i used to hate on this scene here because i thought it was will forgiving his abuser, but the more i think about it the more i realise it's actually will forgiving henry who was taken over by the mindflayer. and it's him forgiving himself. he wasn't forgiving vecna. he was forgiving someone he saw himself in, he was forgiving someone who was also abused by the same being. and by forgiving henry for being taken over by the mindflayer, he's forgiving himself for that too.
"it wasn't you" = "it wasn't me" it wasn't will who killed those soldiers in 1984. it wasn't will who spied on his friends.
of course, after that, henry tells will that he chose to be this way, which in my eyes reads as will realising that it wasn't henry's fault, just like it wasn't his own, that they became possessed and did terrible things UNWILLINGLY. however, once henry started doing it WILLINGLY, he became at fault. it WAS him, vecna, not henry.
to be clear, i am not giving the writers their cookies because this could have been fleshed out so much more. it isn't clear enough that will is forgiving himself and realising that it's not his fault for being taken. but that is what this scene is. i think they could have actually gone into the csa storyline far better with far better implications, but i have better opinions over this scene now.
this scene is great in concept. it's will forgiving himself for being abused and the consequences of his abuse. but it was so poorly rushed, and we should have gotten to see henry's memories from the play.
so yeah, i don't think we should be pinning this as a scene where will "forgives his abuser." he's forgiving someone and talking to someone who was abused by the same entity he was and telling him that it is not his fault, which in turn shows that will no longer believes it is his own fault either. HOW WE GOT THERE? don't know. there is no clear progression from will thinking it is all his fault to this, but this is what the scene is to me now.
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