SPOILER WARNING!
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 has dropped plenty of exhilarating and jaw-dropping moments and teases that Vecna has grown more powerful and has more in store for the OG gang, ready to wreak havoc on their lives and their beloved town of Hawkins.
The ending of Season 4 showcased Vecna opening four major rifts that tore Hawkins apart, giving the core characters just enough glimpse of how threatening and dangerous he truly is, and to what extreme lengths he is willing to go.
Season 5 takes a time jump of 18 months, and a lot has changed in Hawkins and in the individual lives of the main characters. But they still haven’t forgotten their main goal, which is to hunt Vecna down and take him out for good.
Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 opens with Eleven honing her powers for a final battle with Vecna. The rest of the main characters are also preparing for the fight. The new crisis begins when a Demogorgon captures Holly during a search for Vecna. Eleven enters the Upside Down to rescue Holly, where she unexpectedly reunites with Hopper and uncovers a secret involving Dr Kay and the military.
Elsewhere in the Upside Down, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Dustin are blocked by a mysterious wall surrounding Hawkins Lab. Back in Hawkins, Mike, Lucas, Will, Joyce, Robin, and Murray attempt to protect the younger kids whom Vecna is targeting for his plan of global control. Although their attempt is cut short by a Demogorgon attack, Will’s confrontation with Vecna reveals a major plot twist.
Probably the most shocking reveal of Volume 1 is the newly unlocked powers of Will. HOLY HELL! We have always witnessed Will as a bowl-cut, scared yet resilient boy who gets frequently targeted by Vecna and Demogorgons, and has been the epicentre of everything unspeakable, horrible, bizarre, and ‘strange’ that has taken place in the small town of Hawkins since Season 1.
Right from the get-go, fans always believed that Will would play a key role in Vecna’s destruction. Now, it seems those fan theories were true. During the final moments of Volume 1, we see Will’s eyes turning white and unlocking his new abilities, which are drastically similar to Vecna’s. He telekinetically stops the Demogorgons at the military base, near the gang’s base, and in the cave simultaneously, and slashes them, thus saving Mike, Robin, and Lucas in the process.
Did Will already possess some dormant powers from the very beginning that remained hidden all this time? Or is it because he has been connected to Vecna right from the very beginning, as proved by Vol 1’s opening scene, psychically? Considering everything that has led up to now, the latter scenario makes more sense.
Will gets a nosebleed after using his new power. This is significant because nosebleeds often happen when someone uses strong powers, just like they do with Eleven. Even though Will isn’t a lab experiment like Eleven, it makes sense that he would get a nosebleed if he is somehow tapping into the same type of abilities as a former test subject.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 explores the theory that Will can tap into the hive mind, effectively seeing through the eyes of Vecna’s Demogorgons. Mike even proposes that Will, whom he calls a “sorcerer”, should attempt to control this connection. Will appears to advance this ability by using his link to Vecna to replicate the villain’s own powers, setting up a massive shift in the conflict for the rest of the season.
Vecna plans to “reshape the world” by targeting more children in Hawkins, specifically those he views as “weak and broken”, similar to how Will was in 1983. To find these victims, Vecna adopts his Henry persona, calling himself “Mr Whatsit”. He gains the children’s trust by promising to protect them from the monsters, but he is actually holding them hostage until he gathers enough people for his plan.
Vecna intends to manipulate and control these kids’ minds to help him take over the world, starting with Hawkins. However, his plan faces resistance, not only from Eleven but from Will as well now. In addition, Holly also has Max assisting her within the mindscape, suggesting that Vecna’s psychological tactics are failing.
Another shocking moment came in the form of Kali (Eight), Eleven’s “sister” from their childhood days inside Hawkins Lab. In Season 2, Kali was hell-bent on exacting vengeance against Dr Brenner and the rest of his team for the experiments that were conducted on her in her childhood.
Now that Kali is back in the frame, the question that naturally arises is: What is the military doing with Kali? Are they using her powers as a “kryptonite” to catch Eleven? The military was able to stop Eleven with the help of powerful soundwaves, which Kali could have something to do with.
While Will now has new abilities to fight Vecna, the villain has captured more children, bringing him closer to achieving his goal. This means the pressure and the stakes will significantly increase in Volume 2, as Holly remains missing and more kids are under Vecna’s control.
The military has also been wiped out both in the Upside Down and at the Hawkins gate, which removes a layer of protection but also frees the main characters to execute their plans without immediate government interference.
Similarly, Hopper and Eleven now face the challenge of dealing with Kali, who is set to play a major role in the second volume. More details about Max’s escape strategy will emerge, particularly her insistence that Holly return to the Creel House to avoid alerting Vecna that she knows the truth. Although everyone is focused on rescuing Holly, Max herself might be the one to save her in Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2. Stay tuned for more updates.
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