Key sequences may now be recast as hints to Vecna’s identity and abilities because Stranger Things season 4 retconned Vecna as the show’s villain all along.
Vecna was revealed to be the real enemy in Stranger Things season 4; the preceding three seasons had hinted at his presence. It’s easy to forget that Stranger Things was initially intended to be a limited series now that the program has become a cultural phenomenon. When Netflix enquired about the possibility of a second season, the Duffer brothers quickly revised their original screenplay, which implied Eleven would die in the process of killing the Demogorgon.
Vecna, a strong entity that appears to have been responsible for everything that has been occurring in Hawkins, was introduced to audiences in Stranger Things season 4, which retconned the franchise’s backstory. Dr. Brenner used Vecna as his “Number One” subject in tests with Eleven and other kids who were similar to her. He killed the other Hawkins kids when Eleven unintentionally let him free, but she was helpless to stop him and so she sent him into the Upside Down. He fashioned the hive mind there by using enigmatic shadow particles to construct the Mind-Flayer.
It’s a significant retcon, of course, and suggestions that the Duffer brothers had this planned from the beginning should be discounted as overstated given that Stranger Things was first marketed as a limited series. However, it doesn’t imply it’s especially troublesome; in fact, the Vecna/Mind-Flayer relationship gels with earlier seasons pretty nicely. Here are all the specifics that have so far served as hints regarding the Vecna revelation.
What Happened To The Other Hawkins Kids If Jane Is Eleven?
The fact that Jane is given the number “Eleven” rather than “One” is the clearest hint. This quickly demonstrates that Dr. Brenner has used test subjects in the past. When Kali was introduced in Stranger Things season 2, viewers were shown that Eleven was not the first success and that the other subjects had not been failures. Number Eight had been Kali, another Hawkins Lab escapee.
According to comic book writer Jody Houser, tie-in comics started focusing on some of the other Hawkins kids but were forbidden from addressing Number One. The only limitation, according to her, was that the number One couldn’t be used. Apart from that, every other number was fair game. The Duffer brothers had their own intentions for Number One, as viewers now know. Ironically, because it turns out that all the other Hawkins children were killed in 1979, the Vecna retcon essentially makes all those comics non-canon.
Similar to how they do around Eleven’s abilities, the lights flicker around the Mind-presence. Flayer’s
The lights around things from the Upside Down flicker in exactly the same manner they do when Eleven utilizes her talents, which is a minor but important indicator. This is a blatant suggestion that Eleven and the interdimensional creatures terrorizing Hawkins share some characteristics, and those similarities are finally addressed. Indicators of psychic phenomena rather than dimensional breaches include flashing lights.
The Recurring Clock-Chime Theme from Stranger Things
Another reoccurring element that has been picked up by observant viewers is the clock ringing at significant occasions. When Will first confronts the Demogorgon in Murkwood in Stranger Things season 1, the sound of a ticking clock can be heard. When Hopper reaches the tunnels Demodogs and vines have dug beneath Hawkins in season two of Stranger Things, there is a real chiming. Despite the fact that Vecna’s grandfather clock plays a crucial role in Stranger Things season 4, this was probably merely a spooky sound effect.
The Demogorgon’s Knowledge of Hawkins Lab
It is now possible to retcon some Stranger Things episodes from earlier seasons as crucial hints. In fact, the pilot episode of Stranger Things has had its opening sequence changed. At this, a scientist gets to reach the elevator after running for his life as soon as Eleven opens the new gate in Hawkins Lab.
However, the Demogorgon arrived before and attacks him from the ceiling. Given that the Demogorgon should have been unfamiliar with Hawkins Lab from Stranger Things and shouldn’t have been able to maneuver through it quite so effortlessly, this has always looked a little weird. However, that Demogorgon has now been changed to serve as Vecna’s scout, and due to his prior employment there as an orderly, Vecna was familiar with the lab. Now it all becomes sense.
Exactly how The Demogorgon entered Will’s home
The Demogorgon scout departs Hawkins Lab after that to investigate the close-by woods, where it encounters Will. He manages to escape the thing and enter his home, where he closes the door and makes an attempt to contact for assistance. However, to his horror, he sees as the latch opens from the inside. Demogorgons never seemed to exhibit such powers again, hence it seems certain that Vecna used his telekinesis power to let the Demogorgon in without making a big mess.
Will’s Season 2 Hallucinations Remind Me Of The Visions From Season 4
Moving on, Will is rescued from the Upside Down but is still visibly under its spell in Stranger Things season 2, as he starts to have terrifying images of this nightmare world. With the advantage of hindsight, these images resemble Vecna’s victims’ in season four of Stranger Things in virtually every way. These visions should now be viewed as significant hints because of the startling similarities.
