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Beneath all those freaky prosthetics, Vecna has a heart after all.

Or at the very least, Jamie Campbell Bower does. Case in point, the Stranger Things villain recently revealed his emotional reaction to the blockbuster season 5 finale of Netflix's biggest English series to date. 

Bower was an honored guest at Emerald City Comic Con 2026 in Seattle, where the upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star took fan questions in a packed spotlight panel. At one point during the discussion, one fan asked Bower what he thought of the "way Stranger Things ended" - that is, the eighth episode of season 5, which aired New Years Eve last year.

"As it was like coming to a close," began the Twilight actor, "People were always interested as to how we felt about it. I think that last scene of the guys playing D&D downstairs, and graduating, and going through the experiences that they're going through... what I love about Matt and Ross Duffer is they put a lot of their own heart and soul into their work. More often than not, I feel like when I'm watching it, I'm watching them speak through their characters to the actors that are playing them. That's so noticeable with things that Mike and Eleven go through."

Bower continues to say that it wasn't just watching the final moments of the show that got him emotional - it was from the very first moment he set eyes on the script.

"I sort of burst into tears upon reading those things," Bower said, "I think that it was such a beautifully fitting and and poignant and emotional end to a story that we obviously all know and love, and that I was fortunate enough to join. The thing that stuck with me was just the raw emotionality of it. I think that those performances that you're seeing from those guys at the end, where they're in tears, are very, very real. Very, very real. That would be my favorite thing."

Was there anything Bower didn't like about the ending? Eh, he did have one quibble.

"I was pissed that Vecna didn't kill everyone," he joked at the end, "I'll be honest with you."

Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix now. The Jamie Campbell Bower panel from ECCC '26 is available right here.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"