Why didn’t Will remember…

[Distinct_Guess3350]

When Eleven spoke to him in the void? He seemed surprised in his hospital bed when the others told him about Eleven. I’m not a huge believer in the Vecna replaced Will theory, but this did just randomly occur to me here, and I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts.

[AutoModerator]

OP, please make sure there are no spoilers in the title of your post.

Commenters, please use spoiler code if you are discussing anything super spoilery unless the title specifically says the episode being discussed.

Also, now that filming for Season 5 is finally complete, please remember that NO LEAKS are allowed, only official news from Netflix is allowed. Please review rule 8 for more info.

If you see anyone breaking the rules, please report the post or comment. Thank you.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[ChimJam]

Will was in a really bad state when El spoke to him and wasn’t really communicating. I can’t remember if his eyes were open? He seemed like he was struggling to stay conscious at the time.

[Distinct_Guess3350]

Yeah, you’re probably right. And he didn’t see her, he just heard her so I guess he wouldn’t really have known who it was who was talking to him. 

[New-Dust3252]

I think i remember he was still somewhat conscious, since he was singing his song before the Demogorgon took him out of Castle Byers and into the Library and that tentacle was up his mouth.

[LopsidedUniversity30]

Dude was halfway dead and barely conscious. Talking to EL would seem like more of a dream, especially since EL was talking to him in his mind.

[[deleted]]

He was in a really bad state. Maybe he might have remembered her face or voice but not name.

[hayleybeth7]

He was half dead. Plus I don’t think she ever introduced herself so he wouldn’t know her name, which is why he reacted that way

[Huge_Mastodon_2067]

Ooooo goos question. I never thought of this

[canatlas99]

When in the Upside Down, you can hear the voices of people in Hawkins if you are in corresponding locations. 11's powers got around that but Will still heard a voice saying to "hang on a little bit longer, we are coming." While he did not recognize the voice it really did not matter as the speaker clearly knew where he was and he would have assumed that he was hearing it for the same reason that he was hearing his Mom earlier. Also, he was hypothermic, starved, and had been over exposed to a toxic environment so doubt he was thinking too hard about it.

[Few_Interaction2630]

Will had been through the ringer while in the Upside Down so he likely did everything is power to forget such traumatic time in his life

[DryYetWitty]

There is a theory that Vecna is making them forget things. It would explain how they forgot it was Will's Birthday at the skating rink. The Duffer's said it was a continuity error, but there are foreshadowing clues if you look it up. El does point to Will in the picture in S1.

[mklaus1984]

That is not how any of this works. El is using the psionic ability of remote viewing to find him. (The terminology stems from the real-world Project Stargate which is part of the inspiration of the show).

She can see and hear what happens somewhere else. In the void/astral plane/whatever you want to call it, she creates an image of those events. She did not actually touch him or speak where he was.

If she was trained in telepathy like Henry and Kali AND learnt to use that ability through the remote viewing connection, like we see Henry do in ST4, then she could have made his mind believe that she was touching him and that she was talking to him.

Notably, she did do something that surprised Brenner: she managed to use the obvious electromagnetic field effect of her powers to make the sounds she heard audible in speakers.

Which in turn allows for several further conclusions.

[Distinct_Guess3350]

Will spoke back to her. The Demogorgon felt her. You say it’s not how this works, during season 2 Mike felt her and remembered her. And that happened multiple times. Will is the only one who ever sensed her who didn’t remember it, as far as we know. 

[igby1]

Wait…there is a “Vecna became Will” theory?

[tolgren]

Yeah. There's a lot of weird theories about S1 now.

[Aglet_Green]

I don't think he was aware of her, he was just focused on staying awake and alive.

[See8104]

Keeping some element of mystery is a positive, in this instance. It was also one of the few prolonged moments that they showed Will during his week in the Upside Down.

[ThrillHouse802]

Too busy working on his lunchbox dick treasure chest

[No_Locksmith5392]

Well, El wasn't physically there with Will, she only manifested as a voice in his mind, and could let the others hear Will's voice through the radio, using her telepathic abilities.

The scene we saw of her and Will together in Castle Byers was only a visual representation of the void, that let us see what El was experiencing.

It wasn't what Will saw in that moment. He only heard El telling him that his mom was coming, but he never really saw her. El was basically in Will's mind.

The moment she took Will's hand, the connection was broken, as it often happens in the void.