What Vecna Got Wrong About Kids

–Reflection from a Stranger Things Fan Working in Anti-trafficking –

Seeing Stranger Things Through a Real-World, Children-Focused Lens

Are you ready for Stranger Things to absolutely bulldoze the holiday season? The show is gearing up for an epic finale, and after a decade of rooting for these kids, I’m gearing up for an emotional ride!

Some of the youth Love146 works with have grown up alongside these characters and this story of friendship and hope. Several aspects of the show make me think about our work at Love146. 

For example, Jane (El) is dehumanized, and even her name is replaced with the number eleven. Vecna seeks out children with prior trauma to exploit. There are more examples. Out of respect for the serious, real-world problems that the youth we advocate for face, I won’t dive into all of the overlapping themes.

But as I sat with my own dear friends, taking in Season 5, Episode 4, the night before Thanksgiving, something struck me as clearly as the striking of the grandfather clock: what Vecna got wrong about kids.

Children Are Stronger Than He Thinks

“Do you know why I chose them?” Vecna monologues a scathing, predatory description of children, calling them weak, easily ashamed, and easily controlled. 

The truth? Children are vulnerable, yes. But if working at Love146 has shown me anything, it’s that children are also strong. Children have a remarkable ability to heal. And children have a remarkable capacity to love.

Children have grit.
Children are resourceful.
Children are shockingly resilient.
Children are brilliantly smart.
Children are defiantly hopeful.

Whether he knows it or not, Vecna will not win this fight. He is drastically underestimating the strength of children, and that will be his undoing.