Music evokes strong memories that are both good and bad, so it makes sense that it could open a doorway out of the oppressive alienation of trauma, despair, and guilt that Max found herself in.
During the episode, Nancy and Robin learn that music is the only thing that can save people from Vecna's wrath. This bit of information proves useful as the gang is able to fend of the upside down demon and save Max using her favorite song Kate Bush's 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)."
If Vecna has you in a trance, listening to your favorite song can help pull you out of it, as we saw when Vecna attacked Max only for her friends to pull her out his trance using the synth-tastic stylings of Kate Bush, specifically her 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).”
“Music can remind people of who they are, of who they love, of their past. So sharing a musical experience can help them feel connected again to the present”—which is how the characters of Stranger Things successfully use the song.
The top song, according to the official Stranger Things Twitter account, is your own personal "savior song." In the season 4 episode "Dear Billy," Nancy and Robin discover that music just might be the only thing than can save people from Vecna's wrath.
If Vecna can overwhelm their victim with fear, and keep them from resisting, their fate is almost certainly sealed. In the real world, he makes the victim levitate while in their trance, before snapping their bones and neck, and crushing their eyes.
The Stranger Things official Twitter account shared the news. "Wanna know what songs would save YOU from Vecna? Head to your Upside Down Playlist on @Spotify to find out... the first song on the list = your saviour song," a post read.
As Vecna, he uses these mental abilities as a way to psychologically weaken and lure in his victims – much in a way that Pennywise, Freddie Kruger, and Pinhead do. (All of which have been cited by show creators the Duffer brothers as inspirations for the villain.) But he does have a surprising weakness: music.
She is suffering, but instead of giving in she chooses to fight and, more importantly, to keep fighting. “Dear Billy” is a phenomenal episode and in the moment has an air of finality. Max has escaped Vecna, so she is safe from Vecna.
Max rises into the sky, her limbs begin to snap, and she goes blind. Max briefly dies and the portal begins to open to The Upside Down, but Eleven throws a monkey wrench in Vecna's plan by bringing Max back to life.
While intending to get his revenge on Eleven and Brenner, Vecna also goes after victims who have dealt with traumatizing experiences in the past (reminiscent of his childhood and his time at the Hawkins lab).
So the gang hatches a complex plan to bait Vecna with Max, while Nancy, Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), Eddie (Joseph Quinn), and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) go into the Upside Down to kill Vecna while he's “weak.” The good news is Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) has figured out a way to help from across the country ...
Together, their powers combined are the exact powers of 001/Henry. Fans are now theorising that the powers of both 011 and 008, who have the combined power of 001, is what is needed to finally match and defeat Vecna. To put it simply, 011 + 008 + [with the combined power of] 001 = 020, a.k.a. Erica's critical hit.
Essentially, Vecna hates humanity, and wants to take over their world. He had hoped that Eleven would help him achieve this goal. But when he realised she wouldn't, Vecna instead used her.
This is when the gang discovers that the only way to save her by his curse is to play Max her favourite song. The gang then plays “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" by Kate Bush, which helps in saving Max's life.
For Vecna's voice, Henighan says they took Campbell Bower's performance and manipulated his voice so that “the clarity, the strength and the power was there. …
Vecna's obsession with time appears to be linked to his hatred of humanity. He views time as a human imposition on the natural world; an attempt to impose order on nature.
Patrick was targeted due to his father's abuse of him. Finally, Vecna targets Max for her trauma from witnessing Billy's death and uses Barb's (Shannon Purser) death as a way to use Nancy.
The reason that Eleven couldn't find Max is actually pretty simple -- Max had already died. That means her soul had already been absorbed into Vecna's consciousness. So, while Eleven restarted Max's heart and brought her body back to life, she was trapped inside of Vecna's hive mind.
This is a reference to the D&D character Vecna, for whom this Vecna is named; the D&D Vecna has a monstrous hand infused with dark magic. The design of Vecna's hand is also a nod to Freddy Krueger, the Nightmare on Elm Street villain who had a huge influence on this season in general.
In the D&D realm, a defining feature of Vecna is that he's missing his left hand and left eye. This is because his trusted accomplice, Kas the Bloody-Handed, betrayed him and used the sword Vecna created himself to chop off his left hand and remove his left eye. This ultimately destroyed Vecna.
His first victim was Chrissy Cunningham. Vecna targeted Chrissy by using her depression and eating disorder against her in his visions. Chrissy was killed in Eddie Munson's trailer, and the first gate was opened on the ceiling.
If you select a song, a pop-up of Vecna himself should appear on your Android or desktop and the progress bar will light up like a torch, taking listeners on a journey through the Upside Down.
What song would save you from Vecna's death grip? Thanks to Spotify , you don't need to answer that question yourself. Spotify has created an Upside Down playlist for everyone to check out their No. 1 "savior song." Whatever song is at the top of your playlist is your "savior song."
He killed three teenagers from Hawkins and then set out to take Max from the gang. In a genius move, Dustin began playing Max favourite song, Runnning Up That Hill by Kate Bush. Listening to that managed to bring Max out of the Upside Down and out of Vecna's reach.