Tamal Kundu
In Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things,’ interdimensional Gates are rifts between the human world and the Upside Down. They are incredibly rare. In 1983, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) inadvertently opens a Gate at the Hawkins Lab after making contact with the Demogorgon, a creature of the Upside Down. The moment Eleven makes contact, the Gate is created. She closes the Gate later herself. In 1985, the Russians reopen the Gate using a device known as the Key, but the Gate was closed before it reached its original size when Hopper and Joyce destroyed the Key.
If the original Gate brings the Demogorgon, the Russian Gate renders the world vulnerable to the attacks of the Mind Flayer, the supreme leader of the Upside Down. The main antagonist of the fourth season is Vecna, an immensely powerful entity that begins committing gruesome murders across Hawkins. If you are wondering how Vecna came to the human world, we got you covered. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who Brought Vecna or 001 Back to the Human World?
In season 1, Eleven creates a Gate due to her contact with the Demogorgon. The Gate allows the monster to arrive in the human world and wreak havoc. This gives Eleven the chance to run away. It is later revealed that the Demogorgon of the first season also has the ability to create Gates. However, unlike the one that Eleven has created, these ones are temporary. The Demogorgon uses them to go back and forth between dimensions. The Gates are essentially open wounds on the fabric of space and continuum. With the temporary ones, these wounds are healed.
If the Demogorgon is able to do this, it’s safe to assume the other members of its species can do it as well. In the season 4 mid-season finale, titled ‘The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,’ it is revealed that Eleven opened her first temporary Gate during her confrontation with 001 or One in 1979. She sent One or Henry Creel through the portal into the Upside Down, where he came into contact with the Mind Flayer and transformed into Vecna.
For all intent and purpose, Eleven and Vecna have similar powers. And Eleven can reach out into the Upside Down without a Gate. This is a remarkable ability given that even the Mind Flayer needs a portal to maintain a connection with its agents in the human world. In season 2, after Eleven closes the Gate, the Mind Flayer loses control of the Demodogs, which then instantly die. The closing of the Gate also frees Will from the Mind Flayer’s powers.
But this doesn’t seem to apply to Eleven and Vecna. Just as Eleven can reach out into the Upside Down from the human world, Vecna can explore the human world from the Upside Down. So, it is likely that no one really brought Vecna back. There was no need, as he can control people in the human world from the other dimension. Henry always had psychotic tendencies. He seems to glean a certain amount of perverse pleasure by tormenting people with guilt. As Vecna, he continues to employ the same tactic, picking victims who are vulnerable, lonely, guilt-ridden, and depressed.
Several characters in the show think that a war between the human world and the Upside Down is on the horizon. Vecna’s abilities allow him to create multiple Gates, which the Mind Flayer can use to send an invasion force. Dustin appears to be quite accurate when he compares Vecna to a five-star general.
Read More: Who Killed the Other Test Subjects at the Hawkins Lab, Explained
