Vecna may be absolutely terrifying, but that hasn't stopped Jamie Campbell Bower from defending him. In fact, the actor who brought the Stranger Things character to life doesn't view him as a villain at all.
"Am I able to view him as a villain? I'm certainly able to view him as as a point of conflict," Bower told Variety. "But in terms of, like, is he evil or villainous? I mean, I understand him, and I love him. And I relate to him. I just got a pain in my eyes as I was saying that – maybe I should shut up! Like, I understand him, and so I'm always gonna be on his side."
The actor also spoke about Vecna's backstory, revealing that he thinks the character still had some humanity left before his transformation. "Yes, more humanity than perhaps any others. He grew up in an environment where his father murdered a civilian and a civilian family on the orders of people he never knew, who were presenting themselves as these upstanding citizens. In whose eyes are they upstanding? I'm still angry about it now!"
He added that, by sending him to the Upside Down, Eleven "takes everything away from him – everything that he possibly could have had, is now gone because of her. That is enraging. It's more than that – it's hate-fueling. It's irritating. It's actually really irritating."
He continued: "I think there's still a level of humanity to him, even where he is now, but I think the humanity of him being where he is now is a fact that I can relate to. I'm sure we all can. Sometimes if we hold on to things for too long, they become consuming – really, really consuming – and I feel like that's where he’s gotten to, he's in this consuming state. Maybe that's bullshit. But it feels right to me."
Time will tell if we see Vecna back again for Stranger Things season 5, but it certainly seems like he has unfinished business with Hawkins. While you wait for more, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows streaming now to fill out your watchlist.
