As Stranger Things moves toward its conclusion in the fifth season, the Duffer Brothers and Netflix are working to resolve every outstanding mystery and satisfy a massive global audience. The narrative stakes have reached a breaking point with the arrival of Stranger Things 5, Volume 2, which provides definitive answers regarding the endgame of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and the origins of the Upside Down. While these revelations offer the closure many fans expected, the latest episodes also introduce a series of startling narrative shifts that fundamentally alter the show’s history. One of the most significant of these changes is a massive retcon involving the past of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), which effectively reinterprets the events of the second season of Stranger Things.
Warning: Spoilers below for Stranger Things 5, Volume 2
The second season of Stranger Things revolved around Will acting as a spy for the Mind Flayer, a role that allowed the entity to monitor the movements of the protagonists while infecting the town with supernatural fauna and flora. Central to this conflict was the sudden appearance of a massive network of organic tunnels spreading beneath the surface of Hawkins, which served as a hunting ground for the predatory Demodogs. Until now, the fanbase assumed that these tunnels were a natural expansion of the Upside Down that emerged spontaneously from the rift inside Hawkins Lab. However, Volume 2 explicitly contradicts this established lore by revealing that the growth was an intentional act of construction and that Will was the primary agent responsible for these tunnels.
Stranger Things Makes Will Responsible for Season 2’s Tunnels
Image courtesy of Netflix
During the events of Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 2, Will attempts to launch a psychic assault on Vecna by tapping into the hive mind. This strategy backfires when Vecna manages to ensnare Will within his mental domain, leading to a harrowing confrontation where the villain exposes the true nature of their connection. Vecna mocks Will by naming the boy his “builder.” The antagonist reveals that he successfully transformed Will into a vessel for his own telekinetic influence, utilizing the boy’s physical form as a conduit to manipulate the environment of the real world. While the people of Hawkins believed Will was merely a victim of possession, he was actually the tool used to dig the tunnel network through psychic projection. This process occurred primarily while Will was asleep, meaning his subconscious mind was weaponized to terraform the town and expand the reach of the Upside Down.
Will’s retconned history provides a critical piece of lore regarding Vecna’s current activities in the fifth season of Stranger Things. By establishing that a human host can amplify the villain’s psychic powers and allow him to manipulate matter across dimensions, the series explains why Vecna is obsessed with kidnapping children like Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher). The new victims are necessary biological batteries required to bridge the gap between Earth and the chaotic realm of the Abyss. Will served as the prototype for this operation, proving that a vessel could bridge the divide and enact Vecna’s will on a massive scale. Now, Vecna is doing the same with 12 other children, who give him enough power to merge the Abyss with Earth.
Volume 2 of Stranger Things Season 5 is currently available to stream on Netflix. The final episode of the series is scheduled to arrive on January 31st.
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