This Stranger Things Theory Flips the Upside Down: Vecna May Be a Pawn, Not the Real Villain

Stranger Things is doing that thing again where the deeper you look, the stranger it gets. Two fan theories are making the rounds: one says Vecna is not the final boss, the other argues the Mind Flayer has been pulling strings since before Henry Creel ever cracked a knuckle. And yes, there is a fresh round of panic about Steve.

So... is Vecna just a middle manager?

The latest pitch from the fandom: Vecna might be a pawn for something nastier tied to the Mind Flayer. Specifically, a Neothelid. If you know your D&D lore, a Neothelid is what happens when a Mind Flayer tadpole never gets a host. It survives on spite, eats other tadpoles, and keeps growing until it becomes a massive, independent worm. Translation: it is not your cute little Demodog.

The series has breadcrumbs that fit that shape. Back in Season 3, a sliver of the Mind Flayer left Will Byers, started eating rats and people, and ballooned into that meat-spider thing stomping around Hawkins. Everyone called it the Mind Flayer, but functionally it was a piece that found its own food source and evolved into something huge and destructive. That maps.

Season 5, Volume 1 adds another eyebrow-raiser. While Hopper is stuck at that military base lab overseen by Dr. Kay, he’s attacked by a creature that looks suspiciously like either a Neothelid egg or some kind of body cage for... something. The show doesn’t label it, but if you’re tracking the biology of the Upside Down, it’s a weirdly specific hint.

Or is the Mind Flayer the real endgame?

The other theory puts the Mind Flayer front and center as the series’ ultimate villain. This one gets fuel from the stage prequel Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which digs into Henry Creel’s childhood and how he turns into Vecna. The play sends young Henry into a cave in Nevada where he slips into Dimension X, meets the Mind Flayer first, and falls under its influence. It gives him power. It guides him. If that stands, Vecna wasn’t the originator — he was recruited.

The First Shadow was written by Kate Trefry and created by the Duffer Brothers. It ran on Broadway in New York and also opened in London’s West End. Whether the show on Netflix will import all of the play’s mythology is unclear — they’re separate productions, and the Duffers can pick and choose. But the implication is unmistakable: the Mind Flayer predates Vecna and may have been shaping things from the very start.

About those Duffer Brothers and the Steve panic

With only days to go before Season 5, Volume 2 lands, the Duffers went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and did a whole spoiler tease using Funko dolls. It was goofy, but fans latched onto the order of operations:

They pulled Barb off the table. They put Eleven in water. They stacked Will on Henry, then set Vecna on top of Will. And then they straight up dropped Steve’s doll off the edge.

Read into it at your own risk. Could be foreshadowing. Could be misdirection. The takeaway most fans are making: Eleven is headed for serious trouble, Will is a pivotal piece between opposing forces in the Upside Down, and Steve might not make it out. I would not panic until the credits roll, but yeah, the setup is... not subtle.

Where this leaves the big picture

Between the Neothelid theory and The First Shadow’s origin story, the board tilts in one direction: the Mind Flayer is still the most likely final threat, with Vecna as a very powerful lieutenant. If Volume 2 pays off the Dimension X breadcrumbs and the biology we’ve seen mutating since Season 3, expect the show to zoom out from Vecna and target whatever intelligence is running the hive.

Quick facts and what’s next

• Show: Stranger Things
• Creators: The Duffer Brothers
• Main cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery
• Seasons: 5
• Network: Netflix
• Scores: IMDb 8.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 90%
• Streaming: Season 5, Volume 1 is up now
• Release dates: Volume 2 (Episodes 5–7) hits December 25 on Netflix; the finale (Episode 8) arrives New Year’s Day on Netflix and in select US theaters

So what do you think: is the Mind Flayer the true final boss and Vecna just a very nasty piece on its board? Drop your theories — I’m genuinely curious where you land after that Funko stunt.