After two seasons of terrorizing Hawkins and The Party, Vecna/Henry Creel/One is finally dead.
And who was the one to finish him off? Eleven? Will? Close, it’s actually Will’s mom Joyce Byers who delivered the final blows by chopping his head off with an axe.
It’s a satisfying way to end Joyce’s arc. For five seasons she’s been forced to suffer as a result of Vecna’s machinations.
Joyce Has Been in Hell Since Season One
Joyce’s pain starts the moment Will disappears. She’s the first person to understand that the supernatural was involved. She was even able to communicate with Will using Christmas lights.
When Hawkins Lab fakes Will’s death, Joyce refuses to go along with the rise. Unfortunately, that causes the whole town to brand her as a crazy woman in denial. Even her son Jonathan thinks she’s losing it.
Being Right Never Protected Joyce
After Will is rescued from the Upside Down, Joyce has to deal with both her trauma and her son’s. She knows something is still wrong with Will, even when doctors say otherwise.
Once again, she’s proven right. The Mind Flayer had possessed Will, using him as a spy and to construct tunnels that connected Hawkins to the Upside Down. Then her boyfriend, Bob Newby is ripped apart by Demodogs.
When she notices that the magnets on her fridge have lost their magnetism, her investigation leads her, Hopper and Murray to a shocking discovery. The Russians are using Starcourt Mall as a base for them to construct their own gateway to Upside Down. She turns the keys that close the gate, believing she is killing Hopper in the process.
That choice breaks her.
In Stranger Things 4, Joyce moves her family and Eleven to California, but even that doesn’t keep them away from danger. Joyce receives a message from Hopper revealing he’s alive. While she travels to Russia with Murray to free him, the military attacks her home and almost kills her sons looking for Eleven.
By the time the Party learns of Vecna’s existence and the role he’s played in the show’s events, Joyce’s life has already been shaped by his cruelty for years.
Remembering What Vecna Took From the Party
As Joyce raises the axe, the show slows down and flashes back to how much damage Vecna inflicted on everyone.
Will and Jonathan remember how Will’s abduction affected them.
Nancy thinks about losing her friend Barb to Vecna.
Lucas relieves the night he lost Max while Dustin has flashbacks of Eddie and his death.
Mike thinks back on Eleven’s disappearing at the end of season 1 (clever foreshadowing there).
When Vecna’s head hits the ground, it doesn’t undo the damage. His death doesn’t bring back all the people he’s killed. It does bring a sense of relief knowing he can never hurt anyone else ever again.
It’s the closest the series comes to delivering justice.
Thanks, Joyce.
