Stranger Things' Will Byers Twist Was Thrilling, But Even More Powerful If You Rewatched Season 2

Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things Season 5.

After a long wait, the first chapter in Stranger Things' fifth and final season has arrived for those with a Netflix subscription. On top of featuring the show's most violent death, the first four episodes ended with a huge twist: Will having powers. It was an awesome sequence, one that I have to say was better since I re-watched the first two seasons ahead of time.

Stranger Things Season 5 is pulling no punches, with each of the first four episodes being long, full of action, and featuring a ton of surprises. Will's coming into his power was the biggest, especially when he found a way to use his connection to Vecna to kill off three Demogorgons and save his friends. But the scene meant even more because I re-watched Season 2 ahead of the new batch of episodes.

Will's Flashback Scenes Were Established Back In Season 2

In the fourth episode "Sorcerer", Maya Hawke's Robin shared her coming out story to Will, gently nudging him to embrace who he is as a person. Will has been bullied throughout the entire series due to his queerness, even though he hadn't actually come out of the closet. But Robin's advice also applies to the connection Noah Schnapp's character has had to The Upside Down throughout the show.

Prior to Will kicking ass and taking names, we're treated to a number of flashbacks of the character when he was younger. He's seen coloring for Joyce, building Castle Byers with Jonathan, as well as the first time he met his best friend Mike. These scenes are a sweet way of showing who he was before vanishing in Season 1, but they've also got a deeper meaning.

Because while these flashbacks were new (and touching), we've actually heard about all three of these scenes before. Back in Season 2 when Will was being controlled by The Mind Flayer, his loved ones tried to get him to remember his actual memories. Joyce tells the story about him coloring a spaceship for her, Jonathan talks about them building Castle Byers after Lonnie left, and finally Mike tells the origin of their friendship... including meeting on the swings back in kindergarten.

This scene was fresh in my mind, so when Will's memories were physically seen at the conclusion of Episode 4 I legit freaked out. This detail might have gone over some people's heads thanks to how many years have passed between Seasons 2 and 5, but not me. And it shows just how methodically The Duffer Brothers are handing the show's storytelling for its final season on the air.

The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 are streaming now as part of the 2025 TV schedule. We'll be treated to three more episodes on December 25th before the series finale arrives December 31st. We didn't get any big character deaths yet, so fans are worried about the beloved characters of the Netflix series.