After three seasons, many elements in Stranger Things continue to be a mystery, mostly the origin of the Upside Down and the creatures that live in it, but a fan theory suggests the Demogorgon is the post-apocalyptic version of a beloved human character: Will Byers. Since its debut on Netflix in 2016, Stranger Things has become a very popular TV show thanks to its combination of science fiction, horror, and its many homages to beloved works from the 1980s. The series has also built its own mythology with a parallel dimension and different monsters, though it still has a lot to explore and explain about them.
Season 1 of Stranger Things followed the disappearance of Will Byers and the opening of a gate to another dimension (the “Upside Down”) at Hawkins Lab, as well as how this portal let a monster (called “Demogorgon”) into the human dimension. Season 2 focused on the consequences of Will’s time in the Upside Down and the arrival of a new monster known as “Mind Flayer”. The third season was all about the Russians’ experiments on the Upside Down and their secret lab right below the new Starcourt Mall in Hawkins. Although the characters have gone through a lot and have even spent some time in the Upside Down, the other dimension remains a mystery, as well as the nature and origin of the Demogorgon and Mind Flayer.
Very little is known about the Demogorgon, such as its life cycle, but some of its actions through the series have confused viewers as they seem to contradict each other. The Demogorgon is believed to be drawn by blood, which is how it got to Barb and how Nancy and Jonathan were able to summon it in season 1, but it hasn’t been like that with all its victims, particularly Will. This and other details have made way for a fan theory that suggests the Demogorgon is Will Byers from the future – and here’s how that theory works.
The Upside Down Could Be Future Hawkins
As mentioned above, the Upside Down is still a mystery, not only to viewers but to the characters as well, as the other dimension hasn’t been fully explored for various reasons, mainly that its atmosphere is toxic and is populated by dangerous monsters. What’s known about it, however, is that it’s a copy of the human world, with the same locations and infrastructure, but its environment is darker, colder, with fog with ash-like spores floating in the air, and everything is covered with root-like tendrils and membranes, giving them a rotten look. It’s this similarity to the human world which has made way for a popular fan theory that suggests the Upside Down is a post-apocalyptic version of Earth.
The theory explains that Eleven didn’t open a gate to a parallel dimension, but tore a hole in the space-time continuum that allows the residents of 1980s Hawkins to travel into Hawkins of the future. The reason why the future world is destroyed is due to conflicts between Russia and the US. In season 1, Dr. Brenner was looking for ways to spy on the Russians, which led him to the experiments with Eleven and the Void (through which she opened the portal), and as the Russians are conducting their own experiments as well, a conflict between these two could lead to the destruction of the world – or, at least, Hawkins. Some variations of the theory suggest Hawkins is either nuked by the U.S. government to stop the Mind Flayer and the rest of the monsters or its destruction is the result of a nuclear holocaust, which explains the look of decomposition, the fog, the spores, and the toxicity of the Upside Down’s atmosphere. Whatever the reason for the destruction of the world, the “Upside Down is post-apocalyptic Earth” theory is the basis to explain who the Demogorgon really is.
Theory: The Demogorgon Is Will From The Future
A Reddit user shared a theory that explains how the Demogorgon is actually Will Byers from the future, all based on details on the Demogorgon’s behavior so far. Taking the idea of the Upside Down being Hawkins of the future, the Demogorgon would then be entering the human/past world with a purpose and knowing well where to find what it needs. The Demogorgon and Will being the same would explain how the monster knew where to find Will even though he didn’t do anything to draw its attention and why it didn’t kill him, as it did with Barb. It would also explain why the Mind Flayer used him as a mole in season 2 and why – as Will said it – it didn’t want to kill him but everyone else. Killing Will would represent a major paradox, and so the Demogorgon had to take him away to avoid that, and the Mind Flayer kept him safe by possessing him (which also connects with Will’s description of his visions as “memories”, which could be his future ones, but he sees them as the monster’s memories as they haven’t happened to him yet).
On the surface, the Demogorgon being Will Byers from the future makes sense as it helps answer some questions from seasons 1 and 2, but when looking at how he ended up transforming into such monster and what its presence in the human/past world represents, it all gets more complicated, with time-travel, paradoxes, multiple timelines and more being added to the mix.
Is Stranger Things Stuck In A Time Loop?
Will Byers and the Demogorgon being the same would create a time loop in Stranger Things. The author of the theory explains that the opening of the gate happens thanks to Eleven (as it did in season 1), bringing the Demogorgon into the human world to look for hosts for the Mind Flayer, which would then “terraform” the world. Once done, the Mind Flayer and company would wait for the next portal to be opened by the government to do it all over again. However, there’s a major flaw in this theory that perpetuates one of the biggest questions about Stranger Things: how the Upside Down and Demogorgon originated in the first place. Perhaps, in an initial timeline, the world went through a nuclear holocaust that provoked mutations on the survivors, such as Will Byers, and made way for the emergence of other life forms, such as the Mind Flayer.
The course of events would then go as the author of the theory says: a portal is opened in the 1980s, the Demogorgon – a mutated Will Byers – goes back and brings his past self to his world (the Upside Down) to keep him safe, without taking into account that he’s actually causing a lot more damage. The Mind Flayer would also see this as an opportunity to take over before the disaster that gave way to its existence happens, but along with the Demogorgon, they might actually be the ones to provoke major destruction. In short, there’s no way the world can escape from a major catastrophe, and Will would inevitably end up transforming into the monster, no matter their individual efforts to keep themselves safe.
While this could be an interesting turn for Stranger Things, it risks falling into the time-travel trap that has been overused in recent years, both in TV and film. Time loops, paradoxes, and everything related to them have the advantage of being able to create their own rules, which is also a disadvantage as they can make everything more complex and hard to follow, even for the writers. Another point against the theory and everything that comes with it is the possibility of season 4 of Stranger Things being the final one, and there wouldn’t be enough time to explain and solve everything. Still, rewatching the series with this theory in mind could bring a new perspective to it, even if it turns out to not be true.