NetflixEleven is harnessing her powers in the battle against Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1, but what about her spiritual brother, Will? A major reveal has sparked a lively discussion, but the Duffer brothers have since set the record straight.
From the very beginning, Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has been at the heart of Stranger Things. His disappearance in Season 1 exposed Hawkins’ connection to the Upside Down, and ever since, he’s been linked to the Mind Flayer and Vecna.
Running alongside this has been Eleven’s story and how her powers came to be. She’s been on the frontline of the Netflix show’s biggest battles, and heading into Season 5 Volume 1, she’s stronger than ever.
On paper, Eleven has been Stranger Things’ biggest superpowered force, and the only human weapon strong enough to fight the Upside Down. But Will is just as important, a sentiment that’s driven home in the mid-season finale. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Does Will have powers?
NetflixThe answer is yes… kind of. You see, in ‘Chapter Four: Sorcerer’, everything comes to a head when Will finally taps into his long-established connection to the Upside Down.
After Vecna delivers a blowing speech revealing his nefarious plan, Demogorgons surround the Hawkins crew, ready to go in for the kill. But at this moment, Will realizes the “answers” are in him.
His eyes turn white and he channels a surge of supernatural energy powerful enough to stop the creatures in their tracks, lifting them up and snapping them in the same way Vecna attacks his victims.
Related
It’s the first time Will’s ever actively used the force that’s lived inside him since Season 1. The scene has sparked plenty of excitement, especially after so many fans predicted Will’s abilities before Season 5 had even dropped.
We’ll have to wait for Volume 2 to drop to find out more, but for now, it’s led to new theories being shared online.
As said by one, “My theory is that Will doesn’t have powers and it’s actually Vecna acting through him. It wouldn’t make sense for him to gain powers like that, and in the trailer Vecna says that he will help him one last time.”
However, another commented, “The powers belong to Will; the Mind Flayer gave them to him, just like he did to Vecna. Only Will didn’t know it until now.”
Many might assume Will is on the same level as Eleven, but the true answer is far more complicated, and it all links back to the Mind Flayer.
Vecna’s origin revealed in Stranger Things play
NetflixIn Season 5 Volume 1, we find out Max has been hiding in a cave system as it’s the one place Vecna is too scared to enter.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow – a prequel stage play to the Netflix series – elaborates on this. Henry Creel didn’t start out as a villain; when he was a boy, he wandered to those caves and was accidentally transported into the Upside Down.
Here, he was possessed by the Mind Flayer, which not only changed him as a person but also gave him his abilities. As said by one Redditor, “The cave is shown in the play The First Shadow. That’s where Henry got his powers/got possessed by the Mind Flayer. It will definitely be explained in Volume 2.”
Netflix“Henry is scared of the cave when Max backs into it because he still remembers the memory of being corrupted by the Mind Flayer as a child, which is why he doesn’t go into it,” wrote another.
The Reddit user also highlighted an interesting fact: Kate Trefry, the writer of The First Shadow, directed the upcoming Season 5 Episode 6, so we can expect to learn more in Volume 2.
If the play is canon, then Henry was turned into a villain after the cave experience. It’s the clearest sign yet that the Mind Flayer has been the puppet master all along.
Will’s new powers aren’t what Stranger Things fans might think
NetflixAs for Will’s powers, the good thing is that he uses them to protect his friends in the show. But if you’re of the belief that his abilities align with Eleven’s, it’s a little more complicated than that.
The Duffer brothers confirmed this in a post-release interview with Variety, where they were asked whether Will has Eleven’s powers.
“It’s different in that he’s able to channel Vecna’s powers. But they’re all related,” said Ross Duffer. “Vecna and Eleven, their powers are similar. The powers aren’t within him. He’s able to channel these powers from Vecna and use it, sort of puppeteering.”
Matt added, “He taps into the hive mind, and then he can manipulate anything within the hive. You’ll see how far he can take it as you continue to watch. But that’s how he’s able to manipulate the monster. So he can’t open a door, because the door is not part of the hive mind.”
NetflixElaborating on this, Ross said Will’s powers are “because he got hooked into the hive mind,” with Matt revealing, “If he’s not close to the hive mind, he’s not able to access or tap it.”
In other words, he can only tap into that force when he’s close enough to the entity for it to reach him. He’ll undoubtedly be essential in the final battle, but that connection goes both ways – the closer he gets to the hive mind, the closer the hive mind gets to him.
There’s another interesting idea to consider: if everyone who’s possessed by the hive mind has access to these powers, could we see an undead army joining forces to take down the Mind Flayer once and for all (Barb included)?
We’ll have to wait until Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 drops on Netflix on Christmas Day. Until then, find out if anyone died in Volume 1, how a 008 reveal fixes the show’s biggest mistake, our ranking of the best Stranger Things characters, and the best Stranger Things episodes.