Virginia Creel Knew Dr. Brenner, But How Does She Play into the Story?

Fans raced to binge Stranger Things 4 when the first seven episodes premiered on Memorial Day and haven’t stopped talking about the show since. With the final two episodes of the season dropping in just a few weeks, speculation about the twisty sci-fi horror series is at an all-time high. Each season introduces fans to more mysteries surrounding Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown,) an alternate dimension called the Upside Down, and the monsters that live there. Here’s why we think Stranger Things 4 character Virginia Creel (Tyner Rushing) might be more important than she seemed.

[WARNING: This article contains detailed plot spoilers regarding Stranger Things 4 Volume I.]

Who are Victor, Virginia, Alice, and Henry Creel in ‘Stranger Things 4’?

The Creel family murders serve as a core part of the mystery in Stranger Things 4. In 1959, Victor (Robert Englund) and his family relocated to Hawkins, Indiana. They wanted a change of scenery for their son, Henry. Soon after they moved in, dead animals began to show up on the lawn, the Creel daughter, Alice (Livi Burch,) began to experience horrible nightmares, and the lights and electricity in the house flickered on and off. Victor saw visions of a horrific accident he caused during World War II.

Eventually, Virginia Creel and Alice died with their bones mangled, and their eyeballs exploded. Henry supposedly fell into a coma and died a week later. Authorities blamed Victor for the deaths of his family, but audiences later learn that’s not true.

Henry Creel makes a peculiar comment about Virginia Creel 

Audiences eventually learn that Victor’s son, Henry Creel (Raphael Luce,) murdered his mom, Virginia, and sister Alice. Like Eleven, Henry possessed supernatural abilities along with an extreme disdain for “normal” people. Henry never died after slipping into a coma. Instead, authorities placed him in the care of Dr. Brenner, who experimented on him.

The viewers see all this play out when Vecna reveals his identity to Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) in the Mind Scape. Henry changed his name to Peter Ballard (Jamie Campbell Bower,) and this is who Eleven banished to the Upside Down after the massacre at Hawkins Lab. Somehow during his time in the alternate dimension, the atmosphere wreaked havoc on his human body, covered him in twisted vines, and gave him a grotesque appearance. 

However, when Peter explains all of this to Eleven in Stranger Things 4 Episode 7, he mentions his mother knew he was behind the dead animals and flickering lights. 

“They [Victor and Virginia] had done things, Eleven, such awful things. I showed them who they really were. I held up a mirror. My naive father believed it was a demon cursing them for their sins but my mother somehow knew. Knew it was I who was holding up that mirror and she despised me for it. She called a doctor, an expert. She wanted him to lock me away, to fix me, even though it wasn’t I who was broken. It was them. So, she left me no choice. No choice but to break free,” Peter rants to Eleven. 

Virginia Creel knew Dr. Martin Brenner before the events shown in ‘Stranger Things 4’

As Peter continues, he tells Eleven how he framed his father for the murders of Virginia and Alice. However, he landed in a coma because he used his powers beyond what he could handle. With Victor imprisoned, Peter was put in Dr. Martin Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) care. 

“I woke up from my coma only to find myself placed in the care of a doctor, the very doctor I tried to escape – Dr. Martin Brenner,” Peter continues.

This implies Stranger Things 4‘s Virginia Creel knew Dr. Brenner before everything fans watched play out this season. Peter referred to Dr. Brenner as an expert, hinting that he was actively searching out children with these abilities. How deep did Virginia’s connection with Dr. Brenner go? 

Hopefully, volume II gives us quite a few answers behind the Creels, Peter, and Vecna. Stranger Things 4 Volume I is currently streaming on Netflix.