How I would rewrite ST5 (and some lore)
Sure, it's kinda presumptuous of me to do this but I was disappointed with the finale and I hate how everything turned out. (It's gonna be focused on Will because for a character who literally had so much to do with the UD and EVERYTHING IN THE SHOW, his plot was just his powers in S5, and the story should begin with him and end with him) I will be using several points from my previous post because honestly, I did make some good ones if I say so myself😶🌫️
FOR STARTERS, this frame would actually mean something.
- It's the physical bridge between the real world and Abyss, but it's landscape was shaped by Will when he was kidnapped.
- Will was technically an anomaly in the wormhole. That's why he was able to reshape the UD. The UD is a snapshot of his memory, and his innate ability to control the hivemind is because he survived in the UD for a week and that changed his blood type, like Henry's in TFS. In the show, the rock infused(?) with the mind flayer particles gives him his abilities. Being lost in the cave system only amplified his abilities (someone please explain the actual lore from the play because this used to make sense before S5 V3 I swear)
- UD and Dimension X already established as not the same place, but the environment in the UD was still toxic back in S1. Even though the scientists enter the UD on a somewhat regular basis in S1 and 2, their blood type doesn't change because they're adults (also the toxic air manages to diffuse into the real world over time, which is why the UD environment is so much less toxic in S4). Children could be more susceptible to this due to weaker constitutions, and Will and Henry were there for a while. Henry's blood changing was as a result of an ionising radiation type effect only it doesn't result in cell death, TFS specifies that Henry's DNA was changed so that's what happens to Will in S1.
- Will's mind left behind the exotic matter, which is more reminiscent of a Kügelblitz (stealing TUA S3 lore for this). I know that in TUA, it appears in the basement when the Hargreeves appear in the timeline for that season. But in my rewrite, the exotic matter/Kügelblitz appears when Will leaves the Upside Down because Joyce and Hopper leave the UD via the gate in Hawkins lab, and that's how the UD stabilises itself without Will and why it's on the top of Hawkins lab.
- Reason why Will was chosen by Vecna was because of Joyce (piggybacking off the theory by @/3rdduffer on TikTok). The wormhole was unstable, and he needed a mind similar to Henry's (Will's) in terms of creativity and being sensitive so that he could be easier to control. Vecna wants to use Will's body as his next host when the dimensions collide.
- Brenner knew that November 6th brought back memories for Henry, hence why he forced Eleven to make contact with him that day. She found a demogorgon egg in the abyss, that maybe kickstarted the MF's plan to find a new host.
- There is no way to kill the shadow version of the mind flayer, only by destroying the Abyss it can be killed.
What the Duffers failed to address:
Playgate, just ANYTHING to do with TFS. Like we don't even know if Hopper and Joyce are aware that Vecna is Henry Creel.
WHERE THE FUCK IS PATTY NEWBY?
HOW DID WILL GET OUT OF HENRY'S MIND WITH NO PORTAL??????
Will's memories in S5 episode 7
November 6th, Will's UD memories and his childhood. FFS WHERE WAS LONNIE?
Michael Wheeler's lobotomy (/j)
Wiseone tether. Will was still connected to hive mind, so how did he survive?
High stakes in final battle
What I would change about S5 as a whole
Pacing, make it take place across a longer time period.
Exploration of the CSA allegory and Will's childhood.
More dynamics within the party explored (my personal favourite being Lucas and Will, then Dustin and Lucas).
I really don't think the final battle should have taken place in the Abyss. The setting was goofy and didn't look good at all.
KILL OFF SOME CHARACTERS, THIS IS LITERALLY A HIGH STAKES FINAL BATTLE. Ted Wheeler should have been bones, Murray, one of the older teens. I know kiling off Eleven sends an awful message to victims of abuse, but in my opinion, her ending always had to be death. But also I do have an idea for how she could stay alive alongside Kali.
Byler endgame. Would easily redeem Mike, Mileven breakup was literally assumed in S5 V1. Mike and Will's relationship is the true core of the show.
VOLUME 1 (I obviously wouldn't want absolutely everything shown. In a perfect world, S5 would be so much longer)
Obviously starts with Will's flashback, only it's a nightmare and volume 1 revolves around Will regaining memories of the UD.
Core 4 moments in school. I would've wanted to see the treatment of Lucas from the basketball team following S4, and how he dealt with those idiots alongside visiting Max, I would want to see him dealing with guilt but also realise he wasn't at fault.
We see more of the crawl missions, maybe other characters used to enter the UD with Hopper, only one time something happened and now they're paranoid, so Hopper only ever goes now.
Rebelwise was perfect, but they should've met much earlier, maybe a few weeks after the Byers moved back to Hawkins.
How and why the Byers ended up at the Wheeler's for so long.
Will's demovision episodes start very soon after the group first does the Crawl missions but they're easier to hide (they're more like snippets of now memories).
Sorcerer scene stays the same. That shit was magnificent.
Lucas was the one to realise Max was in a trance. He made the realisation before vol1 takes place, but because El was never able to find Max he would lose hope (he never fully gave up though).
Will acting "off" following the activation of his powers. Mike and Joyce notice.
Icl, I didn't care much about the characters stuck in the UD (except for Hopper, El, and Kali)
El really fights against Kali's plan. She treats it as a last resort.
E5 was good imo, especially the last part so that stays the same.
Birthdaygate occurs because Henry doesn't have good memories of his birthday and because their minds are connected, it spreads to Will. Vecna also made his loved ones forget these details so he could break Will easily within the visions.
Will doesn't fully return to his mind after El breaks him out from the vines. Starts acting more weirdly when he wakes up, but still, no one calls him out for it.
I would rewrite Will's coming out scene, but I also want to think that it was Henry playing Will. He was hoping that Will's loved ones would react differently, especially when coming out in front of so many people, but he underestimated how much people love Will.
Mike's reaction to Will's coming out is noticed by Henry, who starts taunting Will with it just to stay in control. Mike is mainly realising that things Will said aren't adding up.
Possessed Will. His and Henry's memories were merging somehow, and everything really started going wrong after he entered Henry's mind.
Mike and Will would argue in the UD. Mike would call out Will's fake memories, and the argument would end with Mike leaving and Will being completely isolated by Vecna.
The final battle wouldn't take place in the Abyss—only El and Kali find a way there. They could rescue the kids. One of Eleven's original powers was creating portals, so that's how they travel, and rescue the kids. (Can y'all tell I wasn't a huge fan of the kids' plotline? If that part can't be changed, then I want El and Kali to play a bigger role in their rescue as a way to parallel Henry 'helping' them escape from the lab).
Will realises he's the eye of Vecna, and then Phineas Gage imagery actually means something other than Will was permanently changed. With his eye gone, that's how he is exorcised, and why Will doesn't die when Vecna is killed by Joyce, although I think the only way to defeat him and the MF should be to completely destroy the UD because they are too powerful. Ultimately, Will removing his eye would serve as a way to prevent Vecna/Mind Flayer from ever returning to the real world.
As the group is on the way back from the UD, and the bombs have been set (preferably by Mike and Will), Dustin realises something isn't adding up about the exotic matter. Only when it detonates and Will collapses does he realise what I mentioned earlier, and the bombs essentially exploded Will's brain. S1 parallel of Joyce and Hopper reviving Will, only Mike is the one breathing into his mouth and Jonathan does compressions at first before Hopper takes over.
Eleven and Kali stay in the Abyss. El makes sure everyone is safe in the real world via the void. That's when she hears the exotic matter blow up and notices Will collapse from the void.
Cue a parallel of Eleven from S4 with Lumax, only it's El in the void with Will and Mike. She helps revive Will (I really love the theory that Eleven was an extension of Will, so I would want their minds to become one following her death). In terms of timing, this obviously doesn't make sense given that the exotic matter releasing waves to destroy the wormhole but it's not like the Duffers give a fuck about their own show, so I would care more about the emotional aspect rather than the science this one time.
I might make a part 2 to this post but these are just some ideas I wanna put out today🤡🫶
