Stranger Things has finally returned, and Season 5, Volume 1, concludes with things looking bleak for our heroes. The Upside Down's monsters have breached the military zone, and Demogorgons are in hot pursuit of Robin and Murray as they try to save Hawkins' kids.
Meanwhile, in the Upside Down, Eleven and Hopper discover that Eight, another of the telekinetic children from Hawkins Lab experiments, who we first met in Season 2, is alive and being held there.
Vecna arrives in Hawkins and lays waste to everything before grabbing Will and revealing that the town's children are the "perfect vessels." Will was the first of them, after being taken in Season 1. As Vecna returns to the Upside Down, the boy reflects on the time he's spent with his friends and gains the confidence to unleash powers he never realised he had.
Stopping the Demogorgons in place before they can kill Mike, Lucas, and Robin, Will sees through their eyes and snaps their limbs, killing them. The fourth episode ends with a powerful Will raising his head and wiping away the blood from his nose, Eleven-style; it seems Vecna has underestimated Will, and the stage is set for a huge confrontation.
Variety (via SFFGazette.com) caught up with Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers and asked whether Will has Eleven's powers or something else entirely.
"It’s different in that he’s able to channel Vecna’s powers. But they’re all related," Ross explained. "Vecna and Eleven, their powers are similar. The powers aren’t within him. He’s able to channel these powers from Vecna and use it, sort of puppeteering."
Matt added, "He taps into the hive mind, and then he can manipulate anything within the hive. You’ll see how far he can take it as you continue to watch. But that’s how he’s able to manipulate the monster. So he can’t open a door, because the door is not part of the hive mind."
"[Vecna] completely underestimates Will. He perceives him in the way that so many others have in his life, which is as weak, as nothing, as incapable of achieving anything great," he continued. "So he completely underestimates him in that moment. Whether that’s going to happen again, you’ll have to watch Volume 2."
Ross went on to reveal that the debut of Will's burgeoning powers is a full-circle moment. However, the idea itself is one they came up with while planning Season 5 (meaning it wasn't necessarily always the intention for the character).
We also learn what became of Max, as her mind is trapped in the Upside Down. Explaining that decision, Ross said, "From the end of Season 4 when we kept her in the coma, we knew she was trapped in Vecna’s mindscape, and we knew that was going to be part of her journey, at least for Season 5. But it finally clicked when we realized that Holly could be there as well, and then the other kids."
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 is the fact that nobody dies. The show's leads are certainly put in plenty of peril, but as Matt puts it, "The show is not 'Game of Thrones.'"
He went on to say, "I’m hoping it surprises people. But there’s no Red Wedding, if that’s what you’re asking. That would be depressing."
Stranger Things Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.