All winter, we had one big bad on our mind— and that was Vecna. During the final seasons of Stranger Things, Vecna personally haunted the narrative. And we learned that this tentacled evil was actually responsible for ALL the Upside Down issues that Hawkins ever faced. And so, it’s natural to wonder whether Vecna appears in the new Stranger Things spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The new animated series is set between seasons two and three of Stranger Things, a time before Vecna officially made his first appearance on the series. But given everything we now know, it would be totally possible for the show to slip him in somewhere. So does Vecna appear in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85? How about the Upside Down? We break it down below. Spoilers, ahoy.
Does Vecna Appear in Stranger Things: Tales of From ’85?
No, Vecna does not appear in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. The big bad of Stranger Things himself is currently still hiding somewhere in the depths of the Upside Down, waiting for his moment in the sun during Stranger Things 4. This isn’t too surprising, given that in Stranger Things 2, El was able to close the gate to the Upside Down in Hawkins Lab, leaving only enough stray Mind Flayer particles flying around in Stranger Things 3 to cause some trouble. However, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 does add a slight Upside Down wrinkle to this plan, which we’ll discuss below. But as of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season one, there have been no Vecna sightings.
Does the Upside Down Appear in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85?
While Vecna doesn’t make his way into Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, the Upside Down does make one appearance during the last episode of the show’s first season. In Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, new Party member Nikki’s mother ended up dating the wrong man. Although Dan Fischer seemed like a jovial, harmless man who ran Dustin’s favorite Food Mart, he was actually an obsessive scientist who once worked in Hawkins Lab. After the lab shut down, Dan stole Upside Down specimens and experimented on them, accidentally setting them loose on Hawkins and allowing them to evolve.
Dan’s original “Queen” Upside Down vine plant creation grew out of Dan’s control, and, as Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 explains it, “Many creatures, I guess even from other dimensions, return to the place of their birth once they’ve matured and believe they can flourish.” And it turns out, this creature, the Queen, can open a gate back to her place of birth, the Upside Down.
Using teamwork and some science, The Party is able to prevent the gate to the Upside Down from fully opening in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. But the Queen is able to make her way into the Upside Down, collapsing in front of her “place of birth,” Nikki Baxter’s house in the dark dimension. Although the Queen has died, a new Upside Down flower grows from her corpse. Uh-oh, it looks like the Upside Down story in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 isn’t over yet.
Could Vecna Appear in Future Seasons of Stranger Things: Tales From ’85?
Given this evocative ending in the Upside Down, we’re betting we’ll see another season of this animated Stranger Things spinoff series. And so, we’d also put some money on EVENTUALLY seeing Vecna appear in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85… even if only for a split second.
We guess we’ll have to wait and see on that. For now, the Vecna-less Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season one is streaming on Netflix.