Vecna from Stranger Things 4 is the show’s most vicious villain. He stalks the vulnerable. He forces his victims to relive the pain they’d rather bury. Then he (literally) crushes their body while stealing their essence.
Calling it cruel undersells what he’s actually doing. He’s a predator who enjoys the spectacle.
At the same time, he’s not just killing teenagers for the hell of it. Every kill has a purpose that brings Vecna closer to his goal.
Why the Number Four is Important
Every kill is part of a ritual that tears open a gate between Hawkins and the Upside Down.
Once someone is marked by Vecna’s “curse”, they begin to suffer from hallucinations that tap into the source of their trauma. While his victim is haunted by the hallucinations, Vecna uses telekinesis to levitate his victim. He contorts their body, breaking every bone and gouging their eyes out.
The moment his victim dies, he consumes everything that made that person who they were. Their memories, personality traits, their consciousness, etc. Their trauma becomes fuel, and a new portal rips open at their death site. One murder equals one gate.
When the fourth gate opens, the smaller gates converge into a bigger tear that causes the Upside Down to merge with the real world.
Why is four the magic number? It’s probably a nod to the fact that in East Asian countries, the number is associated with death. In the Korean, Chinese and Japanese languages, “four” sounds very similar to the word for “death”. The superstition is so strong that many buildings in Japan and Korea don’t even have a fourth floor.
Why He Targets Teenagers
Vecna’s victims are young people struggling with trauma and mental health.
His first victim Chrissy Cunningham was verbally abused by her mother over her weight, which led to an eating disorder.
Second victim Fred Benson had survivor’s guilt after he accidentally caused a car accident that killed a fellow student.
Patrick McKinney suffered from verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his father.
And the final victim, Max Mayfield felt conflicted about the death of her step-brother Billy. Especially since it was something she wished for in the hope of escaping his abuse.
It’s possible that age had little to do with Vecna’s motivations. Hawkins was reeling from mysterious deaths and disappearances. The events over the course of the series created a lot of fear, some unhealed wounds. Maybe Chrissy, Patrick, Fred and Max were targeted simply because their pain was just too strong for Vecna to ignore. With season 4 ending with Vecna’s plan succeeding, it’ll be interesting to see how The Party is going to stop him.
