[lavenderlatte222]

homophobes saying mike needs to "wake up" not realizing that figuratively this means accepting his queerness

[lavenderlatte222]

Just thinking about “the silver cat feeds”. I always read "feeds" as a verb, but thinking about it as a noun, “feed” can refer to a video feed.

Also, since "SilverCatFeeds" is associated with a computer program:

"cat" is a computer command. It is short for "concatenate", which means "to link or join things together in a series or chain". In the context of video, it would mean taking separate clips and joining them together so they appear as one continuous video. (Heavy emphasis on appear. Dr. Brenner clearly made some continuity errors.)

I'm also thinking "silver" could refer to a mirror, since silver was traditionally used in mirrors.

Like, whatever video feed we are being fed is a reflection of reality, but a distorted one.

[lavenderlatte222]

Interesting metaphor, Dr. Brenner, considering concrete dams are basically giant walls that retain massive amounts of water.

Imagine, if you will, the barrier between our worlds is a concrete dam. Henry is putting cracks in this dam. Cracks in dams create pressure. Left unchecked, the pressure will build. And build. And eventually, it will reach a breaking point. And the dam will burst. And when that happens, Hawkins will fall.

Hawkins will fall? Or just the version of it you created?

And not El rushing to her room and turning on the water immediately afterwards.

[lavenderlatte222]

X a lie.

In Project Nina when Dr. Brenner shows El the tapes, there's no scar on Henry:

And then in the very next shot of Henry, there is:

(S4E7)

Not to mention the change to a Dr. Brenner-esque hairstyle.

"X a lie" could mean multiple things:

X is lying.

X itself is a lie / not what it appears to be.

In regard to Henry/Vecna, he could be intentionally deceiving the characters (and us). OR, he may not be what he appears to be / our understanding of him may be false.

[lavenderlatte222]

"The Source" is giving Tharizdun 🌀

Going off of this post about "The Source" = Source Material and a convo with @gritstartar, Billy's "source" is giving Tharizdun 🌀.

I haven't really been following the Tharizdun theories, so this is a pretty basic interpretation, but from what I'm reading, the spiral associated with Tharizdun rotates counterclockwise, which matches the rotation of Billy's Source in S3E6.

I'm also seeing that the spiral "signifies things unraveling, unmaking, and unwinding". As I mentioned in my source material post, "The Source" could refer to the original memory, serving as the source material from which altered memories are derived. Viewed through this Tharizdun "unmaking" lens, I think it's even more likely that these "sources" signify altered memories.

[lavenderlatte222]

"The Source" = Source Material?

If memories are being altered, I wonder if "the source" actually refers to the original memory, serving as the source material from which altered memories are derived.

And if that's the case then...

Maybe this is an altered memory, and maybe it's the snowball that became an avalanche, culminating in whatever the fuck we got in S5 and burying the original under snow/static.

[lavenderlatte222]

I fear S5 is actually papa's play.

A play by Martin Brenner?

I mean, this man sucks at drawing. I guess he sucks at writing too.

[lavenderlatte222]

If there really are surveillance cameras around Hawkins, surely some of them are in the mirrors.

The lab, including the Rainbow Room, is full of surveillance cameras and one-way mirrors.

Which reminds me of this scene with rainbows and a "one way" sign pointing toward the mirror.

I know this scene can be interpreted through a queer lens, and I think it's also interesting to view it through a surveillance lens.

I mean...

And let's not forget, there was a camera in Truman's bathroom mirror.

[lavenderlatte222]

I fear Dr. Brenner is the real "dark wizard".

When we see Dr. Brenner at his home, we are shown a red crate.

And references to time.

Okay fourth wall break. Get me tf out of here.

[lavenderlatte222]

The sleep study flyer had me researching sleep studies associated with the Cold War, and I found this, a study involving drug-induced sleep, sensory deprivation, electroconvulsive therapy, and psychic driving, which is an alleged way to repattern the brain by listening to looped audio recordings.

"The intent was to break down the subject's personality—theoretically psychic driving could then be used with some efficacy in establishing a new personality."

Drugs were used to induce comas, and hallucinogens were also administered.

"Victims often suffered from retrograde amnesia for the rest of their lives... One such victim was Jean Steel, whose daughter [Alison Steel] said that she never returned to be the same woman ever again. Jean would sit alone in the dark, write codes on the walls, and according to her daughter, 'her emotions were stripped. It took away her soul.'" 👀

And to my surprise this study, Subproject 68/The Montreal experiments, was a subproject of MKUltra, which is associated with Dr. Brenner.

(Subproject 68, Psychic driving)

I found the psychic driving through the looped audio recordings particularly interesting, especially in the context of music potentially keeping them trapped and tapes potentially being used to rewrite people’s memories (@gritstartar).

Istg if they've been in some sleep study this entire time.

Sleep study flyer:

(image credit to @indianaflyer)

[lavenderlatte222]

maybe they have been in a field study this entire time.

(S2E4 Will the Wise)

(S5E4 Sorcerer)

And is the field study taking place in the physical world or in some type of dreamscape? The repeated use of "field trip" makes me wonder, since trip can imply an altered state of consciousness or reality.

[lavenderlatte222]

The first character we see in ST is named Eugene?? Which makes me think of eugenics.

That can obviously be tied to Dr. Brenner's program.

But I'm also thinking about eugenics more metaphorically, especially given the forced conformity of it all. As people are forced to repress parts of themselves, individuality is suppressed, which leaves us with:

(Here's a source on eugenics if you're interested in learning more about it.)

[lavenderlatte222]

Hawkins Lab = The entire town of Hawkins is the lab.

There are surveillance cameras throughout Hawkins?

(x image credit to @lilialunaa)

Which looks awfully similar to the surveillance camera footage we see in the lab (s2e8).

And within the first two minutes of the show, we see the lab, multiple surveillance cameras (this shot is held for like 12 seconds btw), and one of those stalker shots.

I fear we've been in the Truman Show this entire time.

[lavenderlatte222]

"Year" References in ST Dialogue

To summarize, all of the "year" dialogue references seem to point to four things:

Mike and Will connecting and working together as a team.

Finding El, plus one reference to her saving them.

A gate to the Upside Down.

"The truth", plus commentary on "last/past year".

I listed these references in episode order. I also found some of the corresponding episode titles interesting, so I've included those as well.

S2E1 (MADMAX)

Mike "still be[ing] on the team".

S2E9 (The Gate)

The episode title is The Gate, plus El "sav[ing] [their] asses" by closing the gate.

S3E1 (Suzie, Do You Copy?)

Also in this scene, the gate:

And the two keys, which symbolize Mike and Will imo (x).

S4E2 (Vecna's Curse)

"Friends... Best friends."

Possible bridge imagery between Mike and Will, and "Reach[ing] out more" dialogue.

Also in this scene, there's mention of finding El.

S4E3 (The Monster and the Superhero)

Again, mention of finding El.

S4E4 (Dear Billy)

"We should work together" and "We're a team", plus another "Friends... Best friends". In addition to, "The truth is, the last year has been weird."

And to be clear, best friends is queer coding for boyfriends imo. Just like good friends is code for girlfriends.

I'm inclined to think that these references are foreshadowing, but let me know what y'all think :)

Lastly, S5E8 (The Rightside Up)

"This past year... the truth... pissed off about it."

I don't think this is foreshadowing, but more just commentary on this year.

Let me know if I missed any!

Bonus:

Not a "year" reference, but the "We just need more ti-" line from S3E1 reminded me of the "Just give him time" line from S5E4.

[lavenderlatte222]

lol

video (timestamp 21:15)

[lavenderlatte222]

Another reference to nonconformity being our way out of Camazotz.

(s3e5)

(The first image is rotated and grayscaled.)

And not the green vial getting crushed by an orange door.

[lavenderlatte222]

Music is "calming". It sedates you.

Music doesn't wake you up. It keeps you trapped.

"Happiness" is shown next to the record player.

But this place doesn't bring happiness. It's a prison.

Bonus:

Record One versus Record Two