SPOILER ALERT! This article contains details of Stranger Things 5 Volume 2.
Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna only becomes more terrifying in Volume 2 of the final season, which sees the monster move even closer to implementing his plan to merge the human world with another dimension.
As viewers learn over the course of three episodes, the Upside Down is a wormhole that connected Hawkins to this alternate dimension that Dustin dubs “The Abyss,” which they believe is the true home of the mind flayer, the demogorgons, and the rest of the evils that have haunted them for four years — even, it seems, Henry Creel.
The characters have been completely unable to locate Vecna all season, as it turned out he was hiding in this alternate dimension they didn’t know existed and couldn’t access (because it’s located thousands of feet above them). While they try to solve this mystery, Vecna works to stop Holly (Nell Fisher) and Max (Sadie Sink) from escaping her mental prison. The girls realize that in order to get out, they will have to go through Henry’s memories rather than their own, leading to a heartbreaking moment where they witness a very young Henry murder a man he meets… in a cave. This seems to give some insight as to why Henry won’t enter the cave Max and Holly are hiding in in his mind, although there are still some unanswered questions in the finale.
While Max manages to escape, Holly is not so lucky. By the end of the penultimate episode, she’s back in his clutches and Henry begins his process of merging worlds, teasing one final showdown to come in the 2-hour finale.
“[Episode] 8 arrives very hot, just after 7. It’s time to leave. It’s really, really explosive,” Campbell Bower told Deadline.
In the interview below, the actor reveals his descent further into Henry Creel’s madness for volume 2 of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
L-R: Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in “Stranger Things” Season 5
Courtesy of Netflix
DEADLINE: Was any of the information we’ve learned about Henry since Season 4 presented to you when you accepted the role? What did you know at the start?
JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER: I don’t think any of this was offered to me when I arrived. I remember towards the end of filming the Henry portion of Season 4, Matt and Ross, sort of, we had a little separate conversation, and they were like, “This has been amazing.” We were always going to bring you back as Vecna, but now we think we should bring you back more in your form. and I was just like, “Cool. It looks awesome. Whatever you want, guys. So as far as the story arc goes, none of that was presented to me, and I think it was, from what I heard and read from Matt and Ross, it was something that kind of developed between the two of them.
DEADLINE: I really appreciate that we get to see more of Henry this season. And I’m curious what it was like for you working with some of these young kids, especially having to be so cruel to them? What did you take away from this experience? Because they give you back so much emotionally. And I wonder, for you as a more experienced, older actor, what it was like to be able to play in that sandbox with them.
CAMPBELL’S BOX: It was great. I mean, there were definitely times where it was terrifying for me. I talked about it today and also when we were discussing the first few chapters. On Mr. Whatsit’s side, it’s a presentation, and the intention is buried. So when you sit across from a child and bury their intention, children, naturally, can see through the bullshit and lies. It’s a very terrifying experience sitting there sometimes… but it was also a lot of fun, because the kids were really awesome. There were so many fun moments where we were playing games between takes, and especially that last scene in Episode 7, where we were all sitting around the table, it was one of the first times where, I mean, you know, obviously, other than the five o’clock start, we were all together and we had a great day. It was just a beautiful and fun experience playing with them. They are so awesome and so receptive, and it was a joy to get to know them and work with them. They are all incredible. I really like Jake. I just think he’s the sweetest boy, and I’ve also gotten to know his family, and he’s just a great kid. I’m so happy that the fans and the world took Derek into their hearts. It was always the thing I hoped for the most for him. I was like, ‘He’s so cool.’ I hope it happens,” and it did, and I’m so happy for him.
DEADLINE: You’ve talked about Henry and particularly Vecna’s head as being a difficult place to be as an actor, and I’m curious what it was like for you to unpack some of what happened to him as a child? I’m particularly thinking of the scene where we see Henry, a young boy, killing this scientist in the cave, and it’s a really shocking scene.
CAMPBELL’S BOX: This is something I had even thought about before season 4, and I rated myself between 4 and 5 when I went to see the play. So playing those scenes felt like a huge release at times, and it was also really important for me to go into those scenes understanding the trauma and the experience to bring forward that level of humanity. I described Henry this season and the way I approached it as a retention of memory, but buried far away. So when I get to uncover that, unearth that, it humanizes the experience and the character for me, because there are times where I feel extremely inhuman, monstrous, and I know this seems obvious, but really monstrous. So I had a lot of fun in those moments, that’s for sure.
DEADLINE: There is a scene in the episode [5] that I really like where we see in real time Henry go from One to Vecna. How did you think about the subtle differences in this character’s development over these time periods to be able to achieve something like this?
CAMPBELL’S BOX: I mean, I think it was always this thing of the mask falling, falling, and where I got to with Henry at the end of episode 7 of season 4 was how I wanted to bring him back when we saw him again. It was in this emotional space. Having already lived in Mr. Whatsit in season 5, for me there is a difference between them, no matter how subtle it is, there is a difference. So yes, there are emotional differences and difficulties, but also physical ones. [ones]. That particular moment, the physical aspect of it, is something that we’ve been working on, actually, with someone who works in the gaming space, and using things like called nodes, which are like particular moments that you hit and you’ll come back to. So we worked on the change between Whatsit and Henry before filming.
I was going through my videos the other day, and I’m on stage doing it, trying different things, trying how I wanted my head to move and where my arms were going to be. Yes, it’s a very short moment, but it’s something we spent a lot of time on, just making sure it was right and it was cool. A lot of it comes down to intuition and the work that goes into it beforehand, so that when you walk into the space, you’re just like, “Oh, this is what these characters would naturally do here.” It was really fun. It was really cool to do these kinds of more changing songs. In England we have three exams between 13 and 18, and the middle one is called your AS (Advanced Subsidiary) Levels, and I danced AS Levels. I was able to lean a lot on the dance side of my childhood, which was really fun. It was nice to know it was still there, and, god, like it hadn’t completely disappeared.
Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel in ‘Stranger Things’
Courtesy of Netflix
DEADLINE: How do you view, emotionally, this separation between Henry and Vecna? Is this simply a loss of humanity? How do you make that distinction in your head when you play these characters?
CAMPBELL’S BOX: I mean, it really depends on what we call a loss of humanity. Because, is it distance from the heart, or is it like monstrous in the sense of monsters? I think Henry was so close, much closer to innocence, much closer to experiences, and then when he was sent to this slippery, veiny death at the end of [Season] 4, it became about resentment, and at that point, it felt like humanity had disappeared. It was as if the possibility of love was so far away. I refer to love as this thing that keeps us alive, and so I think Henry, if we look at it that way, like Henry is close to innocence, Whatsit is even further away, and Vecna is like… it’s impossible – practically impossible – that there is anything resembling love.
DEADLINE: What excites you about the finale and what do you ultimately hope people take away from this character that you spent so much time thinking about and playing?
CAMPBELL’S BOX: So, as far as what we can expect for the finale, I’m actually really excited for episode 8 to come out. I feel like episode 7 is – because I obviously know what’s coming in 8, and we’re leaving pretty much, in my opinion, knowing what’s going to happen, a pretty heavy cliffhanger, and 8 comes in really hot, right after 7. It’s time to go. It’s really very explosive. I’m really excited for people to see this, because I also know what it’s like to work on it, and it’s really cool. What do I hope people take away from this character? Wow, I’m still working on this. I’m definitely still working on it, because I’ve spent so much time there, and I don’t know if I can still see the wood from the trees. I’m not sure. Much of this character is based on the idea of loneliness. Much of this character is based on the idea of salvation. I had to fall in love, and I fell in love with Henry Creel. I must have wanted to protect him. I had to want to nurture him and love him, because that’s my duty as the person who plays him. I have to understand it, and I don’t know what it’s like to be a spectator, but watching it from afar, I don’t know. I would have to give myself another six months to really be able to absorb this.
