Stranger Things line of dialogue now feels even more significant (SPOILERS)

SPOILERS WARNING. One line of dialogue in the last episode of Stranger Things has taken on a different meaning now.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR STRANGER THINGS 3

After you’ve let yourself really feel the full emotional weight of Hopper’s letter to El, wipe those tears away because there’s season four to think about.

And Hawkins’ hero police chief might be a part of that.

Thanks to Hopper’s conveniently off-screen death, and that mid-credits stinger in Russia with the guards referencing “the American” in the cell, legions of Stranger Things fans don’t believe the Magnum P.I.-loving cop is actually dead.

No body, no death. Those are the rules of pop culture.

While the first instinct is to assume that Hopper is “the American” imprisoned, there are other theories on who the mystery person is.

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Hopper’s ‘death’ was a big shock in season three

But for anyone who already had doubts Hopper is dead, that scene cemented the idea. If he’s not languishing in that cell, then certainly somewhere else.

The prevailing theory online, especially on Reddit, is that Hopper might be trapped in the Upside Down. The Mind Flayer, recognising him and his significance to El, may have captured him in the moments before the barrier was closed.

Or Hopper found his own way there.

Many Redditors, including “SocranX”, “cavs79” and “montaguwyatt”, have all noticed the significance of the last line in Hopper’s letter: “For the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches.”

Hopper was talking about the door to El’s bedroom, and keeping it open to discourage any teenage hanky panky between El and Mike.

”Three inches!”

RELATED: Explaining the ending of Stranger Things 3 (SPOILERS)

But now the line sounds more like serious foreshadowing, if you believe Hopper is trapped in the Upside Down. In that case, the “door” is the barrier between our world and the Upside Down.

With El’s powers either gone or lying dormant, there’s no confirmation that Hopper is really dead. So there’s chance that if/when her powers come back, she can use it to try and locate Hopper. If he’s in the Upside Down, who wants to bet that’s what season four is going to be about?

Season four hasn’t been officially confirmed by Netflix, but it’s no doubt coming given that Stranger Things remain one of Netflix’s tentpole series.

The Duffer brothers have previously said they had planned for four seasons. They told Vulture in 2017: “We’re thinking it will be a four-season thing and then out.”

But executive producer Shawn Levy has said since then, speaking to Collider in 2018, that there is a possibility of a fifth season.

Stranger Things is streaming now on Netflix