Summary

Will Byers has always been the catalyst for the trajectory of Stranger Things, with his kidnapping setting off a chain of events.
Will's connection to the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer may make him the key to stopping Vecna's plans in the final season.
Through his psychic link to the creature, Will could potentially have untapped powers to alter the energies of the Upside Down.

Throughout the course of the acclaimed Netflix series Stranger Things, there have been a slew of fan favorite characters that have made the show what it is today. From the heroics of Hopper, Steve and of course, Eleven, to the humor of Dustin and the complex villainy of the Mind Flayer and Vecna. Yet one character has always been the catalyst for the show’s trajectory, and that is none other than Will Byers. The young boy kicked the events of the series off, with his kidnapping becoming the event that launched both his family and his friends to stumble upon government cover-ups and alien worlds.

As the fifth and final season approaches in 2025, the question on everyone’s minds has been who will be crucial to Vecna’s plans for the town of Hawkins and the group of heroes standing in his way. While Eleven is a sure-fire part of the fight against him, the one character everyone should be looking at is Will Byers. Could Will be the key to stopping Vecna and saving the world from the Upside-Down in the final season of Stranger Things?

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By Taylor Mansfield

Will’s Journey So Far

Will Byers was just a shy, introverted kid who loved hanging out with his friends and playing Dungeons and Dragons. The son of a single mother, Joyce, and spending a lot of time with his older brother Jonathan, Will traveled home alone one night after spending time with his friends, but arriving home, he was taken by a creature the heroes would come to call a Demogorgon. The mystery of what happened to Will would lead to many mysteries being unlocked for the rest of the series. Discovering that Hawkins Laboratory was in part responsible for the opening of the rift leading to the Upside Down, an alternate reality connected to our world, Will’s mother Joyce and Sherrif Hopper would venture into that alien world to save Will’s life.

Yet things would not be so cut and dry, as the second season showed Will didn’t survive completely untouched. His experiences connected him psychically to an entity from the Upside Down known as the Mind Flayer. A giant, monstrous creature that connects to the other creatures of the Upside Down, the Mind Flayer attempted to possess Will through their shared mind-link, hoping to cross over into our world. The combined efforts of his friends, family, Hopper and of course, Eleven helped save Will from the creature and shut the rift once more.

The third season saw Will tested more personally than before, with his struggle to retain some of the childhood he missed clashing with his friends, who had been able to grow up faster than him. Yet his connection to the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer remained, and he was able to sense the growing infection of the creature in Hawkins when Billy became possessed. After saving Hawkins once more, he moved to California with his mom, brother and Eleven. Things come to a head in season 4, however, as Will struggled with his sexuality and feelings for his best friend Mike, while also helping to track down Eleven and help stop Vecna. Despite their best efforts, Vecna’s plans worked, and Will sensed the Upside Down beginning to infiltrate Hawkins.

The Key to Stopping Vecna’s Plans

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Whatever his ultimate goals, Vecna is the endgame villain that the Hawkins heroes will be forced to face. In season 4, the backstory of Vecna, aka Henry Creel, reveals that he gained his powers after disappearing for 12 hours in an alternate world, and brought back the Mind Flayer with him. This story paralleled Will’s story, although Henry allowed the creature to take over and warp him into a future killer, while Will had friends and family there to help purge the monster.

Eventually, Henry’s powers evolved to an uncontrollable point, and his caregiver, Dr. Brenner chipped him, keeping his powers in check, while the experiments on children continued until they produced Eleven. A fateful event saw Henry regain his powers and slaughter everyone except Brenner and Eleven, whom he felt a connection with. However, she was horrified by his actions, and managed to banish him to the Upside Down, where he would become scarred and turned into the monster known as Vecna.

Considering how similar both Henry Creel and Will Byer’s experiences in the Upside Down were, and their connection to the hive mind of the Upside Down, including the Mind Flayer, Will may be the key to stopping Vecna. While Eleven has had superpowers thus far in the show, Will may be sitting on untapped potential of his own, and his traumas in the Upside Down may have given him gifts to alter and shape the energies of the Upside Down the same way Vecna has. This could lead to Stranger Things's creators to setting up a battle featuring Eleven, Vecna and Will, with tragic circumstances. Perhaps Vecna will view Will as the child he wasn’t allowed to become, or as a final vessel to take as he crosses over into our world. Either way, Will holds the power or answer that will help the heroes stop Vecna once and for all.