Stranger Things Finale Almost Had a More Controversial Ending With Vecna

The Stranger Things Season 5 finale may have provided a fitting conclusion to the Netflix series, but it almost had a major character switch allegiances at the very end. In a recent interview, the series creators confirmed that they had contemplated a very different ending for Vecna, aka Henry Creel, before ultimately settling on the one that viewers got.

Duffer brothers wanted to have a ‘Darth Vader-type’ moment for Vecna in Stranger Things finale

While speaking with Netflix’s Tudum, Matt and Ross Duffer disclosed that they had considered giving Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) a redemption arc, which would’ve seen him take up arms against the Mind Flayer.

“We did discuss with the writers’ room if he could have a Billy [Dacre Montgomery] moment where he turns against the Mind Flayer [in a] Darth Vader-type situation,” Ross noted.

However, the duo eventually decided to abandon this approach as “the more we talked about it with the writers and with Jamie [Campbell Bower], he’s gone so far at this point to get here, he has to justify everything he’s done. And the only way to justify that is to go, ‘I chose this, and I believe in this still.’ Even though he is shaken by seeing this memory, he’s too far gone at this point to turn against the Mind Flayer.”

Further explaining Vecna’s final moments in the Stranger Things finale, Ross Duffer added, “We wanted to leave it up to the audience in terms of whether young Henry did choose this or whether it was simply the Mind Flayer controlling him from beginning to end. But ultimately, in terms of where Henry goes, it doesn’t matter because he chooses the side of the Mind Flayer at the end of the day.”

Notably, in Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 8, Will (Noah Schnapp) tries to appeal to the human side of Vecna, assuring Henry that it wasn’t too late to correct his mistakes. However, Henry retaliates by saying that he had consciously sided with the Mind Flayer, giving up on the chance to redeem himself.

Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.