As the Upside Down updates unfurl at the speed of light, fans take the cue to buckle up their seatbelts before another gate to Vecna’s headquarters pierces mid-sky. While the build-up for concluding Stranger Things has been a long time coming, with the year-ending hustle conjuring a fast lane to finish all things incomplete, the marbles in Hawkins’ jar are overflowing with cues of its nearing end. Hot on the heels of Gaten Matarazzo’s revelation of an intriguing emotional curveball in the upcoming installment, on-set snaps of Dustin alongside Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington have surfaced on the Internet, prompting fans to lose their calm.

Hawkins Happenings on X recently shared some pictures showing Joe Keery greeting Gaten Matarazzo on the sets of Stranger Things season 5 (via DeuxMoi). The scene is reportedly a segment where Steve visits Dustin at his college with several fans theorizing it as the epilogue that confirms the former’s survival in the final creepy lap. In the shared snaps, Steve and Dustin hug each other and are seen conversing about something stranger. 

Fans have been on tenterhooks since season 4’s cliffhanger ending, and every update has been like pouring gasoline on the fire of speculation. With the fate of their favorite comic relief characters Max and Steve hanging in the balance, fans are on high alert, dissecting every hint and update for clues on what is to come in the final season. While the first season saw Steve squaring off with a Demogorgon with a baseball bat, the second witnessed him taking on multiple demo dogs. 

Gaten Matarazzo Reveals a Forthcoming Emotional Twist in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5, Hoping Fans Welcome It

Considering he fared well with the Upside Down Creepers early on, fans are now reveling at the possibility of Joe Keery's survival at the hands of the killer bats he encountered in the fourth season.

Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington has long been the Stranger Things equivalent of a high-risk, high-reward poker hand. With the character’s history of attracting supernatural beatings, it has been no less than a gamble. But as the final season approaches, despite his hints of more batters and bruises, fans are hedging Upside Down bets on Steve’s survival, and the odds are looking better than ever.

Many fans are already teary-eyed at the prospect of Hawkins’ bravest babysitter surviving Vecna’s tactics.

Meanwhile, a few folks were overtly excited at the minute details obtained from the pictures such as their classic hairstyles from the third season, the school-going Dustin now in college, and a tattoo on Gaten Matarazzo’s right arm that has many speculating it is the same Eddie Munson had on his. However, Steve’s potential survival has fans convinced Stranger Things is doubling down on capitalizing its wild cards. 

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What do you think of the new pictures of Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things season 5? Let us know in the comments below!