Stranger Things Creators on Why Vecna Doesn’t Kill [Spoiler] in Season 5

Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 leaves fans with a major question after its explosive mid-season finale: why doesn’t Vecna kill a key character when he finally has him cornered? The Duffer brothers have finally given answers to it, which ultimately shifts the entire battle in Hawkins.

Duffer brothers on why Vecna doesn’t kill Will when he uses his powers

According to Stranger Things creator Matt Duffer, Vecna’s failure to kill Will stems from a profound and arrogant underestimation of the character. Duffer explained that Vecna views Will through the same dismissive lens that many others have throughout Will’s life.

“You’ll see as it goes on, but he completely underestimates Will,” Matt Duffer told Variety. “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. So he completely underestimates him in that moment.”

This arrogance proves to be a catastrophic blind spot for the villain. By seeing Will as “weak” and “incapable,” Vecna fails to recognize the immense strength and latent power that Will possesses. The Duffers hint that this oversight may not be a one-time error, leaving the door open for future confrontations. “Whether that’s going to happen again, you’ll have to watch Volume 2,” Matt continued.

Vecna’s dramatic return in Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 4 was designed to be a moment of immense power and terror. Ross Duffer compared the villain’s entrance through the military’s MAC-Z gate to Darth Vader’s iconic scene in Rogue One. “The minute he walked out of that gate, you felt the power of Vecna. You felt how scary he was,” Ross Duffer told Netflix.

With a clear mission to refashion the world, Vecna needs 12 children, whom he calls “perfect vessels” for being easily shaped and controlled. In his confrontation with Will, he reveals that it was Will himself who originally showed him what was possible when he took him as his first vessel back in 1983. Vecna admits, “And you, Will, you were the first. You broke so easily. You showed me what was possible, what I could achieve.”

Volume 1 of Stranger Things S5 is now streaming on Netflix.