I've been rewatching Stranger Things and I really feel like there's something to the clocks/time. The grandfather clock, the black widows having an hourglass marking, the time in the upside down being stuck in 1983. There's a line in s4 when 001 says "I could restore balance to a broken world" juxtaposed with Henry turning the hands of the grandfather clock backward. Then when Vecna is showing Nancy a glimpse of the future, there's visions of the hands of the grandfather clock spinning backwards again. I really think that in order to "fix" Hawkins, there is going to have to be some sort of timeline reset. That in order to restore balance, they're going to have to merge the upside down with the real world and in order to do that Hawkins might have to get set back in time to before the first portal was opened. And if they do that, does that mean they would bring everyone back? Max, Eddie, Chrissy, Billy, Bob, Barb, anyone who died to Vecna or minions of the upside down. But in order to do that I think someone is going to have to make a sacrifice.
Personally I think Will is going to be the big bad next season. I think this because of his obvious connection to the upside down and Vecna. He was the first one physically brought into the upside down and spent the most time in it. He's got the guilt and suicidal thoughts that Vecna feeds off of due to his suppressed romantic feelings for Mike. Not to mention his hair, his hair hasn't changed the whole series, everyone else's has, but just like the upside down, he's physically stuck in 1983. Then there was the whole 'Will is a traitor's storyline from season 2.
I also think that Jonathan will sacrifice himself to save Will because he feels responsible for Will and because he's the only person who truly understands Will. They made Jonathan MUCH more attentive to Will in s4, he's the only one who truly knows what's going on with Will and how he's feeling. That's why they're setting up the StevexNancy vibes. They've also given Joyce a love interest who's also lost a kid and would know how that level of loss and grief would feel and who could see her through it.
I'm finishing season 4 tonight and I'll update this if I can find any other evidence to support my theory.
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