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

The second part of Stranger Things season 5 made some huge reveals about the Upside Down, and looking back, there were a couple of clues to the big twist about that dimension. The final season of Stranger Things has done its best to address all loose ends left by the previous season and answer the biggest questions, especially those about the Upside Down.

Volume 2 picks up right at the end of Stranger Things season 5 volume 1, after Will (Noah Schnapp) used his powers to save his friends from the Demogorgons. After some chaotic and almost deadly events in the Upside Down, the entire Hawkins party was together once again (including Max, who returned to her body), and they came up with a new plan.

The crew’s new plan is thanks to Dustin’s discovery of Dr. Brenner’s notes at Hawkins Lab in the Upside Down, which reveal the truth about the other dimension: the Upside Down is actually a wormhole, serving as a bridge between the human world and another world they call “the Abyss.” As shocking as this was, looking back, there were a couple of clues about this reveal.

The Upside Down Is Frozen In 1983

From season 1, it was established that the Upside Down is a copy of Hawkins, but it wasn’t until season 4 that it was revealed to be stuck in time. Until then, it was assumed that any changes in Hawkins were reflected in the Upside Down, in its own obscure and rotten style.

However, when part of the Hawkins crew went into the Upside Down in Stranger Things season 4, they went to the Wheeler house in that dimension for weapons. There, Nancy was surprised to see her weapons were nowhere to be found, and when reading her diary, she realized the Upside Down is stuck on November 6, 1983.

This is the day when Will was taken by the Demogorgon, and thus the day Eleven made contact with the Demogorgon for the first time and created the Upside Down. Now that we know how the Upside Down was created, it makes sense that its copy of Hawkins is stuck on the day the bridge was created.

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

Image via Netflix

Stranger Things season 4 was full of big reveals that have been key to those in season 5, and the biggest ones were everything about Henry Creel/Vecna. Henry Creel was Hawkins Lab’s 001 test subject, with season 5 part 2 confirming that his blood was used to create Eleven, Kali, and the other kids at the lab.

Season 4 also showed Henry and Eleven’s confrontation in the rainbow room in Hawkins Lab after he killed the other test subjects. As Eleven is the most successful test subject from Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) experiments, she was able to overpower Henry and ended up unintentionally banishing him to another dimension.

Before season 5, it was believed that Henry was banished to a more deserted or even “primitive” version of the Upside Down that he eventually shaped into the dark dimension everyone now knows. Henry’s new home looked like a desert, with a brownish atmosphere and clearer air rather than the dark, blue, and air full of spores from the Upside Down.

Henry wasn’t banished to the Upside Down, but to the Abyss, a completely different dimension that is now connected to the human world through the Upside Down/the bridge, and which is the real home of the Demogorgons, Demobats, the Mind Flayer, and other creatures.

The events of Stranger Things began when Eleven made contact with the Demogorgon and created the Upside Down – and that began with Brenner’s experiments. The play Stranger Things: The First Shadow serves as a prequel to the show, and it reveals that Brenner’s father went into the Abyss on a mission.

This was the beginning of Brenner’s experiments and interest in making contact, which, before season 5, was understood to be with the Upside Down. Now it’s known that Brenner’s goal was to make contact with the Abyss, and he used Eleven for that, as she’s the most powerful test subject.

After Henry’s banishment, it’s possible that Brenner’s goal was to find him, too, in the Abyss, thus pushing Eleven and the project even further. The Upside Down was never the target of Brenner’s experiments, but the dimension on the other side of it.

Mr. Clarke Explaining Wormholes In Class

The latest addition to the Hawkins party is Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), who has been of great help since season 1, unbeknownst to him. Mr. Clarke helped Mike, Lucas, and Dustin understand where Will could possibly be, but he had no idea that Will was in another dimension.

Mr. Clarke once more dropped a hint of what was to come in Stranger Things when, in part 1, Erica (Priah Ferguson) was in class learning about wormholes. The Upside Down is now confirmed to be a wormhole connecting Hawkins and the Abyss, and it’s to be seen how else Mr. Clarke can help the Hawkins crew in the Stranger Things finale.

Release Date

2016 – 2025-00-00

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer

Directors

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz

Writers

Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock