Stranger Things season 3 finally touched down on Netflix earlier this week and fans rushed to their screens to watch Eleven, Mike, Hopper and the rest of the Hawkins gang on their latest adventure. In fact, a lot of people binged the entire eight-episode third season in one sitting, choosing to skip out on the Independence Day celebrations and instead spend time with the hit supernatural series. A good choice, no doubt.
And, if you decided to stick around for the credits, you’ll know that there was a little surprise at the end which has everyone talking, and for good reason. You see, it takes us to a remote Russian bunker where, among other things, we’re told an American prisoner is being held. Of course, we don’t get to actually find out who this American is, as another prisoner is instead chosen as the one who the Russians feed to their full-grown Demogorgon.
Obviously, seeing a Demogorgon alone was a huge shock and has led to an avalanche of questions and theories online, but that mysterious American prisoner has also created a good deal of speculation. After all, why bother mentioning them if they’re not someone important? And while we’ll probably have to wait until season 4 to find out who it is, the internet already has plenty of guesses.
Of course, the most popular theory is that it’s Hopper, who we thought died in the finale but since there was no body and actor David Harbour has already teased his return, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Russians somehow capturing him and bringing him to the bunker we see in the post-credits scene.
Failing that, though, there are also some people who think it could be Dr. Brenner – remember him? – given that season 2 teased he might still be alive. Not to mention, he’s clearly got strong ties to the Upside Down and would have a ton of knowledge that’d be useful to the Russians. Similarly, perhaps it’s Murray or Dr. Owen, as they also know a lot about the Upside Down and could be of some use.
But what if it’s someone who’s actually already dead, like Billy? Yes, one wild theory says that though Billy clearly died, his body was retrieved by the Russians so that they could experiment on him, which they would no doubt love to do given how closely he was connected to the Mind Flayer. Or, maybe they even found some way to resurrect him?
We could go on and on, but unfortunately, it’s looking like we’ll just have to wait for season 4 to roll around to find out who exactly this American is. But if one thing’s for certain, it’s that you can bet the Stranger Things fanbase will be working their hardest to figure it out.