STRANGER THINGS 5, Volume 1, Ending Explained

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is here, and it’s bringing us a massive ending that includes a new character with powers. If that’s a spoiler you’re interested in hearing more about, turn on your heel like Eddie Munson and head to our spoiler-free review of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1.

Will Unlocks Upside Down Powers of His Own During Stranger Things 5, Volume 1’s Ending Sequence

We kind of felt like this might happen. But in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, Will Byers unlocks Elven-like powers of his own right when he needs them the most. But, in a twist of fate, Will’s powers don’t have to do with being one of the children taken to Hawkins Lab like Elven, Eight/Kali, and the rest. Instead, his connection is less to do with Eleven and more to do with Vecna, although Vecna, and by proxy the Mind Flayer, gave both of them their powers. But, more on that in a minute.

Will Byers’ connection to the Upside Down Hive Mind and Vecna increased in strength all throughout Stranger Things 5—but so did Will’s belief in himself. And the two forces came to a head in the last minutes of Stranger Things 5, volume 1, unlocking Will’s Upside Down powers once and for all. In Stranger Things 5, episode 4, Vecna himself finally appears, unleashing a massive attack on the military base in Hawkins, the MAC-Z, where Will, Joyce, Lucas, and Robin have all found themselves. Vecna confronts Will directly, telling him he’s weak, broken, and the perfect vessel to control for his aims to take over the world. Will then sees, through his connection to the Hive Mind, that all around him, Demogorgons are ready to attack Robin, Lucas, and Mike.

But instead of giving in and listening to Vecna’s words, he summons up Robin’s earlier speech to him instead and thinks, not on angry and sad memories, as Eleven and Vecna have always done, but on emotional, beautiful moments of connection and friendship. As Will leans into the best parts of himself during in the ending sequence of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, he manifests powers that seem like Eleven and Vecna’s abilities, but are also very different.

How Did Will Get Powers Like Eleven in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1’s Ending?

But, of course, simply thinking positive thoughts in a moment of duress is not enough to have given Will Byers powers on Stranger Things 5, Volume 1’s Ending. No, Vecna actually gave Will those powers himself, by flaying him in the very first season of Stranger Things, and making him part of his Hive Mind.

We Learn From the Stranger Things Play That Characters Who Visit Dimension X and Are Flayed Physically Change, Giving Them Powers

We know from the Stranger Things play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, that when people visit Dimension X, their bodies can physically change in a way that gives them access to powers they did not previously have. Dimension X is the “pure dimension” where the Mind Flayer and Demogorgons hail from, which is somehow related to but different than the Upside Down. In Stranger Things: The First Shadow, we learn that Henry Creel briefly went into Dimension X when he was a child playing in a cave in Nevada and was flayed by the Mind Flayer. And this information from the play is reinforced in Stranger Things 5, Volume 1. Because of this trip, as the play tells us, Henry/Vecna’s blood changes in a way that gives him great power, including the power to, however unknowingly, give his followers the same powers that he has.

Vecna Accidentally Gave Will Access to His Own Powers in Stranger Things By Making Him Part of the Hive Mind

Ultimately, Vecna gives Will the powers that manifest during the ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, in the same way that the Mind Flayer gave Vecna’s powers to him. In the first five minutes of Stranger Thing 5, Volume 1, we see a flashback to Will’s time in the Upside Down during Stranger Things season one. During this flashback, we see that Vecna connects Will to the Upside Down and the Hive Mind, essentially flaying him. In this way, he ties Will to the hive mind of the Upside Down, allowing him to tap into Vecna’s very own powers.

Are Will’s Powers The Same as Eleven’s? No, But the Source of Them Is the Same

The ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 finally brings Will to a place where he can unlock access to Vecna’s powers via the Hive Mind. Unlike Eleven’s powers, Will’s powers are just an echo of Vecna’s powers, that he is able to access through the hive mind. But, their powers do come from the same origins, techcnically. In Stranger Things, we learn that Dr. Brenner and the government were performing MKU Ultra experiments on Eleven’s mother and that’s how she recieved her powers. But the Stranger Things play, The First Shadow, illuminates more specifically what these experiments entailed.

Dr. Brenner tells Henry/Vecna at the end of the Stranger Things play, “We’ve had 10 children survive the transfusion so far. All of them special. And none of it would have been possible without you. Without your blood. You’re as much a father to this family as I am, Henry.” That’s what happened with Eleven: Brenner tranfused Vecna’s blood into her/her mother, physically changing her so she would be able to have powers. Meanwhile, in Will’s case, he’s tapping into Vecna’s powers directly, though it seems like he does not have his own, outside of being connected to the hive mind.

But, of course, Vecna, Will, and Eleven all have the same source of power, the Mind Flayer. The Mind Flayer flayed Vecna, and it’s those particles inside of Vecna and his blood and the Upside Down that give all three of them their powers. What does that mean for the future of Stranger Things? Nothing good. But we’ll have to wait and see the consequences exactly.

Will’s Eyes Go White When He’s Using His Powers and Eleven’s Don’t

One key physical difference that we can see between Eleven’s powers and Will’s powers is that Will’s eyes go white when he uses his powers, similarly to how Max and Chrissy’s eyes went milky when Vecna was trying to kill them. Eleven’s eyes remain the same or become bloodshot. Both Will and Eleven bleed from the nose, though.

The Duffers Talk More About the Difference Between Eleven and Will’s Powers in Stranger Things

Here’s what the Duffers shared about Will’s powers. Ross Duffer notes, “It’s different in that he’s able to channel Vecna’s powers. But they’re all related. Vecna and Eleven, their powers are similar. The powers aren’t within him. He’s able to channel these powers from Vecna and use it, sort of puppeteering.”

Meanwhile, Matt Duffer adds of Will’s powers, “He taps into the hive mind, and then he can manipulate anything within the hive. You’ll see how far he can take it as you continue to watch. But that’s how he’s able to manipulate the monster. So he can’t open a door, because the door is not part of the hive mind.”

Additionally, when Will is not close to the Hive Mind, he is once again powerless. The Duffers share, “If he’s not close to the hive mind, he’s not able to access or tap it.”

Do All of Vecna’s Taken Children, Including Holly, Have Powers?

Of course, Will unlocking the Hive Mind powers during the ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, opens the path for more children to access powers than just Eleven and her brothers and sisters. By flaying Will, Vecna opened the door to his manifesting powers. But Vecna has now flayed five children, and intends to flay seven more. Given that Vecna connects them to the Upside Down, his Hive Mind, and flesh wall with vines in their mouths, just like he did Will, Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 seems to imply in its ending that all these children can now manifest the powers of the Hive Mind, at least when they are in proximity to Vecna, and that includes Holly Wheeler.

In fact, Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 set this up in its very first episode when Mike Wheeler gives Holly her own Dungeons & Dragons figure, one he’s been waiting to give her. It’s “Holly the Heroic,” a cleric with divine powers who can “cast spells of protection to ward against evil spirits.” Even cooler, she can “cast a dimension door,” which can “teleport you to anywhere you visualize.” We smell powers for Holly Wheeler right around the corner on Stranger Things 5.

Will’s Powers and Access to the Hive Mind Will Save Holly

Speaking of Holly, Will’s new access to the Hive Mind’s powers will help to save Holly from inside Vecna’s Flesh Wall/Wormhole Spire Ritual Palace of Doom. In Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, we see that only the Demogorgon is able to penetrate the Flesh Wall because it is part of the Hive Mind. Not even Eleven and her powers are able to make it through, spiritually or physically. We bet Will can though, he’ll be able to open up Vecna’s Upside Down flesh wall and let the gang rescue Holly.

Will’s Eleven-Like Nosebleed Is Bitchin and We Love the Ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1

Will and Eleven always called themselves brother and sister, and now, it’s true in a whole new way, nosebleeds and all. The ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, is a powerful moment for Will, and not just because he finally has powers, because he finally accepts himself for who he is—and what could be more powerful than that?

Now that Will has some kind of powers and Eleven has powers and MAYBE Holly has powers, it could be a much fairer fight against Vecna. We don’t know what will come after the ending of Stranger Things 5, Volume 1, but we do know, we’re happy to live in this moment for now. As Eleven would say, Bitchin!

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.

Rotem Rusak is Nerdist’s Editor-in-Chief. She recently rewatched all of Stranger Things in 72 hours and is still not over Eddie Munson’s death. If Steve Harrington dies in Stranger Things 5, she will cry.

Originally published on November 27, 2025.