It all started on the terrifying night of November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana. A group of four friends finished their usual Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and three of them proceeded to head back home. However, only two would get to see their families shortly after. "The vanishing of Will Byers" is where this haunting story began, and audiences worldwide were introduced to a world that's a little stranger than usual.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 is finally here, and it marks the beginning of the end of a show nearly 10 years in the making. While the latest batch of episodes introduces many new mysteries for fans to uncover, it also solves a big riddle that has been present since the series' inception: Why was Will Byers kidnapped as a child? Why did the Demogorgon target him, specifically? At long last, we have an answer, but beware: There will be spoilers for Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 ahead. Don't venture any further unless you've seen all four episodes released so far, or don't mind learning a few secrets ahead of time.
Will Byers was captured because he's "weak-minded", according to Vecna
Vecna and the Mind Flayer are planning something huge. The first step in their scheme was taken back in Season 4 when they opened four gates leading to the Upside Down all across Hawkins, creating large fissures in the ground along the way. Now, they take advantage of the unstable border between realities to come to our world and... kidnap kids.
See, it hasn't been revealed exactly why "Mr. Whatsit" is planning to capture 12 kids and connect them to the spires Will has been seeing in his visions (though we'll theorize about this later). However, what's clear is that the relentless villain is targeting children who are weak-minded and "easily broken" to shape them as he pleases. Furthermore, Will was the first 'test subject' to meet these criteria and show the villain what was truly possible to achieve. This idea is better explained by Vecna's monologue near the end of Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1:
"Can you see them, William? Can you see the children? Do you know why I chose them to reshape the world? It’s because they are weak. Weak in body and mind. Easily broken. Easily reshaped. Controlled. The perfect vessels. And you… Will, you were the first. And you broke so easily. You showed me what was possible. What I could achieve. Some minds, it turns out, simply do not belong in this world. They belong in mine."
If we go back all the way to the very first episode of Stranger Things, there's a scene of Joyce Byers describing her own son by saying: "He's not like me. He's not like most (...) look, he's a sensitive kid". Interestingly enough, Victor Creel would also describe his own son, Henry, as someone who's "sensitive". As time would prove, Henry would go on to become Vecna himself, while Will would be able to share a deep connection with the Upside Down. With that in mind, it seems the Mind Flayer can manipulate certain people with more ease than others.
Despite many people coming and going to the Upside Down, Will has always been very unique as he's directly connected to the dimension's hive mind, while still having a certain degree of freedom over his own actions. The opening sequence of Stranger Things Season 5 implies that the very first time Will was integrated into the hive mind was when Vecna connected a tentacle-like tube to his mouth. Wouldn't you know it, but the visions Will had were about the 12 missing kids being connected to the same tube in Vecna's lair.
The Mind Flayer's overarching plan seems to be to kidnap individuals it can easily influence and make them part of the hive mind, while still allowing them to possess a small degree of independence to act on the creature's behalf. Furthermore, Will was an "experiment" of sorts that allowed Vecna to discover the true extent of his powers and influence, all in preparation for the final strike. Unfortunately, we still have to wait to see what role the 12 kids will play and how they will "reshape" the world. However, the pieces of the puzzle are finally coming together, and we can't wait to uncover how the story will conclude.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 will be released on December 25 on Netflix.