Note: This article contains major spoilers from ‘Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1‘
Well, it’s officially ‘Will The Sorcerer‘ and it isn’t ‘Will the Wise‘ anymore because what just happened at the ‘Stranger Things Season 5: Volume 1‘ finale has made the entire fandom lose their mind. The hype created by The Duffer Brothers and Netflix truly deserves a standing ovation because not only did they make one of the insane theories come into reality, but they also brought back one of the most talked-about characters from season 2. We see younger Will Byers back in the year 1983 and judging by how it starts, we see him fleeing away from the demogorgons six days after his disappearance.
We also find out Will encountered Vecna that year itself and closed the scene where he was trapped when rescued back in season 1. That gave us layers to understand, proving that his connection was never ‘severed‘ from the Upside down, and made us realize that this season isn’t going to just revolve around Mike or Eleven. It showed us new faces and some old characters with a new spotlight while ending in one of the most intense but best cliffhangers. But the question remains, Is Will now strong enough to fight Vecna, or will he be used by him to destroy everyone around him and Hawkins itself?
Will was Vecna’s blueprint all along
As we all know since season 1 that Will has always been wrapped in mystery. He is the ‘Zombie Boy’ who disappeared, he is the boy who is possessed, and now he is the boy who can fight like El, because Volume 1 finally shifts him from being a passive victim to an active force.
The season builds toward a finale that becomes not just an action-heavy climax but a deeply emotional turning point, anchored in Will’s acceptance of who he is and who he has become. Honestly, we are loving every bit of it!
As fans of Stranger Things, the episodes remind us how long Will has carried silent burdens through every single season. As we see, the show gently plants the idea that his connection to Vecna might not only be a curse but also a hidden doorway to something important.
When Vecna resurfaces in MACz stronger and colder than ever, his intentions become terrifyingly clear, as he is no longer content with haunting the Upside Down. He intends to reshape the world using twelve children as perfect vessels, and he reminds Will that this plan began with him in 1983.
Through this revelation, we as the audience are forced to reinterpret everything we thought we understood about Vecna’s motives. Will’s disappearance wasn’t just an accident, as the plot itself unveils him being the blueprint in Vecna’s long game.
But for the first time, the connection works both ways, as we see the season’s most electric moment arrive when Will answers Vecna’s psychic taunts not with fear but with strength, tapping into joyful memories like Castle Byers and early days with Mike, using his warmth and innocence as a weapon against darkness.
Which honestly, if you think deeply is a poetic reversal in itself as we know how much Vecna thrives on trauma, while Will grows stronger through clarity and self-acceptance.
Will Byers finally stands at the story’s center
For the first time since 1983, Will doesn’t survive the horror because this time he confronts it, reshapes it, and refuses to be controlled by it. Fans can feel that this is the beginning of something much bigger than a power upgrade because it’s a reclamation of identity.
Volume 1 is undeniably the most crowded stretch of episodes the show has produced, juggling government conspiracies, evolving lore, character arcs, and three separate realities. At times, the story strains under its own ambition, especially for characters like Hopper, Joyce, and Dustin, who briefly circle familiar emotional beats.
But the season’s highs outweigh its stumbles, and when the narrative focuses on Will, Eleven, Max, Nancy, or Holly, it becomes clear that the Duffers are steering the show toward an ending rooted in emotion just as much as spectacle.
By the time the volume closes, we can already imagine Hawkins collapsing, Vecna becoming stronger than ever, and the war has shifted into something more intimate and psychological. It’s no longer just about defeating a monster because now it’s about who these characters become in the process. For the first time, Hawkins has more than one superpowered defender.
And for the first time since the series began, Will Byers stands exactly where he always belonged, which is at the center of the story, carrying both the past and the future of this world.
Military control tightens with unsettling force as Dr. Kay’s relentless pursuit deepens
But in the meantime we also see how the world outside Hawkins spirals into an even larger crisis. The military presence becomes overwhelming, and their efforts to control the situation unfold with a sharp and often unsettling focus.
Dr. Kay, relentless and emotionally impenetrable, hunts Eleven with a single-minded drive that leaves her staff terrified of disappointing her. Lt. Col. Sullivan returns with the Wolfpack and unveils a sonic weapon capable of disabling powered individuals, which instantly shifts the balance of the story.
When we watch Eleven collapse under the sound while Hopper destroys the device just in time, we can feel how vulnerable the powered characters have suddenly become, and it’s one of the first times the series shows that the human world can be just as dangerous as the Upside Down.
And with everything going on, we also get a more intimate view of the personal storylines running alongside the mess. Audiences feel the weight of Dustin’s grief about losing Eddie, straining his relationship with Steve and reminding us that the show always lived in these friendships. We also see the Cold War between Nancy and Jonathan as they are moving around each other like two people who are afraid to admit that they have outgrown the relationship.
We see Max, trapped inside the dreamlike realm of Camazotz which is a psychic landscape built from Vecna’s never-ending memories that deepens the mythology and reopens questions about death, consciousness, and what it means to survive something that wants to consume you.
But despite of everything, we also get to see Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler getting a rare moment in the spotlight as they are basically the only civilians to face a Demogorgon and live, reinforcing how the stakes are no longer confined to the core group.
With everything going on at the Hawkins now, the last thing we expected was a new hero. We see a whole new character called Derek Turnbow, who is basically a bully, and once he understands the gravity of the situation, he becomes a loyal ally and naming himself the ‘Delightful Derek.’
Kali’s return shocks fans and Eleven as well
To be honest, the audience and the fans did not expect the return of Kali, who is apparently being hidden and used by the military base at Upside Down. It was something we could not have imagined, but it also revealed more dimension to Eleven’s story and hints at power dynamics that could redefine the upcoming episodes.
Her presence suggests that the conflict is not just between Eleven and Vecna but among those who share the same origins and carry different interpretations of what power should be used for. This layered conflict pushes the show into more psychological territory, connecting the physical world, the Upside Down, and Vecna’s Camazotz into a narrative that constantly shifts between horror and introspection.
And honestly everything converges in Volume 1’s explosive final act. The military gathers children for protection but quickly becomes overrun when Demogorgons burst through the gates. Vecna crossed the bridge and came outside the Upside Down with a new look by being all calm, methodical, and devastating at the same time.
He annihilates the entire military force, taunts Will for failing him as his former spy, and orchestrates the mass abduction of children. It’s one of the coldest sequences the show has ever attempted. But just when the situation seems hopeless, Will’s transformation reaches its peak. Standing on the battlefield with white eyes and steady control, he destroys the Demogorgons threatening his friends.
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