Something Strange Is Happening In Sydney—And Netflix Wants You To See It IRL
Lizzie Scorer
Contributor | Urban List, Sydney, NSW
Sydney has seen its fair share of wild nights, but nothing quite like this. Overnight, there’s been a tear in reality that only our mates at Netflix could pull off.
With the fifth and final season of Stranger Things hitting our screens on Thursday, 27 November at 12pm, it seems the supernatural has spilled out of Hawkins right into Sydney.
Here’s what Netflix has in store for Sydney, what we know about Season 5, and the most unhinged fan theories you’ll want to be across before you buckle in for ep one.
What To Expect As Sydney Spills Into The Upside Down
In the lead-up to Stranger Things Season 5, strange sights have been spotted across Sydney. Vine-covered bikes abandoned on street corners, ominous cracks splintering across walls in Bondi and glitching bus shelters overtaken by the Upside Down.
Vecna himself is also set to claw his way through from the Upside Down into Sydney Harbour’s Overseas Passenger Terminal on Wednesday, 26 November, featuring reality-bending visuals and eerie special effects.
Hosted by Netflix, the late-night, public event invites fans to witness Vecna’s breach in person, with key details released in the lead up on the Netflix ANZ Instagram Broadcast Channel.
Plus, to complete the experience, channel the characters of the show, hop on your bike and ride in after work to the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Sydney Harbour.
What We Know About Stranger Things Season 5 So Far
Stranger Things Season 5 Episode Titles:
Episode 1—The Crawl
Episode 2—The Vanishing Of ___ (the name is currently mysteriously blurred out)
Episode 3—The Turnbow Trap
Episode 4—Sorcerer
Episode 5—Shock Jock
Episode 6—Escape From Camazotz
Episode 7—The Bridge
Episode 8—The Rightside Up (hinting at what is hopefully a happy ending).
Your Wildest Fan Theories For Stranger Things Season 5
Since Stranger Things fans are some of the internet’s most inquisitive sleuths, we asked you what your biggest Season 5 theories are, including who survives, who carks it and who ends up together.
Who Will Die?
The final season means the stakes are terminal. Every character could potentially be on the chopping block—not even Mike’s younger sister, Holly Wheeler, is safe.
Eleven, Hopper, Will and Max have already had a fake or near-death death, so there’s one camp that believes that they can't “die” again. However, another camp insists that for the Upside Down to be fully closed, either Elle or Will has to die, as they seem like anchors for the rift.
There’s also major talk that someone will sacrifice themselves to save another character—maybe Steve for Dustin, Jonathan for Will, or even Robin for Nancy.
If this season follows the trend of the other seasons, a lovable side character will probably die too—Murray, we’re looking at you, chaotic energy and translating Russian can only get you so far.
Will Will Lose An Eye?
A major circulating fan theory is that Will Byers will lose an eye. Evidence for this starts way back in Season 2 when the story of Phineas Gage is brought up, an American railroad worker who miraculously survived an accidental lobotomy when a pole pierced through his eye—the camera then pans to Will sitting in the classroom.
This is also alluded to in a shot of Will returning to Hawkins in Season 4 when a pole obscures his eye.
Alongside this, in the game Dungeons and Dragons—which features heavily throughout the show—the Eye of Vecna is an artifact that grants supernatural powers and can be won by removing one’s own eye.
The posters for Season 5 feature both Will and Vecna’s right eyes covered by shadow. So will Will lose his eye trying to defeat Vecna? We will see—but Will might not.
Who Will Nancy End Up With?
Nancy Wheeler’s love life has taken some sharp turns throughout the seasons. While Steve was her first love, fans feel his life path no longer aligns with hers. And although Jonathan seemed better suited, their relationship hit rocky ground in Season 4, leaving room for anything to happen.
We’re a fan of a growing internet theory “Team Namerson” AKA Nancy and Emerson College—a storyline centred around Nancy’s aspirations instead of boys.
Wanna find out if the fan theories are true? Tune into Stranger Things Season 5 on Netflix from 12pm on Thursday, 27 November 2025.
Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Netflix and proudly endorsed by The Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.
Image: Supplied.