Why did the demogorgon take Barb?

Why did the demogorgon kidnapp will and not just kill and eat him? from StrangerThings

warning! Contains major spoilers for Weird things season 4.

Weird things Many questions have been left unanswered over the years, and one of the most disturbing was: Why didn’t the Demogorgon family kill Will when Barb had her fate at her own hands in season one? debuting in rave reviews in 2016, Weird things It has since become a huge hit for the creators of the Dover Brothers and a huge Netflix franchise. With a strong multi-generational cast, central mystery, and a truckload of ’80s nostalgia, it’s no surprise that viewers love the show so much, with Weird things The fourth season ended with a terrifying cinematic hype in the second part.

the offer Follows sinister adults and teens in Hawkins Indiana, a seemingly quiet small town where all kinds of horror and sci-fi hoaxes take place beneath the picturesque surface. During the show’s four seasons, various characters are killed by entities from the Upside Down, and the silent Hill– The cute parallel dimension from which the monsters that terrorize Hawkins emerge. From Season 3 Mind Flayer to Season 4 Vecna, Lovecraftian’s meticulously designed enemies are among the many causes Something strangeIt struck a chord with viewers and critics alike. However, despite the extreme horror and subsequent atrocities of critical acclaim as the Demogorgon, they also made problematic plot holes.

For example, some viewers noted that the incitement incident Weird things The first season, the titular “Disappearance of Will Byers”, was not properly explained. The show didn’t really explain why the Demogorgon tracked down and injured Will. If Will was saved, why did the Demogorgon take Barb? One popular theory that surfaced on the internet before Season 4 hit Netflix in 2022 was that the Demogorgons are remote controlled servants. According to the theory, it is controlled by the Mind Flayer. Season 4 put the kibosh in fan interpretations, as Mind Flayer died but the show’s Demogorgons are still incredibly hostile. Questions about Barb and Will’s different fates remain, so here’s why their findings with the Demogorgon are different.

Explanation of the Demogorgon Mind Control Theory Flyer


Stranger Things Demogorgon and Mind Flayer

in Weird things Season one, Demogorgon attacks and captures Will. His disappearance begins in the entire show’s plot and he survives a long lonely week in the mysterious Upside-Down after being kidnapped by the toothed monster. He will eventually escape with the help of his friends, but when the same monster kidnaps Nancy Barb’s short-lived friend, she is brutally murdered on the spot. This is a moment many fans still find annoying, even years later season 1 for the first time. Barb hasn’t been around for long Weird things But her short stint struck a chord in fans. Many demanded justice for Barb or, at least, the answers. Why did the Demogorgon take Barb but cut Will? According to one Weird things Fan theory, the creature that captured Will was being controlled by future baddie the Mind Flayer. This brain-brained monster was (literally) looking for a human host, while the Demogorgon that caught Barb was just looking for food or perhaps spoiled his attempt to please the mind-flyer.

How can the mind flyer control the Demogorgons


mind flyer design

for some Something strangeHis henchmen, the brutal villain/the Curse of Hawkins’ Lab isn’t just a stray beast making its way through the city’s younger population. Instead, this fan theory assumes that the actions of the Demogorgon throughout Season 1 prove that Weird things The antagonist is instead a puppet from the second and third season of Mind Flayer. Proof of this comes not only in the form of Will’s improbable week-long stay at Upside-Down but also in the monster’s inconsistent behavior. Although the Demogorgon’s attack on Barb is still not visible, her cries indicate that the monster may be doing more than just dragging her away and devouring her. When viewers later saw her body, she was long dead but did not seem to have eaten, even partially. If the Demogorgon who killed Barb was looking for food, then much less Barb would be left. However, if the Demogorgon is acting under the direction of the Mind Flayer, and his goal is merely to kill Barb and spread fear, the theory holds up as an explanation.

Demogorgon tried (and failed) to use Barb


Shannon Purser

if Weird things Viewers assume – judging by the fearsome slug that emerges from the mouth of Barb’s corpse – that the Demogorgon attacking her is the same monster that kidnapped Will in the first place, the villain’s plan begins to understand. Since the same type of slug was later seen slipping out of Will’s mouth at the end Weird things In season one, fans posited that it could be evidence that Flayer tried to control her mind and behavior in the same way that she successfully took over Will’s body and mind during season 2. And possession – a moment that will finally have an interpretation within the show and provided more nightmare-inducing images that make Weird things amazing. Barb’s death ensured that all the slug didn’t take, so Mind Flair reached out to Will instead. Perhaps Mind Flair needed a younger host, or perhaps Barb simply died while the Demogorgon was trying to infect her.

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Why the Demogorgon/Mindflare theory is not correct


Died by broad daylight, Demogorgon

However, as satisfactorily as this theory is, there are some gaps in its interpretation Weird thingsevil hierarchy. Subsequent seasons have pretty much proven that Mind Flayer wasn’t using Demogorgons to terrorize Hawkins – Demogorgons just do. in Weird things Season Two, the slug that coughed turns into a Dart, a Demodog, who grows into a Demogorgon. Dart the Demogorgon is a stray killing machine that eats a cat and tries to kill many humans, operating without direct instructions from the Mind Flayer’s mind. Slugs are not a byproduct of the Mind Flayer effect, they are the larvae of Demogorgons. Season 4 confirmed that the Demogorgon’s violent tendencies are natural, with one in Kamchatka being aggressive to humans, even with no Mind Flare effect anywhere.

As such, there may be no connection between the Demogorgon’s use of Will and Barb as human incubators and the general intrigues of the Mind Flayer. Vecna ​​also uses the corpses in Season 4 as incubators, though the openings between Hawkins and Upside Down rather than breed. Vecna ​​and The Mind Flayer are different, separate and may be at odds (the Mind Flayer is still found somewhere in the Upside Down). The multiple spiky creatures in the show use human bodies to create what they need, which means that doing so isn’t a sign of grandiose Mindflyer machinations – it’s just something that upside-down monsters do.

The Mind Flayer will also not need to use Demogorgons as proxies. The Weird things Big Bad is more than capable of reaching out and controlling humans directly, as the show proves when it does exactly that. In season 3 of Weird thingsMind Flyer succeeded in using Billy’s brain and body as a conduit for controlling Hawkins’ human population. While it is possible that the monster simply gave up relying on the Demogorgons and – having been driven out by Will – took over another human directly instead, it seems unlikely that this will be the case.

Barb’s body appears in season 4


All this endoscopy may explain the events of Weird things Season one, but how will it pay off later in the show’s continuity? In Season 3, the Mind Flayer’s attack saw something slip under Eleven’s skin during the chaos of a brutal battle. In a provocative moment, Jonathan Byers managed to peel off the skin of the heroine and tear this tiny parasite from her leg. Prior to Season 4, some speculated that it was another mind-controlling slug that would eventually turn El into a mind-controlled opponent Flayer. This development would have revealed that El is the villain Weird things 4, which gives her reasonable deniability because she cannot control her behavior during the acquisition. However, Season 4 proved once again that these theories are moot. Which comforts a lot of fans, Weird things Don’t have the El turn heel and bring in a new opponent Vecna ​​instead.

there Weird things Season 4 Barb looking, just not the person anyone would want. In episode seven, “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” Vecna ​​mocks Nancy with visions of her guilt and grief. For viewers, this experience (among other things) translates into a brief glimpse into the rot of Barb in the Upside Down. Many fans stuck to the Mind Flayer theory because it provided at least some justification. This means that the lovable character did not meet her end cruelly because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Barb’s death remains as collateral damage from monsters like the Vecna ​​and Mind Flayer who are trying to achieve their goals, but are not set for a higher purpose by either villain. Her death was a narrative way of illustrating the gravity and cruelty of “Upside Down” and the fate of the characters who end there. Although fans wanted Barb justice in the form of giving her the meaning of death, Weird things Season 4 still hasn’t explained why Will was saved by the Demogorgon.

MORE: The Simpsons Cheated Stranger Things Twice (And It Didn’t Work)

Weird things Season 4, Volume 2 launches on Netflix 01/07/22 at 3AM EST.

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