How Henry Creel Became Vecna In Stranger Things Explained: The much-anticipated fourth season of Stranger Things is now available on Netflix after three years. Along with the new season comes a terrifying new antagonist for the Hawkins gang to confront and vanquish.
This villain is the demonic creature known as Vecna, who goes on a murdering rampage during season 4, and it is later revealed that he was formerly a human called Henry Creel. Throughout the season, Vecna kills a lot of people.
But how exactly did Henry Creel transform into Vecna, and what do viewers of Stranger Things think of the new villain’s backstory?
How Henry Creel Became Vecna In Stranger Things Explained
In season 4 of “Stranger Things,” Vecna takes on the role of the antagonist.
He is a creature who resurfaces from the Upside Down to go on a murderous rampage against the citizens of Hawkins, starting with Chrissy, the cheerleader, in the first episode.
Vecna, the epitome of pure evil, got his name from a Dungeons & Dragons character with the same name. Dustin and Eddie, both huge fans of Dungeons & Dragons, saw certain parallels between Vecna and the Dungeons & Dragons figure.
Like the Dungeons & Dragons figure, Vecna resides in another dimension, but he frequently visits ours to cause havoc, assault his victims, and kill them in the most gruesome way possible.
In episode 7, Vecna was formerly a human called Henry Creel who, similarly to Eleven, had psychic powers — abilities that he has preserved despite his horrible change. These abilities allow him to communicate with Eleven.
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Why Is Vecna Only Now Trying To Re-open The Gates?
He expressed to Eleven in his capacity as 001 that he abhorred any and all types of order and control.
In addition to this, he has a latent resentment toward the duplicity of people and a yearning for cosmic vengeance.
Therefore, he will open the gate to make youngsters pay for the crimes they’ve committed, right?
At this time, things have gotten somewhat complicated, it must be said.
On the other hand, it does set up an inevitable rematch between Eleven and 001, which gets us to the last revelation of episode 7…
The hero of Stranger Things, like the heroes of Harry Potter and Star Wars and the protagonists of so many other stories about similar journeys, comes to the realization that the only way to vanquish evil is to use one’s abilities, not out of fear or fury but out of love. Ugh. We are aware.
It’s a little corny, but it makes a lot of sense given what’s happened this season.
As the season progresses, we witness Eleven strive not just to reclaim her talents in the present but also to cultivate them in the past. This conflict continues throughout the entirety of the show.
In the here and now, she attempts to use them against Angela as she is being bullied, and her actions are likely motivated by animosity and rage.
In 1979, we witnessed her suffer again under comparable conditions, with her brothers harassing her.
Brenner’s assistant (Henry Creel, 001) explains to Eleven how 001 gained his abilities by saying that 001 thought of a memory that was both upsetting and sad at the same time.
During the psychological combat, Eleven overcomes 002 by employing this strategy, which involves recalling when she was separated from her mother.
This unhappy or furious memory, on the other hand, is not sufficient to protect her from attacks by the other siblings later on, nor from 001, who is ready to murder Eleven until Eleven chooses to draw from a different memory.
Eleven’s new memory is one of unconditional love and acceptance; it is the moment that her mother was holding her after she was born.
As an interesting side note, Max used this strategy to get away from Vecna while her favorite song was playing: she recalled her friendships and the source of love that countered her violent parents and older brother.
Eleven beats Henry Creel in the last battle using her own entirely pleasant memories. In 1979, Eleven used this technique to fight the Demogorgon, but Eleven will also use it in 1983 to defeat the Demogorgon.
Therefore, Eleven’s powers originate from a sense of belonging.
This indicates that the source of the most strong abilities lies here, as opposed to fury as it did for Henry Creel.
This conclusion may also explain the essence of Upside Down, a place controlled by fury and alienation that appears to symbolize the opposite of belonging.
With their slime and blatantly yonic imagery, the gates represent a form of birth into this realm. This is connoted by the fact that the Upside Down can only be entered through these gates.
The fact that 001 will be a part of this universe hints at a change that will be driven by rage, anxiety, and grief.
(Children who venture into the Upside Down do so due to feelings of anxiety, isolation, and disconnection from their peer group.)
The Right Side Up is inverted the Upside Down, which results in a type of magnification of everything twisted and harmful on the Right Side Up. The Upside Down is not simply an inversion of the Right Side Up. It is a representation of the worst in all of us.
The memory that saves Eleven is also birth in a literal sense.
However, it is a joyful one. She experiences affection and a sense of belonging from the moment she is born.
This contrast explains why the series is so focused on bullying and social anxiety and why it does so much of it.
This season, a significant number of Vecna’s victims are dealing with some form of anxiety, as evidenced by the fact that each victim has spoken with a school counselor.
These are the children who run the danger of being excluded from their classmates.
Vecna informs Max that following Billy’s death, she too wished to die, and the manner in that many people emphasize the unexpected and abrupt nature of the deaths seems to be in line with reactions to suicidality. Their deaths might be viewed as coded suicides.
It is difficult not to read Henry Creel’s narrative against the backdrop of recent school shootings since the novel alludes to a regrettable consequence of social isolation; Henry Creel goes on a rampage across the laboratory.
(This is especially true when he instructs Eleven to “remain put,” which sounds very similar to the “stay home” instruction made by actual shooters.)
In the end, the show will have to deal with the nature of Upside Down, both in a thematic and a philosophical sense.
How may Eleven’s discoveries on the natural origin of her strength be used in the battle against Vecna? It’s possible that she won’t.
Eleven may attempt to help him instead of trying to beat him once more. This conclusion seems to be more in line with the overarching themes of the current season.
It’s possible that traveling across time may help in this attempt. Perhaps the dead don’t have to stay dead forever.
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