Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2 has hit Netflix and with it has come a sea of questions about Vecna but also a sea of memes. Yes, I’ve seen the meme of star Jamie Campbell Bower sitting in a chair with a Starbucks dressed like Vecna. And when I got to speak with Bower for the release of Vol. 2, I wanted to know what his favorite reaction has been online so far.
While you could ask a great many questions of Vecna and Jamie Campbell Bower will have very nuanced and honest responses to them, it was truly wonderful to hear him instead talk about his favorite meme that he’s seen of his character since Stranger Things 4 has come out and I ended the question by asking what song would save him from his own curse to which Bower replied “I constantly need saving from myself so I understand that.” So at least we know that Vecna is the same as us? Take that as you will (just kidding, Jamie Campbell Bower is a delight to talk to and an incredible actor).
Bower admitted to looking online to see what people were saying about Henry/001/Vecna and what some of the memes were and his favorite was…well, a bad photoshop. “Some of my favorite reactions were obviously before the show came out. I couldn’t talk about it, but I was kind of interested as to what people thought of Vecna. So I would look at what people were saying and it was some like fancy fashion gala ball thing. And they’d cut Vecna out, really crudely in Photoshop and put him on the red carpet. And I just thought it was so funny. It just made me laugh so much,” Bower admitted. “So I love that. And a lot of the reactions have been so funny. They’re a very, very funny fandom, this fandom.”
Keep running up that hill
The song that Bower ended up picking for his Vecna curse song is…not surprising. No, it’s not his own version of “Johanna” from Sweeney Todd though I wish it was. Instead, it’s a version of “Running Up That Hill” that is the version that I myself knew prior to this Kate Bush renaissance that everyone has fallen into. Much like Bower, I’m a huge Kate Bush fan but the Placebo cover of “Running Up That Hill” is the one I knew and loved as a teenager and, for him, it would be that version that saved him.
“I really love Kate Bush, but I also really, really love Placebo. And Placebo covered ‘Running Up That Hill,'” Bower said. “And it’s a beautiful version of the song. And I love Brian Molko’s voice as well. He’s just got a really gorgeous voice and that band means a lot to me. So I choose that song to save me.”
What song would save you from Vecna’s curse? Have you finished season 4 yet? Make sure to see Jamie Campbell Bower shine in Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, streaming now on Netflix.
(image: Netflix)
