By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Stranger Things is set to release its series finale in the New Year, and, surprisingly, the show still has plenty of mysteries to solve. One mystery goes back to the first episode of the series, where we see that someone (or something) opens the door to Will Byers’ house by phone, just before he is kidnapped.
Considering that one of the Duffer Brothers has confirmed that Demogorgons do not have such psychic powers, we are left with two tantalizing questions: who opened the door, and did they do so to deliberately endanger Will?
The Mystery Is Here From The Beginning
When Stranger Things when it was first released, no one knew anything about Demogorgons except that they were huge and terrifying. So it didn’t seem strange when one of these creatures passed by, and the door to Will Byers’ house opened. At the time, this was seen as one of the abilities of this mysterious creature; Will ran to the shed, where (despite his best efforts) the Demogorgon successfully captured him.
Here’s where things get interesting: Ross Duffer recently revealed that Demogorgons don’t have their own magical powers. Instead, they are the foot soldiers of Vecna, the Big Bad with mental powers he doesn’t use. That means someone with such power must have opened Will Byers’ home, facilitating the kidnapping that made the whole Vecna crazy scheme possible. More annoyingly, the Duffers confirmed that the answer to who opened Will’s home by phone will be revealed in Season 5.
From Loveable Character to Secret Dealer
Until now, this question has not been answered, which means that this is one of the many mysteries Stranger Things the end of the thread will have to be resolved. Meanwhile, fans have been speculating as to who the villain could be, and the speculation is heating up because few characters have magical powers. It could be Vecna, yes, but that seems like overkill. Why would he send a flunky to kidnap Will Byers when he’s so close and can do it himself?
The most popular fan theory is that Eleven did this, probably because she was looking for a place to hide after escaping Hawkins Lab. It’s not a perfect idea, of course, mainly because the door swings open when the Demogorgon passes through. Why would a sweet, innocent Eleven make it easy for a monster from another world to kidnap a terrified child?
Simple: because he is innocent. My opinion is that Eleven opened the door on purpose to ensure that Will Byers is captured. If true, this Stranger Things The theory could change everything fans thought they knew about Eleven, going all the way back to the first episode. Instead of just being a traumatized child with superpowers, he’s now going to be seen as a pawn (like it or not) of Vecna, the villain who’s always against our heroes.
Not a Willing Traitor
Now, before anything Stranger Things fans are throwing waffles at me, I don’t think it’s Eleven voluntarily he chose to open the door. Instead, I think we will find out that he was influenced or controlled by Vecna himself. Such a retcon is not visible at all that he’s crazy, especially since Season 5 revealed that the villain secretly forced Will Byers to be his builder and spy.
Vecna’s psychic powers are both so strange and so vaguely explained that it would make sense that she could temporarily control Eleven. “Temporary” is the key word here, because the Big Bad never has enough physical contact with him to maintain any long-term control. Between him and Eleven sharing the same blood and power set, he may have been able to open the door, but (in a bit of cosmic irony) the Demogorgon was too stupid to try to open the now unlocked door.
My theory isn’t perfect, though: we don’t know if this is possible with Vecna’s powers, and simply opening the door to the suburbs is a weird way for a supervillain to spend his limited time inside Eleven’s head. However, the truth is a person he opened the door, and this mystery has been staring us in the face since episode one Stranger Things. If the answer reveals that our beloved Eggo was secretly a traitor, you can say I didn’t try to warn you!
