Stranger Things 4 theory explains how Eleven will lose against Vecna

8 July 2022, 17:27

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By Katie Louise Smith

"Thinking about how Erica's attack that defeated Vecna in the DnD game was a 20. 11 alone failed... Could it take El and Kali turning 001's powers around on him to defeat Vecna in the end?"

Ever since Stranger Things 4 dropped on Netflix, fans have been hard at work theorising about what might happen with every single plot line in Stranger Things 5. One of the biggest talking points? How Eleven will finally beat Vecna.

Throughout the past seasons of Stranger Things, the big bads have all been theoretically linked to Dungeons & Dragons and the campaigns that the party has played. In season 1, we see the Demogorgon come to life after Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin attempt to fight it in their campaign. Season 2 saw D&D's Mind Flayer make its grand entrance, with season 3 focusing on a physical manifestation of the creature.

Season 4 brings Vecna, one of D&D's most powerful villains, to life as the actual threat brewing in Hawkins, and he's also the key figure in Eddie Munson's Hellfire Club D&D campaign.

Fans are now theorising that the outcome of Eddie's D&D campaign might hold a few clues as to what might happen in season 5, when the final showdown against Vecna finally occurs.

READ MORE: Stranger Things fans are convinced Steve is going to die in season 4 and I am terrified

Cast your minds back to season 4 episode 1, to The Hellfire Club's battle against Vecna in Eddie's final D&D campaign.

After coming up short as a team, it falls to Dustin and Erica (a.k.a. the icon and legend, Lady Applejack) to take out the villain and win the campaign themselves. As Dustin rolls first, the camera focuses on the D20, showing that he has rolled an 11. Eddie then proceeds to tell the party: "That's a miss!"

Much like the scene in season 1, where the Demogorgon catches Will in Mike's campaign after he fails to roll a 13 or higher, Dustin's roll actually managed to foreshadow what happened when Eleven took on Vecna in the final episode.

In episode 9, we see Eleven piggyback her way into Max's memories and battle Vecna from within his Mind Lair. Vecna eventually gets the upper hand and Eleven loses. Despite somehow saving Max from death, Vecna's masterplan worked as the Upside Down finally tore its way through Hawkins. Mike later confirms that Eleven lost the fight in a conversation with Will.

Anyway, that D&D scene proved that Dustin's role of 11 (or, ya know, Eleven) was not enough to defeat Vecna alone. Erica's winning roll of 20, however? This is where Kali/008 comes in...

The theory continues, suggesting that Eleven's loss against Vecna could bring about the possible reintroduction of Kali a.k.a. Eight.

Kali was introduced way back in season 2 as Eleven's 'sister'. She was another one of the children who Brenner kidnapped and experimented on, but at some point before the 1979 massacre she had managed to escape. Back in season 2, the Duffer brothers confirmed that they were not quite done with her story just yet...

On the final roll of the dice in Eddie's D&D campaign, Erica manages to roll a 20. It's a critical hit, the party finally defeat Vecna and win the campaign. So, what does defeating Vecna IRL have to do with Kali's potential return?

Now that we've met the rest of the lab children, we know that all of them have powers that mirror 001's telekinetic abilities, as he was the first test subject and the one that Brenner was trying to replicate. Well, every lab child except Kali, that is...

Kali doesn't possess the same telekinetic powers as Eleven and the rest of the kids, but she does possess the same mind manipulation powers as 001/Vecna.

Vecna/001's main powers appear to be split between Eleven and Kali, the last two remaining test subjects from the lab: Eleven's most prominent powers – telekinesis and opening gates to the Upside Down – mirror 001's. Eight's most prominent powers – mind manipulation and creating hallucinations/visions – also mirror 001's.

Fans are now theorising that the powers of both 011 and 008, who have the combined power of 001, is what is needed to deal a critical hit to Vecna and defeat the villain. 011 + 008 + 001 = 020?

Vecna disappeared at the end of Stranger Things 4 after being set on fire and blasted out of a window by Nancy Wheeler, but it's only a matter of time before he pops up again in season 5. How, and in what form, he'll return remains to be seen.

Read more about Stranger Things 5 here:

• Stranger Things 5 will focus on Will and Vecna will return as the villain
• Stranger Things 5 will feature a time jump
• Stranger Things creators reveal their plans for season 5 made Netflix execs cry
• Stranger Things 5 theory suggests how Eddie could return as Kas and kill Vecna
• Stranger Things 5 will be the last season of the Netflix series
• Stranger Things season 5: Release date, spoilers, cast, news and trailers

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