Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 1: Will Byers Vs Vecna And That Harry Potter Connect

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Things Season 5 Vol. 1 began and ended with Will Byers squaring off against Vecna. But this time, Will is no longer the scared little boy and is ready to hold his own. Will's journey in Stranger Things has often reminded fans and viewers of the connection between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in the book series, and a scene in the fourth episode even references the movies. Find out how the show and the magical franchise have similarities. Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Will Byers and Harry Potter

Since the first season, Will Byers's (Noah Schnapp) life changes when he is taken into the Upside Down on November 6, 1983. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe in the film franchise) finds out he is a wizard and finds himself a new family at school. Meanwhile, Will has a traumatic time after his return. Vecna (Jaime Campbell Bower) has been using Will as a spy for much of the show, and Will can sense his presence before he attacks.Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) are also connected through Harry's forehead scar that pains him whenever the latter is around. In Stranger Things, Will breaks out in goosepimples on his nape, alerting him of Vecna's presence. Both Harry and Will have also experienced visions from Voldemort/Vecna's point of view. Schnapp who plays Will, had revealed that he rewatched the later Harry Potter films while working on Season 5.

While Harry is the Boy Who Lived, Will is the Zombie Boy, the one who cheated death. The Harry Potter series is based in the magical world, and Stranger Things is a sci-fi horror thriller, but early on, the show implies that Will could be a wizard or hold some kind of power. We've had that part confirmed after Will was able to neutralise all the Demogorgons attacking his friends and family in the episode aptly titled Sorcerer. Before the show aired, it could be assumed that the sorcerer in question was Vecna, but in reality it's Will. ALSO READ: Stranger Things Season 5 Vol 1 Review: Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown Starrer Has Slow Start Yet Ups Emotion And Action

Voldemort and Vecna

The Duffer Brothers have referenced several 1970s and 1980s films, but the Harry Potter series is a newer influence. Besides having names that begin with V, the villains in these franchises are disfigured. In their quests for power, they no longer resemble their human selves, going so far as to lose their noses. It is in a battle with a young person that they consider beneath them that this ends up happening. Vecna begins to lose his human form in a battle with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who he thinks he can control, and ends up being banished to the Upside Down. Coincidentally, Bower, who plays Vecna, also played young Gellert Grindelwald in the film franchise.

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Both Voldemort's and Vecna's pasts as Tom Riddle and Henry Creel hold several clues to the monsters they ended up becoming. The key to defeating them also lies in uncovering what led them to their insatiable quest for power. Voldemort and Harry are connected via the Horcruxes, while Vecna and Will have a connection wherein they can sense each other. And from what the Vol. 1 finale shows, Will can draw strength from the Upside Down too. Wanting to gain more and more power, Voldemort and Vecna believe they are invincible, therein leading to their downfall. Believing they can create their own worlds, they underestimate the opponents. In Harry Potter, Voldemort miscalculates love, and for Vecna, he doesn't realise the bonds of friendship that the Party and the rest of the Hawkins gang have. Stranger Things Season 5 Vol. 1 is now streaming on Netflix.