The episode concludes with the death of Fred Benson, a school journalist, whose demise mirrors Chrissy’s—levitating into the air before his limbs are snapped by psychic force. Critical Reception

The episode follows three distinct narrative threads as the characters deal with the immediate fallout of the season premiere:

Vecna invades their minds while they are in a trance-like state.

A central focus of this chapter is the methodology of the villain, Vecna. As noted by the Stranger Things Wiki , the "curse" involves targeting individuals with deep-seated trauma or guilt.