Stranger Things 5 Creators Unveil How SPOILERS Powers Differ From Eleven’s and Vecna’s

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The first part of Stranger Things Season 5 revealed a third character who possesses psychic abilities. The popular Netflix show follows a group of teenagers and their families in Hawkins, Indiana, as they battle terrifying supernatural creatures from another world. Throughout the series, two characters – Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, and Henry/Vecna, played by Jamie Campbell Bower – have already demonstrated powerful telekinetic skills.

Eleven was born with special powers because her mother was part of a secret government experiment called MKUltra while she was pregnant. This led to Eleven being taken to Hawkins Lab and trained by Doctor Brenner. While at the lab, she met Henry, who was secretly another person with psychic abilities. After a major confrontation – a key moment in Stranger Things – Eleven banished Henry to another dimension called the Upside Down, where he eventually became the terrifying villain, Vecna.

Now, another super-powered character has emerged in Stranger Things, alongside Eleven and Vecna. 

Warning: The rest of this article contains spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5.

The fourth episode of Stranger Things 5 shocked viewers by revealing that Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) possesses psychic powers. Meanwhile, during the fight at the MAC-Z in Hawkins, Vecna appears from the Upside Down and begins carrying out his plan to kidnap children from the town.

We learned in Season 5 that when Vecna first kidnapped Will back in Season 1, he connected Will to the hive mind of the Upside Down. This created a lasting link between Will and Vecna’s creatures. Throughout Season 5, Will started to develop this connection, allowing him to spy on Vecna and see what the Demogorgons were seeing.

In the exciting finale of Episode 4, Will discovers he shares a psychic connection with Vecna, allowing him to control the Demogorgons and defeat them. This reveals Will also has psychic powers, though they seem to work differently than those of Eleven and Vecna.

Stranger Things Creators Reveal Why Will’s Powers Are Different

Fans were surprised to learn about Will’s special abilities on Stranger Things, and the show’s creators, Ross and Matt Duffer, have explained how they work. In an interview with Variety, the Duffers clarified that Will’s powers are unique – he can only use them by tapping into Vecna’s power.

What makes this different is that the character can actually use Vecna’s abilities. However, everything is connected—Eleven and Vecna both have similar powers. It’s not that he has the powers himself; he’s able to draw on Vecna’s power and control it, almost like a puppet master.

So, Matt Duffer explained something really interesting about Will. Apparently, he can actually influence the monster, but it’s not unlimited. His powers only work on things connected to the ‘hive mind’ – basically, anything within that network. That means he can’t just open portals to the Upside Down whenever he wants, because the actual gateway isn’t part of that hive mind connection. It’s separate from it all.

Matt Duffer explains that Vecna connects to a collective consciousness, allowing him to control anything within it. As the show progresses, viewers will see the full extent of his abilities, including how he manipulates the monster. However, he can’t directly affect things outside of this ‘hive mind,’ like opening a door.

As a huge fan, I was so glad the Duffer Brothers finally clarified how Will’s powers work! Basically, it all goes back to Vecna taking him in Season 1. That’s when Vecna first connected him to the hive mind, and that connection is the source of Will’s abilities we see in Season 5. It’s amazing how everything ties together!

Matt Duffer: “He got it because he got hooked into the hive mind.”

The Duffer brothers explained that a specific moment in Season 1 first triggered Will’s powers, but he didn’t actually learn to control them until something happened in Season 5. We saw a hint of this ability in Season 2 of Stranger Things, when Will briefly saw through the Mind Flayer’s eyes, but he didn’t understand then that he could develop and use it to fight Vecna.

The Duffer Brothers had planned a connection between Will and Vecna as early as Season 2. Will was able to see into Vecna’s world and, unknowingly, even influence him. He doesn’t fully understand this ability until the current season. It took time to develop the specifics of this connection, but it was always part of the larger story.

How Will, Vecna, and Eleven Connect

These statements clarify the limits of Will’s abilities and highlight how he differs from Eleven and Vecna. Unlike them, who were born with psychic powers and then developed those abilities through experiments on their mothers and training with Doctor Brenner, Will’s powers seem to operate differently.

Will’s abilities actually come from Vecna, who is essentially controlling them. Will didn’t start using these powers until years after connecting to the hive mind, and only once he faced his fear of Vecna and the Upside Down. This connection is also why Eleven sees something different when Will is using his powers.

In the upcoming season of Stranger Things, when Will uses the powers connected to Vecna, his eyes turn completely white, mirroring Vecna’s own appearance when he enters someone’s mind. This is different from Eleven, who doesn’t experience any eye changes, though she often gets a nosebleed when using her powers. Interestingly, Will also gets a nosebleed when using Vecna’s abilities, hinting that nosebleeds might be a common result of using psychic powers.

Eleven and Vecna can both create and close gateways to the Upside Down with their powers. However, Will’s connection to the hive mind limits him – he can’t open or close these doors himself.

This implies Will’s psychic abilities work differently than Eleven’s. While Eleven can move large objects like cars and helicopters, Will seems limited to sensing creatures connected to Vecna, such as the Demogorgons. He probably couldn’t use his powers on anyone or anything not part of Vecna’s network in the Upside Down. It’s likely that if Will were cut off from this connection, he would lose his abilities altogether.

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2025-11-27 22:36