TV & Movies
A Viral Stranger Things Reddit Theory Uncovers A Major Vecna Secret
And it has left fans divided.
As the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things draws ever closer, many fans have been busy speculating how the supernatural series will conclude, with viral theories and predictions increasingly doing the rounds among viewers online. Now, one Reddit theory claims to uncover a major secret regarding the Season 4 villain Vecna — and it has left fans divided.
As viewers will recall, during Stranger Things Season 4 the characters of Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Robin (Maya Hawke) disguise themselves as college students while visiting an imprisoned Victor Creel at Pennhurst Asylum, where they eventually discover that playing music can break the spell of the increasingly menacing Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
However, before speaking with Victor alone, Nancy and Robin are tasked with convincing Director Anthony Hatch, the warden of Pennhurst Mental Hospital, to allow them to do so. As one Reddit user pointed out, Hatch is initially reluctant to approve the girls’ request, before unexpectedly changing his mind. “Yes. Why not? You’ve caught me in a rebellious mood. And there’s something rather urgent I need to check on anyway,” Hatch tells the duo, which, according to the Reddit user, “completely contradicts his entire demeanor” earlier in the scene.
Meanwhile, shortly before Nancy and Robin manage to speak with Victor, the character of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) is shown conversing with her mother, who then transforms into Vecna. Fans have since theorized that the aforementioned scenes were not shown in chronological order, and Hatch may have been possessed by Vecna while speaking with Nancy and Robin in the asylum.
“What is it that Hatch needed to check on so urgently? What if it was actually Vecna needing to leave Hatch’s body and go stir things up for Max?” one fan asked on Reddit. “Vecna doesn’t appear in a scene between Hatch leaving the girls with Victor and returning. But, what if the scenes don’t line up perfectly time-wise? Perhaps Vecna was off to pose as Max’s mother?”
Many Stranger Things fans agreed with this latest Season 4 theory, with one user writing: “This explains why Hatch is so hesitant about Nancy and Robin. The real Dr. Hatch may not be so hesitant about it.”
However, others aren’t quite so convinced. “I always read it as the ‘urgent matter’ he needed to check on was to check on their credentials. There was no harm in letting two girls visit an incarcerated man who couldn't hurt them,” another user commented, while one fan shared their view that Robin’s convincing speech about “women not being given the same opportunities as men” is what inspired Hatch’s sudden change of heart.
