After nearly 10 years, Stranger Things finally wrapped its five-season run on Netflix. One of the most explosive moments in the Season 5 finale came when Hawkins’ heroes came face-to-face with Vecna for the last time. When it came time for Vecna to die, only one iconic character delivered the final blow.

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Why did Joyce get to kill Vecna in Stranger Things?

“You f—ed with the wrong family,” Joyce Byers said in the Stranger Things finale before decapitating Vecna with an ax.

For the Duffer Brothers, deciding which character killed Vecna was a major point of emphasis. After much discussion, the creators felt that the honor belonged to Winona Ryder‘s Joyce.

“We talked a lot about who should deal the final blow to Vecna, and we really went through everyone. And at the end of the day, it felt like it had to be Joyce because Joyce was the one in the first season who’s the first one to really take action, to believe that something strange was going on,” Ross Duffer said to Netflix’s Tudum. “And that fierce love she has for not only Will but her family and the others is a superpower in its own way. And so we thought if anyone is going to defeat this guy, it had to be Joyce.”

Joyce’s weapon of choice was the ax, an item that has been associated with her since Season 1. According to the Duffers, Joyce has held an ax before, but she never properly used it to kill a monster. That changed in the Season 5 finale.

“And, of course, she uses the ax early on in the season, but she’s just swiping at the Demogorgon and we wanted her to actually use that thing,” Ross Duffer added. “Even back in Season 1, she’s fierce, and she was ready to use it, but she never got to use it against the monsters, and so we thought that would be a nice payoff after nine years to actually see her use this ax and kill this guy.”

The Stranger Things Season 5 finale is now streaming on Netflix.