Why The Stranger Things Series Finale Didn’t Redeem Vecna, According To The Showrunners

The “Stranger Things” series finale implies that Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), aka Henry Creel, is under Vecna’s control, but it’s more complicated than that. When it’s all said and done, he remains committed to the dark side. But the Duffer Brothers said they pondered the idea of redeeming the villain, only to realize that it wasn’t the best outcome for the character.

“We did discuss with the writers’ room if he could have a Billy [Dacre Montgomery] moment where he turns against the Mind Flayer [in a] Darth Vader-type situation,” Ross Duffer told Tudum. But the more we talked about it with the writers and with Jamie [Campbell Bower], he’s gone so far at this point to get here, he has to justify everything he’s done. And the only way to justify that is to go, ‘I chose this, and I believe in this still.'”

Despite Vecna choosing to side with the Mind Flayer, the Duffer Brothers explained that they want viewers to make up their own minds in regard to whether he was under its control. Still, there was no road to redemption for the character: He needs the Mind Flayer.

“Stranger Things” Season 5 reveals that Vecna is scared of the cave in his memories, as he is repressing a past trauma. As a child, he killed a Russian spy and opened up a briefcase containing Mind Flayer particles, which seeped into young Henry’s system and possessed him. Vecna keeps this memory hidden throughout “Stranger Things” Season 5 due to how traumatic it is, suggesting that he feels guilty about the way in which the events panned out — but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to side with the Mind Flayer.

The revelation adds a sympathetic element to Henry’s backstory, but the character confirms that their relationship has always been symbiotic. As Vecna explains to Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) in the sci-fi saga’s finale: “It showed me the truth. It showed me that this world is broken. That man is broken. I could have resisted it, but I chose to join it. It needs me, and I need it.”

It can be interpreted that Vecna was manipulated into believing this line of thinking due to him becoming one with the Hive Mind. Be that as it may, it seems that he gave himself over to it willingly back in the day.