Stranger Things season 4 already showed audiences how Eleven can defeat Vecna in the Netflix series’ final season. When season 4 ended, the town of Hawkins was left reeling from an earthquake-like fracture between reality and the Upside Down caused by Vecna. Although Eleven was able to prevent Vecna from killing Max, the rift between the two worlds had already been opened. As Stranger Things season 4 ended, Hawkins watched as the sky turned red and ash fell onto the formerly quiet town.
Vecna controls the Upside Down and its monsters. Formerly known as Henry Creel and One, Vecna always used his power for evil, beginning at a young age when he killed his mother and sister and framed his father. After the massacre at Hawkins Lab, Eleven banished One to the Upside Down, where he took control of the Mind Flayer, modeling it in his own image and creating the beast that terrorized Hawkins in Stranger Things season 3.
Eleven Can Undo Vecna’s Control In Stranger Things 5
Vecna has seemingly ultimate control over the Upside Down, having been its sole human resident since he was first banished to the wasteland by Eleven. With his family’s old house as his home base, Vecna established control over the Upside Down, using the hivemind to remotely execute the residents of Hawkins. However, Vecna is not as powerful as Eleven in Stranger Things. Given that Vecna established this control over the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer, it stands to reason that Eleven could wrest control of the Upside Down from Vecna.
Eleven demonstrated the ability to overpower Vecna when she piggybacked into Max’s memory and again after Vecna took her hostage in the Upside Down. Eleven was the one who first opened the gate to the Upside Down, a skill at which Vecna was less adept. Vecna had to wait for Eleven to first open the gate in season 1 before he could infiltrate Hawkins and begin opening his own gates. Given this power, it’s plausible that Eleven, given the right and tools, can take back control from Vecna.
Stranger Things 5's Time Skip Means Eleven Can Get Stronger
Kali, Eleven's long-lost sister.
Logically, Eleven will begin training to fight Vecna immediately following the conclusion of season 4; unlike in previous seasons, the ending of the fourth season did not afford any of the characters a false sense of security. Instead, as the Upside Down seeped into Hawkins, the urgency of the situation was felt by all parties. Still, the time jump makes sense; Vecna was seriously injured by both Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins gang. Even though the Upside Down has infiltrated Hawkins, Vecna will need time to recuperate enough to fight Eleven. Eleven, uninjured but fragile from her fight with Vecna, will need to use the extra time to hone her abilities.
What Controlling The Upside Down Means For Eleven's Ending
Stranger Things will almost certainly feature Vecna's defeat, but season 5's most optimistic scenario is also one of its most troubling. Audiences are still largely unsure of how the Upside Down works, but the Hawkins Lab flashbacks revealed some crucial details. First, it confirmed that Eleven was the first to open a gate between Hawkins and the Upside Down when she sent One to the wasteland, where he transformed into Vecna. There, Vecna found the components that he later used to create the Mind Flayer. Vecna's ability to control the Upside Down means that Eleven, too, could control it, but Vecna was only able to control the Upside Down because he was in it.
If sealing all the gates to the Upside Down proves impossible, then Eleven may have to sacrifice herself to live out her existence managing the Upside Down. As the show has grown darker in recent seasons, Stranger Things seems to be setting up a tragic ending for Eleven. If she is, in fact, the only person who can ensure that the Upside Down and its monsters are never able to hurt anyone again, Eleven will certainly sacrifice herself for the greater good. The evidence for this assertion came from back in season 1, when, in killing the Demogorgon, Eleven said goodbye to Mike, seemingly believing that she would either die or be trapped in the Upside Down.
Eleven Beating Vecna Doesn't Solve Stranger Things 5's Main Problem
Although Vecna revealed that he had been pulling the strings since season 1 via his remote control over the Upside Down's monsters, the framework for the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer existed in their full forms before Vecna arrived. Vecna merely found a way to control the tools he found in the Upside Down. While Eleven may be able to defeat Vecna with relative ease, he is only a symptom of the larger problem. Season 5 will likely bring back Stranger Things' biggest villains, which include all the monsters in the Upside Down.
Season 4 proved that, despite Eleven's best efforts, she and the rest of the Hawkins gang have only been incapacitating the Mind Flayer rather than permanently stopping it. More troubling is that there is no clear path that explains how the Mind Flayer and the Upside Down can be stopped. Eleven has used the fullest extent of her powers to fight the Upside Down, but gates continue to be opened and Hawkins continues to be attacked. This difficult truth further s the theory that the Upside Down cannot be destroyed, but rather only managed.
Season 5 has a multitude of questions to answer: when, if ever, Max will return to Stranger Things, whether Will will be able to sever his connection with the Upside Down; and, most crucially, how Eleven can defeat Vecna and the Upside Down. While season 4's finale presented more questions than any season preceding it, the key to Vecna's defeat seems to inevitably lie with Eleven's ability to cede control of the Upside Down from Vecna, a possibility that, in classic Stranger Things fashion, may end with a bittersweet sacrifice from the show's main character.