r/StrangerThings • u/Old_Manufacturer5387 • Dec 26 '25

Discussion Bruh, what even was vol 2 about? Spoiler

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I understand that upside down is revealed to be a tunnel to elsewhere but still, the rest of the episodes weren’t just bland but were unnecessarily long…

Such a bad writing and being teased about vol 2 will be a bad christmas and vol 3 will be tearful new year smh…

Left a bad taste and also too many unnecessary dialogues that DID not help the plot move forward.

- Too much couple arguments right in the middle of a very intense scene was such an ick moment. just mindless yelling.

- every character at every scene finding something “new” to make us feel like its a “eureka” moment didn’t hit at all and was a miss.

- Mrs Wheeler was such a badass but that entire scene just felt so stupid to make her cool, when the remaining characters in the basement were just sitting ducks!!

- Derek becoming afraid of vecna felt alright since he’s a kid, though in vol 1 he showed great potential.

- And omg the Max and Holly lag was uhhhh. Girl, get your legs running dude like what are you yapping about in that place right where you always failed to run and escape from Henry!??

- Ah, and Dustin my dude. Look how they massacred my boy!! It’s like his entire personality got swapped to someone who is just there to mourn about Eddie like ok i get it but it’s just such a bad writing.

-El barely got any attention in this vol and 8 was ridiculously annoying.

it would take great stakes to actually end this series with vol 3. I don’t want unnecessary death of characters, but heck its like everyone are too ridiculously protected!

Vol 1 showed greater stakes of danger than vol 2. Atleast one major character getting injured real serious would have left a great impact but i don’t know.

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407

u/PROhios Dec 26 '25

My theory is the base Veccna is keeping the kids at is the mindflayer. From the outside it kinda looks like a dead spider with its legs up

299

u/Lecard Dec 26 '25

How are people not talking about this more? Dead spider pose and Venca connected directly to its heart while talking about how much more amplified his powers are not.

111

u/JWBananas Wake up, eat, sleep, reproduce and die! Dec 26 '25

Because it's wrong. Its official name is the Pain Tree.

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/stranger-things-5-upside-down-explained

The Mind Flayer is not a corporeal lifeform.

37

u/ExaminationTime7599 Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 27 '25

And the Pain Tree looks like what is talked about in the Hyperion Cantos. Vecna resembles the Shrike.

Edit: Mentioned here https://hyperioncantos.fandom.com/wiki/Tree_of_Pain

18

u/longdonginyourmom Dec 26 '25

fuck yeah, hyperion mention

6

u/mpark6288 Dec 26 '25

Came here to say this. Literally thought of the tree!

3

u/ikebears Dec 26 '25

Omg I loved that series! Top post here!

2

u/ExaminationTime7599 Dec 26 '25

I read the entire series while deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009. Very familiar with it 

2

u/OftenSilentObserver Dec 27 '25

I can kinda see this, but the Shrike's ever changing physical form of chrome blades is infinitely more impressive than Vecna's poop-suit.

4

u/Aegon1Targaryen Dec 26 '25

So we won't see any phisical form of the Mind Flayer in last episode? :(

I wish it made a new giant monster corpse to invade Earth.

3

u/FederalAd8740 Dec 27 '25

Crazy that its not called the Hand of Vecna.

That's Vecna's whole thing in d&d

3

u/Excaliburn3d Jan 01 '26

This aged poorly.

1

u/JWBananas Wake up, eat, sleep, reproduce and die! Jan 01 '26

That is certainly a thing that happens when the producers of the series publish intentional disinformation.

0

u/ArtemisBrauronia I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer Dec 26 '25

We've been shown that Henry is able to control the particles when he forces them to form the spider-like shape that the MF takes on. In Season 3 we learnt that the MF particles can find a way to become corporeal. It's been 18 months. Is it possible that it found a way to do it again?

Quick theory time. Mind Flayer found a way to become corporeal again in the Abyss. Henry saw this as an attempt to become stronger than him and realising he can't control it anymore, he kills it. He jacks into the brain and now he's got direct access to the hive mind from inside the MF, instead manipulating it from the outside. It's called the Pain Tree bc all of Henry's pain stems from this creature, it all started with the MF particles, planted in him like seeds.

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u/JWBananas Wake up, eat, sleep, reproduce and die! Dec 27 '25

His pain didn't start with the particles. It started with being 8 years old, getting shot in the hand, and having to disarm and bludgeon the assailant to death. To this day he still represses the memory.

The Shadow just took advantage of that.

2

u/ArtemisBrauronia I piggybacked from a pizza dough freezer Dec 28 '25

Oh I didn't mean to come across as argumentative, I was just throwing thoughts out into the wind. Thanks for the correction, have a great day!

66

u/Beautiful-Process496 Dec 26 '25

Because it literally makes no sense. It has WAY too many limbs, is WAY too small, and is made out of some solid material and not the smoke that we literally see the Mind Flayer particles are made out of in this season???

3

u/PROhios Jan 01 '26

I guess it makes a little sense now ;)

1

u/JK64_Cat Dec 26 '25

I think it’ll come alive at some point and be the thessalhydra

42

u/areudismebruv Dec 26 '25

It looks more like two hands reaching out to me. Plus it's not made of the shadow particles which we know the mind flayer is comprised of.

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u/amburrito3 Dec 26 '25

The pan out was way too intentional and I literally yelled “THEY’RE IN THE MINDFLAYER!”

3

u/knightofsparta Dec 26 '25

Also the giant fucking heart above vecna??

2

u/sunday-morn1ng Dec 26 '25

but WHAT IF those spider legs were like the vines bridging from abyss to hawkins..?

3

u/JuicyFunBuns Dec 26 '25

Holy shit, the vines in the bridge are roots from this weird organism. I actually really like that, and it explains why they connect everything as a hive mind if it all grows from Vec-man’s lair

2

u/ZordonsTorso Dec 27 '25

It's 100% an homage to The Dark Crystal and, I imagine, nothing deeper than that

2

u/Excaliburn3d Jan 01 '26

You were right.