It’s been Vecna all along. The undead entity, played by Jamie Campbell Bower in Stranger Things, has long been a threat to the town of Hawkins and its heroes. But Stranger Things Season 5 will show us just how much of a presence he’s always been in the show, even when we couldn’t see him. It will also show us why he’s so obsessed with Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), and why Will’s not to be underestimated.
Netflix has unveiled the first five minutes of Stranger Things’ final season, which takes us all the way back to the beginning. Season 5 will open with a flashback, of sorts, to Season 1, after Will is first taken to the Upside Down. Though he’s long been regarded as the weakest link in the Hawkins crew, Season 5 might just put those thoughts to rest. We now see what Season 1 never showed us, including what happened in the Upside Down between Will’s capture and his rescue, and how he survived as long as he did. He uses a shotgun against a demogorgon, and climbs and leaps from trees to avoid capture. Though he’s eventually caught, Will is far from the helpless kid he’s been written off as.
As fascinating as it is to see young Will in action hero mode, Stranger Things also shows us his first true meeting with Vecna. He’s brought to Vecna’s lair, where Will’s mom Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hawkins sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) find him at the end of Season 1, and though he’s not conscious for this encounter, this is the moment that irrevocably connects him to the villain.
“At long last, we can begin,” Vecna tells Will, before sending a tendril down his throat. “You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together.”
Starting the season with a flashback adds more context to a pivotal moment in Will’s development. Given that Season 5 takes place around the anniversary of his disappearance, it’s safe to assume that a full-circle moment, likely in the form of a final showdown against Vecna, is on the horizon. According to the season’s official synopsis, Vecna “has vanished, his whereabouts and plans unknown.” When he inevitably resurfaces, the final battle will begin, and the Stranger Things saga will finally give us definitive answers about every dark corner of its world.
