One question that’s been on the mind of Stranger Things fans is when it comes to the relationship between the Mind Flayer and Vecna (Henry Creel), who’s really in control?
Since Vecna was introduced in season 4, the main cast and viewers were led to believe that he’s the true mastermind behind every tragedy that’s plagued Hawkins since the show’s beginning.
This contradicts seasons 2 and 3, where the Mind Flayer was established as the big bad.
In season 5, we get little hints that Dustin’s theory that Vecna is actually the Mind Flayer’s general had some truth to it.
The Mind Flayer Was Never a Servant
For three seasons, the Mind Flayer was already behaving like a conqueror.
The shadowy entity was sending Demogorgons and Demodogs to Hawkins, or possessing humans to do its bidding.
The desire to take over the world was always shown to be the Mind Flayer’s goal. One it was working towards on its own, not because it was taking orders from someone else. It was always an active player in its assault against Hawkins.
If the Mind Flayer had agency long before Vecna entered the picture, then the idea that it later submitted to him feels more like a misdirection.
The Memory Vecna Couldn’t Face
In episode 4 of Stranger Things 5, there’s a memory of a cave in Vecna’s mindscape that the humanoid refuses to enter under any circumstances.
When he’s finally forced inside during the finale, he relives the worst memory of his life.
While exploring a cave in Nevada, an eight year old Henry Creel finds a bloodied, paranoid man who questions Henry on how he found him.
When Henry explains that he found the man by accident and offers to help, the man shoots the boy in the hand. Henry finds a rock and beats the man to death with it.
Curious about the silver briefcase the man was carrying, Henry opens it to find a glowing red rock. Black Mind Flayer particles come out of the rock and enters Henry’s body through the wound on his hand.
The man warns Henry to resist or it “will consume you. It will consume all.” That’s when the Mind Flayer takes over Henry, making him kill the man. He blows the man’s eyes out with his newly acquired telekinesis, which freaks Henry out.
This is the moment Henry is flayed.
The Mind Flayer doesn’t ask for permission. It invades while whispering to Henry to “find me.” The scene feels no different from other instances of the Mind Flayer possessing people, like Billy Hargrove.
Did Henry Really Have a Choice?
Confronted with the truth that the Mind Flayer has been controlling him his entire life, Will Byers pleads with Vecna to help the Party by turning against the entity.
However, Vecna refuses. He insists that he chose to embrace the Mind Flayer’s influence.
“It showed me that this world is broken, that man is broken. It has never controlled me, and I never controlled it. I could have resisted it, but I chose to join it. It needs me, and I need it. We are one.”
Did Henry really choose to join forces with the Mind Flayer? Or is he being manipulated by the Mind Flayer into believing that he actually has a say in the matter?
Henry was eight years old when he was flayed. The Mind Flayer embedded itself into his mind at a vulnerable point in his life. It’s been stated that Henry’s personality changed and he became much colder after he was flayed.
Yet there’s a lot we don’t know about Henry’s original personality before he went into the cave. So it’s hard to tell how much of an impact the Mind Flayer has had on him.
The Broadway play Stranger Things: The First Shadow makes it clear that the Mind Flayer was constantly manipulating Henry. Feeding his resentment, distorting his perceptions, reinforcing the idea that the world is broken. It breaks him down until he morphs into something that he needs.
Vecna wasn’t an innocent victim, but he was never truly free either.
Why Vecna Needs to Believe He Chose This
One thing we do know about Vecna is that he would not be thrilled with the idea of being the Mind Flayer’s plaything for over thirty years.
Admitting he was manipulated, or used would shatter the persona he built for himself. He is the hunter, the dreaded. For someone like Vecna, being a victim himself is absurd. He needs to believe he chose this.
This is a classic manipulation tactic. Convince someone they’re in control, and they will defend their cage for you.
The fact that the Mind Flayer hid this memory from Vecna for decades says everything. If learning the truth could weaken its hold, then their partnership was never voluntary like Vecna claims it is.
With Vecna dead and the Mind Flayer’s fate left up in the air, we’ll probably never know the true extent of the evil duo’s relationship.
At the end of the day, Vecna was given the chance to redeem himself and he rejected it. Whether it was due to the Mind Flayer’s influence or free will, Vecna stood by the monster until the very end. And that decision that ultimately cost him his life.
