lionhearted

She had expected something like this. People flocking to the capital from all corners of the realm. The king was dead and the carrion crows were gathering, the spectators were gathering. A part of her had looked forward to this, finally something was happening at High Court. But with all these lords and ladies returning to the keep the new faces around her were not just limited to the city's streets. No they were all around the Royal Keep, too. It made it harder for Hekla to decipher friend from foe, a skill that had kept her in her position for years now.

Just as she rounded the corner on her way to Lady Isolde's chambers she stumbled upon yet another unfamiliar face. "Are you lost perhaps? These hallways can be quite confusing. Would you like for me to show you the way to the great hall?" Hekla curtsied low, ever the image of a perfect servant. Friend or foe? It did not matter, she needed these rooms clear of any spies or intruders - except for her, of course.

For me the duality of Joyce Byers and Karen Wheeler has always been quite interesting. They have so many wonderful character moments and interesting developments, so many things in common and yet they are shown as opposites more often than not. Two sides of the same coin, neither better than the other. Here is the thing, I love me some foils. Give me a mirror and I am happy. It does not matter if it is scene, character, development, or quote. I love to dig in and figure out what it could mean. And I think it is very beautifully done in the first episode. The Wheelers are obviously the healthier family. They have the pretty home and the family dinner together, mother, father, and the kids. The Byers have a less pretty home, father not in the picture, mom working late and then falling asleep while Jonathan also has to work late. There is no one there when Will comes home except for the dog.

What if Dustin is Kas the Bloody-Handed?

No, not the lieutenant to Vecna. The other one. Hear me out here. I still need to properly research what info was given in the first edition (because our boys did play classic ADnD) and what was added in later editions but we all know that in Greyhawk he was the wielder of the sword of Kas and most trusted lieutenant to lich Vecna, he betrayed him (go whispering sword, go), big battle, hand / eye / sword, Kas goes to the plane of Ash and becomes a Vampire now hellbend on reclaiming his sword and destroying Vecna, etc.

I loved the Eddie = Kas and therefore Eddie = alive in the Upside Down as a "Vampire" theories after S4 aired, but we all know Eddie never betrayed Vecna, for he was never on his side to begin with. (And I still love this idea because after Vecna's escape Kas becomes "a soul outside time and space whose powers can be used by binders" and though I do want our dear Eddie to rest in peace, I kind of like the idea of him having something to do with the destruction of Vecna, even if it is just the energy of his soul - and it would play into the general thing of these children being used for their powers.)

Now, apparently, and I do not know which edition this info comes from, there is a second Kas the Bloody-Handed serving Vecna in Ravenloft. It is not the real Kas, but someone under the impression of being him, someone now loyal to Vecna to redeem himself for the betrayal. And what if they turned that around?

Dustin is basically pretending to be Eddie at this point. He is using his mannerisms (Gaten does such a good job with that), his goals, his escapism, to deal with the trauma of watching Eddie die in his arms. It is an understandable reaction. He is griefing and he must be filled with a lot of guilt for not being able to save Eddie, for leaving his body in the upside down, for not being able to tell people the truth of who Eddie really was. Having to watch the world call him a monster must be terribly hard for Dustin. And so he wants to rebuilt Hellfire, to continue on Eddie's legacy as a safe haven for those in need of it, for the "lost souls". He somehow turns into his own little version of Eddie, seemingly forgetting that he is supposed to be someone else. He wants to redeem himself not for betraying Vecna (obviously) but for failing to kill the "lich" and therefore betraying his friend. He is, like that Death Knight in Ravenloft, pretending to be Kas in order to silence his guilt and somehow cope with the loss he is facing.

And I love the idea of Dustin somehow using the sword of Kas (the memory of Eddie, the good things they went through together) to throw off Vecna or thwart his plans, to weaken him in some way so that El, Will, and Kali can deal the final blow and end this once and for all.