Henry Creel’s Origin, Vecna & the Mind Flayer Explained After Stranger Things’ Finale (& It Was the Wrong Choice)

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The final season of Stranger Things has concluded with a heartwarming finale, “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up.” The episode centers on giving the main characters a proper send-off as they move into the next chapter of their lives. Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max are all graduating high school and, though anxious about the future, they’re comforted by their enduring friendship. Meanwhile, Steve, Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin reconnect after a long time apart, realizing that no new friends can replace the bond they share through their shared experiences.

It’s not surprising that not everyone survives in Stranger Things. Eleven and her sister, Kali, both make heroic sacrifices, but Vecna meets a much more brutal end – he’s severely injured and ultimately beheaded. While Vecna certainly deserves his fate as a world-destroying monster, the show’s attempt to explain his origins – as Henry Creel – feels forced and doesn’t quite succeed.

Stranger Things Finally Explains the Cave

So, a lot of Season 5 happens inside Vecna’s head, which is wild! He basically traps twelve kids in his old house, telling them it’s to prepare for fighting this big monster. But really, it’s all part of his plan. Max, still recovering from her coma in Season 4, somehow ends up in this mental world too, and she teams up with Holly to figure out what’s really going on with their friend Henry – revealing a lot about his past. They find this cave that Henry avoids like the plague, but he eventually has to face it. The season builds to him chasing after the kids and then being forced to relive this really painful memory – the moment he first connected with the Mind Flayer. It was a really intense look into his origins.

As a huge fan of Stranger Things, I’ve been totally caught up in the debate about Vecna and the Mind Flayer – who’s really the big bad? It’s like a ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ situation. The new play, Stranger Things: First Shadow, definitely leans into the idea that the Mind Flayer is calling the shots, with Henry/Vecna doing all the terrible stuff on its orders. But honestly, it’s not that straightforward. When Will goes into the Hive Mind, he senses Henry’s fear and thinks he might be able to turn him against the Mind Flayer. The problem is, Henry sees himself as a partner with the Mind Flayer, still fully committed to destroying humanity. It’s a pretty neat explanation, but I don’t think it’s quite the answer the show needs to give us.

Stranger Things Could’ve Sent a Strong Message About Kids Being Manipulated

At its heart, Stranger Things is about kids taking responsibility when the adults in their lives don’t. When Will disappears, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin don’t accept the official explanations and start investigating, uncovering a strange conspiracy in their town. They also welcome Eleven into their group, recognizing she’s been mistreated. The show hints at a similar story for Henry, portraying him as a well-intentioned child, but ultimately stops short of fully redeeming his character at the crucial moment.

If Stranger Things had taken a risk and let Henry assist the heroes in the finale, the show could have been much stronger. Imagine Henry joining forces with Eleven and Will to save the world, completing their character arcs. This would have also added depth to Joyce’s storyline, as she could have discovered the monster was actually someone from her past who had fallen on hard times. While Henry couldn’t have rejoined society, a selfless sacrifice would have transformed him from a simple villain into a more complex and sympathetic character.

Stranger Things 5 is streaming on Netflix.

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2026-01-01 19:11