Stranger Things 4: New theory suggests this character is the American

A new theory about Stranger Things 4 suggest this popular characters from the second and third season of the Netflix series could be “the American.”

Major spoilers for Stranger Things 3 below! 

Immediately after fans watched Stranger Things 3, the internet was flooded with new theories about the post-credits scene.

Most theories suggest the American is actually Hopper or Dr. Brenner, but there’s another theory making the rounds about the American actually being another character from Stranger Things 3.

According to a report from Inverse, the Reddit user xanshue shared a new theory that Billy is actually the American.

From what I can gather, the Reddit user’s theory involves that scene in the second episode, “The Mall Rats,” when Billy has the vision and talks to himself about building the army for Hawkins residents for the Mind Flayer. The Billy we know was trapped in the Upside Down or another dimension while the evil Billy attacked everyone he could in Hawkins and helps the Mind Flayer.

While I applaud the creativity of crafting this theory, I have a few problems with it. I’d like for Billy, especially after that final scene to have a chance to truly be redeemed and make a difference. It was a great scene and moment for the series, but it doesn’t cancel all the horrible things Billy did up to that point, especially all of his actions before the Mind Flayer had a hold on him.

Mainly, I don’t think there were two Billys in this reality. There were only two Billys in that vision the Mind Flayer gave Billy after he had been possessed, but that was just a vision, similar to the visions Will was having in the second season. The reason I’m adamant that there were not two versions of Billy is because of that final scene at the Starcourt Mall.

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If there were, in fact, two Billys, and the real Billy was trapped in the Upside Down while the other was wreaking havoc on Hawkins and its residents, there would have been no way for Eleven to break down the walls created by the Mind Flayer. When Eleven was talking him through the day at the beach, the real Billy was able to fight off the Mind Flayer’s hold on him and come to the surface.

Billy, then, apologizes to Max before he dies, which is more proof that the real Billy was in there all along.

Way before that, Billy is able to fight off the Mind Flayer for a second, and it happens when he is drinking chemicals at the pool when Karen apologizes for missing their date. Billy, then, has the vision of smashing her head into the shelf. Instead, he tells her to stay away from him because he knows something bad is going to happen. That’s all the proof I need to know that Billy was the real Billy.

On top of that, I believe Hopper is the American. I’m guessing he was able to scurry down that ladder before he was taken captive by the Russians. It’s the only thing that really makes sense, especially because we don’t see him die.

I don’t know when exactly we’ll find out the identity of the American, but I do think there’s a good chance we’ll find out if Hopper is still alive in the next few months. Stranger Things 4 is expected to start production this fall, and it will be hard to keep that secret for much longer.

Who do you think is the American in Stranger Things 3? Let us know in the comments section.