The Big Clue Everyone Missed Very Early In Stranger Things

Contains spoilers for "Stranger Things" Season 5, Episode 1 — "Chapter One: The Crawl"

Going back to "Stranger Things" Season 4, many fans were worried Season 5 would involve Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) targeting Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). That turned out to be true. In fact, we learn Vecna has been behind everything. There had been clues, even if they technically count as retcons, sprinkled throughout the series. You can check out Looper's video above about how it's been Agatha Vecna all along. 

One thing we learn about Vecna on Season 4 is how much he loves clock imagery. This is exemplified in his big speech to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) when he says, "Where others saw order, I saw a straitjacket. A cruel, oppressive world dictated by made-up rules. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades." As such, we often see and hear clocks when he's around, but that's been the case from the beginning. 

The first five minutes of "Chapter One: The Crawl" show Vecna infusing Will with some kind of goo, connecting the two, but that's already apparent for anyone who did a full "Stranger Things" rewatch after Season 4. Something you might've forgot happened in the first episode of "Stranger Things," titled "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers," is that when Will encounters a Demogorgon, a clock chime is heard around the six-minute mark. To be fair, it's unclear if this was meant to be a clock chime all along or if it just so happened to sound like one. Either way, it can now be interpreted as such, marking it as the first hint of Vecna's influence. 

"Stranger Things" has random clock chimes at other times when Vecna's presence could be assumed to exist. During Season 2, Episode 4 — "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" — Hopper (David Harbour) enters the Upside Down to the tune of a chime. It comes back during Season 3 when Billy (Dacre Montgomery) gets targeted by the Mind Flayer. But even overlooking all these subtle sounds, it's not the only sign Vecna was quietly manipulating everything from the beginning. 

For example, the pilot episode opens with a scientist running away from a Demogorgon, only to find the monster already there. It's odd the Demogorgon would know where the scientist was heading, but if it's being controlled by Vecna (who spent a lot of time in the Hawkins lab), he could likely surmise where the Demogorgon needed to go. That first episode has a lot of hints about the existence of Vecna in retrospect, as we see the Demogorgon telekinetically open a door. Most viewers probably didn't think much of it at the time, because the Demogorgon is already an otherworldly creature, but Vecna possesses telekinesis. It's possible he was the one who actually opened the door, so his pet could get inside. 

Additionally, back in Season 2, Will refers to the Mind Flayer (that we discover is also being controlled by Vecna), as "He." The Mind Flayer is an eldritch abomination that you probably wouldn't instinctively attach a gender to, but Vecna was a man prior to his transformation. It makes far more sense for Will to use "he" when talking about any Upside Down creatures because they all lead to one entity — Vecna. These clues are only the tip of the iceberg, so make sure to watch Looper's video above to learn more about how Vecna has always been the endgame.