Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 ending explained: What happened to Will and who does [spoiler] have prisoner?

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5 episodes 1-4.

The wait is officially over, and Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is here – with a jaw-dropping ending that has left fans desperate for the next instalment.

The final battle has begun, with Vecna/Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) targeting the children of Hawkins, starting with Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher), and the gang desperately attempting to stop him for good.

Meanwhile, Linda Hamilton's Dr Kay has been holding a very important person from Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) past prisoner, with Will (Noah Schnapp) having some incredible powers to stop the Demogorgons from massacring his friends.

So, as we embark on the wait for the new episodes and the highly anticipated finale, here's the ending to Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 broken down.

Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 ending explained with full spoilers

What happened to Will Byers and how did he stop the Demogorgons?

The final scene of episode 4 shows Will seemingly using his connection to Vecna and the Demogorgons to stop the monsters in their tracks and prevent them from killing his friends.

Intriguingly, the final shot of the episode shows Will's nose bleeding in the same way that Eleven's does when she uses her powers, indicating that he's adopted some similar powers to her.

Will we see Will and Eleven defeat Vecna together? Stranger things have happened...

The final scenes of episode 4 show Will, Joyce and co's mission to rescue the targeted children thwarted, as they face up to not only the military, but also a swarm of Demogorgons and, eventually, Vecna himself. As the Demogorgons raise hell, Vecna paralyses Will and taunts him, telling him he was easy to break. But this time, Will is able to fight back.

The first scene of episode 1 made it clear that Will and Vecna have been connected since his disappearance in season 1. Throughout season 5, Will has also felt a connection to the Demogorgons, literally seeing through their eyes and even feeling their emotions. By the end of episode 4, and with Robin's (Maya Hawke) help, Will has strengthened that connection to the point that he can actually control them.

It seems that Will's journey to accepting himself and the strengthening of his powers is linked. So far, season 4 has seen him and Robin bond over feeling like outsiders, with the pair of them both having struggled with their sexualities (although that remains unspoken on Will's side of things).

As Will prepares to fight back against Vecna and the Demogorgons, a montage of his happiest childhood memories plays out, over Robin telling him that he's had the answers all along – and that's when he manages to stop the Demogorgons. Perhaps Will's growing confidence, which may lead to the strengthening of his powers, is the key to defeating Vecna for good.

Either way, Will's new powers have huge implications for the rest of the season. If Will can stop the Demogorgons, he might just be able to eliminate one of the biggest threats to the people of Hawkins. And if he can actually control them? He can use them against Vecna, forcing the foot soldiers to turn against their master, and hopefully ridding Hawkins of the villain for good.

Who is Kali – AKA Eight – and why is Dr Kay holding her prisoner?

It's revealed that Dr Kay is holding Kali, AKA Eight, prisoner in the Upside Down, likely to find out more information about Eleven and her powers. Dr Kay is woefully ill-informed about the events in Hawkins, believing that Eleven has taken Holly and the other missing children. She seems to believe that if she tracks down Eleven, she'll find the missing children.

Kali (played by Linnea Berthelsen) was introduced way back in season 2, and is another of the children experimented on as test subjects at Hawkins Lab. Like Eleven, she developed powers – but Kali's are psychic rather than telekinetic, allowing her to warp the perception of others.

Following her escape from Hawkins Lab, Kali sought revenge on those who had hurt her. When Eleven tracked her down in Pennsylvania, she was living as part of a gang that would punish people from their pasts for wronging them.

Eleven eventually had to leave Kali and her gang to return home to help her friends, but Kali played a key part in Eleven's journey, teaching her about the importance of her emotions in harnessing her powers.

During their siege on the military facility in the Upside Down while looking for Vecna, Eleven and Hopper find Kali. It's unclear how Dr Kay got her hands on Kali, or what exactly she's done to her, but it seems that Eleven and Hopper (David Harbour) are about to rescue her – if they can escape from the facility alive, that is.

What happened to Max Mayfield, and is she alive?

Yes, Max is still alive and exists simultaneously in a coma in Hawkins General and in a prison of Vecna's/Henry's memories.

She appears to Holly at the end of episode 3 and, in episode 4, explains exactly what's happened to her. She says that she should be dead, and, for a moment she was. Then, she felt something calling to her and woke up in Vecna's memories, including seeing his experiences at high school (which links season 5 to the play The First Shadow) - and even witnessing the moment he "cursed" her.

However, she still has a connection to the outside world, as she's able to hear the music that Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) plays her in the hospital when he comes to visit – a callback to the iconic Kate Bush moment in season 4 – and even feels his hand on hers as she gets close to escaping. Tragically, she is almost able to escape Vecna's prison, with the music leading her to a gateway back to the outside world – before the music suddenly cuts off and the gateway closes.

Soon afterwards, Vecna finds her, chasing her through his memories, until she reaches a cave that he seems terrified of and won't step foot in, leading her to build a home for herself there. While she had given up on finding a way to escape, Holly's arrival has spurred her on to create a new plan. For now, Holly needs to return to Vecna's house to bide her time and convince him that nothing is out of the ordinary.

What does Vecna want with Holly and the Hawkins children?

Vecna says he has targeted the children of Hawkins to reshape the world, due to the weakness of their bodies and minds, making them easy to control – "the perfect vessels". He taunts Will, telling him that he was the first pawn in his plan and that he broke "so easily".

It's unclear why Vecna started with Holly – perhaps due to her proximity to Will, being Mike's (Finn Wolfhard) younger sister. However, evidently his plan doesn't end with her, as he also targets multiple other children, including Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly) who helps the gang to fight back.

Unfortunately, the military have figured out the pattern of kids going missing, rounding up the children and holding them at the MAC-Z – however, the gang work that to their advantage, sending Derek right into the heart of their operations and planning to tunnel underneath to rescue the children that Vecna has targeted – a la The Great Escape.

Meanwhile, Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Steve (Joe Keery), and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) are tracking a Demogorgon through the Upside Down, hoping it will lead them to Vecna, and therefore Holly – although they might be needed in aiding with Eleven and Hopper's escape from the military facility.

One major flaw in Vecna's plan is that he's clearly underestimated the children of Hawkins, as well as Will. As shown throughout the four episodes in volume 1, Will has learnt a lot more about his connection to Vecna, and is now on the front foot as he learns to fight back.

The younger children are also clearly keen to fight back, with Derek showing a huge amount of courage by marching into the MAC-Z and feeding information to our gang of heroes, convincing the other children to subtly escape through the tunnel created by Joyce (Winona Ryder), Will and co.

Perhaps that will be Vecna's fatal flaw, and what will ultimately lead to his downfall. To know for sure, though, we're going to have to wait patiently for volume 2, but actor Campbell Bower has given us a hint of what to expect.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, he said: "I feel like there's unfinished business between [Vecna] and Will. And so whilst I can't give anything away as to how that might be used, I am certainly looking forward to people experiencing it."

He added: "As a fan, I'm really, really, really happy and in love with how this ends. It's really beautiful, and it's a very fitting end to a show that we all know and love."

Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is available on Netflix now. Further episodes follow on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin TV.

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