Stranger Things Fans Are Confident That This Will Be Vecna's Downfall In Season 5

The fourth season of "Stranger Things" is officially available to view in its entirety, with Vol. 2 of the fan-favorite Netflix series dropping on July 1. To be honest, it's not looking good for the Hawkins gang heading into Season 5 following Vecna's (Jamie Campbell Bower) creepy escape at the end of Chapter Nine, titled "The Piggyback," and the episode-ending rise of the Upside Down, which has finally started to seep through into our Earth world. But fear not, "Stranger Things" fans. Because many viewers believe there's something that will ultimately lead to Vecna and the Upside Down's demise. And it's actually happened already. 

In Chapter Nine, which serves as the end of Season 4, we see several moments during its climax where Vecna is attempting to absorb Max (Sadie Sink) so he can open the fourth and final gate to the Upside Down. This move ultimately bridges the monstrous alternate dimension with ours and creates a giant crack on the surface of the Earth. In the Upside Down, Vecna finally manages to consume the mental essence of Max, thus causing her brief death before the character is eventually brought back by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). However, when Eleven uses her powers on Max's mind to see if it is still within her control and present in her mental void, there's nothing there. This turn of events has led many fans to believe that Max and Vecna are still somehow linked telepathically and that this could ultimately lead to the "Stranger Things" villain's downfall.

Whether it be through some sort of telepathic battle or a crazy mental coup involving Vecna's other victims, many "Stranger Things" fans believe that consuming Max in the Season 4 finale will ultimately lead to the Upside Down baddie's demise. In response to a July 2 post from u/StrangerWill on the r/StrangerThings subreddit, Redditor u/beastboi27 wrote, "Whatever [Eleven] did with Max ... I think it gave Max some leverage to roam around inside Vecna's memories, and it's possible she will encounter the other victims and free them, and they form a group and come up with a plan to destroy Vecna from within."

Others commenting in the same discussion thread agreed, saying we should likely see a situation where Max becomes a key component to bringing down the "Stranger Things" antagonist. "Max living rent-free in Vecna? Sign me up!" said u/NJM1112. "Fighting Vecna on multiple fronts like this season seems like the most likely way to defeat him," added u/bdguy355.

When it comes to Max's future on "Stranger Things," actor Sadie Sink remained mum on what could happen, although she did express concern to Deadline over where her character ends up at the end of Season 4. At the end of Chapter 9, Max is in a coma, and her future show status is still unclear, according to Sink. But that doesn't mean the Duffer Brothers don't have some top-secret plans up their sleeve for her and stopping Vecna. "I have no idea what's coming in [Season 5] and what that looks like," she told Deadline in a July interview. "Max's storyline is very up in the air, 'cause obviously she's in a coma and Eleven can't find her in the void. So who knows where she is and what state she's in."