There is a lot of speculating for how “Stranger Things” will wrap up it’s fifth and final season – and part of that endgame might have been hinted at by Hawkins AV Club teacher Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens).
The Hawkins Middle School teacher and AV Club leader has been explaining high-concept science and theories since the very first season. He explained to the boys in Season 1 about alternate dimensions by talking about the flea and the acrobat, he explained to Joyce in Season 3 what could be the cause of the magnetic anomalies happening around town and now he seems to be at it again.
Here is how Mr. Clarke might have already predicted part of the ending for “Stranger Things” Season 5.
What is an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?
The third episode of the final season features an early scene that reintroduces both Mr. Clarke and Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) back into the story. The scene opens with Mr. Clarke explaining what an Einstein-Rosen Bridge is – essentially a wormhole that allows for a way to possibly explain things like time travel and dimension hopping.
His words explain it best for the layman.
“Einstein-Rosen Bridges, more commonly known as wormholes, are often depicted in an hourglass-like shape such as this,” Mr. Clarke says in Episode 3. “While the existence of wormholes is entirely theoretical, they have captured the fascination of scientists and science-fiction writers alike.”
The teacher asks the class what is interesting about wormholes and – clearly not for the first time – Erica is the only one interested in answering the question.
“Wormholes are neat because they allow matter to travel between galaxies or dimensions without crossing the space between,” Erica says. Mr. Clarke expands on her answer with his usual enthusiasm.
“Just think of all the places mankind could go – another galaxy, another time even,” the teacher adds. “So why aren’t we doing it now? If wormholes did exist they would be extraordinarily unstable. Their enormous gravitational force would rip them apart at the very moment they formed.”
How could this hint at the “Stranger Things” endgame?
Time travel has long been theorized as a component as part of the end strategy for “Stranger Things” and Mr. Clarke invoking Einstein-Rosen Bridge is just the latest hint at that. Season 5, Volume 1 also included Max’s return with her surviving in Vecna/Henry’s memories. In her explanation to Holly about how she survived, she also talks about seeing herself in her own memories — to which the youngest Wheeler responds, “like time travel.” Max is quick to say it’s not EXACTLY time travel, but it certainly seems close.
With the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, there are a couple other major hints that point to it coming into play in the back half of the season. For starters, the chalkboard depiction of what the wormhole looks like that Mr. Clarke draws looks awfully similar to Will’s drawing of his vision for where Vecna plans to take the 12 kids he stole.
So, the Einstein-Rosen Bridge could be something the Hawkins group needs to use to get to Vecna behind his Flesh Wall surrounding the Upside Down-version of Hawkins.
Another obvious hint toward the Einstein-Rosen Bridge being important is right in the episode titles. The penultimate episode of the series is called “The Bridge,” which certainly seems to be in reference to Mr. Clarke’s science lesson.
One final possibility is the bridge could be used to break Max and Holly out of Vecna’s mind prison. The series has become synonymous with Dungeons & Dragons by explaining the crazy things happening in and around Hawkins through terms from the tabletop role-playing game. In the Season 5 premiere, Mike and Holly have a heart-to-heart about him wanting to introduce her to D&D and how she could play a cleric. He tells her all about the cool things clerics could do – including mentioning a spell called Dimension Door.
Dimension Door allows the user to transport themselves from one point on the map to another at great distances – much like how Mr. Clarke mentions the wormhole works. Most importantly, the spell says that the caster can bring along one other person/player as long as they are willing which means both Holly and Max could get out together.
One way or another, it seems inevitable that someone will be creating a wormhole to travel somewhere or sometime before the end credits roll.
