The creators of Stranger Things are finally setting the record straight on a persistent theory about the series’ villain that has plagued die-hard fans since Season 4.
Ever since Vecna was revealed to be pulling strings behind the scenes since the show first aired back in 2016, many viewers have been wondering if Eleven’s nemesis — AKA Henry Creel, AKA One — was secretly present during a specific scene in Season 1 of the hit Netflix show.
Now, thanks to a new interview with the Duffer brothers, we finally have an answer.
Is Vecna in Season 1 of Stranger Things?
Fans have long been wondering if Vecna makes a secret appearance in the first season of Stranger Things. The oft-debated moment comes during one of the first episode’s earliest scenes, a few minutes into the episode, right before Will Byers goes missing while biking home from his friend Mike Wheeler’s house.
As Will bicycles home down a foggy, dark street, a mysterious, humanoid figure emerges from the darkness, scaring Will and making him fall off his bike. After tumbling into the woods, he runs home, where the creature eventually follows him and, after a brief, terrifying game of cat and mouse, pulls Will into the Upside Down.
Some fans have thought that the strange figure in the street, though initially believed to be the Demogorgon, was actually Vecna this whole time. However, that isn’t the case. Speaking to Digital Spy UK, the Duffer brothers squashed the fan theory that Vecna is the figure Will sees in the road in Season 1, Episode 1. It really is just the Demogorgon after all.
“What’s interesting, ‘cause Will’s biking, and he sees sort of a silhouetted figure in the road… I’ve seen people claim that that’s Vecna or that we went back and changed it. But that was, I swear, the demogorgon,” Ross Duffer told the publication.
“Back in Season 1 … we obviously hadn’t designed Vecna or anything. There was a more sentient evil behind everything in the Upside Down. But obviously this is long before Vecna had been designed,” he added.
Matt Duffer added that even though some viewers believe they’ve been retroactively editing previously aired episodes, that isn’t the case: “It would have been cool if we had done it. Also, we’re not George Lucas-ing anything! I think the fans think we’re doing that. If you think we’ve done that you’re hallucinating and you can check the Blu-rays.”
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However, there’s another fan theory about Vecna’s presence in Season 1 that might actually hold some water. During the same scene, when Will arrives home to hide from the Demogorgon, something unlocks his front door using psychic powers.
It’s a spooky moment we’ve never had a real answer for, but it seems Season 5 will finally provide that answer — and Vecna, who actually has telekinesis, makes a lot of sense now that we know he was after Will all along.
“I will say, you know the lock that gets opened telepathically… the Demogorgons aren’t telepathic, so I’ll say that much. People have noticed that,” Ross hinted.
Stranger Things Season 5 premieres with four episodes on November 26. Three additional episodes will stream on December 25, with the finale out on New Year’s Eve.
Stranger Things Cast: Then and Now
Stranger Things premiered nearly a decade ago in 2016, and the original main cast of the hit Netflix series is now all grown up. Here’s what the cast looks like now and what everybody’s up to these days.
Gallery Credit: Erica Russell