What Did Fred Do in ‘Stranger Things’? Character Explained

Fred Benson is a high school student who happens to work with Nancy Wheeler in season four of Netflix’s throwback hit Stranger Things. During the first episode, the show introduced Fred as a usual nerdy kid in the ’80s. Many fans seemingly forgot about his character, especially during the fourth season, and we’re here to remind you of his events in Stranger Things.

Who is Fred Benson?

Fred Benson (Logan Riley Bruner) is a minor supporting character in season four of Stranger Things, who seemingly has a crush on Nancy Wheeler. Fred mainly shows disdain regarding Jonathan Bryers because of his relationship with Nancy. However, despite all of that, Fred is a kind-hearted person with a huge passion for journalism. He works at the newspaper with Nancy, and the show portrays him as the closest to Nancy on the team. 

Fred and Nancy mainly cover the high school basketball championship game. After the game, they decide to investigate the mystery surrounding Chrissy Cunningham’s peculiar “murder.”  During their time investigating the murder, Fred suffers from frequent headaches. It’s later revealed that Fred has been having visions about the high school student he killed by accident.

What happened to Fred Benson in Stranger Things?

Later in the story, the Upside Down creature called Vecna is revealed to be responsible for Fred’s headaches. Vecna uses traumatic experiences to kill its prey. With Fred’s past, Vecna has been tormenting Fred in the same way he tormented Chrissy, which led to her death. 

The last time we saw Fred was during the investigation of the park where Chrissy died, when Vecna uses this time to separate him from Nancy. Fred starts to levitate off the ground, then Vecna breaks his limbs, snapping them multiple times. After gouging his eyes, Vecna lets Fred’s lifeless body fall to the ground where Nancy will find him. Dr. Sam Owens then shows Eleven a picture of Fred’s mangled body, along with Chrissy and Patrick, to inform her that Vecna is back and is out to haunt the rest of Hawkins.

(featured image: Netflix)