Stranger Things Season 5: Clues To The Upside Down Twist Revealed

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Warning: major spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, part 2.

The latter half of Stranger Things season 5 revealed a lot about the Upside Down, and in hindsight, there were hints about the major twist surrounding that alternate dimension. The final season of Stranger Things has worked to tie up all remaining plot threads and answer key questions, particularly those concerning the origins and nature of the Upside Down.

Volume 2 continues the story immediately after the first part of Stranger Things season 5. Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) had just used his abilities to rescue his friends from the Demogorgons. Following a dangerous adventure in the Upside Down, the whole group from Hawkins – including Max, who recovered – reunited and started devising a new strategy.

The team’s latest strategy comes from Dustin finding Dr. Brenner’s notes in the Upside Down at Hawkins Lab. These notes revealed a surprising truth about the other dimension: the Upside Down isn’t just another place, but a wormhole connecting our world to a realm they’re calling “the Abyss.” While shocking, in retrospect, there were a few hints that pointed to this discovery.

The Upside Down Is Frozen In 1983

The show established early on that the Upside Down is a mirrored version of Hawkins. However, it wasn’t until the fourth season that we learned it’s frozen in a specific moment in time. Before that, viewers generally believed that anything happening in Hawkins would also happen in the Upside Down, though in a dark and decayed way.

In season 4 of Stranger Things, when some of the Hawkins group entered the Upside Down, they headed to the Wheeler house hoping to find weapons. Nancy was shocked to discover the weapons were missing, and a look at her diary revealed a surprising detail: the Upside Down is frozen in time on November 6, 1983.

The day Will was abducted by the Demogorgon was also the day Eleven first connected with the creature, unintentionally creating the Upside Down. Knowing this explains why the Upside Down’s version of Hawkins is frozen in time, specifically on the day the gate opened.

Henry Was Banished To A Land That Doesn’t Look Like The Upside Down

Image via Netflix

Season 4 of Stranger Things had some major plot twists that are crucial for the upcoming season 5, especially surrounding the character of Henry Creel, also known as Vecna. It was revealed that Henry Creel was the first test subject at Hawkins Lab, and his blood was used to create Eleven, Kali, and the other children with powers.

In Season 4, we see Eleven and Henry face off in the colorful room at Hawkins Lab, following Henry’s murders of the other children experimented on. Because Eleven was Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) most powerful subject, she managed to defeat Henry, accidentally sending him to a different dimension.

I always understood that before Season 5, Henry didn’t end up in the same Upside Down we see. Instead, he was initially sent to a much emptier, almost untouched version of it – a really desolate place. It’s amazing to think he actually created the dark, spore-filled dimension we know from a barren, desert-like landscape with a brownish sky and clearer air. He truly shaped it into what it is now!

Unlike the characters in Stranger Things who were sent to the Upside Down, Henry was banished to the Abyss – a separate and distinct dimension. This dimension is now linked to our world through the Upside Down, acting as a bridge, and it’s the original home of creatures like the Demogorgon, Demobats, and the Mind Flayer.

Brenner’s Insistence On Having Eleven Make Contact

The story of Stranger Things started when Eleven connected with the Demogorgon, which led to the creation of the Upside Down – and all of this stemmed from experiments conducted by Dr. Brenner. The new play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, goes back in time before the show and tells us that Brenner’s father once ventured into the mysterious Abyss on a secret mission.

This marked the start of Brenner’s experiments and his attempts at communication. Initially, it was believed he was trying to connect with the Upside Down. However, we now know Brenner actually aimed to reach the Abyss, and he used Eleven – his most powerful subject – to do so.

Following Henry’s exile, Brenner might have been aiming to locate him within the Abyss, which would have intensified the experiments involving Eleven and the project. Brenner wasn’t interested in the Upside Down itself, but rather the dimension beyond it.

Mr. Clarke Explaining Wormholes In Class

The newest official member of the Hawkins group is Mr. Clarke, played by Randy Havens. He’s been a valuable resource since the beginning, even though he doesn’t realize it! Back in season one, Mr. Clarke helped Mike, Lucas, and Dustin try to figure out where Will might be, but he was unaware that Will was actually trapped in another dimension.

Shawn Levy subtly teased future events in Stranger Things by having Erica Sinclair learn about wormholes in class during the first part of the latest season. This confirms that the Upside Down is actually a wormhole linking Hawkins to a mysterious place called the Abyss. It remains to be seen how Mr. Clarke will assist the group in the final season of Stranger Things.

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2025-12-29 22:09