Victor (Kevin L. Johnson) served in World War 2 as a young man and commits a terrible error. He gives the order to shell a place where there are innocent people, including a newborn, rather than German soldiers. About 14 years later, Victor, his wife, and their two children relocate to a stunning new house in Hawkins. Even though it may seem as though they have a promising future, Victor’s son Henry (Raphael Luce) is harbouring evil, and this evil ultimately claims the lives of Victor’s wife and daughter.
An imprisoned Victor attempts to “join them” by slashing himself in the eyes with a razor blade after being devastated by their loss and held responsible for the crime.
I recently had the chance to speak with Robert Englund, who portrays the elder Victor Creel, and at the conclusion of our talk, we focused on Victor’s potential future plans. Although he had made some terrible errors, he is essentially being held in prison for a crime that he did not actually commit. Does Victor still have any chance at all after that? Would he ever be able to forgive himself if he realised the full extent of what Henry had become? Englund gave his opinion and began:
Victor’s guilt undoubtedly stems from his inability to save his family. He might have been hiding his feelings for Henry. It’s possible that he blinded himself because he was, to use a metaphor, blind to what was happening. Oedipus blinded himself after sleeping with his mother. Victor lost his family and became legally blind because he failed to recognise the wickedness in his son. You may submit your academic paper to film school about Victor Creel and Stranger Things. And I make use of some of that. I borrow a little from Ben Gunn, who plays the old blind man in Treasure Island who gives Jim Hawkins, the boy, the narrative on Long John Silver. But I’m not sure if Victor’s redemption is the right course of action. In World War II, he made a catastrophic error that resulted in the death of an infant and a family. He ordered the shelling of a defenceless farmhouse. It might have been a combination of those things, depending on whether or not he noticed anything wrong with his son that he could have handled as a strong parent and stopped or prevented with the dead animals or anything else.
Englund also identified a crucial bit of conversation from Stranger Things 4, Episode 7 that might hint at Victor’s future. He said it like this:
“But the second thing is that I think Vecna has a line; I’m not sure [whether] Nancy is walking in some type of Salvador Dali underworld Upside Down while Vecna is speaking. He mentions me and I believe it is to Nancy. He says, “Oh, Victor,” for example. Old Victor, a grump. Never responded to him. Maybe I ought to. I’ve been quite busy. I’m not sure what that means, then. Will he murder me? Does he intend to punish me further than what has already been done to me? I’m not sure what that meant or why they feel the need to make amends. There are numerous issues that need to be rectified in Season 5.
Are you interested in learning more from Englund about his role as Victor Creel in Stranger Things 4? In our comprehensive video interview at the top of this page, you may find precisely that!
