\n\tAhead of the Volume 1 releases, the Duffer Brothers admitted t<\/a>o The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> that fan reactions are one of their favorite parts of releasing a project.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOne of the things\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0so exciting about the show\u00a0is\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0surprised constantly\u00a0by the reactions,\u201d Matt Duffer said.\u00a0\u201cWe think we know\u00a0what\u00a0are going to be the big moments,\u00a0what fans\u00a0will react to, and\u00a0sometimes\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0right and sometimes\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0wrong. But then\u00a0there are\u00a0often surprises, going back to season one with Barb [Shannon Purser].\u00a0Dr. Alexei [Alec Utgoff] was a huge surprise.\u00a0We did not know people were going to respond to him\u00a0quite in the way that they did. That,\u00a0in some ways, is actually the\u00a0more fun part of it, when they surprise\u00a0us with\u00a0what\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0responding to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHe added, \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0really excited to see how they react to the end of Volume 1, because\u00a0we designed the volumes so\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0basically like\u00a0mega movies. The end of episode four has its own climax and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0excited\u00a0how they react to that. And\u00a0of course,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0excited to see how they react to the finale, which we will be able to be in there with them live \u2014\u00a0and hopefully\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0not all booing.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAnd now, the co-creators have finally received their first round of reactions to episodes one through four. Below, THR is rounding up some of the wildest ones from social media.<\/p>\n \tVecna Found Ozempic<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt appears some fans are less terrified of Vecna this season and are actually more envious of the villain\u2019s new \u201csnatched\u201d look this season. After he made his grand return in episode four of the new season, viewers were quick to take to social media to point out the notable differences in his physique from last season, with some jokingly blaming the viral weight loss medication Ozempic for the changes.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think vecna along with the rest of the world, got hooked on ozempic in the last 3 years. Check out that snatched waist,\u201d one user wrote <\/a>on X, while another person added<\/a>, \u201cVecna got on that Ozempic shit between seasons 4-5 or mother fucking inflation happenin in the upside down too.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAnd there are many more similar comments where those came from. While fans are eating up Vecna\u2019s new appearance, Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the villain, recently explained to ScreenRant<\/a> the reason for his much more skeletal frame this season.<\/p>\n \n\tHe said it\u2019s \u201cpartly a byproduct\u201d of suffering a fall and being almost burnt alive in season four by the Hawkins gang, \u201cand also just having spent more time not in the human world, as it were. He\u2019s become more resentful and just hideous within that process, and the part of the world in which he was thrown into.\u201d<\/p>\n \tDid Will Get a Glow Up?<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tWill Byers left that bowl cut in the past and has officially moved to heartthrob status. Aside from the epic Volume 1 finale, which saw Will gain his own powers (more on that later), fans also couldn\u2019t get over his new look.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWill Byers being extremely hot at the end of Stranger Things is not something I was expecting, but I\u2019m sure not complaining,\u201d one user wrote<\/a> on X. Another person also commented<\/a>, \u201cStranger things this that but someone tell me how did Will byers turn so hot by the end of 4th ep.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe final moments of \u201cChapter Four: Sorcerer\u201d were a specific highlight for viewers, leading to quite a number of fan edits<\/a> of Will Byers on TikTok.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile there\u2019s no doubt that Noah Schnapp\u2019s character leveled up this season, just based on his newfound powers alone, it\u2019s also safe to say he got a glow-up appearance-wise. And that\u2019s likely partly due to just maturity, as Schnapp was 11 years old when he started Stranger Things in 2016 and he\u2019s now 21.<\/p>\n \n\tBut even Schnapp knows Will has a new aura this season. He recently told THR<\/a> that he also enjoyed \u201cgetting to explore these new colors of Will, who is stronger and more defiant\u201d in season five.<\/p>\n \tA Shocking Return From Eleven\u2019s Past<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tA familiar face that no one really expected to see again made a surprising return in Volume 1: Kali (008), played by Linnea Berthelsen. While fans weren\u2019t totally thrilled with her character in season two\u2019s \u201cThe Lost Sister,\u201d which is often considered the most disliked episode from the show, some fans were delighted to see her return.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cKali returning makes Stranger Things a show with no plot holes. With no pointless episodes. An Absolute Masterpiece. The Duffers knew what they had to do and they did it,\u201d one person wrote<\/a> on X, while another person added<\/a>, \u201cKali being back was the best part of this episode.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn the new season\u2019s fourth episode, Eleven and Hopper find Kali imprisoned in the Upside Down military base, hooked up to wires and IVs, suggesting she\u2019s been experimented on by the military, now led by\u00a0Dr. Kay (Linda Hamilton).<\/p>\n \n\tThe Duffer Brothers recently opened up about their decision to bring back Kali <\/a>for the final season. Ross told THR that not doing it \u201cwould be a disservice to the entire story. Because then that episode does look like a mistake. We\u2019ve always wanted to bring her back and do justice to Linnea and Kali, but we didn\u2019t want to just do it for shock value. We wanted to bring her back in a way that she was really going to impact the narrative and arc of Eleven\u2019s journey. Now as we go into volume two, she plays a really important role moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \tWhere Exactly Is Max?<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tEverybody, stay calm! Max is back, sort of. Fans were jumping for joy when Max, played by Sadie Sink, made her grand return in episode three, titled \u201cThe Turnbow Trap.\u201d However, Max is unfortunately still in her coma from the end of season four. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMAX IS BACKKKKK I MISSED THIS DIVA,\u201d one user commented<\/a> on X, while another person wrote<\/a>, \u201cWhat do you mean max almost woke up from the coma but the song ended\u2026 oh my god?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn season five, Volume 1, Max appears as a consciousness trapped in Vecna\u2019s mind and memories, where she found a safe refuge in a set of caves that the villain is seemingly afraid of. But things take another turn when Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) ends up trapped in the same dimension after being taken by Vecna. And the ending of Volume 1 teases that the pair are going to team up to try and escape back to the real world.<\/p>\n \n\tSink recently opened up to THR<\/a> about the challenges of having nothing to anchor her to her character like she\u2019s had in past seasons, as she\u2019s playing a different version of Max this season.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIn past seasons there\u2019s always been something to anchor me to the character, whether it\u2019s the actors I\u2019m with or the environment, or even just the clothes, the bands, the skateboard,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this season, there was nothing. It was clothes that didn\u2019t feel like Max, crazy hair that was grown out and tangled, and dirt all over my face. She\u2019s in a rough, feral state. It was pretty bizarre. It was weird to feel like Max and then look like that and be in that environment, and working with a new actor. I know how Max responds to Lucas or Mike or Eleven or Will, but to a 12-year-old girl? I didn\u2019t know what that was like.<\/p>\n \tThat Epic Final Volume 1 Scene<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tWhen the Duffer Brothers said the end of Volume 1 has \u201cits own climax,\u201d they weren\u2019t kidding. Fans were left speechless when it was revealed at the end of episode four that Will has his own powers.<\/p>\n \n\tAfter Vecna makes his grand return, confronts Will at the military base and takes the Hawkins children, the villain leaves Demogorgons to kill Mike, Lucas and Robin. However, that\u2019s when Will unlocks his abilities, ultimately killing the Demogorgons and saving his friends.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe scene where Will Byers closes his eyes and remembers that day Mike saw him alone on the swingset, walked over, and asked, \u2018Do you wanna be friends?\u2019 and all their memories together come flooding back, finally unlocking Will\u2019s powers was absolutely beautiful,\u201d one user wrote <\/a>on X. And another person added<\/a>, \u201cWILL HAVING POWERS ???? girl what the FUCK.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Jamie](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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