How STRANGER THINGS 5, Volume 1 Brings Will’s Story Full Circle

by

Be warned: this article contains significant spoilers for the first part of Stranger Things Season 5, especially regarding Will’s storyline. If you haven’t watched it and want to avoid spoilers, we recommend looking away now! (Or, check out our spoiler-free review instead.)

The story of Stranger Things started with Will Byers’ disappearance. Now, after the first part of Stranger Things 5, we understand why Vecna chooses to target children. He believes they are vulnerable, both physically and mentally, making them easy to manipulate and control. Vecna recognized this even when he first took Will, but he didn’t fully grasp the extent of his power until Will proved so easily broken. During a confrontation in Stranger Things 5, Vecna revealed that certain minds, like Will’s, are simply not suited for this world and instead belong in his realm of suffering.

During his first encounter with Vecna in Stranger Things 5, Will experienced flashbacks to times he felt deeply sad, angry, and alone. However, these feelings didn’t reflect weakness, and Will understood this when his friends needed him most. Throughout the season, Will’s connection to the hive mind became much stronger, allowing him to see through the eyes of demogorgons and even Vecna as he targeted his victims. By the time of the attack on the MAC-Z, Will was fully connected to the hive mind. As demogorgons attacked Will, Lucas, and Robin, he experienced new voices and memories within his mind, signaling a shift in his connection.

In the first part of Stranger Things 5, Robin and Will connected over their shared experiences with their sexuality, even without explicitly talking about being gay, and quickly became a fan-favorite pairing. Will had witnessed Robin kissing her girlfriend at the hospital, and later asked her how they met, which resonated with Robin. During episode four, as they journeyed through tunnels, Robin paused to share with Will her own path to self-acceptance and happiness.

Robin believed that being with the girl she loved would finally make her feel safe. When she accepted they couldn’t be together, she became deeply depressed. However, discovering an old home movie changed everything. It reminded her of a time when she was a happy, confident child. This realization sparked a thought about Will in the upcoming season of Stranger Things – that his journey was similar to her own. She realized her search for happiness had been focused outward, when the answers were within herself all along. Once she confronted her fears and embraced her true self, she felt a sense of liberation, as if a weight had been lifted. “I was looking for answers in somebody else, but I had all the answers. I just needed to stop being so scared… scared of who I really was. Once I did that, I felt so free… It’s like I could fly…” she explained, overcome with emotion.

As the demogorgons rushed towards his friends, Will heard the words, but instead of painful memories flooding back – like when Vecna taunted him – he remembered a happier time. He saw himself as a young, loved, and carefree child, playing with Mike on the day they first became friends. He remembered his mother’s pride and support, and his brother Jonathan building him the shed he cherished. In that moment, as the danger closed in, Will wasn’t afraid – not of Vecna, and not of himself. He felt completely liberated from everything that had burdened him for so long.

But Will didn’t fly like Robin. Instead, he tapped into the powerful sorcerer Mike always knew he could be—the same one who instinctively defended his mother from the Demogorgon back in the barn, even without understanding his own abilities.

During the first part of Stranger Things 5, Will Byers unexpectedly unlocked Vecna’s complete abilities. This instantly made him as strong as both Henry Creel and Eleven. He demonstrated his newfound power by freezing and brutally defeating the demogorgons, mirroring Vecna’s own deadly methods. After securing his friend’s safety, Will collapsed, blood dripping from his nose – a clear sign that he had become a powerful force in Stranger Things 5.

Will’s connection to the Hive Mind wasn’t just about being psychic – it was something special. Vecna actually altered Will’s blood when he attacked him in the Upside Down. Interestingly, Eleven’s mother, while pregnant, also received this altered blood – originally from Henry Creel, who got it from a different dimension during his childhood. As revealed in the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, both Eleven and Will have powers because of this physical change to their biology, linking them to Vecna and his dark world.

It’s unclear whether Vecna initially chose Will randomly and later discovered that children with difficult pasts were easier to manipulate. Or, considering Vecna’s own troubled childhood, did he specifically target Will because he was a gay boy abandoned by an abusive father who saw him as weak? We don’t have the answer yet. However, before returning to the Upside Down with new victims, Vecna was convinced Will remained the vulnerable child he could control. But in the upcoming fifth season of Stranger Things, Will finally understands his own strength—he was always enough, he just needed to recognize it. Now that he does, Eleven isn’t the only powerful child in Hawkins who can stand up to Vecna.

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Mikey Walsh writes for TopMob and is a big fan of the band Weezer – he’d even use one of their songs, “In the Garage Playing,” as an escape route from a scary situation! You can find him on Bluesky at @burgermike, and he’s always interested in discussions about the Targaryen kings.

Read More

2025-11-27 10:37