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If you've run a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, or even just learned the rules of the game, there's a chance that the game has altered your perception of television shows like Stranger Things. In fact, I've been watching season 1 of the Star Trek show, Picard, and a few episodes in, I texted one of my friends something along the lines of, "This show is just like a D&D campaign, and I love it." When you have a group of people with diverse backgrounds and abilities come together to achieve an objective with monsters sprinkled in, things start to feel very Dungeons & Dragons-y. 

From the very beginning, Stranger Things has worn its influences on its sleeve. I mean, the core group of kids on the show play D&D together. And over the course of the show's seasons, we've seen the main cast of characters "level up" by developing new skills and unlocking abilities they never knew they were capable of - much like a D&D character. That said, a Stranger Things fan on Reddit has taken the show's similarities to the iconic tabletop roleplaying game a step further, positing a theory that one character on the show is effectively functioning as a Dungeon Master. 

According to Reddit user Scream-Metal, the Dungeon Master within the world of Stranger Things is the beloved teacher Mr. Clarke. Because unlike everyone else on the show, he doesn't "level up" from season to season, just like a DM does in a campaign. Scream-Metal's reasoning is as follows:

1. "He Explains Mechanics, Not Outcomes"
2. "He Mentors Without Participating"
3. "He Is Completely Untouched by the Upside Down"
4. "He Never Changes"
5. "He Bridges Imagination and Reality"

In their entire post, Scream-Metal unpacks all the evidence that points to Mr. Clarke being the meta-DM within the world of Stranger Things, and you can check it out here. While I'm not really big on coming up with theories like this (because ultimately, the Dungeon Master here is Netflix), I'd like to raise Lucas's sister, Erica, as a potential meta DM of Stranger Things. I don't really have any compelling evidence to provide beyond that I think she's the only person on the show smart enough to orchestrate something on this scale. Either way, this gives us nerds a lot to think about before Stranger Things 5 vol 2 releases on December 25. 

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"