**Spoilers beyond this point!**
Stranger Things just dropped season 4, part 1 on Netflix, and holy, there's a ton going on in Hawkins, Indiana. Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Max (Sadie Sink) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)'s friendship is fractured. Hopper (David Harbour) is surprisingly not dead and instead is imprisoned in Kamatchka, Russia. Eleven may have gotten her original powers back. What's more, in between romances, arguments, murder mysteries and straight up chaos, there's a supernatural threat called Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) that's trying to terrorize everyone.
Phew. That's a lot to take in, and we're not even taking the time to properly address all the ins and outs of this popular show. But this is just the beginning since we know that season 4, part 2 is set to debut on July 1. In the meantime though, we need to talk about one element: The villains of this supernatural drama. Or more specifically, which villain is really running the show here.
Before we jump into this, let's clarify a few key details: Since the start of the sci-fi drama series, there's been a supernatural hellion from the Upside Down called the Mind Flayer. His main purpose so far has been to command the Demogorgon and attack the residents of Hawkins. But when we meet Vecna in season 4, it kind of feels like his overall goal is similar to that of the Mind Flayer's. So here's the question: Who exactly is the real villain of Stranger Things?
Well, thanks to a Reddit theory, we may have our answer. User Johnnysokoll actually asked the question with the acknowledgement that, right now, the prize of main antagonist is murky. "It's pretty evident that there is some confusion on who is running the show here," they wrote. "I believe there are supporting pieces for both villains, however the answer is still unknown for sure."
This doesn't necessarily help us understand what's going on, but the Reddit user's reasons for how each character could be the one true villain of Stranger Things checks out. We've outlined them for you.
Case for the Mind Flayer:
According to the Johnnysokoll's theory, Dustin utters that the Upside Down's has been in existence for "thousands, maybe millions of years." This kind of doesn't add up for Vecna being the main villain, since we know that Henry Creel (a.k.a. Peter Ballard or 001 or the guy who becomes Vecna) is only around 30 years old at this point in the series. Furthermore, when 001 is seen falling into some sort of abyss, he's injured by what looks to be a fireball. If the theory that the Upside Down is pseudo-immortal is not true and it was in fact created by Vecna, then the injuries would be a moot point.
Case for Vecna:
The user does note that there's not as much evidence for Vecna's evil stature (which makes sense since he only debuted this season) but the reasons still hold a ton of weight. As of right now, fans realize Vecna's existence is the biggest threat to the kids' survival at the moment. But here's another point: Henry (a.k.a. Vecna) always had a love for spiders. What else has been present whenever the Mind Flayer has been shown in previous seasons? You guessed it — spiders. In other words, he may be the top dog (or in this case, top spider) right now.
Is the Reddit theory technically right? We don't know. All we can say is we'll need to watch out for which villain will win out when season 4, part 2 premieres on the streamer later this summer. Until then, we'll be sitting over here, a little freaked out by this entire theory.
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
