer Brothers
