Stranger Things 5 is right around the corner, and we're finally starting to learn more about the upcoming season. While almost all of your favorite characters are back for season 5—RIP Eddie Munson—there are some characters who should have a much bigger role in the final season.
The character who is going to make the biggest jump is Holly Wheeler, played by newcomer Nell Fisher.
Holly has been present in Stranger Things since the first season, of course, but as the show has continued, Holly has gotten older, and now the character is about to be a major contributor in the final season.
The Duffer brothers share how important Holly is to the story
After previously pledging the final season's story would mainly be about the characters we know and love, the Duffer brothers explained why Holly is so important to the fabric of Stranger Things 5 in a new interview with SFX.
Here's what Matt Duffer revealed:
"Once you see the full season, you'll have a better understanding of why it was so important to add her to the cast. One of the reasons was, we just wanted to recapture some of the feeling of season 1, and some of that you can't recapture unless you have kids, because our kids are not kids anymore. They're not close to being kids anymore. So it was really fun to add Holly and her classmates into the show, because it allowed us to recapture some of that feeling."
The classmate Matt is referring to is like Derek Turnbow, played by Jake Connelly, who fans have already seen in the Stranger Things 5 trailer, key art, and stills. Netflix has only released a few official production stills from the season, and Holly is in three of them. That's very interesting to me.
On top of that, Variety just published an oral history of the final days on set of Stranger Things. Fisher was interviewed for the piece, and she revealed that she was in the final shot of the series.
Here's what Fisher told Variety:
"My scene was actually the last scene that was shot. It was on the very last day. It was running a bit behind schedule, and so I had about three hours of just hanging around with the rest of the cast who were in my scene. I finished slightly earlier, but I waited until the final wrap, which was — I mean, it was incredible. I cried. Everyone cried! There were a lot of tears. I’m surprised Atlanta didn’t flood, to be honest."
It's obvious to see why Holly is in the perfect spot to have an impact on the season. She lives in the Wheeler house with Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer), who are the center of the action in every season of Stranger Things. You can argue that, outside of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour), the Wheeler siblings are the most important characters in the story. They are always pushing the story forward because they refuse to take no for an answer and always remain loyal to their friends.
If Holly is cut from the same cloth as Mike and Nancy, she's probably going to get herself in a bit of trouble this season. The Wheelers often bite off a little more than they can chew, but they always find a way to help things work out in the end.
Ultimately, I like that the Duffer brothers are shifting the focus to some younger characters like Holly in the final season. For me, season 4 was the only season that felt like it was missing that younger character really making an impact on the season. Obviously, Erica (Priah Ferguson) helped, but she was basically a veteran to all this craziness after the events of season 3.
Everyone has been affected by the Upside Down and Vecna's carnage, but Holly has probably been spared from some of the truth. I have a feeling that's about to come to light in season 5.
Why I'm worried about Holly
And, that's why we're worried about Holly in Stranger Things 5. The Duffer brothers mentioning the "feeling of season 1" is only adding fuel to that fire.
As many of you recall, the first season is the only season where one of the main kids was actually missing in the Upside Down. That was Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), of course. If they are recapturing season 1, it would make sense to suspect that Holly is the child who goes missing in season 5.
There have been a lot of theories and rumors about another child getting taken by Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the fifth season. If I were to make a bet, I think Holly would be the top choice. And, there are a few reasons for that, too.
In the first five minutes of Stranger Things 5, we learned that Vecna targeted Will from the beginning of the series, and he used the demogorgon to do his bidding. In a new clip for Stranger Things 5, the demogorgon breaks into the Wheeler's bathroom while Holly and Karen (Cara Buono) are hiding under the bubbles in the bathtub. The demogorgon appears to be looking for something, or someone, and it could be Holly, or even Karen. You can also see a clip of that in the Stranger Things 5 trailer revealed this summer.
On top of all of that, there are a surprising number of theories about Karen's possible connection to Vecna. We don't know if there's any truth to those rumors and theories, but that could be one of the reasons that Vecna targets Holly.
We can't wait to find out just how important Holly is to the Stranger Things 5 story very soon!
Remember, Stranger Things 5 Vol. 1, which is the first four episodes, arrives at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 26, followed by Vol. 2, which is the next three episodes, on Thursday, Dec. 25. Then, the Stranger Things 5 finale hits Netflix at the same time on Wednesday, Dec. 31.