What Is Vecna’s Curse in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4?

***SPOILER ALERT: This post contains plot details from season 4 of Stranger Things.***

After a three year delay, part one of the fourth season of Stranger Things has finally premiered on Netflix. The first seven chapters were an epically long and welcome return from the beloved sci-fi/horror series, delivering on everything we’ve come to expect Netflix’s flagship series: teen angst, ’80s nostalgia, and plenty of monsters. Season 4 introduces a new Big Bad to the series: Vecna, a humanoid tentacled demon with the power to reach through the Upside Down and stalk and murder the teens of Hawkins in grisly fashion.

Season 4 borrows liberally from the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, complete with a cameo by Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, as Victor Creel. And Vecna himself shares more than a few similarities with Freddy. Both are heavily scarred monsters with the ability to project into their victims’ subconscious, torturing and murdering them. But while Freddy can only attack teens while they sleep, Vecna is able to reach them at all times, causing terrifying hallucinations before murdering the teens.

The teens refer to Vecna as the Mind-Flayer’s “five star general”, although his ranking in the Upside Down is unclear. But we do know that, second to the Mind-Flayer, Vecna is the most deadly and formidable opponent the Hawkins crew has faced.

Okay, But What’s the Curse All About?

Like so many of the Upside Down beasties, Vecna taps into the town’s history of trauma and tragedy. In stalking his victims, he seeks out teens who feel alienated and alone, haunted by guilt and shame. He projects frightening visions into the minds of his victims, which often involve a grandfather clock, tentacles, and glimpses of his red-skied domain. While experiencing the visions, his victims enter a trance-like state. After 24 hours of visions, Vecna finally strikes, levitating his victims before breaking their bones and gruesomely murdering them.

It’s a fate that seems inevitable…until chapter four, “Dear Billy”. Max (Sadie Sink) has been selected as Vecna’s next victim, but unlike Chrissy and Fred, she has the support system of her friends Dustin, Lucas, Steve, Nancy, and Robin. When Nancy and Robin visit Creel in the asylum, they learn that music can snap someone out of Vecna’s trance. As Max levitates over Billy’s grave, Dustin, Lucas, and Steve scramble to find her favorite song, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Once they pop the cassette in Max’s Walkman, a window opens to the real world, allowing Max to break the trance and escape Vecna’s clutches.

But there’s more to Vecna’s attacks than just murder and mayhem. Each murder opens a gate to the Upside Down, thinning the barrier between worlds. Much like the Mind-Flayer, Vecna is looking to break the barriers and take over the planet, which will likely be the next climactic battle for the Hawkins crew.

What do you think of Vecna as season 4’s Big Bad?

(Featured image: Netflix)

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