Duffer Brothers explain the shocking twist in Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 4

If you sat in shock for the first few minutes of Stranger Things' fourth episode ending, then you're not the only one. The show's first volume ended on a cliffhanger, leaving fans hungry for whatever surprises the show holds for it's next few episodes. However, if clarity is what you're seeing then the Duffer Brothers are here. The show creators spoke to Variety as they explained the shocking twist at the end of the episode, and how the idea for it came to be.

This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things. Reader's discretion is advised.

How does Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 4 end?

The climax of Sorceror, the fourth episode of Stranger Things 5 and the finale of Volume 1, drops the characters into what looks like an unwinnable fight. The creatures of the Upside Down overwhelm the military’s containment zone and tear through the soldiers who believed they had the upper hand. While chaos erupts, Robin and Murray race a truck full of Hawkins schoolchildren away from Demogorgons, hoping they can outrun monsters that refuse to slow down. Deep below, in the military’s base inside the Upside Down, Eleven and Hopper uncover the last thing they expected to find. Eight, played by Linnea Berthelsen, has survived. She is being held captive, years after her emotional connection with Eleven in Season 2.

As the battle momentarily pauses, Vecna emerges from the membrane separating both worlds. Joyce, Mike, Will, and the remaining soldiers look powerless against him. He casually turns the military’s own weapons on them, forces explosions with a flick of his arm, and then raises Will into the air. Speaking directly to him, Vecna claims the children he has taken, including Holly Wheeler, are ideal vessels because they are easy to shape and control. Lucas watches helplessly as one child is pulled through a wall into the Upside Down. Robin looks back and realizes that the kids in the truck have vanished too.

Vecna taunts Will, reminding him that he was the first child he ever took, the one who revealed how far his influence could reach. After letting Will fall, Vecna disappears, certain the Demogorgons will finish what he started. But Will remembers Robin’s earlier words about embracing who he is instead of being afraid. That sparks a flood of memories. Mike asking to be his friend for the first time. Joyce proudly looking at his drawings. Building Castle Byers with Jonathan in the woods.

In this moment of clarity, Will discovers abilities he never realized he possessed. He freezes the Demogorgons before they can kill Mike, Lucas, and Robin. He sees through their eyes, and with deliberate movements of his arm, he snaps their limbs, killing them instantly. As the last creature falls, Will wipes blood from his nose, echoing the familiar gesture viewers have watched Eleven make since the beginning. The final image of Volume 1 closes on him standing with purpose, fully aware that the connection Vecna once used against him may now be their strongest weapon.

What Ross and Matt Duffer are saying about the finale of Stranger Things Season 5

The Duffer Brothers have finally started answering the question every Stranger Things fan has been obsessing over since the Volume 1 finale. What exactly is going on with Will Byers, and what kind of power erupted inside him during that final moment. According to Ross and Matt Duffer, Will is not suddenly a second Eleven. His ability comes from something far stranger and far more dangerous.

Ross explained that Will’s new strength works through Vecna. Will channels Vecna’s abilities rather than generating power on his own. Matt added that Will can slip into the hive mind and control anything that belongs to it, including the Demogorgons, but cannot manipulate objects that are not connected to that network. This means Will must be close to the hive mind for this ability to work. None of this would exist if Will had never been taken into the Upside Down.

Vecna’s behaviour raised another question. Why did he not kill Will on the spot. According to them, it's because Vecna underestimated him completely, viewing him the same way many people in Will’s life have viewed him, as harmless and incapable of anything remarkable. Whether Vecna makes the same mistake again will be revealed in Volume 2.

Talking about how the idea for this came to be, Ross said,

"He had a dark version of it in Season 2, he was connected to Vecna. He could see what he saw, but he didn’t realize that at the time he was able to tap into it in a way and use it against Vecna. That’s something he doesn’t learn till this season. It took us a while to build there, but it was something we always intended to do. The details of it were a little rough until we started working on it."

The interview then widened to the season’s larger structure. Ross revealed that Will and Vecna crossing paths in the Upside Down had been an idea for a long time, and it gave them the perfect way to open the final season. They wanted everything to circle back to Season 1 of Stranger Things. Dustin and Lucas carry the heaviest emotional fallout from Season 4, but Dustin’s grief over Eddie gave them the most interesting path to explore trauma. Dustin has always been the heart of the group, so watching him unravel raises the emotional stakes for everyone.

The creators also confirmed that Will’s vision of the temple shows where Holly actually is. Vecna’s new appearance reflects his Season 4 injuries, with Jamie Campbell Bower performing through a motion capture suit and full prosthetic facial work. Vecna’s larger plan and the truth about the Mind Flayer will finally be revealed in the last episode of Stranger Things Season 5, which means a lot of adventure is still left.

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Stranger Things Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.

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