Even after all this time, the death of Barb Holland is still a gut punch for Stranger Things fans. Seeing the redheaded teen being dragged into the Upside Down by a Demogorgon was one of the show’s most haunting moments. Her death felt cruel and undeserved.
Season 4 hinted that it wasn’t the Demogorgon that killed Barb, but that the humanoid psychopath Vecna could have played a role.
The Body Doesn’t Match the Crime
The biggest clue is the state of Barb’s corpse. When Eleven found her in “The Bathtub,” she wasn’t torn apart or partially eaten the way Demogorgon victims usually looked. Instead, she was cocooned in sticky, weblike residue and her limbs were twisted at impossible angles.
When a Demogorgon attacks, it slashes you with its claws or it rips you open as it eats you alive and spits you out.
This didn’t happen to Barb. Instead, it resembled what we later see in Season 4. In the episodes “Dear Billy” and “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” we saw the teenagers Vecna targeted covered in a similar goo with twisted limbs.
It would also explain Eleven’s freak out when she found Barb’s body. You could say that the state of Barb’s corpse looked upsetting for a pre-teen girl.
Then you remember that years before Barb’s death, Vecna attacked Eleven when he passed himself off as an orderly in Hawkins Lab. His victims from his massacre at the lab died in a similar manner as Barb. While the memories of the incident were buried in Eleven’s mind, seeing Barb could have been a trigger on a subconscious level.
Why Would Vecna Target Barb?
Vecna doesn’t strike at random. He feeds on negative emotions, including grief, guilt, self-loathing, and despair.
Barb embodied all of that in her final hours as she sat alone by the pool. She felt unwanted after Nancy left her behind for Steve. She was invisible to the people living in Hawkins. Barb would have been an easy target for someone like Vecna.
Could Barb have been the first victim of Vecna’s “curse”? Was she a prototype like Will Byers was? Vecna could’ve been inspired by Barb’s depressed state to prey on broken teenagers to weaken the barrier between Hawkins and the Upside Down.
Was the Body Actually an Illusion?
Another angle to consider is that the Barb we saw in season 4 was actually an illusion.
Vecna’s illusions are usually based on the victim’s fears or guilt. When Nancy is pulled into Vecna’s mindscape in “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” she sees Barb’s mangled corpse in the Upside Down version of Steve’s pool. Vecna uses that image to torment her, forcing Nancy to relive the guilt of leaving her friend behind.
Yet, the visions Vecna showed Nancy were a mix of his real life memories and his dark imagination. It blurs the line between whether Vecna actually took Nancy to Barb’s final resting place or was just messing with her mind.
Nothing Has Been Confirmed
The Duffer Brothers have never confirmed if Vecna had a hand in Barb’s death. Officially, the Demogorgon is responsible.
However, Stranger Things is good at taking something that appears simple, only to reveal new layers over time.
If Vecna did kill Barb, it would’ve been the blueprint for everything he does later in the series.
Whether or not the show ever confirms it, the implication is chilling.
