Vecna actor questions apparent plot gap in Stranger Things finale

Movieweb reports that Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna in Stranger Things, said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he had questions about a seeming plot hole in the series finale.

Season 4 revealed Vecna's human identity as Henry Creel, and the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow confirms Henry attended high school with Joyce and Hopper, but the series never shows Joyce or Hopper mentioning they knew him. Bower said he pitched a brief line for the scene in which Joyce decapitates Vecna — wanting to convey the words "Please don't" to tap into the characters' shared history and suggest Vecna might be saved.

Bower acknowledged that addressing those details on screen could have overcomplicated the story, suggested such conversations may have occurred offscreen in the 18 months between Seasons 4 and 5, and said an ADR attempt of the line "Please don't" ultimately "didn't work" even though the emotion was there. The Duffer brothers have already addressed some fan theories, and it remains unclear whether they will fully explain this narrative gap.

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Culture, Jamie Campbell Bower, Vecna, Henry Creel, Stranger Things, Duffer Brothers