Does the Mind Flayer Control Vecna on STRANGER THINGS?
For a while, there has been some curiosity about whether or not Vecna/Henry is the true villain of Stranger Things. After all, it seemed like there was another, greater entity of power in the world, the Mind Flayer. Although it never outright asked the question, Stranger Things seemed to tease us with the idea that perhaps, Vecna wasn’t the true big bad, but was instead controlled by the Mind Flayer. Anyone who saw the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, would agree that the play bolstered these notions of Vecna. But in the end, was Vecna controlled by the Mind Flayer on Stranger Things? The series finale of the show gives us some definitive answers. Join us as we explore what we learned.
The Mind Flayer Flayed Henry When He Was Eight
In the Stranger Things series finale, Vecna/Henry finally confronts his worst, most traumatic memory ever. And that lets the audience finally see it in full as well. In the memory, a young Vecna/Henry, barely eight, encounters a Russian spy in an old mine. The man attempts to shoot Vecna/Henry, but the boy ends up killing him instead. And then he curiously opens up the briefcase the man is carrying. Inside the briefcase is a fragment from The Abyss, which contains Mind Flayer particles.
These particles seep into Vecna/Henry’s open wound, flaying him, making him one of the Hive Mind, and giving him his powers. “Find Me,” the Mind Flayer whispers in Vecna’s ear for the first time on Stranger Things. And immediately after, Vecna/Henry uses his new powers to explode the man’s skull—although it seems like he didn’t truly mean to do such a thing. It’s his first act guided by the Mind Flayer.
That Memory Is Vecna’s Worst One on Stranger Things
Vecna regards his memory of coming under the Mind Flayer’s control as his worst memory of all. It’s so traumatic that he has to force himself to confront it at great personal pain. Only at his most hopeless moment does he allow himself to remember it fully, where we would not before. It’s implied he blocked the memory from his thoughts altogether. When we look objectively at how much Vecna hates/fears his first memory of the Mind Flayer on Stranger Things‘ series finale, it might seem like the Mind Flayer has indeed been controlling Vecna all along. But let’s see what else Stranger Things tells us.
The Mind Flayer Manipulated Henry/Vecna When He Was Young, Reveals the Play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Further corroborating this narrative, the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, really makes it seem like the Mind Flayer bullied and manipulated a young Henry Creel as he fought NOT to become Vecna. In the play, the Mind Flayer constantly whispers in Henry’s ear, pushing him to use his powers for worse ends, lying to him about the people around him, and cruelly turning his insecurities against him. If we just look at The First Shadow play, it really feels like Vecna/Henry doesn’t stand a chance against the Mind Flayer, who is its own separate entity. If the play lived in a bubble, it would once again seem like Vecna IS being controlled by the Mind Flayer on Stranger Things.
Vecna Confirms That He Is NOT Controlled By the Mind Flayer
But, in the end, this is not the case. Whilst the Mind Flayer may have controlled Vecna/Henry when he was very young. Vecna is no longer that boy in the cave or in the Stranger Things play. While there’s some argument to be made that because the Mind Flayer interjected itself into Henry Creel’s life so young, everything Vecna does not is somewhat controlled by the Mind Flayer. But, ultimately, Vecna himself rejects that thought.
In Stranger Things‘ series finale, Vecna confirms that he is NOT being controlled by the Mind Flayer. Instead, Vecna has willingly chosen to join it, though he “could have resisted.” The truth is, Vecna didn’t want to resist; he wanted to be a part of the Mind Flayer and to make the Mind Flayer a part of him. He wants this power.
In full, Vecna says the following when Will suggests to him that the Mind Flayer is controlling and manipulating him on Stranger Things, “It showed me the truth. It showed me that this world is broken. That man is broken. I could have resisted it, but I chose to join it. It needs me and I need it.” Vecna does not control the Mind Flayer, and the Mind Flayer does not control Vecna. Instead, the two are no longer separate entities at all.
Vecna and the Mind Flayer Are One
In the end, the Mind Flayer and Vecna are one and the same, as Stranger Things has told us since Stranger Things 2. But now we know they weren’t always like that. Vecna and the Mind Flayers were two separate entities at one point, each with its own consciousness. But by the time of Stranger Things‘ series finale, there is no more distinction. “We are one,” Vecna explains simply of his relationship with the Mind Flayer on Stranger Things. Fair enough.
Is the Mind Flayer Destroyed Now That Vecna Is Dead?
The Mind Flayer is a tricky substance, though. Its particles always seem to get into things and billow hither and dither. Did the Mind Flayer really get destroyed when Vecna died on Stranger Things‘ series finale? We are going to tentatively say, yes. We saw the inner body/heart of the Mind Flayer dry up to nothing when Vecna finally died for good on Stranger Things. That seems indicative that the Mind Flayer is also dead on Stranger Things‘ series finale and won’t return to infect anything else. Since Vecna and the Mind Flayer were so merged as to be “one,” it follows that killing one of them is enough.
We will say that some Mind Flayer particles appear to leave Holly Wheeler’s body still alive even after the shrivel… But perhaps there are not enough of them to do any real damage without the brain of the hive.
And there you have it, folks. In the end, though the Mind Flayer manipulated Vecna some of the way, in the end, it did not control him. Vecna’s story is sad, but he remains as evil as ever. And we feel like that’s better than just making him fully the victim in the end.
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