The Stranger Things season 4 villain Vecna.
It was Dustin, Erica, and Lucas who figured out that every one of Vecna's gruesome serial murders results in an open portal to Stranger Things' Upside Down world. Using the guilt that torments each of his victims, Vecna establishes psychic connections with physical reality, manifesting at the site of each death. Vecna has already succeeded at opening several portals, most notably at the site of Chrissy Cunningham's death and under the lake at Hawkins, which Dustin dubbed "Watergate."
Each Stranger Things Upside Down portal strengthens Vecna's powers within and beyond the Upside Down – and soon, he will be ready to launch a full-on invasion of the town of Hawkins. This is just the first step in Vecna's true goals: the destruction or subsumption of all humanity. Here's everything else audiences need to know about Vecna's inevitable invasion.
What Does The Clock In Stranger Things Season 4 Mean For Hawkins?
The Stranger Things grandfather clock is a representation of Vecna's twisted views about regular humans being an inferior species who are better off destroyed. As a child, Henry was mesmerized by the movements of the grandfather clock at their Hawkins home, and it ultimately led him to see the inherent patterns in contemporary capitalist society, especially how these patterns trap adults into repetitive and meaningless lives. Empowered by his inherent psychic abilities and having no one to guide him through his realizations about late-stage capitalism, Henry's radicalization takes a violent turn, as his childhood trauma manifests into psychic violence against his own family - in the guise of somehow changing the world.
The grandfather clock that inspired Henry's genocidal views now inspire fear in Vecna's targeted victims. Indeed, going through a Stranger Things Upside Down portal isn't the only way to traverse over to that world. As some of the Stranger Things season 4 cast learned the hard way, the surreal psychic manifestations of Henry's grandfather clock, along with other items from his childhood, can also serve as conduits to Stranger Things' Upside Down world - or even Vecna's own mind.
Hawkins Is At War With The Upside Down In Stranger Things Season 4
Each Stranger Things Upside Down portal that Vecna has opened is a tactical entry point not just for Demobats, but anything else that Vecna can conjure. Dustin and the others have also figured out ways to use these portals and even communicate with people in the Upside Down through electric currents. These experiments, however, also led to Nancy getting trapped inside Vecna's mind, which could also happen to the next person who steps through a portal.
On the other hand, the team is not taking all this sitting down and seems intent and fully capable of taking the fight to the Upside Down. Moreover, now that Dr. Brenner successfully solved the case of Eleven's missing powers in Stranger Things season 4, the town of Hawkins might just have a fighting chance against Vecna. After all, it's been revealed that Eleven was the one who inadvertently created Vecna, which implies that Eleven can also destroy the lich or at least put a stop to his reign of terror. In any case, an invasion is in the cards for Hawkins whether or not the Scoop Troop can stave off Vecna's efforts.
What Else Will Happen In Stranger Things' Season 4 finale?
The Stranger Things season 4 finale will likely see the main cast reunited at some point, whether in the real world, the Upside Down, or within Vecna's mind. Following Eleven recalling crucial childhood memories, a new Stranger Things Upside Down portal might just open in the NINA facility in Nevada, where Mike, Suzie, and Jonathan are headed. The final two episodes might also see the seemingly inevitable Stranger Things season 4 part 2. Heads up, and roll 1d20 for initiative.
Stranger Things season 4, part 2 streams on Netflix July 1, 2022 at 3AM EST.
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